Ben decided to hike the Appalachian Trail while I was in my junior year of college and I never
thought for a moment of trying something so huge. My life was all tied up in schedules and plans. But then, I went with him for a week for a trial run in North Carolina and I was swept away by Winding Stair Gap and Standing Indian Mountain and the immensity of the entire idea. Suddenly, I had to do it. So I rearranged everything in my life so I could take a semester off. It was the best thing I ever did. We had rough times surviving 
floods, droughts, forest fires, carnivorous insects, endless hunger, sickness, exhaustion, and even a broken foot. But we also had amazing times, outstanding views, incredible people. I can't speak for Ben, but I have to say it was a turning point in my life. Everything that has happened in my life since then has occurred because of the changes in me that came from that journey. Just the idea of it - to WALK 2,147 miles over what seemed like every peak in 14 states. To WALK from Georgia to Maine. To live outside carrying everything with you for nearly six months. For your entire life to be simplified to 2 questions: what am I going to eat today and where am I going to sleep?Nothing was the same after that. When we reached Mt Katahdin in Maine(the northernmost terminus) we thought we would be finished with a great accomplishment and then go back to our lives. But for me, at least, there
was no going back. I could pretend for a while, but the changes inside of me were always there ever after. And 
for this I owe a great debt to my friend Ben, because if it weren't for him deciding to do this hike - I would never have thought myself capable of such a thing. It would have never occurred to me to try anything like that. But now, there is very little that I would consider daunting or out of my league. And I am so incredibly grateful for that.When we got back from the trail I went back to school for the spring semester- the first semester of my senior year - I would only be graduating one semester behind....
But then - my college roommate, Paula, said: Why don't you come to Alaska with me this summer?????
Woo hoo.... another cliffhanger!!!
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