Appalachian Tra

Let me tell you about my sister Aimee, who was my trail partner for the last 2 weeks. When you hug Aimee, you immediately notice how strong and lean she is, thanks to a lifetime of healthy eating and exercise. She’s not afraid of any hill, preferring to take her breaks at the TOP of the hill after she’s pushed forward. Spend any amount of time with her, though, and you learn how soft and sweet she is. She looks out for other people, offering her food, her equipment, a beer, a kind word or a hug if she thinks it will help. She also doesn’t suffer fools, and I love that toughness about her.

Aimee has always sworn she didn’t like backpacking, but she took on the challenge of 100 plus miles with relish, braving privies, tent set-up in the rain, filtering water, sleeping and eating near perfect strangers. She joyfully shared her knowledge of flora and fauna — and mixed up delicious camp meals with vegetables — making my experience so much more.

Our two weeks together went too fast for me, though I bet Aimee was glad to get home to her hot tub. We had so much fun and worked so well together. I miss her tremendously. Typical Aimee, she left me her better sleeping mat and bag and treats in my food barrel ❤️

Aimee ends her day identifying three things she’s grateful. I am going to try to adopt that practice. Today it’s easy: Aimee, Aimee, Aimee.Read more