The First Steps Are the Hardest | Appalachian Trail Thru Hike Condensed Journey 2024 PART ONE

In 2024, I thru hiked the Appalachian Trail. This is the story of my journey from Georgia through Harper's Ferry. Many challenges tempted me to quit, especially early on, and this is the story of finding my grove from a discouraged hiker to a confident one. The friends that I made along the way played a huge part in encouraging me northward. See Part 2 here:    • The Last Steps are the Sweetest | Appalach...   TIMESTAMPS: 0:43 Arriving at Amicalola Falls State Park 1:32 Springer Mountain 7:09 First Trail Magic 10:56 Changing big things about my gear at Neel Gap 22:54 Entering North Carolina! 25:53 One hundred miles! 27:10 Meeting Fresh Ground for the first time 36:33 Entering Great Smoky Mountains 39:59 Sleepless Night at Clingman's Dome 57:46 Meeting the Tramily 1:04:11 Windy Hump Mountain 1:13:28 Entering Virginia 1:18:46 Grayson Highlands 1:22:57 Quarter Way There 1:27:28 600 Miles 1:30:08 Snow Surprise 1:33:59 Pivoting to Spend More time with the Tramily 1:37:08 Filtering Water on Trail 1:40:16 Virginia Triple Crown 1:46:15 Reunited with the Tramily 1:48:34 Bailing from the Blue Ridge in a storm 1:53:13 Nickels makes Pancakes on trail 1:56:20 Gazelle Pop Up Hostel 1:58:17 Where My Dream to Thru Hike Came to Be 2:00:37 Shenandoah National Park 2:15:37 The Virginia Roller Coaster 2:17:04 One Thousand Miles on the AT 2:20:19 Review of Virginia 2:22:48 Entering West Virginia 2:23:25 Harper's Ferry, West Virginia Useful Appalachian Trail Links: A.T. Incident Report Form | appalachiantrail.org/explore/plan-and-prepare/report-an-incident A.T. Weather Reports | atweather.org A.T. Trail Updates | appalachiantrail.org/trail-updates #ATClassof2024 #thruhike #appalachiantrail