Although I’d wager that most of the traffic on this site is from folks who already know me, I feel obligated to make some introductory remarks…

Hi! My name is Kate. I am hiking the Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Baxter State Park, Maine, starting in April of 2017. As is tradition among hikers, I have adopted a trail name: Loon.

Loons are actually terrible at walking on land.

Why Loon? …why not? Actually the name was suggested by a close friend, on the basis that I am from Minnesota (the Common Loon is our state bird) and also that I am crazy for voluntarily undertaking this hiking nonsense.

What kind of monster would do such a thing? Crazy.

I have been planning to attempt the 2,190 mile end-to-end hike (known as a “thruhike”) of the Appalachian Trail (AT) for several years now. Although I have collectively hiked hundreds of miles, on three continents, the AT is by far the most ambitious hike I will have attempted to date.

I hope you will follow me on what is sure to be an adventure, if nothing else!