New Year, New Goal
AT Segment #1---Here I Come! I've been toying with the idea of hiking along the AT (Appalachian Trail) for a while now. Nearly a year ago, I lost my mom after a protracted illness; I felt sort of lost for a while, not sure what could fill the void other than just working and living through the grief. One day, I came across the book " Into the Wild ," by John Krakauer. If you're not familiar with the book, it's the (true) story of a young man named Chris McCandless from the DC suburbs who, after graduating from college, went on an extended "life experience" as it were for about two years, traveling around the Desert Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, South Dakota, and finally, Alaska. While in Alaska, he hiked out into the wilderness in the spring, crossing a frozen river, and setting up camp in an abandoned bus. The bus had been towed there as temporary shelter in the outback for construction workers who were building a road for a (later abandoned) min...