Thru-Hiker Mindset: The Mental Game
You can be in the best shape of your life, but if your mind isn’t ready, the trail will break you. I learned this the hard way. Three weeks of…
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February 19, 2025
One Man’s Search for Solitude on the Appalachian Trail
“I came out here to be by myself,” said Plane between bites of unclean grapes, “like that guy in the movie Into the Wild!” No wonder 60% of thru-hikers in my…
December 31, 2023
How A Combat Veteran Overcame Adversity On The Trail
There was more to Little John than I could initially see. At forty-seven, the combat veteran sat with me on a zero day (zero miles of hiking, also considered a…
February 5, 2023
Fear of Failure While Long-Distance Hiking
In a 2017 study looking at fear of failure in over 400 Portuguese athletes, men and women expressed fear in different ways. Fear of shame, embarrassment, and lower self-worth was…
August 28, 2022
Steady Motivation on the Appalachian Trail
When asked what motivations were still the same at the end, Appalachian Trail thru-hikers had one or two motives that remained from the beginning. Besides the overarching goal of finishing…
May 26, 2022
Why Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers Chose Such A Large Goal
The Appalachian Trail is a goal, albeit a large one, for most novice and experienced thru-hikers. This begs the question, why do we create goals? Goals aid in driving humans…
March 5, 2022
Finding Purpose Post-Hike
After the completion of a journey of any kind, from a five month hike to completing a career (professional or sport), we might find ourselves in a crisis of consciousness.…
November 13, 2020
Am I Limited or Limitless?
The limitations we have in life – whether real or perceived – are frequently created by ourselves. More often than not, if we think we can accomplish something and have…
August 16, 2020
Walking Border to Border to Release Myself From Comparison
Much of my life I have compared myself to others, but why? And at what cost? Even when I was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail last summer, I found myself…
July 3, 2020