Stories like this make me kick myself for waiting so long to allow the addiction of the outdoors sink in. I spent a solid 10 years between college graduation and getting married and starting a family and I can count on 2 hands how many nights I spent outdoors during that time. I waited until I have kids to decide that I want to spend every free minute of my time backpacking, bike riding, kayaking, fishing, geocaching and pretty much any other sport that gives me an excuse to get outdoors and enjoy nature. Now, I count the days until my son (6) is old enough to join me on the trips I only read about.

So to answer your question, this summer I plan to:

- get my son off training wheels so we have more options for riding locales...
- take my son on his first overnight backpacking trip. I've dayhiked with him and camped with him, now to combine the two...
- take my annual 3 day paddling trip (location TBD)...
- spend 2 separate weekends on the AT (1 in NY, 1 in PA) to push my total AT miles into triple digits. A meager start but I have recently convinced myself that an AT thru-hike is now a solid fixture on my bucket list. No time like the present to start training...
- set up one Saturday afternoon for some AT trail magic. I've read several books from people who've completed long distance thru-hikes and I am always intrigued with the various forms of trail magic they've encountered. My intention is to offer that magic now in exchange for some interesting conversation and surround myself with positive karma so that, should my thru-hike aspiration come true, I may reap the rewards of someone else's benevolence. So if you are planning a NOBO thru-hike on the AT this year, look for me on a Saturday in New Jersey.

...and bike-camping from Napa to Alaska sounds bad-a$$...good luck to them!
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Did you know that 83.6% of all statistics are made up on the spot?