60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday: Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail - What Beckons You?

<p>Hello to you listening in <a href="https://newengland.com/today/travel/maine/hiking-mount-katahdin-and-the-infamous-knife-edge-trail-in-maine/" target="_blank">Millinocket, Maine</a>!</p><p>Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday.</p><p>In 1955 she sewed a sack out of old denim and stuffed it with “<i>a blanket, a plastic shower sheet, a cup, a canteen and baby bottle for water, a small pot, a spoon, a Swiss Army knife, a first-aid kit, pins, flashlight, a piece of rope, a raincoat, a warm coat, a change of clothes and Keds sneakers</i>.”  She set out from her home in Ohio telling her children she was going for a walk. And walk she did. 2,050 miles. Alone. On the <a href="https://appalachiantrailhistory.org/" target="_blank">Appalachian Trail</a> from Georgia to Maine. Her diet for the most part was raisins, nuts, chicken bouillon cubes, berries and leaves she found along the way. Her bed was often a pile of leaves, a picnic table, maybe a stranger’s barn or porch. After 5 months in the wilderness <a href="https://appalachiantrailhistory.org/exhibits/show/hikers/gatewood" target="_blank">Grandma Emma Gatewood</a> reached Mount Katahdin, Maine. She was 67 years old.</p><p>Not one to retire, Gatewood returned to thru-hike the AT again; she was 69 years old. Several years later she hiked the trail for a third time, in sections. This wasn’t the end of her walking; more like the beginning.</p><p><strong>Question</strong>: What wonderful longing beckons you to begin?  </p><p><i>60 Seconds is your daily dose of hope, imagination, wisdom, stories, practical tips, and general riffing on this and that. This is the place to thrive together. Come for the stories - stay for the magic. <strong>Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, follow, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, including Android, and join us next time! </strong>You’re invited to stop by the website and subscribe to stay current with Diane, her journeys, her guests, as