Six Lessons I Learned By Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail

In 2018, after seven years of living and working on a public relations career in Washington, D.C., I quit my dream job to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail (AT). The next six months went by in a flash. Day in and day out, I trudged up and over mountains, in extreme cold and sweltering heat, through swarms of mosquitos, in sickness and in health, through 14 states from Georgia to Maine. These are the lessons I learned from doing so.