Hello!
A little over two years ago (Spring '10), I did a five week section hike of the Appalachian Trail. At the time, I was working a full-time job and didn't yet know if I would enjoy a five or six month hike (the time needed to complete a full thru-hike of the AT). So, I decided I wanted to do a shorter hike and I asked my boss if I could take some time off and give it a shot. I hiked from Springer Mtn (GA) to the town of Damascus in southern VA, and I had a really great time. After the section hike was over, I went back to work and told myself that I'd do the rest of the trail "some day".
Not long after returning back to my normal life, I realized that the way I looked at things had changed. Something had been unleashed in me while I was out on the trail, something which made it difficult to settle back into my old routine. It was around that time that I decided (along with my girlfriend) to see more of the world. It wasn't going to be the standard one or two week fly-somewhere-nice-and-then-fly-back type of vacation that a lot of Americans do (including myself). Instead, we were going to travel as slow and as cheap as possible, soaking-up the local culture and making the trip last as long as possible. And that's what we did - for almost a year and a half. We started in Australia (8 months) and from there, continued on to Asia (Japan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, India and Nepal).
Sometime last fall (Fall '11), I was absentmindedly clicking around the internet and I came across a picture that someone had posted of one of their friends at Mt Katahdin. Up until then, I hadn't really thought too much about my earlier section hike - I was caught-up in a different type of adventure. There was something on the guy's face that got my attention. Obviously, we was pretty happy with himself, but it was so intense that it really made an impression on me. It honestly gave me goosebumps. I saw it as the summation of five or six month's worth of hard work and determination. And I wanted it for myself.
So, that's what I'm doing. Sometime around the end of April, I'm taking off. I'm picking-up where I left off (Damascus, VA) and heading to Katahdin.
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
