Bobcat'12

I started playing the cello when I was four years old and since then it has been the most consistent part of my life. Music is a huge part of who I am and how I express myself in the world and when I thought about hiking the trail it became clear to me that the need for music had to be addressed.

In the early stages of planning, I pondered the idea of hiking without an instrument and challenging myself to writing music in my head. I know that I am up to this challenge but there is ...

For many years I have dreamed of doing a thru-hike of the Appalachian trail in the traditional sense, from south to north. I imagined the crowds in Georgia and the iconic finish atop Katahdin in Maine. But as it became clear that this was my time to hike the trail, a different itinerary started to emerge, the "head start" or the "flip flop."

My school year as a naturalist at Exploring New Horizons Outdoor School extends to the beginning of June. So, I was left with ...

I'm hoping to begin my Harpers Ferry to Maine, Harpers Ferry to Georgia thru-hike around the 8th of June and I couldn't be more excited. Life here in California, in the Santa Cruz Mountains has been absolutely wonderful the last few months and a lot of that has to do with this dream to hike the trail. This winter was one of the hardest times I can remember: a failed relationship, waning confidence and a general feeling of being lost. I remember sitting in my friend Jordan's house up in Marin County, ...