People who know me, know that I regularly check flight prices for good deals and then seriously consider dropping everything and going on a trip. I've eyed flights to San Jose, San Juan, London, Milan, Sydney, and Berlin, to name a few. I've eagerly looked at flight prices for the Galapagos and Africa.
Lately, however, I've been thinking more about exploring my own country. I've been to more than thirty states, visited countless national and state parks, and seen wonders such as Devil's Tower and Old Faithful.
But a part of me continues to want to travel, to see the world.
I'm not in a position, financially, to do this. And I don't feel right setting off in Europe when I feel like I've barely seen my country.
Where I currently work at Bear Mountain, I see hikers nearly daily. You have your run-of-the-mill hikers, the trail runners, and those on backpacking trips.
Hikers that I have been watching intently since I started my internship? Not the run-of-the-mill day hikers. Not the trail runners. Not the backpackers.
The hikers I have been watching are those who are hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Part of the Appalachian Trail crosses with the Bear Mountain Bridge, and hikers often stop at the zoo. I'm not sure why they're there - I like to think that they're taking a break and looking at the animals we have on exhibit. More likely, though, they're refilling and resting before heading on further.
The more I watch them, the more I feel a new itch.
This itch, like my desire to go abroad, will probably not go away until I scratch it.
I've grown up within hours of the North Carolina section of the Trail. I've seen the northern terminus at Mt. Katahdin. I enjoy hiking - I try to go when I can.
I have a little niggling voice in the back of my mind now - pushing me. There is little I'd like more than being able to hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail.
From Georgia to Maine. From Springer Mountain to Mount Katahdin. Two thousand two hundred miles.
I'd need to raise a lot of money first. But this is possible. Entirely possible.
This is a different kind of wanderlust.
And this may be impossible to resist.
Lately, however, I've been thinking more about exploring my own country. I've been to more than thirty states, visited countless national and state parks, and seen wonders such as Devil's Tower and Old Faithful.
But a part of me continues to want to travel, to see the world.
I'm not in a position, financially, to do this. And I don't feel right setting off in Europe when I feel like I've barely seen my country.
Where I currently work at Bear Mountain, I see hikers nearly daily. You have your run-of-the-mill hikers, the trail runners, and those on backpacking trips.
Hikers that I have been watching intently since I started my internship? Not the run-of-the-mill day hikers. Not the trail runners. Not the backpackers.
The hikers I have been watching are those who are hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Part of the Appalachian Trail crosses with the Bear Mountain Bridge, and hikers often stop at the zoo. I'm not sure why they're there - I like to think that they're taking a break and looking at the animals we have on exhibit. More likely, though, they're refilling and resting before heading on further.
The more I watch them, the more I feel a new itch.
This itch, like my desire to go abroad, will probably not go away until I scratch it.
I've grown up within hours of the North Carolina section of the Trail. I've seen the northern terminus at Mt. Katahdin. I enjoy hiking - I try to go when I can.
I have a little niggling voice in the back of my mind now - pushing me. There is little I'd like more than being able to hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail.
From Georgia to Maine. From Springer Mountain to Mount Katahdin. Two thousand two hundred miles.
I'd need to raise a lot of money first. But this is possible. Entirely possible.
This is a different kind of wanderlust.
And this may be impossible to resist.
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