Why are we hiking the AT?

There's a lot of different reasons why Mike and I decided to hike the AT. Let me try and explain (somewhat disjointedly):

*Living in Seattle for the past few years we've had the opportunity to be able to hike a lot of amazing trails that have built our experience and deepened our thirst for backpacking.

*Both of us were interested in the idea(/challenge/excitement/adventure) of a long hike.

*The AT appeals to us because it goes through all of our "home" states including within a couple of miles of Mike's parent's place (the house he grew up in).

*Recently, realizing that it was either time to uproot from the Northwest or settle in for a long stretch we decided to move back to the East Coast after being out here for nearly 5 and a half years. (Sooo excited to see our family!)

All this plus more went into our decision to do the hike. Another main factor was the simple fact that... well, that we could. Many people dream about doing something like this their entire lives but don't get the opportunity. And Mike and I already happen to be at a crossroads in our lives where we're already making a big shift (moving, marriage) and it is incredibly convenient that we wont have things like cars or rent or utility bills to worry about.

We feel really lucky to be able to do this and we're more excited than I can explain.

67 days until we start the trail.