About Us

Kyle:

I come from a family of backpackers. From an early age, my dad often took my family camping and about as often, me and my brother backpacking. Being in a military family, we moved around often and so I can recall backpacking in multiple states like Georgia, Alabama, California, North Carolina, and Indiana. My uncle Bob is at much as avid of a backpacker (if not more so) with his sons and family as my dad is. Recently, Uncle Bob has been much more of an active hiker, hitting portions of the Appalachian Trail, and completing the Long Trail in Vermont. I can only think that this passion for the outdoors is thanks to my Grandpa Latham. From my perspective, most of my Dad and uncle's childhood was spent outdoors, summers away at camp, and scouting. Additionally, grandpa shared local scoutmaster duties with Russ Ottey (as I knew him uncle Russ), who thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail.

It didn't occur to me until writing this introduction that my motives for hiking the AT are largely family generated. My motives for hiking the trail are nothing high-minded or grotesquely spiritual. The simply answer is I enjoy hiking. A friend even remembers me talking about the trail and one day hiking it high-school (I don't remember this, but I'll take it).  Now is an excellent time to hike the trail before diving into a career or more school. The family part manifests itself most prominently in this blog. I hope to fill it with pictures, memories, and the highs (we'll conveniently forget the lows) of this hike. I know they will read this blog, if not out of worry, perhaps as experienced hikers waiting for their next hike.

Tyler:

The closest my family came to camping and backpacking was blanket forts in the living room and endlessly trekking every Civil War battlefield within a 400 mile radius of Stoneboro, Pennsylvania where I grew up. I lived in the middle of town but in a town like Stoneboro, "the middle" means one can walk a block and a half to reach the woods that so often played host to my childhood adventures. Even though many days found me and my friends playing our Gameboys (F1 Race, Alleyway, Solar Striker, anyone?) on the back porch, I can credit my mother with my love of outdoors. Onto the porch she would come with threats of grounding if we didn't get outside (the porch didn't count) and burn of some energy. I do not consider myself a woodsman since the only plant I can properly identify is poison ivy but, due to my mother and father's encouragement I have a love for nature and outdoor activity.

For me, hiking the Appalachian Trail will be just another adventure in the woods behind my house. Except this time the "woods behind my house" stretch all the way from Georgia up to Maine and, instead of a 5 minute walk to the neighborhood sled-riding hill this will be a 5 month walk to the tallest mountain Maine has to offer.

Us:

About halfway through our Junior year at Grove City College, we became obsessed with Appalachian Trail. I think it started with an outdoors magazine hanging around in the restroom on our hall with an article about Chinese backpackers hitting the trail and their reaction to the seemingly civilized conditions they found. Backpacking in China, apparently, is new as a recreational pursuit. In any event, the Appalachian Trail bug hit us hard and after some speculation about its feasibility we finally said we would do it. So for the past year and a half we've been purchasing gear (geartrade.com and whiteblaze.net saw a lot of traffic at this time) and making plans. Fast forward to February 2013 and we're about to live the dream and actually start the adventure of a lifetime.