It’s time for more adventures! I went through a long period of deconstruction in 2017 after my Appalachian Trail thru-hike and finally feel like I’m integrated and whole again. The AT hike made me question everything about life, down to the most basic fundamental question of “who am I?” In that process of discarding old beliefs and old patterns of …
10 Day Vipassana Meditation Retreat Experience
The beginning of an article is always difficult for me. I’ll stare at the white blank and run sentences through my head to try to find one that feels right. Sometimes this process can take hours. Today I felt that same block. After about ten minutes of writing and deleting sentences I gained an awareness of a pressure in my …
Part 1 of my Appalachian Trail Documentary is Live
Here’s a link to part 1 of my Appalachian Trail documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2BkK_bHMA4 Pt. 1 covers Georgia, from Springer Mountain, up Blood Mountain, and finally to Neel Gap. Appalachian Trail Documentary Pt. 1 I’ve been keeping busy. I’ve picked up a couple of personal training clients at MKT CrossFit and I’m also training several people online. Healthy Gamer was one of just twenty …
Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail Gave Me Permission To Be Me
It’s been a while since I’ve updated this blog. Thanks for following along after all this time! May 8th, 10 days from the writing of this post, marks the one year anniversary of when I stepped off on the Appalachian Trail. I’ve been getting my life back in order. I’m working out at MKT CrossFit and I’m going to coach some …
Post Trail Depression and a Revelation
I’ve been struggling with post-trail depression. It’s a fairly well-known phenomenon that is experienced by a majority of thru-hikers after. I think it’s brought on by many factors, as depression generally is. There’s the physical side of your body being wrecked. There’s the aspect of leaving the trail community. You’ve left the structure and simplicity of following a set path. …
How thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail Changed Me
Nine weeks off-trail and I’m feeling much more like myself. My energy has come back and I’m excited to do things again. My feet have stopped hurting. I’ve cut down sleep from averaging eleven hours a night to nine. The trail continues to impart lessons. Nature can’t be rushed. When you throw a system off of its homeostatic set-point it …
Adjusting back to “real life.”
I’ve been off-trail for 20 days now. 20 days already!! Time is really strange. I remember stepping through the arches in Amicalola in May. I remember feeling a queer surreal feeling. It didn’t seem real at the time that I was embarking on a 2,189 mile hike. Even now after completing the thru-hike the idea of having hiked all the …
Day 205 – SUCCESS!!
I’m writing from Harper’s Ferry, WV. I’ve passed through four states since my last blog and we have a lot to catch up on! First, I finished my thru hike last night! I hiked into Harper’s Ferry at 9:45pm after a long 31.2 mile day(which ended up being closer to 34 miles because I hiked out to get beer and …
Day 181 – Hiking All Night
I’m writing from the Tuxedo motel in Southfield, NY while I do laundry. There’s no laundromat so I’m washing the clothes in the sink and rinsing them off in the shower. I’ll be entering New Jersey in two days and then there’s only Pennsylvania and a small portion of Maryland left to hike. I’m ready to be done. I’m ready …
Day 162 – What do you really need on the Appalachian Trail?
I’m writing to you from Manchester Center, VT. I hitched into town early this morning and will head back to the trail this afternoon. I plan to go in and out of towns like this frequently on my way back to Harper’s Ferry. It will save both time and money and help keep my pack light by allowing me to …