Local Appalachian Trail Hiker Expected To Reach Pennsylvania In June Montague resident Chris Bianchi embarked on an ambitious undertaking. Two months ago, he set off to hike all 2,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail. He’s current on the trail and will be walking through Pennsylvania at the end of this month. Chris and his troupe, originally made up of three, has now expanded to twelve, are enjoying the unique but very challenging experience. They hike the trail together, stopping to enjoy the scenery and take photos and interact with other hikers, following their hiking mantra, “smiles, not miles”. “Soon into the trip we realized that we wanted to take time to enjoy the beauty around us, and slowed our paced down to do just that,” Chris said. “Slowing our pace also reduces the likelihood of injury or fatigue.” Chris also said they that they usually sleep in a hostel once every seven to 10 days. Other times, they sleep in shelters or at the home of a close friend or relative. “We’re lucky to have so many connections,” Chris said. “We never go hungry, and we never go too long without a good night’s rest.” Chris is currently in Virginia, which makes up one quarter of the trail. On May 17, he attended Trail Days, a multi-day festival and parade for 4000 thru-hikers and hundreds of visitors. There, they were officially inducted into an alumni group of thru-hikers called Riff Raff. There, he contracted a stomach bug, which slowed the pace down temporarily. Stomach bug aside, Chris’ state of mind will surely be tested while in Virginia as he tries to beat off the elusive “Virginia Blues”, a form of depression that thru-hikers commonly experience while hiking through the repetitive scenery through the Old Dominion. “We just crossed the 600 mile mark and we’re feeling very optimistic,” he said. “We’ll be in Pennsylvania later than we thought, but things are taking a little longer than expected.” For constant updates on Chris’ progress, thoughts and experiences, “like” and follow Niki Jones Agency on Facebook. A detailed timeline of his travels can be found on the agency’s website, nikijones/
Posted on: Wed, 11 Jun 2014 18:06:07 +0000
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