My Quest for God's Country....

My Long-Term Hiking Plan:

Year 2012, Hike the Wonderland Trail, (WA). 93 miles. I would like to take a full 2 weeks with my fiance (wife by this time) to enjoy this hike. 2012 is a long way away, but this gives us time to take care of some small debts, become aware of our equipment enough to travel cross-country and be confident in our skills, and really enjoy this beautiful hike.

Year 2014, Thru-Hike the John Muir Trail (JMT), (CA). 211 miles and the highest point in the lower 48. Mt Whitney at 14,496 feet. I have read lots about this trail, and it seems like a wonderful place to hike. This will be our longest continuous hike at this point more than likely. So we will need the time before hand to continue to fine tune our hiking skills, to enjoy this time. I would like to take at least 4 weeks to accommodate travel time, we will be driving more than likely that way we can stop and enjoy scenery along the way.

Year 2017, Thru-Hike the Colorado Trail, (CO). 483 miles, and 6-7 weeks off. Travel time included. Depending on our hiking skills by this time, we would like to complete this trail in 6 weeks. Hopefully by this point we will be able to complete this trail in a somewhat smaller time-frame, but why? It's Colorado! We want to enjoy the time. Again, this will probably be the longest continuous hike up to this point. For me it will be the closest thing to my next big hike, the AT!

Year 2020, Thru-Hike the AT Northbound. ~2,175 miles (depending on source, and year, it varies). Average time is between 4-6 months for this hike. I'm not sure how long it will take me, or how long I want it to take me, that will be for me to figure out at the time, ok, well a little before time, but you know what I mean.....
My fiance (wife by this time) is not sure if she will participate in this hike, so that will have to come in time. However, this is the year that my son will graduate High School. My dream is for him and I to Thru-Hike the AT together. Preferably before he goes to college. This would be a dream come true for me, most importantly as a father, this would be a monumental time for us to share together, and also as a hiker. It would be my first long distance thru-hike. This hike will probably take a long time to plan, but it is my dream hike. The AT is what got me into backpacking, and it is most definitely my ultimate hiking goal at this moment.

Between these dates I would like to make some of the other hikes that I have listed, as well as continue to complete some sections of the AT.

All of this is also ultimately leading up to me and my fiances dream. We are planning on moving to Montana after my kids are grown and out of (high) school. My daughter will graduate in 2023. So, after the AT thru-hike in 2020 (or 21, depending on how we plan it) we will have a couple of years to start packing our bags. Also during this time we will be frequenting Montana with a very driven desire to find our little spot of heaven here on Earth that God has for us. We will also be making every possible trip through out the years prior to this just to get a feel of MT, so maybe by this time we will have it pretty narrowed down!

So this is it.....only time will tell....

11.16.2009