Starting in almost exactly a month! To say we’re excited is an understatement! Our spare bedroom has become the staging area and is covered in gear. Across the bed, in rows and small piles are dozens of portioned out bags of grains and pastas, foods and condiment packets, and large bags of our favorite blends of trail mix. The wall in our living room has a six foot tall map of the entire trail. It’s a bit of a focal point, but the smattering of many colored sticky notes pointing out resupply points, potential campgrounds, and water sources really catch the eye!

I bet I sound like an organized person? HA! Hardly, but my fiance sure is! To be fair I am super stoked about this trip and have actually become a better planner because of all this. Shout-out to my incredible lady though! Wrapping up med-school while helping to plan our first real thru hike, incredible!

This is an opportunity of a lifetime. I work full time but will be leaving my job for this thru hike. I know I’m not the only one. I have a great job working for a cool brewery, but sometimes you just have to make lifestyle choices over career choices. I’ll be putting in my notice soon.

My hiking partner/fiance “Scoot” has been a student nearly her entire life. She will start her medical residency working in internal medicine and pediatrics this summer. But first, we hike!

More updates to come!