From April 14th to April 19th I walked from the Elkwallow Wayside in Shenandoah National Park to the Bear’s Den Hostel just off of route 7 in Loudoun County, VA. Just about 55 miles.

After the first day, which was just a short afternoon hike to my first shelter, I did 10-13 miles a day. For the most part, while I was hiking I was by myself and while I was in camp I was surrounded by amazing people. The first night I played a card game with Jules and Sheryl from California (just out for the weekend), and met Lucky Guy, Buck, and Raisin (all in their first week of thru hiking). This group, although I wouldn’t cross paths with them again, were some of my favorite people I met during the trip. Their kindness and encouragement eased the homesickness of the first night away. I only wish I had met Lucky Guy, Buck, and his dog Raisin again both because they were great to talk to and full of wisdom, and because I learned a few days later from a hiker that had bridged the gap between us, that they were carrying my glasses which I lost on the first night. They say the trail provides, and it was a hair’s width away from bringing to me that which I had lost. Not to worry though, I just stuck with contacts for the remainder of the trek.

On the second day I hiked my biggest distance at 15 miles and was rewarded with a shower and a bed at the Mountainside Hiker Hostel in Front Royal, Virginia. During my stay I got to try the amazing, locally grown and sustainably farmed burgers and milkshakes of Spelunkers, a must visit when I return to Browntown. While at the hostel I was able to hang out with people about my age for the first and only time. Bob Ross, Nomad, and Sedate were all wonderful company, though our nightly chores and early departures kept our interactions brief.

Over the next few days I stayed at the oldest shelter on the AT, one of the newest (with a solar shower… unfortunately shut down until warmer weather), and one that fell somewhere in between. It was this stretch, once I got outside of the national park, that I enjoyed most. The elevation decreased so the vegetation increased, and I was happy to spend every moment in complete awe of the beauty around me. I traded foraging knowledge with Maverick and Coyote, who I later learned were somewhat “famous” in the niche backpacking community. I took plenty of breaks to refill water surrounded by gorgeous hostas, tulip poplars, and even my first ever Virginia bluebells! When I wasn’t in the valleys basking in the beauty of the spring ephemerals I was hiking along the ridges in Sky Meadows State Park, or closer to home in the midst of the dreaded “roller coaster” (It was a lot of up and down, about 6,000ft of elevation gain in just one day, but really… not so bad!). It was the Sky Meadow park that I found to be the most striking. It had been many years since I had been there, but I will surely be back sooner this time. On my final night out for this first section, I bunked with Rattlesnake, a professional snake catcher, Tinman, a retired navy research engineer, Rick, a retired army therapist, and Kizmit, a triple crowner on her second lap of the AT. I only wish I had more time to soak in the wisdom from other hikers on that final night, but I hiked with Kizmit for my final 11 mile stretch and learned as much as I could!

Below are a few of the images and moments I captured.

Originally, this was intended to be the first week of a thru hike on the Appalachian Trail. Eventually covering every part of the trail; 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine. Then, although I was enjoying myself, and nothing was going wrong, I decided that thru hiking just isn’t for me. Something about my goal being thousands of miles away, combined with being away from my family for 4-6 months, and the daily grind to crank out as many miles as possible just seemed like a betrayal to the person I have built myself into, especially over the recent years.

From the start of my planning, about two years ago, I knew that my main motivation for wanting to hike the AT was a desire to commune with the land that has raised me. Through my own experience, and the writings of people like Wendell Berry, Aldo Leopold, and Murray Bookchin, I came to feel that there is nothing more important than truly knowing the physical environment in which you live, and working to improve it. Just this simple principle of being native to a place, I believe, is powerful enough to solve massive problems like climate change and whatever kind of loneliness epidemic, or screen addiction problems may or may not exist in the modern world. But the virtues of that idea are beside the point for now, I only wish to express how deeply I believe in the strive for familiarity with one’s home.

This is exactly the idea that I found myself meditating on step after step, hour after hour, and day after day on the trail. Though, to be completely honest, I only wish I had been able to see things so clearly before I set off in the first place. There is a serene clarity that comes with walking in the woods, which is another reason I began planning this trip in the first place, but it comes at the cost of extreme stress during the planning phase. I think, in retrospect that I had gotten too caught up in planning and reading about other peoples’ attempts on the AT to realize the relatively simple reasons that I would not become a thru hiker. Now, having had about a week to continue the meditations that began in the woods, things make a little more sense.

I love where I am from. I believe that the region including Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland is home to the most magnificent, awe inspiring, and comforting landscapes that this country and the world have to offer. I love where I am from, and it is unclear how much longer I will call this place home. Finishing school and searching for jobs, mostly in areas far from here means that these few months from December, when I finished classes, to August, when I hope to start work, are full of pressure to enjoy the time as it passes. A sensation that I’m sure we’ve all felt and found paradoxical. I love where I am from, and even though thru hiking was not the act of appreciation I had intended it to be, I will still dedicate these next few months to appreciating the land that I have grown up loving. Instead of hiking through states like Georgia, New Hampshire and Maine that I have no real connection to, I am now planning to complete the 240 miles of the AT closest to my home, from the southern tip of the Shenandoah National Park to the very southern border of Pennsylvania. In the time that I have left over I am hoping to aid in the maintenance of local trails through the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, to explore the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers, and to continue cultivating my own native plant garden. I love where I am from and I am grateful for my experience so far on the trail for allowing me to mindfully appreciate my home, and spend time doing the things I want to do before I start my career, and it may become harder to do some of those things.