My dream of completing a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail (AT) is alive for 2022!

My aching and unfulfilled lust for the trail has been brewing since I first sampled her curvaceous footpaths some 37 years ago. However, life, jobs and family responsibilities prevented me from consummating this dream. 

Fast forward to the summer of 2019 - I was now completely retired from the tethers of a full-time job and with more free time, enough available coin and the blessings of my loved ones… life had opened a path.  Without hesitation, I started to plan for an Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike for 2020. I was giddy with joy and bursting with eager anticipation as the planning evolved, and the calendar ticked towards my goal. 

Then it all started to fall apart and joy began to slither away.

Health issues suspended my AT dream in the fall of 2019

During the winter of 2019, I developed a mysterious swelling in my feet.  It was so painful that I was unable to bear weight or even sit. Apart from many doctor's appointments and medical tests … I was bed-bound. 

My first medical intervention was in the emergency room where the doctors suspected stress fractures. It made sense to me. I had backpacked over 1200 kilometres that year and just returned from a challenging 80-kilometre solo backpacking trip in the Adirondacks of New York. 

That prognosis was eventually rejected. 6 painful static weeks passed with no improvement and no answers.  My body was fading like my AT dream. Despite all the unknowns … I still harboured hope!

The most painful part of this whole medical kerfuffle was not the physical but the emotional crash and burn of my AT dreams.  I definitely was suffering from “low grade” symptoms of classic depression.   

My AT dream wasn't dead … but it is on life support. 

By February 2020 my feet were starting to feel better after much quality medical intervention and a little luck.   An army of doctors gave me their blessings and my AT dream was back on track. The starting date was April 6th!

... with my health on track... so is my AT dream in the early spring of 2020

March 20, 2020, a global pandemic shut down the Canada-USA border and my AT dream was shut down once again.  I still nevertheless harboured a futile hope that Covid19 would end in a few weeks. Boy, I was wrong!

Covid19 shut down my AT... again!

In 2021 I was hiker busy. I hiked all of the Algonquin Park trails and most of the Great Divide Trail. It was a good year... but still no AT!  

Throughout the year vaccines and other medical treatments were proving effective and 2022 was looking good. So once again I started AT planning.  This time with the benefits of a vaccinated immune system and boatloads of "Covid wisdom". Only weeks away now and I'm very optimistic about my chances. 

This time I will "video log" the adventure on our YouTube channel. The videos will be edited on my phone and uploaded on the trail - so they will be short and hopefully sweet!  Wish me luck!

Vaccines and other medical advances allowed the borders to reopen... like my AT dreams!

 

Watch Dudley's AT Adventure >>