A Chicagoan with no outdoorsy childhood is about to attempt one of the toughest long-distance hikes in the world — and she's writing about every step of the prep. Writing for The Trek, Jocelyn (who grew up in Illinois with little more than occasional Girl Scout outings behind her) has announced she'll thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, the roughly 2,190-mile footpath stretching from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine.
Her conversion to trail life came late but decisively. At college in northeast Georgia, an early hike at Tallulah Falls State Park with a roommate opened the door, followed by climbs up Mount Yonah — a mountain she affectionately calls her first love. Two years later came her first backpacking trip: a week on a Tennessee section of the AT between Laurel Fork and just short of Damascus. It nearly broke her on day one, with relentless uphill switchbacks and the nerve-wracking prospect of sleeping in the woods for the first time.
But on morning four, camping at a shelter after a rainy stretch, she woke to the calls of whip-poor-wills and walked out to a ridge opening. Below her, a sea of clouds with peaks poking through as dawn spread across the horizon. That single sunrise erased the misery of the week's first half and set her plan in motion: hike the whole trail.
Her reasons go well beyond scenery. She sees the AT as training for a career in humanitarian and backcountry aid — potentially mountain search and rescue or wilderness first-aid education — and wants the grit, endurance and decision-making that come from weeks in remote conditions. Between now and an April start date, she's juggling gear purchases, a job, saving money to keep paying student loans on trail, and the awkward problem of training for mountains while living in what she calls Illinois' "flat prison."
So why should an ordinary holidaymaker care about a personal thru-hike announcement? Because stories like this are a gentle on-ramp for anyone curious about long-distance hiking. You don't need 2,000 miles to taste the AT. The section Jocelyn first walked — near Laurel Fork and Damascus, Virginia's famous "Trail Town USA" — is a classic beginner-friendly stretch, and day hikes at Tallulah Falls State Park or up Mount Yonah offer Georgia mountain views without committing your whole year. April is the traditional start month for northbound thru-hikers precisely because the southern Appalachians warm up by then, and the same timing works well for a shorter spring trip. Watch for her upcoming pieces on gear and training if you're plotting your own first overnight hike — the pre-trail logistics (budgeting, conditioning, kit) are the same whether you're out for five days or five months.
Credit: The Trek
