Mastering the Mind: Combining Mental Toughness Techniques with Thru-Hikes

I wrote this as a reply to a person in the Muay Thai subreddit but think it would be helpful here. “It’s mostly mental.” I don’t think there’s much debating this subject when it comes to thru-hiking. But what can you actually do about it? We know that our success or failure on trail depends on the mind, but knowing …

7 Mistakes That Could Ruin Your Thru-Hike!

This probably won’t be new information to you if you’ve been doing a good bit of research, but I hope that I can relay this information to you in a way that truly makes the ideas stick home. I’ve hiked about 14,000 miles now and seen first hand how important it is to not commit these mistakes. They’re such simple …

My 2018 Adventure Plans(Thru-hikes and thru-bikes)

It’s time for more adventures! I went through a long period of deconstruction in 2017 after my Appalachian Trail thru-hike and finally feel like I’m integrated and whole again. The AT hike made me question everything about life, down to the most basic fundamental question of “who am I?” In that process of discarding old beliefs and old patterns of …

Part 1 of my Appalachian Trail Documentary is Live

Here’s a link to part 1 of my Appalachian Trail documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2BkK_bHMA4 Pt. 1 covers Georgia, from Springer Mountain, up Blood Mountain, and finally to Neel Gap. Appalachian Trail Documentary Pt. 1 I’ve been keeping busy. I’ve picked up a couple of personal training clients at MKT CrossFit and I’m also training several people online. Healthy Gamer was one of just twenty …

Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail Gave Me Permission To Be Me

It’s been a while since I’ve updated this blog. Thanks for following along after all this time! May 8th, 10 days from the writing of this post, marks the one year anniversary of when I stepped off on the Appalachian Trail. I’ve been getting my life back in order. I’m working out at MKT CrossFit and I’m going to coach some …

Post Trail Depression and a Revelation

I’ve been struggling with post-trail depression. It’s a fairly well-known phenomenon that is experienced by a majority of thru-hikers after. I think it’s brought on by many factors, as depression generally is. There’s the physical side of your body being wrecked. There’s the aspect of leaving the trail community. You’ve left the structure and simplicity of following a set path. …

How thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail Changed Me

Nine weeks off-trail and I’m feeling much more like myself. My energy has come back and I’m excited to do things again. My feet have stopped hurting. I’ve cut down sleep from averaging eleven hours a night to nine. The trail continues to impart lessons. Nature can’t be rushed. When you throw a system off of its homeostatic set-point it …