Where We Walk: Dreaming of Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail

In the fourth episode of Where We Walk, we hear from Brittany and Laura, two women who share a longing and a love for the Appalachian Trail. Brittany fulfilled her goal of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2019, despite facing the devastating loss of her husband a few years prior. Laura dreams of hiking the Trail, but forces outside of her control have kept her from doing it.

There’s a lot of talk about the universal nature of the Appalachian Trail. And there are a lot of aspects of a thru hike that unites a trail community. But the individuals that hike the A.T. bring their full, unique, selves to the trail. Laura and Brittany are different: in upbringing, in background, in temperament. Laura’s Latina, she and her parents immigrated from Colombia to Georgia when she was six years old. Brittany’s white and grew up in North Dakota. But they have something in common that’s core to what attracts them to the Trail: a need, at a particular point in their lives, to do something entirely for themselves.

This episode is for anyone who dreams of hiking the Trail, or who loves living vicariously through others’ thru-hiking stories.

About the series: This story-forward six-part series, in partnership with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and made possible with support from REI, highlights the Appalachian Trail through both the women who helped to build it as well as those who continue to make it what it is today. Our goal is to tell a multi-dimensional story of the Trail through a range of voices from diverse backgrounds. Each episode will have a unique theme that helps tell the story of the way we shape the Trail, but more importantly — how the Trail shapes us.

Featured in this episode: Laura Alarcon & Brittany Comins

Hosted by Gale Straub, with Laura Borichevksy

A Production of Ravel Media

Resources:

• Appalachian Trail Conservancy
• Appalachian Trail Conservancy: Thru-Hiking
• The interviewees:
  • Brittany Comins: Instagram @FlickerTailonTrail
  • Laura Alarcon

Episodes of “Where We Walk” will air weekly on Mondays.

Music by Josh Woodward & Monplaisir using a Creative Commons Attribution License