Day 145: A Lifetime of Adventure

September 20 – Today I entered Baxter State Park, my second to last day on the Trail. I want to take the opportunity to look back at the adventures I’ve had, the places I’ve experienced, and the friends I’ve shared many of these experiences with. (I hope I get them all right!)

It all started when I was 13 years old. I was able to go to Isle Royale National Park, an island archipelago near Canada in Lake Superior. The trip was with my Boy Scout troop, and Greg Snow and I were the youngest of the crew. I still say that my hardest day of backpacking ever was that first day on Isle Royale. After the 3.5 hour ferry across the great lake, we hiked from Rock Harbor to Three Mile Campsite…3.0 miles away, and it was basically flat. 

I had a bulky frame backpack and a summer camp sleeping bag that was huge rolled up. It bounced with every step I took, adding to the perceived weight. I’m sure I was carrying far less communal gear and food but it was still exhausting. I was probably never going to do something like this again once it was over. 

Now that we know that it ended up working out a little differently, let’s explore my adventures. 

• 1996: Isle Royale National Park, Rock Harbor, MI – with Boy Scout Troop 298
• 2002: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Ely, MN – with Order of the Arrow Wilderness Voyage; Philmont Scout Ranch, Cimarron, NM – with Order of the Arrow Trail Crew
• 2003: Canyonlands National Park, Maze District, UT – with Ann Orlowski
• 2004: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Ely, MN – with Okpik Winter Camping Program Training (never got above 0 deg. F in 3 days) 
• 2005: Canyonlands National Park, Maze District, UT – with Eric Weier, Jen Kingsley (McNelly), and Ryan Wood 

• 2006: The Lost Coast, near Eureka, CA – solo; Joshua Tree National Park, Twentynine Palms, CA – solo

• 2007: Skyline to Sea Trail, Big Basin State Park, CA – with Greg Luecht; Yosemite National Park, CA – led YMCA of SF teen backpacking trip
• 2009: The Lost Coast, near Eureka, CA – with Marisa Lindsay and Porter; Emigrant Wilderness, near Sonora, CA – with Porter 
• 2013: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Ely, MN – with Marisa Lindsay and Porter

• 2014: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Ely, MN – with Marisa Lindsay, Porter, Christi Leong, Greg Hammond, and Scout
• 2015: Isle Royale National Park, Rock Harbor, MI – with Marisa Lindsay 
• 2016: Glacier National Park, MT – with Marisa Lindsay 
• 2017: Appalachian Trail, Georgia to Maine

This life of adventure all started because Paul Martin and Dr. Bergin gave a scrawny teenage boy a chance and the support he desperately needed on that initial challenge. That experience was so powerful that I specifically wanted to go back about 20 years later…and it was still hard! I’m fairly certain that I might not have found this passion, nor be writing this blog, about to finish the Appalachian Trail, if it weren’t for these two volunteer leaders. Thank you, gentlemen! Thank you! 

I’ve put a lot of miles in, but if you add up all the trips prior to this one, the AT’s got them beat by a mile – ha, a lot of miles actually. And now I have just 5.2 more to go (plus getting down the mountain) on this incredible journey. 

Thank you for coming along. Thank you to my parents, Sue and Jim, for their support and the mail drops of resupply food (including cookies). Thank you to Marisa for joining me for a big week on the Trail. Thank you to Speedy for keeping the brewery progress rolling while I took the summer off on the East Coast. Thank you all for your Facebook likes, blog comments, and all other support; I felt the love every step of the way. We did this together…one foot in front of the other! 

[2017 AT Hiker #2,381, Northbound Completion #921, Summiting on 9/21]