Matthew Arends -- The Appalachian Trail

Since the age of 11 I have been backpacking on the Appalachian Trail. I often believe that the trail has helped me form my identity because I was hiking or camping near it once a month from the age of 11 to the age of 18. That stage of life is were most people start to create a self that they desire and what they experience greatly influences that identity. Every time something happened in my life that I needed to think about I would wait until I was on the Appalachian Trail to think about that situation. Something about being out in the woods, often walking alone, that helps clear my mind and make me think things through in a more logical and objective manner. The hubbub of the daily life of an adolescent or even an adult can cloud ones judgment and understanding of situations. For me the Appalachian Trial is a sacred place and a personal place. It may be because of this that I have wanted to thru-hike the Trail since I knew what it meant to thru-hike.