Welcome to my blog. I started this blog to share my experiences with my family and close friends while attempting a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2020. Ever since I was a young Boy Scout in Maryland in the 1970s, I dreamed of hiking the AT from Georgia to Maine. Although I don't think of myself as an "outdoorsman," I have always been captivated by the idea of the "great outdoors." One of my favorite books as a boy was My Side of the Mountain. Something about Sam Gribley's fictional adventure of living alone in the woods really captured my imagination. Over the years, I have hiked many miles on the AT - all of Maryland, Georgia, North Carolina to the Smokies and small parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Eventually, the idea of doing a thru-hike was overtaken by real life, family, work, etc. and the dream sort of faded into the back of my mind. Until a little over a year ago! After retiring from the FBI at the end of 2015, I spent several years working in the private sector. Other than being grateful for the opportunity for us to move back to Georgia, I can't say I enjoyed those working experiences. Finally, sometime around December of 2018, Marci and I were driving somewhere in the car and I turned to her and said, "How about this - I'll work until March of 2020, and then I'm going to retire for good and hike the Appalachian Trail." I think I was expecting to hear a big laugh and a "You're crazy!" Instead, my wonderful wife just looked at me and said, "OK, if that's what you want to do." Well, I didn't last until March of 2020 with the job, but the plan of hiking the AT has been front and center since that moment.
I'll be starting my thru-hike attempt in mid-March. You can follow me here at this blog which I plan to update regularly once I set out. I'll also post pics on instagram at ladd2956 or occasionally on Facebook.
Eventually, the idea of doing a thru-hike was overtaken by real life, family, work, etc. and the dream sort of faded into the back of my mind. Until a little over a year ago! After retiring from the FBI at the end of 2015, I spent several years working in the private sector. Other than being grateful for the opportunity for us to move back to Georgia, I can't say I enjoyed those working experiences. Finally, sometime around December of 2018, Marci and I were driving somewhere in the car and I turned to her and said, "How about this - I'll work until March of 2020, and then I'm going to retire for good and hike the Appalachian Trail." I think I was expecting to hear a big laugh and a "You're crazy!" Instead, my wonderful wife just looked at me and said, "OK, if that's what you want to do." Well, I didn't last until March of 2020 with the job, but the plan of hiking the AT has been front and center since that moment.
I'll be starting my thru-hike attempt in mid-March. You can follow me here at this blog which I plan to update regularly once I set out. I'll also post pics on instagram at ladd2956 or occasionally on Facebook.
