I’m about to start a personal project that I just can’t wait to tell you about!
In fact, I kind of already have started it…
I’ve been planning this project for over a year now and it’s all coming together! In just TWO WEEKS I will be spending the majority of my days sitting on the Appalachian Trail cooking food for and giving supplies to the 2014 Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers. On top of all of this trail magic, I plan to create a photo series of their portraits accompanied by a short caption about their experience. The people I may be most excited to meet are the vets hiking with Warrior Hike. If you don’t know about that program – check it out!
I’ve already met one Thru-Hiker. His trail name is Biscuit (short for sea biscuit) and we met in Vernon, NJ while I was taking a short walk through the woods with a few close friends. I was practically laying down on the boardwalk on the AT in Vernon with my 35mm camera at ground level attempting to focus through my viewfinder. I had everything just right and as I press the shutter button I hear, “Whoops! Sorry – I think you got my Thru-Hiker legs!” and I yell back, “It’s okay!” but he was already waaay down the boards. He was walking hard and fast!
Seeing him on Memorial Day Weekend kind of shocked me, actually. I had done a lot of research to figure out when the majority of the Thru-Hikers would be coming through NJ and I discovered that the first week in July is the busiest time. This is when I planned to pursue my project. To see a Thru-Hiker on May 25th kind of made me nervous actually…. Had I gotten the dates wrong?? Uh-Oh! Panic set in.
When we got back to the parking lot on 517 where my car was parked he was laying on a tarp on the ground resting. It turns out he had done a marathon day to catch up with his friends who were in the area at a Dylan Festival at the Warwick Winery and that he earned his trail name because of how fast he was. Phew! I hadn’t gotten the dates wrong – he’s just quick! 🙂
We learned that he recently graduated from OSU and had started his Thru-Hike on March 17th. He was hungry so I gave him granola bars and a water bottle and we took a trip down to the Dairy Queen to cool off with ice-cream on this 80 degree day. That’s when I took this portrait of him:
My cousin dropped him back off by the trail and that was that. It was a great experience meeting Biscuit. He gave me some insight on my project and some of the items I plan to donate. Awesome!
I can’t thank you enough, Biscuit, for validating my plans and getting me excited to meet the rest of your class. Best wishes to you on the rest of your journey!
Stay tuned for Thru-Hiker Portraits! <3
