In 1973, on a ten day hike in the beautiful Shenandoah Mountains, I camped one night with two enthusiastic Appalachian Trail thru-hikers. They were generous enough to share some of their adventures with me. It sounded fun. At that moment I decided to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. Thirty-six years later, having recently retired, my dream became a reality. I didn't see this as a life changing event. I just wanted to have fun, and did I ever I found...