WHO I AM
I’m Apple! That’s my trail name anyway. I grew up being sedentary in Colorado, but eventually grew into a hiker, backpacker, and mountain-lover. While in college in Boston, I hiked New Hampshire’s 48 4000-footers. In 2019 I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, and I am planning a SOBO thru-hike of the Colorado Trail for July 2020.
WHY I HIKE
Those of you whose image of me is from before I started college: this is not a joke–I exercise now. The rest of you, who know me from the start of college onward, know that being outside, and hiking in particular, is central to who I am.
When I left Boulder, I realized how lucky I was to be able to walk out my front door and onto a hiking trail, and how important being outside was to me mentally and physically (like Joni Mitchell says, “you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s one”). In the middle of the city of Boston with no mountains in sight, I discovered that I needed them. So I found my way to the closest ones: the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I joined the Harvard Outing Club, first as a participant and then as a leader, and began spending weekends driving 3 hours up highway 93 and summiting peaks. At first, I’ll admit that I toted a pretty major Colorado complex: the Whites were cool and all, but nowhere near as challenging or badass as the 14ers back home (this was before I realized that hikers on the East Coast don’t do switch back, which earn them some intensity points). But somewhere along the way, probably around the time I toughed it out through my first winter backpacking trip on Kinsman Mountain and came out the other side feeling like a conquerer, I began to see the White Mountains as my own. After giving the Whites my college weekends, living and working there the summer after I graduated college, and summiting all of the state’s 4,000-footers, I now believe that New Hampshire is where I came into my own as a hiker and a backpacker, where I discovered that climbing mountains is the activity in the world that makes me most happy. The state and its mountains are very special to me.
This self-discovery happened to come to fruition my senior year of college, the time when I was supposed to decide what career I wanted to pursue. At that time, I was not very certain and not very happy. I was burnt out of school, and no career I could possibly think of seemed to be able to spark any passion. It was a tough time for me, and if you want to talk to me more about it specifically, reach out to me. But luckily, there was one thing that never failed to excite me: hiking.
So thus emerged the Appalachian Trail as a perfect option: the chance to step away from the overwhelm of my front country life–the work, the expectations, the social obligations–and into the backcountry that I loved so much. The trail gave me a chance to heal and the time and space to figure out what I want to do next that will make me happy. And perfectly, it was a long walk culminating (almost) with the White Mountains; a long walk home.
The Appalachian Trail ignited my fire for thru hiking. Standing on top of Katahdin on July 15, 2019, knowing that it had been months of trial and thousands of miles in the making, I felt more accomplished than ever before. I knew I had to keep chasing that feeling. So I hope to hike many more long trails, and claim the clarity, joy, and achievement they offer.