In 2011, I thru-paddled the 740-mile long Northern Forest Canoe Trail. I was a 2016 A.T. flip-flopper, but my thru-hike attempt ended after 1300 miles. I started in Shenandoah National Park and four months later I summited Mt. Katahdin on August 23. Turns out, I did miss being on water instead of worrying about finding and carrying it. When I returned home after Katahdin, I headed up to Ely, Minnesota unwinding with a little 150-mile, two-week solo canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Wilderness. During the winter, I decided I should finish what I started and headed back to the A.T. on May 2, 2017 departing from Springer Mountain. I arrived at Rockfish Gap on June 30, amidst families taking photos by the park entrance and wondering why anyone would be tearing up so much by a roadside sign.
