Hello, my name is: an introduction for hikers

Hello! My name is Addison (trail name TBD) and I’m hiking the Appalachian Trail this year! It seems crazy to write it, but I’m working on getting used to saying it until it feels natural. I’m also about to get started – taking prep hikes, making plans to get to the starting point, setting up my gear – but that’s all for future posts. Since this is my first post about The Trek, let’s start with some frequently asked questions.

Who are you?

I told you my name but not much about myself. I am an assistant professor of Computer Science and live in Memphis, Tennessee, with my four roommates, two dogs, and three cats. Yes, there is a full house! In addition to work and outdoor activities, I also love music. I grew up singing in choirs and I also play bass. I am relatively new to Memphis, having moved here for my job last August, right before the start of the school year.

Do you have a plan?

I doubt I’ll be able to do a full hike in the three months between the spring and fall semester, so I plan to split it into two LASHe (long section hikes), one in 2026 and one in 2027. I’m planning to do a NOBO hike, starting at Springer Mountain in May and going as far north as I can before I have to return to school in August. The poetic endpoint would be Harper’s Ferry, of course, but my limitation is time rather than mileage. If I get further than Harper’s Ferry, all the better!

Have you ever hiked or backpacked?

Yeah! I’ve been hiking at least since I was 7 years old; My parents are also very outdoorsy and love hiking and backpacking. I went on my first backpacking trip when I was a freshman in high school. My family had just moved to Arizona and my father wanted to take my brother’s boy scout troop on a hike through the Grand Canyon. I desperately wanted to tag along, so I convinced my dad and my brother’s scoutmaster to let me go on that trip, as well as all the preparatory backpacking trips. In total, I probably took 4-5 weekend backpacking trips around Tucson and one 5-day trip to the Grand Canyon. I also did a 4 day Colorado Trail trip with my dad and a short solo overnight trip on the Ozark Trail.

My dad, my original backpacking buddy, also plans to start this hike with me, go all the way through Georgia, and then get off the trail to get back to work.

Are you doing anything to prepare?

Am! I live in Memphis, so I plan to test hike as many parts of the Natchez Trace trail as possible this spring. Natchez Trace is primarily a road and not a trail, despite its National Scenic Trail designation, but there are five sections of actual trail roughly bordering it. I’ll try to do one section a month until the end of the semester, but we’ll see how it goes.

What equipment do you have?

This will be the topic of a future post! I have a hodgepodge of gear that I’ve accumulated over the years, but much of it is from high school and is more on the budget end of the budget to ultralight spectrum. (I still have that REI Flash 65 I carried in that Grand Canyon photo, complete with the holes a hungry squirrel chewed on that trip.) I think it’s likely to get a couple of updates this spring in preparation for the AT this summer.

Thank you very much for reading! Happy New Year and happy trails!

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