Welcome!

To Family and Friends,

In case you didn't know, my plans for the summer are to hike a 455 mile section of the Appalachian Trail. After graduation I am going to hike from the trail head at Springer Mountain, Georgia to Damascus, Virgina in 40 days.

To give you some insight into why I am interested in living 40 days in the woods you must understand a bit about my past. Like most boys my age I loved to play outside. Our house is on a wooded lot with a creek running on the edge of our property. I have many great memories playing out in the woods. Tromping through the woods on some military mission, building bridges across the creek, and creating countless forts in which I would defend against whoever was attacking. I even dug a foxhole in my backyard. So much of my childhood was spent playing in the woods and I believe it was here that I fell in love with the outdoors.

Furthering this, my family and I, along with my Uncle Lindsey, Aunt Sherry, and cousins Catherine and Charles, would take a mountain trip every October. We started in the western most part of North Carolina and through the years made our way back towards the Piedmont. We experienced so many amazing things and made so many memories (acorns don't taste like GORP and there are some incredible geysers in North Carolina).

Through high school, and now college I have been lucky enough to go on many camping and backpacking trips. Each time I go I find that I continue to love being in God's Great Wilderness more and more. It is the place that I am most happy and the place that fills me with the most peace and satisfaction. It is for these reasons that I want to take on these 40 days of hiking.

So, I have created this blog mainly for the purpose of communication with friends and family prior to going on my trip. I have talked to many people who have said that they might be interested in meeting up with me during a section of my hike. I wanted a place where all my information could be located, as well as a place where other people could place their plans, so that it will make planning easier. Also, I plan on carrying a small GPS device that will mark my travel via a website. I will have a link to this as well so that those interested will be able to check my progress (Mom).

I look forward to the road ahead as I continue to plan out my trip and I cant wait to get on the trail. Keep on the lookout for more information to come!