Saturday, May 12, 2012

estou caminhando nas montanhas Apalaches

Last summer I was dying of heat and humidity in Northeastern Connecticut working as a cook at Yale-Myers Forest for Yale University.
 I cooked scrumptious meals for 10-20 people everyday. It was fun, but towards the end of my summer I promised myself I would do something special the coming year to make up for the monotony of that summer. Enter the Appalachian Mountains.

I've wanted to hike the Appalachians ever since hiking the last 100 miles of this 2100 mile trail almost 5 years ago. They run from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. I wanted to hike the whole trail, but taking 6 months off from midwifery school/midwifery assisting is not really an option right now, but 4 weeks? Totally doable. From May 15th to June 15th I will be hiking the first section of the AT--starting in Georgia and ending in Damascus, VA. I will be carrying all I need on my back. I carry my food with me, picking up re-supply packages along the way.
I am going alone. Do not fret. I have my mace and my knife, and I will be hiking on the most popular trail in the world, hiked by thousands every year.
My hope is that it will be some sort of journey of self-discovery. It will surely be a challenge. I have never done anything like this in my life. But I'm pretty hardcore--they don't call me Wilderness for nothing...
In an effort to disconnect from the outside world, I'm getting rid of ye ole FB. I'm taking my phone with me for emergency purposes, but I'll be deleting my social media apps. I don't want to even think about the internets. I will be sending out emails every week when I go through towns to let my parents and those who want to know that I'm okay. (If you want to receive those emails too, let me know.)