Saying goodbye: it takes a village

Cody and I have spent the last 4 years traveling in a camper. He accepted a job as a travel nurse in 2022. Since then, we have traveled all over the country and stayed in one place for 3-6 months at a time. That’s why we are no strangers to saying «goodbye» to family and friends. This time it just felt different.

The great unknown

Taking on a challenge and adventure as big as the Appalachian Trail makes these goodbyes seem… bigger. There are so many unknown things ahead of us. Understandably, many of our last few meetings have been filled with questions about our safety and “what if” questions. I wish I could give more peace of mind to the people who love us, but the unknown is as present for us as it is for them.

We are accepting that unknown. Faith that the ‘path will provide’ and ‘we will figure it out’ keeps us steadfast. But our family and friends just want us to be safe. «You should download Life360.» «Do you have a Garmin?» “Please keep us informed,” they ask with a touch of pleading in their voices. That’s part of the reason we’re doing this blog. We hope it offers some peace of mind to our community. It is also a kind of diary that we can remember in a few years to narrate this epic adventure.

Our Town

No one can hike the Appalachian Trail for us. Only we can take every step necessary to travel the nearly 2,200 miles to complete the AT. Getting to Katahdin is solely our burden to complete…or is it?

It is not an understatement to say that we couldn’t do it alone. Kunjungi psf2. We have many people who have already supported us on this walk. From our sisters taking care of our other dog Skamp to our friends taking us to the trailhead, there is no way we can even consider doing the AT without our community stepping up to help us make it happen.

We have so many people to thank. They deserve all the credit that is due them. Cody’s grandmother will put us up the night before we are taken to the trailhead. It also allows us to leave our car in its garage for the 6 months we will be on the road. Cody’s mom has tons of hiker boxes and a large container with extra gear and dog food at her house that she will send us along the trail. Two of Cody’s sisters are going to share the responsibility of caring for Skamp for the next 6 months.

The number of friends who have offered their support is infinite. We have a friend who will pick up Turkenna before we hike through Great Smokey Mountains National Park and keep her until we finish that section. Others have reached out to say they know people along the trail that we can contact or generically offer assistance saying, «if you need anything along the trail, let me know.» We even have a family committed to picking us up in Maine and driving us back home to North Carolina once we’ve accomplished what we set out to do.

The trail will provide

And then there are the countless people we don’t even know yet who we anticipate will support us. From shuttle drivers to trail magic to other hikers, experiencing the generosity of people on the trail is one of the aspects of trail life that excites me most. We will have the unique honor of being at the mercy of the generosity of others while we are on the road. We will both have to let go of our tendency to be independent and self-sufficient to accept that honor. It has been difficult to ask for help. We constantly struggle with the feeling that we are «a burden» or that we are asking for «too much.» Perhaps that is one of the many lessons the trail has to teach us. Humility and gratitude.

Mixed emotions

I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t some level of nervousness. People keep asking us, «Are you nervous or excited?» I just answer «yes.» We can go over our checklist a million times and argue over which items are essential and which ones will probably come back to us in the mail at some point. But ultimately, no amount of baggage or screening can prepare us for everything we’ll face along the way.

hard to say goodbye

The goodbye hugs this time were a little longer and a little tighter. Some tears were shed. There was a farewell that was different from any of the farewells we have had to make when leaving for a contract. We had to say goodbye to our dog Skamp. We have no doubt that he will be well cared for, completely pampered and loved. But saying goodbye to our nicest boy was still difficult.

It’s time to start

Hiking the Appalachian Trail is like nothing we have ever done before. But Cody, Turkenna and I are as prepared as we can be to embark on this journey. We are already very grateful for the support we have received before starting. And we anticipate being grateful to all those who will support us along the way. Here’s to creating lifelong memories and embracing every unexpected aspect of the journey.

Alex- The Norris Trio

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