“Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of others…for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy.” ~Albert Einstein
“When a great adventure is offered, you don’t refuse it. ” ~ Amelia Earhart
We’ve talked about going on an adventure together for a long time, and we feel the time to go is now.
Why hike for 6 months, why now, why the AT . . . A number of inquisitive minds have asked these questions, and we hope you will find some value in this rambling below. Have fun exercising your minds for the next 5 minutes 
Words are great, but sometimes they act only as devices to limit an explanation. Maybe there really is no good way to truly articulate a passion or a dream. Why, why, why and that was a very, again in my way of seeing things, a very finger snapping question, you choose to do something magnificent and mysterious and you get a practical why. The true beauty of it may be that there is no pragmatic or practical why … that’s it, nothing … you do it simply because you can. We are both so very fortunate for our lives, the educational and occupational foundations we have built, we are incredibly grateful for our support systems (families, friends, relatives), but we would just like to put our current paths on pause for a couple of months, what’s a couple of months in forever anyways, we are anxious to discover life from a different angle … belie young, ardent heart individuals determined to have an original life. Picture a Gen Y version of Henry David Thoreau or John Muir, driven largely by youthful exuberance and energy, with the opportunity to learn things that nobody else knows about this country’s most precious open spaces. Some people might not find hiking enjoyable, and that’s fine, but we would say that you have to be relentless in exercising your passions and interests – whenever you find what exactly it is that you love.
But still there is this question … so why did you do it … and maybe it’s best to say that there “there is no why” … we think life should be lived on the edge, to see everyday as a true challenge, and then you live your life … to us it’s really so simple, to live your life, sometimes you may have to exercise a little harmless rebellion, to refuse to taper yourself to rules, to refuse your own success, to refuse to repeat yourself, to see every day, every year, every idea as a true challenge – for then you are living deliberately.
Maybe this is just the profound exploration of two young minds driven by adventure, maybe idealists, maybe artists … for artists are often seen as living passionately, living in the moment … this expedition is not a demonstration of courage, not a breaking of records, it’s not associated with death defying expression, thrill seeking, or stunt man … although people may use those words when they do not wish to make the intellectual thought to understanding which world we walk, but our world if you look at it, and even more so if you accompany the back stage of it, it is basically the world of someone living with true passion, maybe a poet, maybe an artist, maybe just simple men, or maybe writers who decided to write with their footprints along a dusty trail in the wilderness.
Sometimes articulating thoughts into a concrete form can be a bit of a challenge, and for those who are more pragmatic, all we can say is that we will hopefully be inspiring others to follow their dreams, to enjoy the simplicity of life, to open others to the beauty of the outdoors, to encourage others to implement activities into their lives which promote health and wellness, to intelligently inform others of the technological advancements made in backpacking gear, maybe we are clarifying some confusion, maybe we are living with no regrets, maybe we are gaining confidence, maybe we are challenging ourselves, maybe we are restoring balance and simplifying our lives, maybe we are rejuvenating ourselves, maybe we would like to see the country through a lense that very few get to experience in that this would be an interesting and reflective way to reacquaint ourselves with the scale and beauty of our native land, maybe the most compelling reason to go, as Bryson pointed out – is that the Appalachians are the home to one of he world’s great hardwood forests – the expansive relic of the richest, most diversified sweep of woodland ever to grace the temperate world, or maybe we would like to expose ourselves to new perspectives from new people, maybe we would like to gain an appreciation for the outdoors, maybe we would like to better understand what Thoreau meant by “living deliberately”, or maybe we want to find the native intelligence that Huck Finn found on the Mississippi, maybe we want to experience Gus’s lifestyle in The River Why . . . with more words, comes more confusion or maybe some clarification … maybe all we’re really doing is getting farther and farther away from “why” this decision is so binding to us. I’ll end with this: curiosity is the most powerful thing humans can own. Imagination is a force that can actually manifest a reality. No important endeavor that required innovation was done without risk. This hike will expand our curiosity, further develop our imagination, and give us confidence in taking risks.
As with any decision in life there are trade-offs to be accounted for. We both feel that this hike is something we should do now. The main reason may be vague, but it is powerfully binding. We have considered potential gains and the potential losses we may have to incur. We rationalize any potential losses by wholeheartedly believing that any negative impacts of this selfish decision are negligible in the grand scheme of life. What others who are negatively affected by our decision will lose will be nothing compared to what they will gain from us after the trip. If we feel more complete, more driven, more loving, more caring and can put this desire behind us, it will be better than forever trying to give halfheartedly to those who deserve our whole heart.
This is how we mainly see beauty in life. It is while we are on the trail, in the backcountry that we see how beautiful life and our land is. It is how we better appreciate our family and friends and the security of a city. It is how we reward ourselves and reflect on our successes. It is incredibly gratifying.
“In the adventure known as life:
There are those who live it vicariously and enjoy the ride from the safety of an armchair. And thats good–
There are those who have a few chances to realize incredible and life changing experiences and though they don’t repeat them, they carry with them a growth and personal philosophy for the rest of their lives–
And there are those for whom a taste is never enough. For whom the lust of adventure is nearly insatiable. And if you add to that the overwhelming desire to create and to share then you get where I reside–
For the end of one adventure only signifies the beginning of another.” – Inspiring monologue given by Les Stroud, Survivorman
“Determination, courage, and self-confidence are the key factors for success. In spite of obstacles and difficulties, if we have firm determination, we can work them out. Whatever the circumstances, we should remain humble, modest, and without pride.” – Dali Lama, The Path to Tranquility
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