My Story

  I have a rather large family and through the years I have lost many of them to cancer, from my pre-teen years to my forties. The one most devastating was in the 90’s when I lost my mother to breast cancer. Mom was my friend, counselor, my confidant, in short she was the love of my life. Though she had no love for hiking, she was the one that bought my first backpack.

 In 1987 my friends and I were on a day-hike in the woods of northern Georgia, USA. We happened upon a well worn path leading north through the trees. Walking south down the hill was an elderly gentleman with a large pack and a hiking stick.

 “Great day for a hike”, I said.

 That is where his story began. We talked for about 3 hours and he told me of his journey south on the Appalachian Trail. The gentleman took a seat on a nearby rock,

 “At 77 years of age”, he explained, “have to rest when you get a chance”.

  He told me many stories of his 8 month trip on the trail. He said each day his wife would drop him off and then drive around the mountain to pick him up later that evening, so he could go back to the motel and put on his respirator, and take his meds. He told me how the views and the beauty of the trail were beyond compare. Most importantly he said, “The best people I have met in my 77 years were the ones I’ve met on the trail this year”.

 I was 17 and was so caught up in this man’s story that I immediately started planning my first thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. My mom, knowing the mind of a teenager, did not believe I would ever make it, but she supported me. She helped me get my gear that year, the backpack, the sleeping bag and I had everything planned to start my hike in the spring of 1988.

 Life had other plans for me. Though I planned several times to hike the trail something always came up. My mother passed, without seeing me walk that trail.

 I turned forty two, and finally took a chance. I Started at Springer Mountain Georgia on March 6 and climbed Mount Katahdin Maine on October 18, 2012. The backpack with me all the way!

 The hike is over now, I made it all the way, and I met some of the best people of my life.