Call of the Wild: 2,193 miles on the Appalachian Trail in 2020 (Full Documentary)

[Music] for years i dreamed of through hiking the appalachian trail myself like many others desire to take on the challenge of hiking almost 2 200 miles for months on end over difficult terrain in harsh weather and dangerous conditions because we love the outdoors we long for adventure to travel to get out of our comfort zone we seek the peacefulness and beauty of nature and a break from society and for those of us dealing with depression and anxiety we long for an outlet to relieve the constant chaos in our minds [Music] and even though this feat is physically mentally and emotionally exhausting we attempt the journey because the trail calls to us it calls in a way that it's hard to explain it's a yearning a longing a voice so resounding it becomes difficult to ignore it beckoned you pulls you it's the call of the wild [Laughter] it's officially the start of my appalachian trail through hike not gonna lie i am feeling a little bit nervous i had a hard time even eating my breakfast this morning i'm nervous but i know once i'm on the trail everything's going to be good 2020 was the year i decided to fulfill my dream of a long distance hike with the support of my husband family and friends i quit my job and prepared for living months out on the trail it was hard saying goodbye i'm gonna miss you mom and um i'm really proud of you and i'm glad you're doing this it makes me happy don't fall off a cliff into the thing like the one guys did in that movie yeah always walk in the woods yeah that one yeah i will try not to fall off any clothes what do you think about me heading out into the woods for six months i'm happy for you but i'm also worried about you uh proud but a little anxious can i have a hug on camera sure i'm gonna have a hug on camera oh i'm totally gonna miss you it's gonna be really rough i'm glad i do i love you i headed to georgia in late february little did i know all the obstacles i would face on my journey to finish the entire 2193 miles and i remember 267 [Music] here's the approached trail it's right behind the visitor center let's get hiking it's raining yep [Music] i started my hike at the amacolola falls approach trail and set out on a cold rainy day to hike north towards katahdin and she's off i was happy to have my husband jerry with me for those first few miles but no sooner had we started ascending the steps to the falls we found out a large snowstorm was coming so we said a tearful goodbye [Music] and i continued at the troll alone in the cold rain yeah as i climbed the eight miles towards springer mountain the rain turned to sleep and snow i made it to spring mountain i quickly got a photo on springer mountain i think i just realized i did not film myself at springer oh my gosh i'm not starting off very good all right am i well i made it to camp staying at the where are we shelter and made it to the shelter with four inches of snow on the ground [Music] the next morning i woke to most of my gear and clothing frozen solid oh man it was a rough night i know it's my first night and i already like it's rough my first day on trail had been wet cold and tough and now my first morning had me forcing my arms into a frozen ice cold jacket everything is frozen like everything my shoes are frozen socks gloves my entire backpack was frozen i left the shelter that morning not sure if i could accomplish this massive goal [Music] even though i was a seasoned backpacker who had researched and prepared for this journey between the weather finally i've had like all three seasons in the last two days i've had rain snow and now it's time the terrain so far i found out that gaps mean you're probably gonna go straight up you probably went straight down and then going straight up all right well basically i have to go up down up down up and little mistakes i continue to make my sleeping bag got a little bit wet here on the top from the condensation on my tent i don't think i pitched my tent very good all these rookie mistakes i'm making you think i never backpacked the trail quickly humbled me to realize this hike was going to be far harder than i could have ever imagined i would have to work suffer and endure to make it the entire 2193 miles man 18's breaking me yeah right it's like oh you want to hike the 18 let's find out how bad you want to hike it but each day i put one foot in front of the other and try to remain positive some days were easier than others it's sunny the birds are chirping and it just makes me realize why i love being outdoors so much and why this calls to me but i don't know why the past two days and i know they were my birthdays were rough and if i could just tell myself you know that the bad days make the good day so much sweeter you know i think i've got a shot at this thing even though i was hiking alone i had a constant companion with me a miniature handmade baby yoda plushie my daughter made for me to carry on my hike we'll be going all my adventures and hopefully be the first baby yoda to summit cathartin as i hike through georgia the trail continues to present many challenges this has been the trail for about a mile now another crossing luckily it was another rockhop you cannot tell but it's like literally like that even with all the planning and preparation after only a week into my hike i was ready to get rid of some gear it's funny how quickly you realize how much of that luxury stuff you think you want that you really just don't want you want to carry it so my husband picked me up and i went into town to change out some gear with moving my gear around i was actually able to get my pack packed a little bit better oh it's made a world of difference my pack already feels so much better with a little bit lighter pack i climbed over blood mountain in the cold foggy rain man look at this lots of slick wet rock to go down could be super slow careful kind of cool looking though huh i have officially left the blood down wilderness [Music] current situation oh yeah but not all days were rainy the fog is just raining okay and look it's gonna be a sunny day those warm sunny days always lived in my spirits it is really nice i'm so thankful so thankful and sometimes there were views wow but those first few weeks the weather was tough one particular day after hours of climbing fighting cold wind and trudging through deep pockets of snow the wind is ridiculous the wind hit me the snow ugh i had my first meltdown i just want to be on top of this stupid mountain it's so steep and it just keeps going and going in the snow and the wind i'm just having a rough morning despite the daily obstacles and constant roller coaster of emotions the trail always called to push me forward and i tried to stay positive had several days of rain some days and a few days of snow so we've had some sun too definitely lots of ups and downs over mountains but there's no better place to be than out on the trail i even met other hikers along the way say hello to youtube what's your name mary poppins and what are you going by what happens and why are you because i can't rock the umbrella some people think i'm practical hi there baby hey the t say hi say hi to youtube and got my first taste of trail magic cherry pie and i have a mountain dew which i never dreamed but you know what i'm gonna have one it's actually pretty good thank you so much for being out here we appreciate it second trail food magic of the day the miles passed quickly and before i knew it i was finished with georgia i officially have less than a mile of georgia left ta-da did it officially crossed out of georgia goodbye georgia hello north carolina baby yoda you did it you hide through georgia [Music] it's almost like a sleigh with a reindeer or something almost as soon as i enter north carolina the trail got steeper so apparently north carolina is trying to show who's boss i literally just climbed straight up that side of a mountain face you know what's worse than climbing a mountain straight up it's climbing down stripping snow i was all like at lunch i was excited i was like well i've only got 2.8 miles left and now it's more like oh god i got 2.8 miles left and the terrain tougher one thing about north carolina so far they don't always cut down their trees lots and lots of downed trees this is the kind of stuff we have to traverse oh yeah it's fun [Music] oh man just keeps going and going whoa see snow and it's melting it's the worst oh my gosh because i look oh gosh leaves i just about got my head knocked off by this tree branch because i've got this this on so i'm kind of looking down yeah i just whacked it the weather continued to be a challenge as i hiked through even more snow yep more snow lots and lots of snow i'll have this snow thing down pat my time i get his monkeys more rain all right well today promises to be filled with tons and tons of rain i made it to camp got my tent set up in the rain a lot of my stuff is wet it looks to be another day of rain i just heard thunder this is what i'm hiking in yeah i'm a drowned rat i'm literally soaked from head to toe oh yeah this is your trail this is what you're hiking in and the cold but it's super super cold i mean it's going to be in the teens i'm trying to hike fast stay warm yeah but hypothermia it's no joke really with some warm weather i really really love the warm weather prior to my hike i had romanticized the trail but the realities of through hiking soon kicked in it's pouring rain and it's hitting the tent and then the tent is creating conversation let's be real last night sucked everything got wet like i mean it rained so much that what was happening was the water would just drip into on my bag and everything else the worst thing about waking up morning is when it's really really cold and windy and you know you have to get up out of your warm sleeping bag for those of you who inspired to do hike yeah this this is one of those days when it's not fun it's not fun at all it was not a fun hike i didn't even look up at the trail at all for five miles i mean i looked at the ground so i wouldn't trip over a route or you know just i could see where i'm going i mean i knew coming out here was gonna be hard i knew it but you could think you know it until you actually live it and then when you live it you're like whoa having a sense of humor helped get me through the difficult days i just keep telling myself i'm a duck oh you didn't know trekking poles made good ores did you well now you know and sometimes singing in the rain i'm singing in the rain here's the fire tower i'm not gonna climb it because there's no fuse and it's wet i missed the hundred mile mark it was on the fire tower stairs i guess it was right there and totally missed it so yeah i've hiked 100 over 100 miles now i had reached my first 100 miles on the a.t but i still had a long way to go after several days in difficult weather it was time for another zero and now we got hot chocolate and a warm car oh i can't even talk i've dreamt about this all day now to get all these oh man all the wet clothes off we are here at chica sunsets hostel this is chica and this is sunsets this is so nice oh my gosh this is so nice on a zero day i didn't hike but instead spent time in town taking a shower oh man it feels so good to be showered and clean and now we're getting our laundry done washing my stinky dirty hiker clothes and resupplying my food for the next several hiking days sometimes i picked up a resupply box from the post office picking up a package my friend carrie she's so awesome she sent me a resupply box look at this smorgasbord up there this is awesome enjoying delicious town food and getting a much needed rest was always a treat to a day in town two days a day but with many more miles to hike it was time to get back on the trail no matter how difficult the trail always gifted me with some sunny days it's gonna be so great to actually be in good weather the birds are chirping i've got baby yoda out it's a good day beautiful views wow thank goodness i finally got a view of something oh man yay and more trail magic i said i wasn't going to drink cokes but i need the sugar look at the tiny snowflakes oh my goodness it's so cute as each day passed the miles added up the weather improved and there was no better place to be [Music] always got my sunglasses out [Music] and i saw my first sunrise on trail [Music] that sunrise it was so awesome that's what i have wanted to see on the trey hall since i've been out here wow this is cool this is what we're climbing down and that's the trail look at that bone it's crazy a nice little pipe spring those are helpful what a really nice water source it's a little house the troll that's the kind of trolls i like right there making it to nanahala outdoor center today super exciting and even more exciting is jerry is coming to see me oh he brought me a die coke ah heaven jerry just said i smell that's the first time ever it's whoa all right this way to the ap it's another day on the a.t with fantastic views 20 miles to fontana dam i'm gonna cross this down it is a busy intersection looks like it goes that way and then that way starting my first hike in the dark there was just all kinds of animal noises last night coyotes owls carnation instant breakfast the breakfast of champion hikers luck have it the shuttle just arrived yay all right ben just gave us a ride here to fontana village i had made it to fontana village met more hikers and prepared to enter the smokies they have a little station here so you can get your smoky permit as i hiked across fontana dam a sense of nostalgia and happiness enveloped me one of the themes i keep feeling throughout this hike no matter how bad days get or whatever just how grateful i am to just be out here just to be able to do this i'm coming smokies i'm coming home grades is coming home i placed my permit in the box and i was officially back home in the smokies having hiked all the trails in the great smoky mountains over many years i was happy to be back in familiar territory it felt like i had walked home even though i had many more miles to hike i hiked 16 miles and made it to my first shelter in the smokies i'm going to put some of this foot care on my feet i was so grateful for a break in snow nice bees on rocky top [Music] and trail maintenance crew thank you all for all your work hard work the miles added up quickly and i saw my first wildlife on the a t how about those deer man like i just walked right up on them okay i got to see some wildlife as minutes turned into hours and hours and two days i lost track of time out on the trail because when you're out here you feel what day it is i have to keep thinking what day is it and it's sunday and today i don't even know the date yeah zero no no idea and my senses overtook me hmm so it's like christmas mmm that pine small smells so good it smells a lot better than it does in a taxi taxicab 2.2 to cleanman's dome and the 200 mile mark baby oh yeah before i knew it i had made it to clingman's dome and 200 miles high it's on top i believe it's and it's windy and cold lots of mud puddles today from all the rain but at least the water sources will be full life was good as friends surprised me with trail magic and i met more hikers at the shelter i'm at mount collins shelter i've got my water changed my clothes because i was kind of wet and it's a full shelter tonight super full shelter we were all excited for what lied ahead and little did we know what the next few days would bring this is the best night ever [Music] the next day i made it to newfound gab where my husband family and friends awaited me i was amazed so many had come out to cheer me on and i never felt so much love and support [Music] oh my god shannon told us that you love diet cokes i took a zero in gatlinburg and spent time with my family and friends look at these three awesome people i love them we love you i found a pretty good place to dry my tent and my tarp and my shoes every food hugger should find a hot tub this is awesome this would be the last normal day on trail news of a highly contagious virus spreading throughout the country had made its way to the trail and businesses began shutting down this dang virus i mean this is causing up we're here everywhere and uh so the nlc has had to close there was fear among hikers that potential trail closures were imminent i just feel like i'm still safer out here than i am in town the thought of having to leave the trail was devastating this is my dream because i mainly hiked alone being on the trail seemed like a much safer option so i continued hiking something just keeps telling me [Music] keep pricing on it's going to be okay as i hiked the fog lifted and the skies cleared [Music] that's some awesome views oh yeah i was gifted with even more trial magic this is awesome and the first signs of spring appeared as wildflowers began to bloom oh my gosh the wildflowers are starting to bloom as i hiked out of the smokies i remained optimistic about the days ahead oh [Music] the hike over snow burn mountain was foggy and tough and i was having difficulty staying positive lots and lots of these super steep climbs back to cold and rainy and even a little bit windy i am ready for this day to be over not gonna lie oh it just smells like a rough day [Music] but my good friend angela had come out to bring me donuts and diet coke and it lifted my spirits i know diet coke and donut probably not it's an ironic combination but i don't care oh my god this is so good that evening as i camped atop max patch the fog seemed to match my outlook as i was unclear on the future of my through hike oh man now this was worth staying up here for oh my gosh but the next morning the sky had cleared and i woke to one of the most beautiful sunrises on my entire hike [Music] the day passed quickly and i was gifted with even more trial magic by hiker friends even though it was raining i didn't want to leave the comfort and safety of the woods as i hiked into hot springs once in town i discovered the severity of the virus was increasing hostels were starting to close and many hikers were getting off trail on march the 23rd i spent the night at the iron horse station the atc put out a statement this is i think maybe about an hour ago basically saying for everybody to get off the a-team day hikers just people nobody to be on the 18. and made the difficult decision to leave the trail for now i'm getting off the trail hoping it was only temporary so heartbroken getting off trail and going home was a difficult transition life had changed for everyone and wearing a mask became the new norm an uncertainty loomed as the pandemic swept the world with illness deaths and shutdowns i have now been off trail for over 30 days and have basically just been at home so i have had my mental health suffer from that because of this whole situation as the weeks passed it became apparent that being outdoors was a much needed reprieve for mental health and a good way to avoid potential exposure of the virus hiking is very important to my mental health so parks and hostels started opening back up and the opportunity to get back on trail was helpful crossing my fingers and stay positive to hope that i'll be able to get back out on the appalachian trail here very soon [Music] the call to return to the trail was strong and on may the 23rd i headed to hot springs to resume my hike after 61 long days off trail i wasn't sure what to expect on my return but i quickly learned the trail community needed hikers as much as we needed the trail and they welcomed us back with open arms my first day back on the at was beautiful sunny and warm the last time i was out here it was cold and wintry and now it's really warm all of the foliage and vegetation is just so green the trail had come to life with the sounds and beauty of nature and it felt good to be back on the trail oh i love seeing the white blazes again i missed you the clouds started rolling in so instead of staying on rich mountain fire tower i decided to push on to the next campsite but no sooner had i got to camp and started eating my dinner an unexpected visitor showed up behind me no did i get my food get out of here go get holy crap it's a bear dude go [Music] you got plenty of food out here go get get i just started eating and he was like right behind me like 20 feet from me not far [Music] i survived the night with the bear on the loose i heard him trying to get the food bags down from the bare cables and luckily it is still hanging even though the night had been pretty eventful i was learning on this journey to expect the unexpected as it got warmer the wildlife came out hi buddy you girls are so pretty oh there's another one hi hi ladies the foliage got thicker and the temperature hotter which meant drinking lots of water to avoid dehydration when it's really hot like this you gotta make sure you drink a lot of water and rain was always a welcome release warm rain doesn't feel too bad cool after being off trail for two months i'd lost my trail legs and it felt like i had started my hike all over again i'm definitely feel myself out of shape like i'm i'm going pretty slow today wow oh my gosh this is gorgeous [Music] one of my most favorite and unexpected views was on top of big bald mountain i was overcome with emotion as i took in the 360 degree views i'm so glad i'm out here i'm so glad i got back out the beauty of the trail was breathtaking and i was so happy i'd heeded the call to go back to the trail [Music] the appalachian trail is a series of constant ups and downs but going over the rhone highlands made the climbing seem easier because the views were so magnificent way down there is where i was at earlier camping on top of a mountain and watching the sunset might be one of the greatest experiences ever the scenery on the appalachian trail varied wildly there was always something new to see [Music] the portion of the at that weaves in and out of north carolina and tennessee was one of my favorite sections of the trail so lovely taking a zero at a hostel was always a treat getting a warm bed hot food and a cold drink made spending long days out on the trail worth it [Music] even though there were less hikers on the trail i still met so many incredibly nice people i'm gonna be here i'm smoking bears pneumonia my name is watch i am jukebox and zazu walmart running bear and before i knew it i was spanish with north carolina oh yeah this is the way [Music] the warm weather made it easier to enjoy the little things like birds butterflies beautiful wildflowers and all the little critters along the trail another friend and i made it a point to take my time and enjoy everything look at mr lizard he's so cute hi what you doing buddy hey buddy you wanna hike with me i think we're about the same pace looks like a pancake with maple syrup on top daisy daisy give me your answer dude that's a cool rock i'm taking a break here and put my feet up on this tree today it's not going to be hiking with braids it's going to be hiking in a bun it's very humid but the warmer timbs also meant enjoying the bugs and bug bites the bugs are so bad on the back of my shoulder i think it's a bite i mean i think it might be a spider bite i mean i've got bites all over my legs the tall grass and muggy air along the trail meant being constantly attacked by mosquitoes gnats and chickers oh man it's like a jungle out here the bug spray didn't work it's exactly the same it's like freaking mosquito land my legs are so bad and usually walking through spider webs the amount of spider webs i've had to like go through do you think these spiders would learn their webs do not stay up they keep getting knocked over and then we stop putting them across the trail spiders are stupid i swear i mean that's been like the biggest obstacle out here so far is the bugs but i will say this ticks have not been a problem for me i guess there's a positive to everything sometimes the obstacles were pretty adorable bye baby dear look at this little guy he got into the water somehow but other times look at that creepy goofy cabin you know what the scariest thing out here is birds oh yeah they like to hide in the grass on the ground and then right before you walk up on them they start out in front of you i guess i'm getting tired um i just fell like i mean i practically face planted but each mile hiked was another mile closer to the finish so i pressed on and before i knew it i'd hiked 400 miles oh yeah the heat had caused my feet to swell and it was nice soaking them in all the waterfalls along the trail oh that feels so good oh man putting my feet in that cold water did the trick i enjoyed the serenity and tranquility of walking alone but it was always nice meeting other hikers along the trail ant is having oatmeal oatmeal breakfast and lunch of champions he just got a trail named toy story i had hiked 467 miles of the a.t when i reached the tennessee virginia border three states down oh yeah [Music] just three and a half miles to be in damascus trail is so different in virginia that it was in tennessee just crazy how it just immediately changed [Music] are those crazy sounding things [Music] the town of damascus is home to trial days and is typically buzzing with hikers in june but as i entered town it seemed pretty deserted and town definitely is not bustling it's kind of sad really because of coveted restrictions restaurants had limited seating and shorter hours so it was sometimes difficult finding a place to eat jerry and i may have found somewhere we can eat we'll be in my first burger in a while and then we got some wings and there's jerry's burger and there's jerry doing good through hikes sometimes requires being a little flexible up here right now at the grayson highlands headed over to massey gap so the plane had been jerry and i were going to hide from damascus of tyraci gap but because the parking lots are closed like completely we couldn't leave our car here so instead we have a shuttle bring us up here and then we're going to hike southbound to damascus in the year 2020 it was an absolute must but i was happy to be hiking with my husband and seeing the wild ponies hi you're so cute wow i can see why everybody wants to come to the grayson highlands area hi we hiked together for two days and saw ponies deer cows large lizards and my very first snake on the 18. hi everybody it's been so awesome having my husband out here with me the past two days he also met fellow hikers walmart and wizard who gave him a trail name thanks wizard yeah that's jerry's new show named bob hobb stands for hiking no i'm sorry husband of braids before taking two months off trail i'd anticipated that by mid-june i'd be much farther into my hike way to go babe awesome even though i had hiked 500 miles my anxiety had me worrying whether i could reach katana by mid-october so i wouldn't stress by the time i decided to temporarily skip the remaining part of virginia and come back at the end to have grayson highlands be my finish with the ponies so i'm skipping virginia or the majority of it and doing it in the fall in october which i think is going to be pretty awesome to see virginia in the fall i think it's going to be beautiful so i said goodbye to my husband it's always so hard but it's like it seems harder because now i'm like going further up north and further away from home and we're not going to see each other for like three months and a very nice couple following my journey offered to give me a ride from damascus to harpers ferry i've made it to harpers ferry thanks to these two amazing people mark and gail they are just truly amazing trail angels and i cannot thank them enough for all they've done for me and it just means so much that they came here all the way from indiana to come get me in damascus and bring me here and you guys are just amazing thank you so very much [Music] i plan to resume in harpers ferry but the pedestrian bridge crossing the potomac river was closed due to a trail derailment so i continued my hike on the other side of the river in maryland i was nervous about the miles ahead but maryland was a welcome relief from the southern states as the first three miles along the river were the flightest on the entire a.t this is nice hiking through maryland had some of the gentlest terrain of the entire trail like you would think someone comes out every day in manchester although i was surprised to find there are definitely some rocky sections why did it tell me the barely had to stand on rocks you either get a perfectly manicured trail or you get rocks lots of more rock scrambling but the trail was well maintained with plenty of white blazes they're so good with their blazes and creative 18 markers along the pristine footpath it's the little things even the shelters were incredibly nice it's basically a log avenue oh my gosh wow going further north i wasn't sure if i'd see anyone else on the trail but my first night at camp i met more hikers i am two wheels i'm from washington state i am dusty and i am from south carolina my name is mike i'm also from south carolina and i'm from massachusetts as i hiked i passed several historic sites including the original washington monument the original washington monument and saw several lovely vistas look at this view that's nice the days and miles passed super quickly as i walked over interstates under overpasses and across farmland [Music] and saw more wildlife before i knew it i had officially crossed the mason-dixon line with my new hiker friends the gang's all here south north we're going to the road to get picked up to go into town and get resupply soon after crossing the state line we hitched a ride with a trail angel we gotta all get in here there's four of us right here how's that you got enough room there buddy who took us to walmart for resupply and town food this is true hiker trash right here eating somewhere but we didn't stay long and we're back on trail in a few hours back on the trail and made it to our first shelter in pennsylvania non-snoring snoring so pretty when the sun beams come through the trees pennsylvania is commonly referred to by hikers as rock sylvania and although a good portion of this 230 mile section is rocky lots and lots of rocks i was pleasantly surprised to find a variety of terrain and scenery with lots of farmland and greenways it's one thing about pennsylvania it seems like you don't get bored because it's just always something new to see the lower portion of the state was relatively flat and i hiked my first 21 mile day i did basically 20.7 so it's my biggest trouble i was only a couple of days into pennsylvania when i hit the official halfway point of the a.t woohoo i have not made it halfway i have but i have it a special sign had even been made for the class of 2020 and although this wasn't my halfway point since i had skipped virginia it was nice to see nonetheless oh my god that's so beautiful even though i had height less than 600 miles i decided to try the half gallon challenge the ice cream challenge has officially begun all right we're how many minutes into this 24 24 minutes and look i'm barely yeah i'm about to be a loser of this challenge and i don't even care this is really hard yeah so the sad reality is we can't do this and chris got out since i'd only been back on trail for 27 days my hiker hunger hadn't kicked in but that would soon change pennsylvania was the first state where i could get town food while hiking along the trail oh my gosh look at this this is like the most awesome thing ever i found several restaurants and delis close to the trail and about three miles there's a general store and it's right like pretty much on the trail it's like two tenths off the trail and experienced ordering pizza at a shelter for the first time so i'm gonna go to 501 shelter it's closed but i can plant there but um you can get pizza delivered up there other than a few steep sections most of pennsylvania was relatively low elevation which meant humidity because it's flipping humid even with it being overcast it's just so hot and tons of nights the nets are already starting sweet bugs are biting they're pretty daddy right then that's the worst traversing rocks while swatting nights was pretty challenging and the rocks moving didn't help either of course those weren't the only challenges dang beavers they're not too bad i mean they're pretty muddy but i just walked through an epic spider web like literally face feels pretty muddy through here okay composure [Music] see this morning having put on those soaking wet clothes that smell like i mean i can smell myself as i wipe the sweat off my face i'm like you know what i just like wiped my nose with that earlier so when i wipe the sweat all i'm really doing is just wiping snot on my face i'm always so dirty it's gross yeah being through hackers pretty nasty even though my gear was light my frameless pack was uncomfortable so i switched to a framed pack this pack that i've now is a thousand times better even the new sleeping pad i bought in virginia wouldn't stay inflated so i had to replace it as well my pad completely deflated last night like yeah i pretty much slept on the ground you can research gear all you want and buy what you think is the best and stuff can still happen the combination of warm weather and rocks meant snakes and there were lots of snakes on the trail even rattlesnakes i know i hear you and i had to be extra careful when going over the rocky sections see that's what you're gonna watch for crap one of the biggest challenges besides the rocks was a lack of reliable natural water sources there was a 14 mile stretch past the town of walling springs where no water was available thankfully there was trail magic oh my gosh look at this we got hiker drinks i got a pineapple i got um a banana i got two pears and i got a tired old orange and amazing trail angels who supplied plenty of water jugs along the trail to make sure hikers didn't get dehydrated [Music] this is mine he's the one who gives us all the water on the trail yay but for all the challenges in pennsylvania there were some pretty great moments now this is how you hike oh my gosh borderline is the best caretaker ever [Music] [Music] and more beautiful views wow that's really pretty and although most days i hiked alone i continued to be many more hikers along the trail bear watcher jinx so this is road runner he's also through hiking yup this is lucky it's mama bear and baby bear i called her little bear i made it to one of my favorite towns on the 18 delaware water gap and enjoy delicious baked goods from the apple pie bakery i left town and crossed the highway into new jersey [Music] similar to pennsylvania the terrain and scenery in new jersey varied wildly there were beautiful ponds foggy wetlands the green pond countless rocks it's a lot of rocks there's rocks everywhere several fire towers this is catfish fire tower does that mean it's not really a fire tower and so many incredible views oh my gosh that is beautiful wow the elevation also varied as i hiked across boardwalks it's a pretty long boardwalk i think it's like a couple miles or something through corn fields over wooden planks and along narrow roads lots of road crossings today and i'm walking along a shoulder that looks pretty narrow right here freaks me out this is the worst man because there's like no shoulder but at times the trail quickly changed and i was climbing up short steep rocky sections well i guess i'm climbing somewhere up there holy crap for a relatively low mileage state i was excited to encounter so much wildlife i saw cows hi new jersey cow several deer there's three of them how are you not like scared even more black bears that's a male bear and he's big okay well i just saw the butt of a big old huge black bear man the bears are everywhere in new jersey in my very first porcupine oh my god you're so cute i didn't know porcupines could climb trees but unfortunately no [Music] where are you at beavers come out i've hiked 808 and a half miles even though i had hiked 800 miles and gained trail legs the physical aspect of hiking wasn't getting any easier whoa whoa oh my gosh that is really muddy i got slid on my butt and i got a man in my eyeball stupid man and the mental struggle was getting tougher i think just feeling like i'm not even halfway yet and it's just been so hard i know and i literally still have double of what i've already done plus a little bit more i don't want to quit but it doesn't mean it makes it any mentally easier so whenever my spears were at their lowest the trail always provided i am struggling mentally today i'm just gonna tell you i have an immensely tough day little things like this helps whether it was cold drinks hot food a ride to town or a kind word the trails seem to bring out the best in people and the kindness of strangers never cease to amaze me oh hey i've seen you on the gag my channel name is um chess's adventures and there is scout and hot older in one town hikers could camp overnight at a drive-in theater and watch a movie for free they even provided a radio for sound sometimes it was difficult choosing between hiking bigger miles or taking time to relax and enjoy the little things along the trail that is neat i finally took my shoes off i haven't taken them off today oh they needed it i'm just enjoying myself today and it's kind of nice it's nice to just really enjoy the trail a little bit and not just be like oh i could get many miles i have to you know gonna get there and in a year when everything seemed hopeless as i took my first steps into new york the trail felt like a welcome relief where all good things were possible baby yoda what are you doing over there in new jersey it's time to come to it's time to come to new york buddy yay new york continued to have a wide variety of terrain and scenery look it's almost like walking on pavement i'm so excited whether it was walking on boardwalks in the great swamp passing by nuclear lake crossing the hudson river of our bear mountain bridge or climbing up rock stairs and over large boulders lots of rocks like climbing here like um having to use your hands to push yourself up there was so much to experience in the relatively short 93 miles section that tree looks like a goblin whoa are any of you animals afraid at all ever i'm just curious look at what we got here so much climbing although there were constant steep ups and downs the views were stunning here's the view at the top of the clone and i got a hazy view of the manhattan skyline for the first time i assumed the further north i went the cooler it would be but new york in the summer was downright muggy i experienced some of the most brutal heat on the entire trail through this section with temperatures over 103 degrees it's another day of like high heat index it's this heat i mean it's bad literally the real failure straight was 103. i mean this isn't really very safe weather to be hiking in and the friction between heat and sweat led to painful heat rashes i think again like really bad heat rashes from the sweat and the heat all these places where like sweat collects or something it's just really rashy and just just burning and oh it's awful and the bugs were relentless oh my gosh i can't describe how bad they are i'm i'm literally getting attacked and i put all kinds of stuff on and i don't care basically stuck here because it is literally like mosquito heaven here oh my god it's not heaven it's mosquito hell it's horrible like they're like all over my tent like they're waiting to suck my blood freaking vampires i mean look at it it's disgusting they're just everywhere oh i just got stung a few minutes ago oh yeah good times but wearing a bug net helped keep my sanity in check [Music] i probably should have done that sooner but i'm amazed at how much this bug net is helping many of the campsites were closed due to aggressive bear activity which made it hard finding places to camp along the trail so far it has been sweltering heat like crazy climbs to aggressive bears to closed campsites and the mosquitoes and the nights and the flies are so bad this is the three record life uncomfortable all the time 24 7. for all the hardships on the trail there were equally amazing experiences hiking through new york sometimes didn't even feel like hiking if disney world had a trail this is what it would look like i walked through a zoo passed a local swimming pool camped at a beach had pizza delivered to a shelter ate ice cream from vending machines i visited so many delis all while hiking on the trail man look at my cheeseburger and my fries it's a lot of food water sources were few and far between and i'm filtering my only water source for another five miles and not as desirable it is kind of yellow it's brown the delis vending machines and trail magic made up for the lack of availability jackpot although hiking through new york was tough it was one of my favorite states on the trail park ranger brought me a cold ice bottled water and a and uh clay jammers and then these two nice uh two young girls brought me a couple apples like everybody's so nice actually was bought for me by an awesome lady named sophia she's over there [Music] um even in a crazy year i never felt more love and acceptance where there's people on trail and just tell me you know good luck people in town businesses they have all been amazingly nice in fact even i mean the police have been very nice before leaving new york i ended up with a severe case of poison ivy and took several days off trail to recover hi god poison ivy the mosquitoes have gotten kind of sick of like biting me so the poison i may decide it's just you know step up to the plate one side of my back like from like my waist down is was bad and then it's like pretty much in all these other little places too so it just oh my gosh it's awful oh my god i'm itching so bad this morning it's horrible ways that i'll be the worst thing ever i realize this was putting me even further behind schedule to reach katahdin in time look where i made it to i'm gonna be in connecticut we made it to connecticut baby oh no yay we did it [Music] hiking through connecticut was a mixture of pristine flat stretches another relaxing stroll along the river and steep rocky scrambles got a little bit of climb here here's a little bit of what the trail looks like right now with a variety of scenery and road walking even though it was a short 48 mile section i saw beautiful views [Music] an abundance of wildlife hello mr frog [Music] what you doing buddy oh hi grasshopper look like a leaf oh man i just saw a bear he went like running that way and my very first raccoon on the trail it's a raccoon i've never seen one in the wild hi oh man unfortunately nights were still an issue the bugs are horrendous in connecticut and water was difficult to come by there's not a lot of water how much of the the water source because somebody called me as it was flowing there's nothing so i'm getting low on pretty low on water don't appreciate that water until it's hard to get but there was always magic in the form of trail angels who offer delicious food and drinks [Music] oh my gosh so awesome so awesome oh my gosh this is amazing connecticut has been awesome about show magic and a ride into town for resupply this is kent they have a little welcome center there that they just built over the past couple years christine picked me up and took me to kent and she even had a ice cold water for me the campsites in connecticut were well maintained with plenty of flat tinting spots bear boxes to store food and unique privies this is your view when you're sitting on the toilet i enjoy sucking my feet in the housatonic river and relaxing on a porch swing at a campsite with a pavilion i had 14 miles remaining in connecticut when i reached falls village on august the 2nd i had hiked 977 miles but still had a long way to go i decided it was time to change my hike to a flip-flop and head to maine to finish the remainder of the trail southbound this way i could continue to take my time and enjoy this once in a lifetime adventure christine who was an incredibly nice trail angel picked me up at the toy makers cafe and drove me to the airport in the pouring rain thank you so much christine you're just such an awesome trail angel and i really appreciate you of course this would not be the end of my obstacles as my flight was delayed due to a hurricane that had hit the east coast and i had to spend a full day at the airport the flight i had i was supposed to be leaving in an hour was cancelled so now the new flight is set to go out at 7 pm and it is now 9 30 a.m so i will be here all day long i'm not complaining because i am safe but at least there wasn't anyone next to me on my flight to maine the next morning i got a ride with a hostile shuttle to millinocket maine [Music] i have made it to the appalachian trail lodge and i'll be 17 guitars tomorrow okay the next morning i headed to baxter state park to summit katahdin got my katherine permit i'm like so nervous and so excited at the same time hiking the hunt trail to mount katahdin had tons of vertical climbing and bouldering i don't know if that gives you an idea it's like just vertical it was by far the hardest and most beautiful part of the trail wow wow despite all the obstacles and detours i summoned mount katahdin on august the 6th although this mountain was not my finish it was still a major milestone as i changed the direction of my height from northbound to southbound i'd completed the hardest part of my hike and it gave me renewed confidence i could make my dream a reality despite all the difficult [Music] circumstances know i still got a lot more to do but i don't know i'm just really proud of myself the trail called to me in ways i cannot explain and on this day it called me to continue hiking if nothing else this mountain taught me i can do it i know i can do this [Music] it was strange hiking southbound but knowing i had katana behind me i took my time and enjoyed the miles ahead maine was unlike anything i'd ever seen it was the toughest most rugged wildest state on the entire a.t and its untamed beauty absolutely took my breath away it was filled with steep climbs there is no way to show the sheer straight-up-ness that this is endless tree roots about to climb up this tree root just another day at the office rocky scrambles there's where we're going narrow ledges kind of walking along the edge here let's rock unbridged water crossings and countless scenic lakes and ponds that's beautiful oh that's really pretty this here i think is lake hebron that's a big pond hiking through the 100 mile wilderness was an arduous combination of all the wondrous beauty and rugged terrain maine had to offer as well as being the most remote section of the trail but the accessible logging roads made it possible to get a food resupply drop from the hostel i'm going to be getting a food drop in the 100 mile wilderness so i don't have to carry all my food and i soon met even more hikers along the trail look i just ran into quick silver he is almost done so close it's screwball how's it going and they knew trail friends my name is what a girl i'm doing a flip-flop so i'm mayo i'm from philadelphia pennsylvania and i'm doing a true sobo my name is uh skipper and i'm from asheville north carolina i'm a flip-flopper just lots of roots lots of ups and downs and rocks most of the trail through maine was extremely demanding but sometimes it gave relief to pristine flat sections man it's just a beautiful stretch of trail through here i'm gonna enjoy every second of this short pristine flat nest of trail oh man oh it's great okay all right that was over pine forest and boardwalks i haven't had rain so long i forgot what it's like to hike in the rain other than a few days of rain we were fortunate to experience great weather so the temps in maine lately have been just amazing and had some of the most spectacular sunrises now this is how you wake up in the mornings and sunsets look at the sun set oh my gosh how about that view oh my gosh water sources were cold clear and plentiful it's super clear like getting it out of the stream and it was ice cold i'm only carrying the one water because there's been like a ton of places to order when numerous spots to soak my feet take a swim and relax on a beach am i really in the hundred mile wilderness right now because i think i'm on a beach but some of the ponds had leeches i gotta leave okay oh my god look at those leeches oh lord water crossings in maine can be treacherous but luckily the crossings were low and most could be rock hopped now the crossing and they'll give you this handy rope and a canoe shuttle took us safely across the kennebec for such a remote wilderness the campsites in privies were surprisingly pristine even though sometimes we stealth camped but it was amazing to experience cowboy camping on top of a mountain yay cowboy cubby coffee sunrise cowboy camping oh yeah tenting on a sandy beach i've wanted to stay camp on the beach forever and sleeping underneath a clear night sky filled with stars holy smokes that was tough that was tough this blaze marks eleven hundred miles on the alpine trail before i knew it i'd hiked 1100 miles and was officially halfway through my hike now just 1100 more to go i'd hope to see a moose no moose today moose carcass wow that's not the kind of moose i want to see don't want to see a dead moose but the wildlife i encountered was quite smaller hi mouse hi there mr frog hi mr chick monk hello mr frog your eyebrows are amazing they're so cool looking there's a butterfly on my shoulder why are you fussing what are we playing chicken okay i'll just follow you then they're hiking kind of slow though and still no damn beavers although i did see a fisher for the very first time hi i've never seen anything like you before [Applause] oh hiking in the harsh terrain was daunting and had its obstacles sun taps mountains it's lots of down trees on the trail today this is what you want to see at night and potential dangers so there's supposed to be like a yellowjackets nest or something right there as each day passed and the miles added up the climbs and descents became exhausting the gang's out here at the top of noise cracker another peek in the books but the magnificent views at the top were always worth the struggle beautiful that is beautiful but the strong winds made it difficult to enjoy the scenery for long the wind is really strong the difficult conditions sometimes made it impossible to stay upright and falls became quite frequent it's just freaking dangerous as much as it seems like third fall oh i could get out my life as i climbed over 4 000 foot mountains 6 30 am i already did a 4k my hiker hunger quickly kicked in we're talking about food and food this is what we do in the last few months we talk about food our packs are heavy because we have a crab ton of food because we have hiker hunger so hungry i tried cold soaking my food but quickly realized i needed hot meals to get me through the tough mountains in maine mashed potatoes gravy and some mayonnaise delicious blueberries along the trail were a delicious treat blueberries and the hostels in maine serve some of the best pancakes on the entire trail oh my god this is the most amazing breakfast ever oh my gosh coffee this is heaven we're here at the trailhead and we just got some trouble magic here even in a remote wilderness we still got amazing troll magic trail magic not only on the trail but also from wonderful trail angels i'm brenda and i live in saint albans maine and i'm juanita i'm from connecticut born in maine and i'm gayle and i'm from parkman a.t grace a.t gracie look she brought me a diet coke odie tell us a little bit about the hiker yearbook um what you're doing out here it's a book and this is about hikers and it's put out yearly live boxing just gave us a whole thing of blueberries oh my god uh you all are so awesome this lovely family came out to give trail magic to the hikers and now i'm having fun thanks to moxie who gave us rides into town when we needed it most we're back at the trailhead getting ready to head on the trail scott it was great seeing you he's getting ready to finish up he's only got 10 days holy hell look at this southern maine was the toughest section of trail with relentless climbs and descents here we go up up up beast mode activated but ladders rebar footholds and roots made the trick a little more feasible thank god for these words i swear and although going through the mahousing notch was challenging this traverse as well going through the thingy this is what we do packs on facts off it was the funnest section on the entire trail well that was one sick notch we did it yes a tenth of a mile from the border you know i haven't seen a moose in maine maine was a tough 282 miles and it felt like a huge accomplishment when we finally reached the border party over here awesome keep on choosing baby even though we still had many hard miles ahead it felt like a huge accomplishment finishing maine so we celebrated with cigars gifted by my husband and reflected on the best parts i made maine had the best swimming holes agreed best lakes and ponds lakes and ponds without leeches had they were really great beautiful sunsets beautiful sets uh really good climbs great terrain the terrain in new hampshire varied wildly and was equivalent to being on an adult playground much of the time i climbed over house sized boulders up steep vertical inclines and along the edges of cliffs i considered myself fortunate when there were steps ladders and metal bars and rock cairns instead of blazes helped mark the trail better above tree line my body was constantly tired constantly achy and sometimes i nabbed right on the trail i took like two naps yesterday i i could have slept i could just slept at some just left i'm just always tired and there were plenty of obstacles what the creepiest grossest thing is have a spider in your eyelashes [Music] that's a slick wet rock with leaves and hardly anything to grab a hold of keep getting pelted by acorns following acorns there's like tons of them falling look it's like nature's speed bumps so my hands are like freezing and my toes are freezing but the difficult terrain make getting trail magic even sweeter maya's dad has come out and taken us to the rei and now we're having mexican food which we have been craving for like well over a month thank you leo's dad thank you man's dad although there were tons of steep climbs and steep descents and my daily mileage dropped significantly some sections were extremely pleasant with flat stretches planks to walk over mud and bridges for the water crossings look at all the packs all the packs what's up everybody i continue to meet other hikers along the trail i even said to somebody after this i'm going to miss praise if i don't see her today and i see her over the breakfast table the next morning my trail name is ptl which is praise the lord i got that from some ladies on mount bushnell on a section hike we got books and we got rando baby oda has some fans this is so awesome and even saw familiar [Music] what's faces uh we haven't seen him since virginia happy to see brazil i know it's good to see you so that's awesome well good luck when you're finished nice meeting you andrew yeah yeah and although i didn't see much wildlife i at least made a few furry friends what you doing are you gonna get closer what what the incredible views throughout the whites were unsurpassed no matter how difficult the terrain or how exhausted i felt i would reach mountain summit and be awed by my surroundings i was amazed not only by the views but how my body accomplished such difficult feats and i've done it with a full pack all by myself as i climbed to the top of mount washington [Music] i was so happy for a clear day besides sleeping in the shelters camping in new hampshire sometimes meant tenting on platforms part of it's tied part of it's on the ground part of it's got rocks finding a spot to stealth camp so i've got a stealth site it's like right over there but there's a graveyard right here it's kind of creepy we're staying in a hut in the whites but due to covet the huts were only open for food and water which made hiking across the presidentials even more difficult by the time we reached lake of the clouds hut my knees were giving me problems my knees are killing me they're like it's pain they're just hurting so bad but the kind caretaker let us stay in the emergency shelter also known by hikers as the dungeon this is the dungeon this is truly a dungeon although the huds offered potable water and there were plenty of ponds and rivers sometimes i had to carry extra water to make it over multiple 4 000 foot mountains so i'm carrying four liters of water right now and i gotta go 1.4 miles straight up a mountain most of the time i enjoy the climbs but the steve descents were killing my knees my knees are killing me and i resorted to wearing a knee brace while i hiked i'm just going to rest my knees for today and tomorrow i think i ended up taking a few extra zeros to let my knees rest i got picked up by marlene she's a shuttle driver here and locally in new hampshire with allie's rides she's so awesome and she's just been so helpful and i had to say goodbye to my hiker friends of course my water girl went ahead went on yesterday so i'm on my own again as the miles passed and the leaves changed i was happy to experience the beautiful fall colors in new hampshire wow so pretty look at all those colors oh my gosh in a year when the world seemed chaotic life out on the trail felt normal seriously though as i reached the border with vermont a weight lifted knowing i now finished the two hardest states on the trail officially out of new hampshire [Music] the first few days hiking in vermont was a welcome relief from the steve rockiest scents and descents in new hampshire in maine the terrain was flatter gentler and i even had some road walking country road take me home to a place i belong it was nice to be able to relax and not have to focus on my steps as much even my knees were feeling better and i was happy to be doing a flip-flop so i could see all the fall colors on the trees wow vermont is known as the green mountains and much of the trail was through dense forest but hiking through the beautiful autumn foliage was breathtaking and the views from mountain tops and fire towers were spectacular with gorgeous reddish orange sunsets i found plenty of water along the trail as i passed several ponds more bogs another bog no beavers no moose and flowing creeks and there were several well-built footbridges got this nice bridge for us and started planks for crossing and i only needed to forward in a few spots it looks fun as i hiked further south the ats shared the footpath with a lawn trail for a hundred miles and the terrain became much more difficult with rocky sections steep climbs and ladders when in doubt the at always goes up ain't that the truth although the shelters were quite nice with picnic tables and benches most of the time i slept in my tent due to mice but i couldn't resist spending the night in the warming ski hut on top of bromley mountain even if it meant sleeping with mice the good news is that i stayed warm all night the bad news is that there was my so really bad like a ton of mice and they were oh my god you could just hear that [Music] i now made it 1500 miles and the days were passing quickly but i was worried whether i could finish this hike before the holidays this is freaking hard i know i've said it a thousand times but i'll say it again because that's what i think about all the time but if i can finish this thing i'm feeling gonna feel really accomplished since the sun was setting so much earlier in the evening i picked up my daily mileage by hiking into the night night hiking not a fan another day of hiking in the dark and slight packing for a few days thanks to the incredible kindness of trail angels this is all thanks to mark hi everybody he has been so kind to come out here and help me out with this it was awesome hopefully being able to uh do some of this slack packing i can get to jerry quicker so thank you so much mark i really appreciate it your wife is awesome although i didn't see any wildlife i met a friendly little baby goat named peanut what are you doing cooking my shorts she's so cute she's such a sweet little goat well charlie just dropped me off him and his daughter they're just super nice people so if you're going through hike around vermont look up charlie and i got a little too close to a couple of yellow jackets i wasn't wearing a kitchen and my drink was sitting here i went to drink it there's two yellow jackets in here and they but i did find some historic relics as well as some unique rock caring gardens along the trail well here's all the tribe of rock people and i think that must be the head honcho he's bigger he's kind of standing there in the front they're all listening to him talk about something sure related to rocks and how not to fall and as my mileage increased i couldn't eat enough food to sustain energy so i took in liquid calories to help make up the deficit but in case you're wondering it's delicious i was glad to have missed the mud season in vermont i tried really hard not to get my feet muddy here in vermont but good one but a few rainy days yesterday was a rain fest all day long made the trail heavily waterlogged the drill is a river yeah this is the trail this has been this way for a few days now and my feet were constantly wet but luckily the rocky sections made for easier footing today has just been a series of leap frogs trying to on rocks and roots and everything to try to avoid getting my feet or keeping my feet soaked constantly just one of the trials basically just river it's been like that almost away and after 150 miles hiked i said so long to vermont it's the end of vermont [Music] now we're in massachusetts oh yeah immediately upon entering massachusetts i was faced with another massive obstacle due to kobud there was no overnight camping allowed on the 91 mile stretch so i think what i'm going to do at this point is actually do a few days of slack packing i was incredibly fortunate to have so many amazing shuttle drivers and vic is the guy who picked me up dropped me off he's a show driver in the area super nice guy so pete there's a shuttle driver in the massachusetts and connecticut area he dropped me off to today along with the stone sisters there are southbound through hikers and trail angels who are willing to slap by me through the state i was dropped off this morning by a very nice gentleman named jim a super awesome lady named deb was so kind she's gonna help me slight pack for the next two days most of the hiking in massachusetts was on smooth terrain where i hiked on boardwalks across bridges and interstates over railroad tracks past beautiful ponds through farmlands and along roads and sidewalks through towns on the a.t they're all halloweened up but there were some steep climbs okay that was actually really scary [Music] and to sense this is really steep and really slick as well as some rocky sections ah crap i took a wrong turn and ended up in pennsylvania and walking along cliffs lots of on the edge walking fall is my absolutely favorite season and hiking in massachusetts was magical it's raining leaves the views on mountaintops gave way to some brilliant colors on the trees oh my gosh look at massachusetts the colors are amazing holy crap this section also had plenty of history as i passed over mount greylock the shae's rebellion monument and an old home site and although it was late october i still spotted some wildlife my goodness don't you know what time here it is there's a bear over there oh man well hi there sheep after hiking over 1600 miles i found myself incessantly daydreaming about resting i love resting it's so that's all i think about and because i was physically and mentally exhausted i'm struggling mentally this morning and physically it was sometimes hard to stay positive the reality is no one's going to be out here right now with it being really cold and rainy and your socks are soaked and be like oh my god this is the most amazing thing i've ever done in my life this moment is not later when it's all said and done it'll really be awesome but finding places to take a break along the trail was nice this fantastic view and before i knew it i'd left massachusetts and was back in connecticut although once again i missed the border sign i passed it i completely missed it well i'm out of massachusetts and i'm in connecticut [Music] welcome to connecticut after passing the border i had some steep rock climbs over bear mountain and made it to the highest point in connecticut highest ground in connecticut i hiked several more hard miles in the rain and finished my hike in the dark well i've been hiking like two and a half miles in the dark and it's been awful um i've slipped and slid so many times the next day i was happy to have good weather and be hiking on gentle terrain through multiple fields and along roads i caught the last colors of fall pass by great falls and the amesville iron bridge when i reached the exact spot at falls village where i left the trail in august to do a flip-flop so here i am back in this parking lot [Music] i have done all the doors yes i was once again extremely fortunate to have a very nice couple following my journey give me a ride from connecticut back down to maryland to finish out the remainder of my hike the wonderful denise and jake and lily they just dropped me off so i'm starting tomorrow headed to jerry but i just want to say thank you so so so much again for this i know this was a trek for you all and oh we hate last means the world thank you so much i just left the hillside hotel which is where i stayed before and this is what i had to do prior you know how to walk down to the at and then of course i was going north now i'm going to be heading south i'm going to go back to the same spot that started so i don't miss one step of the a.t on october the 28th i picked up the trail in the exact spot i had reached when i skipped virginia here i am in the exact spot and continued hiking south towards harper's ferry coming to the railroad bridge so glad it's back open so i don't have to miss any parts of the a.t the footbridge had reopened and i was glad my steps could connect to every inch of the trail as i entered the town of harpers ferry my husband jerry was waiting for me so happy along with another sweet young lady by the name of pigtails and her mom who was following my journey pigtails i think this is my youngest fan it's so awesome to meet you at only five years old pigtails was already a strong hiker with a love and passion for the a t do you think one day you're gonna want to do the ap like the whole trail oh you totally that's awesome and i was honored to think i was an inspiration to someone so young it was so great getting hiked with you today i enjoyed it did you have fun good the town of harpers ferry is a small quaint town with cobblestone streets historic churches monuments and many historic buildings this is a very cool little town it is also the location of the atc headquarters where hikers get their picture taken and date they arrived recorded in a log book but due to coba the office was closed it was both sad and surreal to think the class of 2020 would be the only year when no record was kept of those who had hiked the trail on halloween we hiked the short distance through west virginia and of course dressed up for the occasion happy halloween the hike was incredibly short and we reached the virginia border pretty quickly yay baby yoda yeah we made it to virginia we made it country road take me home to a place i belong to west virginia mount mama take me home i was excited to think i now had only one state left to complete my through hike this is the way we continued hiking into virginia and reached the road to get a shuttle pickup and faced yet another obstacle we're not having very good luck because there was like four shuttles on go hooks and none of them are available none but i've never in 1700 miles have had any issue getting a shuttle until virginia luckily we found a shuttle but had to wait several hours in the cold for a pickup because we mistakenly didn't schedule ahead oh well it's halloween so it's like the nightmare on whatever street we're on highway 9. [Music] even though i only had one state left i still had 500 miles to hike as virginia was the longest state on the entire trail the landscape varied greatly as i hiked through several fields and flat stretches on boardwalks and planks across balds along roads through rocky sections and along ledges over bridges including the longest bridge on the at and sections with lots of downed trees get to introduce jerry to something fun on the at today it's a roller coaster tony there was fun stuff to do one part of the trail known as the roller coaster is full of constant ups and downs [Music] but the rocks seem to be the biggest obstacle on this 14 mile stretch it's not even the ups and downs of the roller coaster it's the rocks they're just so bad and i was glad my husband jerry hyped this portion with me we finished the roller coaster ride it sucked in northern virginia i hiked 100 miles through the shenandoah national park and it was a welcome relief from the rocky steeper section of the roller coaster this portion of trail consisted of gentle climbs with relatively smooth terrain making it easier to do bigger mild days i guess i did about 20 miles today there are places to stop and eat along the trail known as waysides and i was fortunate if you were still open to enjoy a hot meal um they're actually closer than a couple days so i just made it i can't believe it after months on the trail i felt like i was one with nature as i encountered so many friendly deer hi there the dear princess i could be a new disney character including an inquisitive book i thought for a second you were donkey i did i thought you were donkey okay go on you feel like you've become so in tuned with nature the animals just come to you hi never seen a branch walk before oh my gosh i just really looks like a tree after leaving the shenandoahs the a.t followed along the blue ridge parkway for approximately 80 miles the trail crossed the road several times and i saw numerous beautiful overlooks pretty i even met a nice couple who brought me trail magic becky and danny do you all have trouble names we have okay where's your house was will and i was way oh well there's a wheel there's a way and then they brought me all these goodies look at this i got some oranges and apples and there's some brownies in there it's always very nice to meet you and thank you so much for this november was hunting season in virginia so i wore orange to make sure i was seen by hunters i don't know if you can hear the dogs but there's hunters out there's a lot i saw like three tracks right by i even passed a few hunting dogs along the trail no you're sweet but you're busy you're working through virginia the climbs and descents were much longer but the terrain was considerably gentler with plenty of switchbacks along the trail that's some part i've noticed about virginia so far is a lot of switchbacks which is pretty cool because it looked pretty like it'd be pretty steep but it's not been too bad water sources were flowing along the trail look at this amazing spring and i afforded more crossings in this state than any other another crossing i discovered many historic landmarks along the trail including the audie murphy monument an old school house at sellers museum the w.j mayo home place some old grave sites and the keffer oak a 300 year old tree as i hiked i also passed several unique rock formations with names like the guillotine and dragon's tooth and even crossed over the eastern continental divide most of the leaves had fallen from the trees and the views throughout virginia were magnificent oh man wow wow nice although the shelters in virginia were well maintained and some even had makeshift showers most of the time i chose to stealth camp but even sleeping in my tent sometimes my still were an issue the mice came to my tent so here comes this little white mouse crawled right up the freaking net i punched him and he went flying but i did visit the famed pre-shelter where it's tradition among hikers to confess your trail sins in the log book i am going to confess my sins i hardly saw any other hikers on the trail after leaving the shenandoahs and i spent most days hiking completely alone just me and my shadow i haven't seen anyone not a day hiker not a section hiker not over a hiker but as i hit 1800 miles look it's shaped just like tennessee leave no trace remember [Music] my husband jerry made a quick trip to come see me he drove six hours to come see me for one day and he's gonna drive back six hours after that because he's the best husband in the whole wide world you're a little rock deer he got the car he's like oh my god i don't smell i don't smell myself i smell fine i wish youtube had a smell-o-vision nobody would watch this and my sweet hiker friend mama bear even came out to bring me trail magic thank you mama bear and fresh apples from that board oh my gosh i was gonna pick i know you're doing a good job and hike with me so she came out and she's hiked the last couple moms with me because i wanted to make it home before christmas i hiked most days well into the night it is virtually impossible to see anything when you're hiking in the dark in dense fog you scare me it's a buck all right dude oh ah i thought the bike was gonna run on me but i saw some of the prettiest sunrises [Music] now that is cool looking and sunsets on my hike oh this is beautiful wow look at this sunset that's amazing there's a beautiful view wow i will say virginia has some amazing sunsets it's crazy and even experienced an epic sunset with jerry at raven rocks and on the famous mcafee knob this is the famous lac view [Music] absolutely stunning throughout virginia my feet constantly ached with frequent sharp paints between my heels and then the arches in my feet oh my god i mean like they're in so much pain i may have to take a rest here i don't know i suppose i'm gonna try to do some treatment on my feet and see if that helps and nothing seemed to help i rode ointment on it rolled out my feet and my calves and everything i i iced my heel for hours yesterday um just you know did all kinds of stuff did some exercises stretching things like that so i decided to spend a few days off trail and go home to rest and celebrate thanksgiving with my family before finishing my last 300 miles of the a.t [Music] upon returning to the trail on december the first the weather had turned cold it's cold outside yeah it's cold ice ice baby it's been quite a while since i saw icicles and strong winds only made it colder um it is so windy it's really really really cold it's like um i think it's in the teens but i got to enjoy a few warm days by the last day you will see me wearing short sleeves for the remainder of my hike and before i knew it i'd reach 2 000 miles 2 000 miles even though i had less than 200 miles left my knees were once again hurting and my frustrations got the best of me it's so frustrating that i keep having these things happening i just want to finish although many things tried to deter my hike no matter what obstacles i faced i was determined to keep going despite my circumstances the weather was another constant challenge throughout my hike and while staying at angels rest hostel a large snowstorm hit which meant finishing the remaining days hiking in snow today has been like an endless walk in white [Music] lots and lots of this so far the snow glows wide on the mountain tonight not a footprint to be seen a kingdom of isolation and it looks like i'm the queen let the storm rage on the cold never bothered me anyway with the snow you see all the animals that are out but once again the trail provided with wonderful shuttle drivers this is charlie he has been showing me the past few days there's a shuttle driver in the area his name is homer and i spoke to him last night so i could get a ride today he's picking me up he's the nicest man broccoli rob just dropped me off from angel's rest an amazing trail angels who helped me reach the finish before christmas [Music] mama bear was so nice she offered to take me with her home with her and bring it back to the child in the morning the lovely wonderful pringles just dropped me off she's so awesome thank you so much to carrie for thank you everything she's been so awesome these past four days and helping me out early it's like four and think your brain just pushed it to the finish you did you got me here i'm finishing before christmas yay on december the 23rd i reached grayson highland state park where my husband jerry close friends angela carrie and christy an adorable wild pony celebrated my finish with me look this is my last place right here that very last one [Music] i did it and despite hiking during a global pandemic and numerous difficult obstacles i accomplished my dream just two days before christmas baby yoda we did it you had 2 193 miles [Music] although my hike wasn't northbound and katana wasn't my finish my journey was uniquely special and something i will never forget walking alone in the woods for months on end and facing countless obstacles allowed me the opportunity to know myself better and be the person i was deep inside courageous strong and resilient it doesn't matter whether you take four months six months eight months or a year whether you hike north south or a flip-flop each step is yours to hike however you choose a thru-hike is much more than just walking in the woods for months on end it's a journey as individual as the person who takes it and the only wrong way to hike this trail is to not hike it at all obstacles aren't a deterrent to accomplishing your dreams but an integral part of the journey to reach them [Music] 2020 was a year of sacrifice change and heartbreak it forever changed the way we communicate interact and see the world in our surroundings and in the chaos and conflict the wilderness became a necessity more than ever the class of 2020 not only took on the physical and mental challenge of hiking over 2000 miles but did so in a year that had even more obstacles than usual even though we were called outlaws and rule breakers we didn't hike the trail for recognition or to be rebellious we hiked the trail because the call was just too strong and we are forever grateful for those in the appalachian trail community who helped make our journeys possible despite the circumstances as bit makai had once envisioned even in devastation and disease may the outdoors always be wild and the freedom to hike always remain may the trail be preserved as a safe space to escape the burdens of society and as a restorative place for not only our physical well-being but our mental health as well let us always be able to answer the call [Music] you

Channel: Hiking with Braids

Views: 165,107

Keywords: backpacking, hiking, appalachian trail, thru hike, thru hiking, documentary, appalachian trail documentary, appalachian trail thru hike, appalachian trail 2020, thru hiking documentary

Id: 0IAzGhfG90s

Length: 108min 34sec (6514 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 15 2021