I don't know if I have told you yet, but I love everything about the Appalachian Trail. I wish I had realized it when I was way younger! Lonest story as short as I can get it...Mark and I have a friend, Shellie, who is hiking the AT bits and pieces at a time. She lives in Georgia, so she can easily pop on the trail. When she is hiking I encourage her by liking her photos on FB and texting with her while she is on trail. I am living my dream of hiking the AT through her.
I got a wild hair one day to see how long it would take me to hike the same distance (5,000,000 steps) or 2,197.4 miles counting my steps from the time my feet hit the floor until I take off my watch to go to bed. I started my 'hike' on August 19 of this year.
So far I have traveled 441,588 steps which according to Google calculations is 206.9 miles.
I started out on top of Springer Mountain in Georgia!
That is actually me in the maroon hiking boots when we took Ellis and Alaire with us way back in June of 2017. Each summer we would take Ellis and Alaire on an adventure somewhere on the AT. We would camp and hike a few miles in each state. GA was our first state.
So now back to real life and my pretend hike...
I got a birthday card from Shellie last week with AT stickers! I have (in my little brain) hiked to these places. I was so excited! Best and most thoughtful gift ever.
I hit Blood Mountain at mile 29.3 and Neel Gap at mile 31.7. I don't have a sticker for Outdoor 76 yet but I 'visited' them in Franklin NC.
(which we actually have several times). Then on to one of my favorite places on the AT...The NOC in Bryson City, NC. I've got my sticker for the Smokies at mile 166.7 which is the southern boundary. In my dream this is where I first met Fresh Ground and at a delicious meal from his Fresh Ground Leapfrog Cafe. He is a one-of-a-kind trail angel! (Look him up on FB or YouTube. Then it was on to mile 199.4 and the observation deck of Clingman's Dome. I might have been given a rock from there by a family that knows how much I love it. Today I can report that I am at mile 207.1 at Newfound Gap, which is the NC/TN border. So I am two states down and only 12 to go.
I love thinking back to all the times we have been able to be on the AT, even if is just for a few miles at a time. Great memories that you will hear me talk about for a very long time.
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