Appalachian Trail Hike 2007

In the fall of 2006 I began to think about hiking the Appalachian Trail -- all 2,174 miles of it from Georgia to Maine.   On March 24, 2007 I shouldered my backpack and began 178 days of hiking.   During the hike, I suffered from Lyme disease and chronic fatigue.   Already slim before the hike, I nevertheless had lost nearly 20 pounds by the time I reached New England.   I completed more than 1,800 miles of the AT before September, along with my ambition, waned.

I would not trade this experience for anything.   It was by turns exciting and dull; there were many moments of joy, and many filled with distress.   It was an adventure by any definition of the word.

I met many wonderful people doing the same crazy thing I was doing, and I will never forget them.  During the hike, I wrote almost daily in a small notebook I carried along with the rest of my gear.   You are welcome to read my journal and view the photographs I took along the way to Maine.

Here is a map of the AT in Adobe PDF™ format.