In early May 2025, I set out on a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail as the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s first artist-in-residence. I’m blogging periodically about my progress, so stay tuned for future updates. Thanks for following along!
Appalachian Trail, Days 11-15
After the last few days of terrible weather, things cleared up a bit and it was a much more pleasant camping experience. I set foot in Smokey Mountain National Park for the first time, I hiked my first 20+ mile days, and I slept in an AT shelter for the first time (rather than camping nearby)! I also saw my first bear of the trail and had some other wildlife encounters. Things are starting to feel routine out here as I pass the 2-week milestone since I started the AT.
Appalachian Trail, Days 6-10
This week, I reached a few of my first AT trail milestones: I passed my first state line from Georgia to North Carolina, I finished 1 full week on trail, and I passed the 100 mile mark (both on the AT and in total miles hiked). It started with some truly foul weather that drifted north after a few days and left some of the nicest days since I started at Amicalola. Using the bad weather as an excuse, I’ve been feeling guilty about spending so many nights in hostels. But I guess I’m still easing into things, and I’m planning to work my way up to spending more nights on trail.
Appalachian Trail, Days 1-5
I made it through the first few days! Now I’m holed up in a hostel outside Hiawassee, GA trying to decide what to do about the heavy rain and thunderstorms forecasted for the next few days.
Day 1: We woke up in our Sandy Springs hotel and spent the morning repacking and organizing our groceries from last night. At 9:30, the shuttle driver arrived to take us up to Amicalola Falls. I decided to do the approach trail, because what do an extra 9 miles mean in comparison to the rest of a thru-hike? We only spent a minutes at the visitor center and then headed outside to take some pictures beside the stone arch. With little fanfare on a beautiful sunny day, I started hiking the Appalachian Trail at 11:15 am on May 6, 2025. It’s true what they say about the Amicalola steps, they’re a rude awakening with a full pack. But after that, we transitioned onto regular trail for the ascent up Springer Mountain. We got to the official terminus in the mid afternoon and spent a few minutes taking pictures and signing the logbook.
Appalachian Trail, 1 Week Out
My AT thru-hike as the inaugural Appalachian Trail Conservancy Artist-In-Residence starts in approximately one week. Almost a year after I planted the seed for this wild idea, somehow, things came together to make it a reality. It feels like it took so long for all the details to be finalized with work, and to finally have a concept of my timeline. I only got word that my sabbatical was approved in mid-March. But luckily, this is the best-case scenario and will allow me to hike at a comfortable pace and not have to rush back to Philadelphia in time for the start of the semester. So I’m feeling very fortunate.
Trans Catalina Trail, Little Harbor CG to Two Harbors
When we got out of our tents in the morning, there were palm fronds scattered all around from the wind the night before. We had a leisurely breakfast and then started hiking. It was a climb straight out of camp, and there were beautiful views looking back over the campground. This was one of my favorite parts of the TCT, the trail passed right up the spine of the hillside with a nearly uninterrupted slope on one side, leading all the way down to the ocean. At the top, there was another sheltered picnic table that we stopped at for a few minutes. From here, you could see the whole northern part of the island. After this, it was a descent into the town of Two Harbors.
Trans Catalina Trail, Black Jack CG to Little Harbor CG
By 7:45, we were packed up and hiking. A few hours later, we passed by Airport in the Sky, where we spent a leisurely amount of time sitting at the cafe, eating breakfast burritos and drinking coffee. Today was a shorter day, with more absurd views for most of the day. We could see the Little Harbor Campground for a while as we approached in the early afternoon. A cove with a beach, palm trees, and campsites dotting the surrounding hills. After an 8-mile day, we rolled in around 1:30. In the November low season, we were able to reserve a premium campsite right off the beach.
Trans Catalina Trail, Avalon to Black Jack CG
In November 2021, my best friends Leslie, Emily, and I decided to thru-hike the Trans Catalina Trail (TCT) during our fall break. Catalina is a small island off the coast of Los Angeles, and the TCT snakes through the island from top to bottom. After all the hiking I had done over the summer, I was so excited to finally do my first baby thru-hike. This was also the first time backpacking for Emily and me, and it turns out this trail was a great choice. TCT hikers must stay at established campgrounds along the route, and each one had bathrooms and potable water, so we were able to ease into the experience. I had spent the weeks leading up to our departure buying my first pieces of backpacking gear, and we painstakingly planned all the logistics. The day before we started, the three of us met in LA and got a hotel in Long Beach for the night.
- Alta Via 1
- Angels Landing
- Appalachian Trail
- Appalachian Trail Conservancy
- ATC Artist Residency
- Avalon
- Backpacking
- Black Jack Campground
- Bryce Canyon National Park
- California
- Cinque Torri
- Coldai
- Damascus
- Day Hiking
- Dolomites
- Erwin
- Escalante
- Fontana Dam
- Forcella di Lago
- Gatlinburg
- Gear
- Georgia
- Giant Forest Loop
- Hiawassee
- Hot Springs
- Italy
- John Muir Trail
- Lagazuoi
- Lago di Brais
- Little Harbor Campground
- Mammoth Lakes
- Mist Trail
- North Carolina
- Parsons Landing Campground
- Peek-a-Boo
- Philadelphia
- Sequoia National Park
- Smokey Mountain National Park
- Tennessee
- Three Rivers
- Thru-Hiking
- Tokopah Falls
- Trans Catalina Trail
- Tuolumne Meadows
- Two Harbors
- Utah
- Virginia
- West Rim Trail
- Willis Creek Narrows
- Yosemite National Park
- Zion National Park