Wednesday, September 2, 2015

If I give up on the Appalachian Trail I will ...

This is another question that Zach Davis, in his book Appalachian Trials: A psychological and emotional guide to successfully thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail considers important for anyone considering thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail.

I've spent some time sitting with this question. It is a tough one, because, like most people, I hate failure! Sometimes I think we shy away from things in life because it is possible we might not succeed. All of the reasons against this planned thru-hike boil down to a simple four letter word that begins with an ‘F’ …


























and all of the variations this can take including …


  • fear that I am not physically or mentally strong enough to hike 2,184 miles
  • fear of failure
  • fear of injury
  • fear of quitting my job
  • fear of hunger and not having enough to eat
  • fear of what I’ll do afterwards
  • fear of ticks and lyme disease
  • fear of bears, snakes, cougars, spiders or crazy people
  • fear of sleeping in the woods alone
  • fear of not being warm enough
  • fear of boredom (awake, eat, hike, eat, hike, eat, setup camp, eat, sleep - repeat!)
  • fear of the unknown
  • fear of ______________ … you fill in the blank.  


Please let me know in the comment section what fears are stopping you from your next adventure?

 All of these are REAL fears. They are not all my fears, but ones I imagine someone contemplating this thru-hike could face. Some of them are my fears. Perhaps I'm afraid to say which ones.

I hope that facing some of these fears makes me a stronger person, a wiser person, a more humble person. I hope that I come out the other side of this adventure changed (and I am sure I will be). I hope you will join me on this adventure. Hearing from you will help me stay connected, brighten my spirits, and allow me to share with you!

Let's begin today! What fear are you willing to face?




'In order for one to learn the important lessons of life, one must first overcome a fear each day.' 
— Ralph Waldo Emerson



- The Other One

1 comment:

  1. The biggest fear that I have faced recently is having my children move forward with their lives in a separate home. Especially hard for the youngest who has had difficulties with job, school, etc. now working in the carnival tour business across the United States. Strength from Our Heavenly Father has been my saving grace.

    ReplyDelete