a hike (down memory lane)

You guys, all this snowy cold weather has frozen my brain. Last week, March 4th marked 9 years since Will and I headed out on our thru-hike attempt of the Appalachian Trail...and I didn't even think about it. On March 4th, 2006 we were walking through the early days of spring with cold nights but warmer days and buds starting to show up on the trees we passed. But March 4th, 2015, although the warmest day of last week, was snow covered with temps predicted to plummet overnight and bring snow and ice the following day (which it did...Wednesday was sunny and 60, Thursday morning was 15 degrees and by 2pm it was pouring ice and then snow). So I'll blame it on the fact that I'm still in winter mode, waiting for the snow to melt and for the buds to start showing up on the trees. 

Ever since I returned to my right mind and caught up to the fact that yes, it really is March, I've been doing what I always do this time of year:  remembering and re-hiking the trail in my head, all the ups and downs, the good days and the tough days, the sun, the rain, the fog, the ice, the sleet, and the snow. Aside from raising children, our trail hike was the biggest and best adventure of our ten (and counting!) year marriage, and there's no way I can let a year pass by without including some photos here. So if you're up for it, join me for a walk down memory lane on the Appalachian Trail.

It's so hard to put our hike into words because although to you it may seem like just a really long walk, it meant so much more to me. If you're interested in reading more about our adventures on the trail, you can find older posts by clicking here, here, here, here, or here. Thanks for walking along with me today. Wishing you a lovely and WARM week!