- P
- T
- T
“Not all who wander are lost.”
What do you do when the world you have carefully constructed comes crashing down? Having been a ballroom teacher for more than 20 years, and then facing the prospect of no work for the foreseeable future, I chose to do what I had always wanted to do, but never had time: go long distance mountain trail hiking with my dog!
I had a bit of savings and friends and family who would help me with places to stay between hikes. I spent February selling everything I owned that wouldn’t fit in my car and moving across the country to start training for my dream hike: 6-7 weeks on the Colorado Trail. I couldn’t do it till July, and I had a lot to learn before tackling that serious trail and the time commitment that it would require.
Nancy (my dog) and I have spent March, April and now May in the southern US, hiking various legs of the Appalachian Trail, the Foothills Trail and the Benton MacKaye Trail. We have survived:
These past months have taught me how to:
As you can imagine, not working for 4 months has taken its toll on my savings. I can’t start the Colorado Trail till July 1st (primarily because of weather), and have been fortunate to recently receive a great job offer. I could take the job now and call my 2021 hiking adventures complete—and I think I could be happy with that.
But my heart is set on hiking the premier trail in my home state with Nancy and I fear that if I don’t do it now, I may never have the opportunity again. The money I’m raising will be to cover food for the trail 6-7 weeks at around $20/day), any additional gear I may need, plus traveling expenses.
It has been the adventure of my life to spend most of this year in nature with Nancy, challenging my own beliefs of what I am capable of doing. I have met amazing people and rediscovered my passion for the wild. I know we have all seen hard times this past year, so any help you could give to help me finish out this incredible journey is beyond generous and so much appreciated. Thank you!
What do you do when the world you have carefully constructed comes crashing down? Having been a ballroom teacher for more than 20 years, and then facing the prospect of no work for the foreseeable future, I chose to do what I had always wanted to do, but never had time: go long distance mountain trail hiking with my dog!
I had a bit of savings and friends and family who would help me with places to stay between hikes. I spent February selling everything I owned that wouldn’t fit in my car and moving across the country to start training for my dream hike: 6-7 weeks on the Colorado Trail. I couldn’t do it till July, and I had a lot to learn before tackling that serious trail and the time commitment that it would require.
Nancy (my dog) and I have spent March, April and now May in the southern US, hiking various legs of the Appalachian Trail, the Foothills Trail and the Benton MacKaye Trail. We have survived:
- freezing temperatures (using my potty trowel to shoehorn my feet into frozen shoes)
- torrential rain (hiking up a river instead of a trail to summit Blood Mountain)
- crazy heat (I had to look around to discover Nancy was lying down to rest in a pool at the base of a waterfall)
- perfect sunlit afternoons.
These past months have taught me how to:
- hike with a 40 lb. backpack
- build a fire from scratch
- pitch a tent on sand, mud, rocks or pine needles
- stay warm when the thermometer barely registered 20 degrees
- build my stamina from feeling exhausted after 10 miles in a day, to knocking out those same miles by 10:30 in the morning.
As you can imagine, not working for 4 months has taken its toll on my savings. I can’t start the Colorado Trail till July 1st (primarily because of weather), and have been fortunate to recently receive a great job offer. I could take the job now and call my 2021 hiking adventures complete—and I think I could be happy with that.
But my heart is set on hiking the premier trail in my home state with Nancy and I fear that if I don’t do it now, I may never have the opportunity again. The money I’m raising will be to cover food for the trail 6-7 weeks at around $20/day), any additional gear I may need, plus traveling expenses.
It has been the adventure of my life to spend most of this year in nature with Nancy, challenging my own beliefs of what I am capable of doing. I have met amazing people and rediscovered my passion for the wild. I know we have all seen hard times this past year, so any help you could give to help me finish out this incredible journey is beyond generous and so much appreciated. Thank you!