Hi! I'm Rocket and I successfully thruhiked all 2,198.4 miles of the Appalachian Trail in 2023. This had been a decadelong dream for me and surpassed all of my expectations!

I'll be posting videos to share what my thruhike experience was like for other aspiring thruhikers or people who are just curious to learn more. I was a first time thruhiker and I had only been on 1 prior solo overnight backpacking trip before I set out on March 5, 2023. I hiked NOBO and summited Katahdin on August 30, 2023, bawling like crazy when I finally touched that sign.

It was FINALLY time to enter the Smokies! Groundhog, Wrong Way, and I took on Great Smoky Mountain National Park with a ton of excitement, barely enough food (not on purpose), and a lot of warm layers (because the temperature dropped and we had some crazy weather).

Nightly fires in the shelters to stay warm, hitting 200 miles and celebrating by watching sunset at Clingmans Dome, and retracing my steps from 2015 at Charlie's Bunion were just a few of my highlights from my time in the Smokies.

We checked out every possible fire tower, even the slightly sketchy ones!

This was truly a highlight for the Green Goblins. We felt strong as hikers and stronger as a tramily. (Is that too corny to say? hahha)

What's your favorite moment from the Smokies? Mine was when Groundhog and I found the amazing salamander in the water source! A close second is when Wrong Way rescued the creature that got stuck in his Sawyer water filter.

Happy Trails,
Rocket!