Three of my dear friends and I set out on the Appalachian Trail for my 44th birthday celebration. I have always been fascinated by this mythical trek and had never set foot on it (even though part of it is 25 mins from my house). One of my trail running buddies mapped it out and we set sail at 7:20 AM. The weather was cold at Sam’s Gap where we started. We ran for 6.2 miles to the most beautiful bald perfectly named Big Bald. On the way we passed 6 hikers. I asked where they were headed and they said Georgia. They were through hikers. To me they were unicorns. I am amazed by people that can hike from Maine to Georgia. Just like an Ironman, hiking the entire AT is on my life’s bucket list. I wanted to stop them and pepper questions, but I just told them how impressed I was and let them continue on. When we made it back to the car, my fantastic friends surprised me with a birthday cake and Perfect Day IPA which was so fitting for the special morning. I truly couldn’t think of a better way to ring in another year.