Walk 2,200 Miles in My Shoes (AT)
Donation protected
Hi my name is Kristen Rahner. If you know me, you probably know that I have a bit of an adventurous streak in me. I kept feeling stuck this past year: stuck in a city, stuck in the everyday process of a college semester. The Appalachian Trail was on my "someday list", but last year I decided it needed to be a reality: no more waiting to have opportunity placed in my lap. This April 1st, I'm heading solo Northbound on this roughly 2,200 mile trail in what will be my biggest adventure yet. The AT starts in Georgia and goes all the way up to Mt. Katahdin in Maine, I will be backpacking through 14 states.
When I was growing up, I didn't have an outdoor female role model. Everyone I had ever seen doing crazy things like rock climbing, backpacking, biking, were pretty much all men. I realized this when my little sister and the young girls that I work with started looking at me as a role model in the area of outdoor adventure sports. They have such fire in them, but find it hard to place themselves in a community where they have seen mostly men. These men made great role models for me, but I want to be the role model for these amazing girls. Completing the trail will show them that they can do anything they put their mind to.
The past few months, I have been researching, planning, earning money, and practicing with my first solo trip. Now, I just need your help. Between gear, food, and an occasional shower, the funds necessary to complete the trail are a little hard to come by as a full-time college student. It is estimated that roughly $1000/month on the trail is what it takes, with an average of five months on the trail. I hope to do it in four. Most people quit the trail because they run out of money and only about 25% of people who start the trail finish it. I will keep working towards earning the funds, but any help that you can lend will be immensely appreciated, you will be the reason I complete the AT.
I will be posting from the trail for those who want to follow along via a public Instagram account @bikingchimpanzee
When I was growing up, I didn't have an outdoor female role model. Everyone I had ever seen doing crazy things like rock climbing, backpacking, biking, were pretty much all men. I realized this when my little sister and the young girls that I work with started looking at me as a role model in the area of outdoor adventure sports. They have such fire in them, but find it hard to place themselves in a community where they have seen mostly men. These men made great role models for me, but I want to be the role model for these amazing girls. Completing the trail will show them that they can do anything they put their mind to.
The past few months, I have been researching, planning, earning money, and practicing with my first solo trip. Now, I just need your help. Between gear, food, and an occasional shower, the funds necessary to complete the trail are a little hard to come by as a full-time college student. It is estimated that roughly $1000/month on the trail is what it takes, with an average of five months on the trail. I hope to do it in four. Most people quit the trail because they run out of money and only about 25% of people who start the trail finish it. I will keep working towards earning the funds, but any help that you can lend will be immensely appreciated, you will be the reason I complete the AT.
I will be posting from the trail for those who want to follow along via a public Instagram account @bikingchimpanzee
Organizer
Kristen Rahner
Organizer
Homer, NY
