A Walk in the Woods

This coming Thursday our good friend Abby McCarthy will be taking a very long walk in the woods. She will be hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine over the next 6 months. I am in total awe of that kind of dedication and drive. She will be documenting the adventure with the help of a friend on this blog. Here are some basic trail facts:

• Is the nation's longest marked footpath, at approximately 2,175 miles.
• More than 9,000 people have reported hiking the length of the Trail.
• It takes approximately 5 million footsteps to walk the entire length of the Trail.
• The AT touches 14 states.
• Traverses eight national forests.
• In 2004, Lee Barry, known as “Easy One,” became the oldest thru-hiker at age 81 when he completed his fifth hike (and second thru-hike) of the A.T.
• The youngest female to thru-hike the A.T. was 8 when she completed hiking the Trail in 2002 as part of a family group.

Abby, I wish you happy trails! I know you will prevail. We love you and we're rooting for you! (Oh, and please be safe and come home.)

For a great, hilarious true story of author Bill Bryson, read A Walk in the Woods. I recommend listening to the audio book read by the author. I have listened to it 4 times. The first time was coincidentally with Abby on a road trip. And while I admit it sparked a desire to actually hike the trail, it takes a much braver person than me to do it. :)