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Grace Beyer

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Final week! Week 27! Most anticipated week! Best week of my life!
-Wandered a little off the path to find an AMC lodge where we stayed in lakeside, wood-burning cabins to avoid a storm
-Listened to the rain happily in our cabin like little story book mice
-Leave it to us to find a sauna in the 100 mile wilderness (80 mile wilderness?)
-Kayaked on the lake at the lodge listening to loons, watching bald eagles, and racing our boats
-Day hiked Gulf Hagas
-Hugged some giant trees in The Hermitage
-Fell flat on some rocks and had a cool triangle bruise
-Hiked over roots and waterfalls and pristine lakes and our last mountains in between relaxing and being silly
-McMurphy caught up to us halfway through!!
-Got trail magic multiple times
-Had our first really good views of Mama K !!
-Had the best spring water ever from the fountain of youth
-Slept under the stars (& under the wind) on our private beach riviera and listened to the loon calls
-Swam & floated & became mermaids
-Completed 100 Mile Bingus Bingo
-Communed with loons several times
-Did karaoke and line dances and played with our cars and mega tent on our last night camping
-Drew Trucker Trouts
-Spent the whole week walking and camping together and laughing

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Appalachian Trail - The Leftovers
140 miles of trail plus lots of random adventures

I could not have asked for a better month post-Katahdin. I am so grateful that I skipped some sections because it meant continued time with trail friends, getting to hike in peak fall foliage, time to process this adventure, and a more gradual transition off trail. I will miss my life on the AT so much, but am so proud of myself for finishing, and overwhelmed with gratitude for all the memories, experiences, and friendships that I am bringing back with me.

Cheers to chasing dreams and doing hard things 🥂 Loon will be back on the trails soon.

After some time in Acadia and temporary goodbyes to Quip and Singe, my mom and I spent a few days driving through New England and I got to show her some of the most special places on the AT at the best time of year.

Even four days away from Quip and Singe felt weird and we had a joyful reunion in Vermont, this time as day hikers with their cute matching cars.

We skipped one day of hiking in southern Vermont and promised to come back and all hike it together post-Katahdin, and we DID! A beautiful and perfect fall day and the best section of trail.

Tagalong joined us 🥹 We finally got to do another coldplunge together (throwback to Fontana dam)

Quip and I drove back up to Maine and I supported her on about 80 miles that she needed to hike. The foliage really exploded in the week we had been gone from Maine.

I got to drive Quip’s cute orange car through beautiful back roads and gawk at the foliage for four days

We found the best camp spots each night. Trail was quiet and peaceful and the weather was perfect. Truly a dream.

Grateful for a few extra nights falling asleep to loon calls and time to myself to soak it all in.

Supported Quip as she hiked 30 miles in a day! She flew through these miles. So proud!!

Our last full day in Maine I got to go white water rafting, which was something I regretted never doing on trail. Somehow the only day I could make it work was one of the few high water days each year on the Kennebec river, and it was like a holiday. Everyone was out enjoying the class 4 rapids. I’m hooked!

We drove

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Just had the coolest month ever on tour

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Week 26! Crocker Cirque to the start of the 100 Mile Wilderness…with a trip to Portland and NC in the middle.
-Went up and over the Crockers which were a piece of cake compared to the other 4kers in Maine
-Lighthouse met us at the parking lot for the sweetest reunions!
-Lighthouse brought snacks the food that Snacks the person sent us from Australia 😭
-Lighthouse drove Bunny, Singe, and I back to Portland for more weddings over the weekend; the rest of the Golden Binguses stayed back to push on through the rest of Maine up to Monson where we’d all meet up and start the 100 mile together!
-Bopped around Portland with Lighthouse and fell in love with it and soaked up all the time with her
-Hung with Yvonne in NC for @maddylion329 ‘s wedding! The best 24 hours with Philmont friends!
-Had my first and only oysters of the summer fresh from Maine!
-Did my last resupply at Trader Joe’s where a guy told me to “break a leg” and I said NO
-Singe drove Bunny and I back to Monson where we reunited with our huge lovely tramily and a million other hikers we met along the way at Shaws
-Did last minute chores to prep for the wilderness! The final push before Katahdin!!
-Adorable SOBO dog tried to walk back into the wilderness with us
-Ran into Moon my first day in the 100 mile! A friend from way back when in the Smokies who flipped!
-Got sort of very quickly frustrated the first day in the wilderness with the roots and the climbs (not bad just not flat)
-Fell in a river (all the girlies are falling in a river these days. It’s chic)
-Camped at a pretty stream

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Week 25! Relentless but rewarding southern Maine mountains and some of the silliest times entertaining ourselves. What a week! Grafton Notch to Crocker Cirque 1930.5-2002.2
-Lots of midday or afternoon canoe breaks (people just leave canoes for public use on lakes in Maine)
-Climbed Baldplates (LOVE)
-More summit top reunions!
-Stayed at the Om Dome
-Did a Sound Bath and a group foot soak
-Surprised everyone with toy cars !!!
-Camping zero at South Arm Campground with cars and Outlaw’s new KPop Demon Hunters karaoke mic which has the weirdest sound affects
-Lots of stops on Internet Mountain™️
-Made a spirit tunnel for section hikers finishing up their day hike
-Hit the cribbage double privy (“Your Move” is a p threatening thing to put on a toilet no?)
-Ate wild blueberries on Bemis Mtn
-VIEWS VIEWS VIEWS
-Climbed up and over the Saddlebacks on yet another perfect day
-Hair is reaching levels of Middle School Lax Bro when I wear my headband
-Little Whoville style ponytails for shaved head girlies
-Passed the mile marker of my birth year
-2000 mile marker!!!!!
-Camped at a site that felt haunted but we were okay
-Looked for moose at Crocker Cirque but the real moose were the Instagram stories we made along the way
-Meatball trail magic from Riff Raff
-Camped all in a row and watched King of the Hill
-Colored mermaids at dinner in Rangeley
-Singe fell in a creek
-Lots of unique ladders and rebar to get us up and over these straight vertical climbs
-Played hookey in Rangeley for the day with @elaine.hopkinss
-Got more commentary from my hater Jerry (mama I’ve made it)

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Week 24! Nauman Tentsite, NH to Grafton Notch, ME! 1858.6-1930.5. Finished out the Whites in NH and crossed our final border!
-Had a perfect day starting our tour of the Prezies
-Flew from Mt Pierce to Lake of the Clouds Hut by midday and decided to slackpack up Mt Washington since the weather was perfect and we had time!
-Loved Mt Eisenhower!! Mostly loved climbing these summits with Loon & Singe and feeling so strong and also extremely giggly
-Listened to the Hamilton soundtrack up Washington (a requirement)
-Spent time with Mosey at Lakes of the Clouds Hut!
-Caught one of our best sunsets of trail (& life?) at the hut with some of the Binguses
-Brewski coined the phrase “we got to do stars tonight”
-Hated the second half of the prezies and the descent off Mt Madison is dead to me forever
-Took my infamous crying Oreo pic when we couldn’t get a hitch and ended up roadwalking
-Had an awesome Airbnb stay with Singe’s family
-Listened to High School Musical up the Wildcats (detour)
-Listened to Beyoncé over the Carters
-Did a LOT of butt sliding down the steep and wet trail
-Singe and I watched Hacks at the Imp Shelter
-Spilled my full bag of M&M’s. Life be like that sometimes
-Climbed Mt Moriah and recorded a video performing “AT Party” for Grandpa JoJo Party Girl
-Ran into the ice cream man twice!!
-1900 miles!
-Had an incredible visit with a friend I met in the Dolomites last year and his wife! We made dinner and Strider made apple pie from scratch!
-Jon told us a Katahdin story for the ages that we quoted the rest of trail
-Jon gave us his car and I drove us back to trail though we considered stealing it and driving straight to Mama K
-Did NOT get to cross a river on a little cable car
-Climbed Mt Success (Take that Dad!)
-Crossed into MAINE!!!
-Double rainbow our first day in Maine
-These mountains are BEGGING to not be climbed! They are so hard and have so many ladders and rungs and such
-Made it through Mahoosuc Notch—the hardest/longest mile on the AT (you’re gonna want to do this sober, trust) without even leapfrogging each other and also right after retwisting my ankle
-My friends took care of me when I didn’t get a job I really wanted. Love em

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March 21 - September 15
Hiker #1234
179 days.
2,100+ miles hiked.
5 toenails lost.
Countless memories made.

I don’t even have the words yet to describe what this experience has been like. It was everything I expected it to be and nothing like I expected it to be. I fell. A lot. I laughed. I cried. I laughed some more.

My faith in humanity has been restored time and time again. The kindness of complete strangers baffled me at times. I met some of the most wonderful people and made the most incredible friends. I’m not sure I would have wanted to keep going some days if it weren’t for the people who were by my side throughout this journey. I can’t fully express how much these people mean to me.
Golden Bingus forever!!

The day before starting this hike, I almost decided not to go. It felt too big, and I wasn’t sure I was up for the task. Unfortunately, I had already told just about everyone I knew that I was doing this, and the thought of telling everyone I’d changed my mind was somehow scarier than just going for it.

Thank god I took the leap. And I did the damn thing!!
I’m going to be reeling from this one for a while. Hilary Duff said it best: “This is what dreams are made of.”

My life has been forever changed by this experience, and I couldn’t be more grateful for every mile, every hard day, every silly side quest, every sunrise and sunset, every trail angel, every blister, every laugh, every tear, and every person who made this journey what it was.

Till the next trail, Smurfette out 🫡

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Miles 2083 - 2198 (Monson, ME - Mt Katahdin, ME):

Well, it's all done now, I did it. I walked from Georgia to Maine, and I submitted Katahdin. I'm trying to summon the WHOO YEAH LET'S GO SO EXCITED energy that I feel like I should have, and don't get me wrong I am excited and proud of accomplishing this goal, but similar to the PCT this feels more like an ending of a way of life than it does finishing a task. When I do a trail like this, at some point I forget that there is an endpoint and it just becomes the life I am living. As much as I disliked this trail (and you can ask anyone I was around just how much that was), I am going to miss this life greatly. The simplicity of it, the lack of cares and possessions, and the other people you meet doing the exact same thing is not something easily found outside of an experience like this. But enough of being sad, let's celebrate!

A lot of people have all of their stats that they've collected throughout the trail, like total days, lakes swam in, times cried. I have not kept track of any of that, I suppose I could do the math on some of that but I'm lazy and don't want to. The only stat I have is I had 10 biscuits and gravy on trail, and let me tell you was I let down! I thought for sure the south would have some banging biscuits and gravy, but alas, the best I had on the whole trail was a guy on the side of the trail who made it for me in a cast iron over a fire (which was honestly pretty sick). Other than that, the stats don't matter to me as much. I would love to know the ratio between times laughed, cried, and swore. I think that would be a really funny way to represent the trail, and I think it would be shockingly in favor of the latter.

My caption appears to be too long, so swipe over to the next photo if you want to continue reading!

The last section of the trail, through the hundred mile wilderness and up Katahdin, was one of the most beautiful sections on the whole trail. I was a bit surprised after all the fear mongoling about how there are no roads in the hundred mile wilderness and you better not get hurt yatta yatta, that there were in fact many roads and people and even an AMC cabin where we stayed a

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WEEK 19 & 20 — MAINE
Maine felt like a perpetual dream state.
After so long dreaming about getting here, suddenly being this close to finishing was surreal. I wanted to soak up every second while also desperately wanting time to slow down. For most of Maine, I felt like I was floating somewhere just outside of myself, watching this long-held dream finally unfold.
I held my friends a little closer, knowing this chapter was coming to an end. I swam in lots of lakes, caught my first glimpses of Katahdin, cried... a lot, got to see pitcher plants in bloom, had a magical zero day in the 100 Mile Wilderness, spent a lot of time identifying trees, decided I was going to be a vlogger for a day and quickly realized I wasn’t cut out for that kind of life, tripped over more roots than I could possibly count, reunited with the rest of our group after a long time apart and hit our last milestones before Mama K.
There was a lot of laughter, a lot of tears, a lot of walking, and a whole lot of trying to make the days last just a little longer.
Maine was everything I hoped it would be and somehow even more magical than I imagined.

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Appalachian Trail - the finale 🥹

Monson - Baxter peak, Katahdin.

The last 120 miles of this trail were an absolute dream. We took our time, soaked in every moment, slept on every beach we could, laughed constantly, cried a lot, slept under the stars, watched Katahdin get closer and closer, and then made it to the Northern Terminus on the most glorious day ever. I am still processing my last week on trail, and I wish I could relive it over and over. For now, I am just overwhelmed with gratitude for this experience, these people, and the memories I will cherish forever.

Here’s a little glimpse into this magical final week…

The first couple days in the 100 Mile Wilderness were not the easy terrain we’d been promised, and we were struggling. Leave it to this group to stumble upon a lodge in the “wilderness,” where we spontaneously stayed and enjoyed 3 meals, a sauna, and a lakefront cabin with a wood burning stove.

A day hike from our cabin to Gulf Hagas and a cold plunge in the most perfect swimming hole!!

Followed by a magical afternoon on the lake watching bald eagles and listening to loons

Water levels are low this year, but we still had a few ankle-deep crossings to navigate!

Climbed Whitecap and got a good cry in looking at Katahdin close up for the first time

Spent an afternoon on the “riviera” before cowboy camping under the stars, waking up to loons, and swimming and lounging on the beach for hours

A half day of hiking to camp on another beach!

Third night camping on a beach. It was rainy and buggy and Katahdin was hiding, but it was our last night in the wilderness and we were determined to enjoy it. We sang karaoke, made a mega-tent, painted our nails, and had a blast.

Last day! We woke up early and hiked under the stars to make it to Katahdin stream by 7. We had a group of 13 and starting our hike all together was so surreal and special.

Above tree line and in the boulder field and it was a BLAST. This mountain is epic.

And what a spectacular day to be up here 💙

Such a happy day :)

These legs carried me all the way from Georgia!! And this pack held my whole life in it and came with me the whole way!! 🥹

These two are the g

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the appalachian trail.
2197.9 miles
14 states
190 days
5 pairs of shoes
a couple zero days
roughly 17 trail names acquired
countless ramen packets consumed, friendships forged, and memories made.

some of it was magic. some of it was tragic. it was all a long, strange trip. and it was all certainly a dream come true.

i’d been dreaming of these six months for years. i’d had an image in my mind of what my trail journey would look like, with months of solitude and contemplation, coming out on the other side with answers to questions that bothered me so. that image would constantly be challenged both by the difficulty of the terrain and the intensity of the conditions. but most memorably, it was challenged by the community that made a continuous footpath consisting of over 2,000 miles feel like one long, continuous stretch of home. while it is demanding in any imaginable way, this trail is such a beautiful reminder that the world is filled with good people that would go to extreme lengths to lend a helping hand to one another, and that’s something that i hopefully will never forget. without the support of people on this journey with me, both near and far, i would have never made it to the end.

to those that have supported me through it all, in any way, i’m forever in debt and beyond grateful. thank you.

i wish i could find the words to encapsulate my experience and my gratitude for it all, but there’s simply no way. i hopefully will in time, but for now, the last slide will hopefully suffice. it’s from the shelter log from the very first shelter at springer mountain.

time to hang ‘em up and see what tomorrow brings 🌹

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The final hundred miles is behind me. And the final summit has been submitted. The journey was a tough one but it wasn’t without its whimsy and wonder. Without the people I’ve met I don’t think I would have made it the whole way. They made this trail bearable and kept me distracted from all the pain, boredom, and burnout I encountered along this path. I don’t think I’d do this one again but maybe something further west…

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