A Time To Reflect | Preparing for the Appalachian Trail

Well, we have finally made it. We are in Georgia!

My heart is heavy knowing we are leaving family, but it’s also filled with so much excitement I can hardly believe it.

These past few months have flown by so fast, and I have learned a few things preparing for the Appalachian Trail…

  1. Waiting until the last minute to make decisions only adds more stress.
  2. I don’t like making decisions.
  3. It’s easy to make big goals, but they don’t always go as planned, and it’s OK.
  4. Time with family is more important than stressing over minuscule things.
  5. God is in control, and He has everything planned out!

So, these are really basic realizations and I’ve made them before, but the last one is the most important and I need to be reminded of it daily.

I’ve had the hardest time picking out what clothes I want to wear for 6 months. HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHAT COLOR TO WEAR EVERY DAY?

I also decided the last week at home I needed to try on 5 other backpacks just to make sure I have the right pack… We have made countless trips up the interstate to REI. Thank you Jake for all the hours you spent there with me. Thank you John, Dash, Justin and the other awesome employees at our local REI.

We have finally made it though! We have made it 100 days since we announced are plans to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. What a crazy thing to say. One hundred days have passed, and we are about to spend that amount of time plus more out in the woods!

I’m not going to lie, I’m going to miss a hot shower every morning and warm bed to sleep in. I’m going to miss calling my family whenever I want to. I’m going to miss having a schedule.

But… I’m excited to really cherish the times I get to shower (it probably won’t be often) and nights I get to sleep in a bed. It’s easy to take those things for granted. I am excited to meet new people, make new friends and have the potential to share the gospel. I am excited to embrace a schedule made by the weather, food needs or how my body feels.

Life on trail will very different. It will be challenging, but if I can put one foot in front of the other, know that I am ultimately not in control and live life to glorify God, we will do exactly as God planned for us.

Thank you to all who read our blog, and thank you to those who have donated to our fundraiser. Thank you!

Have a question or want us to feature some particular part of trail life in our videos (soon to come)? Please don’t hesitate to send us a message over one of our social media channels or by email.

Stay tuned for LOTS of pictures to come on Instagram!

Appalachian Trail Practice Hike


This past Saturday, Jake and I ventured back up to South Mountains State Park for another Appalachian Trail practice hike. We hiked a total of 10 miles over 5 different trails. Check out our video to see how it went!

South Mountains Day Hike

south mountains

Our goal for this weekend was to do 8 miles with fully loaded packs, so we decided to check out some new trails at South Mountains State Park in North Carolina.

We started off our journey with a stop at the visitor center, where I decided it was a good idea to ask the lady running the desk for a recommend trail around a mile to help us meet our mileage goal. The only reason I say that sarcastically is because I FORGOT to ask what the name of the trail was…

We were trying to take a connector trail to a second parking lot, which would have helped us get in the mile we were going to be short. Instead, we hiked up a horse trail to the top of the mountain overlooking the waterfall.

south mountains

Our original plan had been to climb the 400 and something stairs to the top of the waterfall so we could practice for the AT Approach Trail, but nope we just hiked straight up the backside of the mountain.

south mountains

Everything worked out in the end, we just hiked down the stairs instead of up them. It was still really great practice for going down steep terrain.

After we got our bearings and finished descending the falls, we hiked up the Chestnut Knob Trail and stopped at both overlooks. Sadly, it was a really cloudy day so we couldn’t see a lot of the distant mountain range, but we still really enjoyed getting a lot of ups and downs in for practice.

south mountains

Overall, we had an awesome time and got in 8.1 miles. We will probably be coming back to do our 10 mile practice hike soon. The park offers over 40 miles of hiking trails, so if you are ever in the area, definitely check it out!

Side Note: We had planned a really fun video to go with our post, but unfortunately, some of the videos did not shoot correctly. We are not sure how it happened or how to keep it from happening next time, but we are glad we are working out the kinks before our AT hike starts.

AT Thru-Hike | 50 Days Out!

crowders mountain

We can’t believe it – we are only 50 days away from standing on the summit of Springer Mountain!

In prep for our hike and to celebrate the 50-day mark, we headed out for a 6 mile hike this morning. It was a lot fun and we even made a video!

Check it out below and let us know if you have any suggestions for sound, video, etc. We are beginning to practice using only our phones to make videos and write on the blog, so hopefully it all loads correctly.

LUNA Sandals Review

lunasandalsA little while back, we shared that we had purchased the Leadville Gordo LUNA Sandals to try out and review. We’ve had the chance to test them for a few months on hikes, runs and as an everyday shoe.

Wearing the Leadville Gordo sandals when hiking has been a dream! Have you ever walked through a river that is supposed to be a trail and had soggy feet for the next few days? Not with LUNAs!

In a matter of minutes your feet will be dry again and the sandals not long after. The only places that will hold water is in the laces, but, hey, I would rather deal with wet laces then a waterlogged shoe.

Now, you may be thinking, what about when it’s 30 and 40 degrees out AND IT’S RAINING? For us, we have hiked without any type of insulation down to around 40 degrees and lots of rain and mud without a problem. I’m a cold natured person and my feet never felt cold while hiking.

For days when it’s really, really cold, LUNA Sandals offers a bootie called the Tabu that works with any LUNA Sandal model. The Tabu bootie will help keep water and other debris off your feet while hiking and running.

If you are looking for something warm, but not necessarily concerned about keeping water off your feet, enter Injinji Nu-Wool toe socks. It’s like wearing a glove for your foot, plus you can wear these around camp after a hike.

So, this is definitely a different approach for the average hiker looking for shoes to take on a hike or even a thru-hike, but they have performed wonderfully and now we couldn’t imagine wearing a heavy boot up a mountain.

LUNA Sandals Pros & Cons

Pros

Lightweight: All you gram counters out there rejoice! 13.1 oz for size 11 (both sandals)
Performs great in rain and mud
Easy to put on and take off
Comes with added “tech straps” for a secure fit. Just out for a walk? Detach and leave at home for later.
Comfortable: With a 15mm Vibram sole, you’ve got a pretty sweet ride.
Happy Feet: Your toes will thank you for all the air flow and movement.
Customizable: Don’t see your size, or your in-between sizes, send LUNA Sandals an email. They will take care of you!
Price: Non-customized models range from $80 to $125
Awesome customer service: I always received a quick email reply and they made me a new pair when I realized I had ordered the wrong size. Easy to get my refund and return.
Supporting a small business is AWESOME! Learn more about LUNAs in our previous post.

Con

-The only con, which really isn’t a con, is it can take a little while to get the laces to feel just right. Knowing this, just take some time to practice with the laces and walk around with them on and adjust as you feel necessary. I also noticed that I always end up tightening more than I would think after few minutes of hiking, but after that, I’m good to go.

Jake and I can’t wait to wear these on our upcoming Appalachian Trail thru-hike! Stay tuned on social media for photos of them in action.

Disclosure: The author owns this product and was purchased using their own funds.

Merry Christmas


“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”Isaiah 9:6 ESV

I am so thankful that the Lord, Jesus Christ is a counselor, mighty, everlasting, father and a Prince of Peace. How awesome is the God we serve!

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Hiking The Appalachian Trail

AT

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT HERE!!!

On March 27, 2016, Jake and I will be setting out from Amicalola Falls State Park to start our journey of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. We are dedicating this hike to our precious son, Nicholas Emerson Adams.

Initially, Jake and I intended to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail starting the spring of 2014. However, during the planning phase of the trip in the winter of 2013, we found out that God had another exciting plan for us.

Fast forward 7 months, God blessed us with our beautiful baby boy on June 29, 2014. Nicholas was heartbreakingly diagnosed with neonatal hemochromatosis, and after the hardest week of our lives, our son went to be with the Lord on July 5, 2014.

The doctors, nurses and healthcare team at Levine Children’s Hospital provided the upmost care to our family during that life changing time. As we embark on our thru-hike this coming spring, we want to honor Nicholas and show our deepest thanks by giving back to Levine Children’s Hospital.

Ways We Need Support

1. Support us in prayer. Hiking the Appalachian Trail is one of the biggest challenges we have ever signed up for and we are asking for your prayers as we go along this journey. The Appalachian Trail attracts people from all walks of life who are out searching for answers and meaning. We pray that God will present us with opportunities to share our testimony and the Gospel during our hike.

2. Make a donation. Our goal is to raise $2,189.10 for the Levine Children’s Hospital NICU. We chose this number because it is the exact number of miles we will hike from Georgia to Maine. If you would like to help us support the Levine NICU, you can donate here. When you click to donate, please select the Neonatal Intensive Care Fund from the drop down options.

3. Like and follow us on social media. We need your help to spread the word about our blog and our cause for hiking the Appalachian Trail. We’ll be posting weekly videos so that you can follow along with us!

Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
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4. Support us financially. We greatly appreciate any size gift to help us hike the Appalachian Trail. If you are interested in blessing us with a financial gift, you can contribute through our PayPal account.

So, come along with us on our journey however you decide!

T minus 100 days!

Happy Thanksgiving

thanksgivingHappy Thanksgiving everyone! Jake and I are thankful for everything God has blessed us with, including this blog. It’s awesome how far we have come that now everyone has the ability to put their thoughts and ideas out there for others to read and enjoy.

We hope that all of our readers are having a wonderful Thanksgiving and maybe enjoyed some time outside today.  Tomorrow afternoon, we hope to join the over one million people who will OptOutside with REI. We hope you will too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jake & Rachel