So I guess I’m a hiker?

I don’t know the exact moment I decided to hike the AT.  I didn’t grow up loving the outdoors or camping.  Most of my backpacks were for fun not function, but I’m gonna do it anyway…. I guess I can pin point words used that sparked interest in my head.  The word “hiking” was thrown around when I was “running” Spartan Races.  I always told people I didn’t run, it was more of a mall walk and they would comment that I “hiked”.  I’d agree, but hearing it over and over made me wonder what it really was, so I started researching.

I like to research.  I hear something that sounds fun or maybe I don’t know as much as a person who seems to like to talk about a topic, so I research so I can have an educated conversation.  I guess it’s a pet peave of mine to talk like you know something and really just be bs-ing me, so I decided not to be one of those people.

I stumbled on some hikers on my OCR team page and started asking questions.  Quickly I realized I was over my head!  First of all, I would never stay in a tent by myself at night.  Second, I’d have to poop in the woods?  Yeah, count me out!  But the more I read and found out, the more it made me mad that I put limits on myself.  THEN I WAS GONNA DO IT NO MATTER WHAT!  I was scared to death, but nothing cool ever happens inside of my comfort zone.  I learned that goin to do my first Spartan as a fat girl who had just done my first 5K two weeks prior.

If you’d like to read about my first spartan