In October of 2020, I took a road trip to the Smokies and fell in love with the area.
Chimney Rocks Trail, TN
Inspired, I set a goal to hike the Appalachian Trail and declared my intent to hike in 2021 to my partner, Chris, who has never been one to sit out on an adventure. Chris actually thru-hiked the trail once before on a solo-hike in 2005, and has felt the call of the wild ever since.
Chris (known on the trail as Eaglefoot) completes the Appalachian Trail in 2005!
Around the same time that the idea of hiking the trail arose, I had been exploring the idea of going to graduate school. It soon became clear that this was the perfect window of time to do something like this together.
The decision was made: we would set foot on the trail in February 2021 in Georgia and spend the next 5-6 months hiking north to Maine.
Thus, preparation began ✨
-Jenna