Your cart is currently empty.
Go to the shop
  • Appalachian Trail
    • Dreams Begin & The Appalachian Trail
  • Maine AT
    • Day 0 – Slackpacking Maine
    • Day 1 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #11
    • Day 2 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #12
    • Day 3 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #13
    • Day 4 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #14
    • Day 5 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #15
    • Day 6 – Slackpacking Maine – Summit Katahdin
  • Maryland AT
    • Hike #24 Purpose, Peaks, and Privy | Kicking off the State of Maryland on the AT
    • Hike #25 Best Laid Plans & Beauty of the Detour
    • Hike #26 The Blair Witch Project: Fear, Forests & the Fierce Path Forward
    • Hike #27 From Bike Tires to Hiking Boots: A Full-Circle Journey to Harpers Ferry
  • Massachusetts AT
    • Day 0 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 1 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 2 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 3 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 4 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 5 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 6 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
  • Pennsylvania AT
    • Hike #1 | 9.05 miles | Pennsylvania | Sheet Iron Roof Rd to Boiling Springs
    • Hike #2 | 8.71 miles | Pennsylvania | Bernheisel Bridge Road to Boiling Springs
    • Hike #9 From Doubt to Delight: A Newbie’s Unexpected Fondness of the AT
    • Hike #10 Adventure and Shadows: A Hike Through Duncannon’s Dark Past
    • Hike #21 Frozen On The Trail And In Life
    • Hike #22 – The Dragonfly & Lessons From the Trail
    • Hike #23 Mile by Mile: The Power of Small Goals on Big Journeys
    • #32 Trail Magic and Human Nature
    • #33 The People You Meet Between Here and There
    • #34 Every Step Matters
    • #35 Going Downhill
    • #36 The Detour I Never Planned
    • #37 🎵 Where Did She Come From, Where Did She Go, Where Did She Come From, Squarepie Joe 🎵
    • #38 Finding A Better Way
    • #39 Every Mile Has a Story. Today Had Three.
    • #40 Sometimes the Trail Becomes the Story
    • #41 Sometimes Being Lost Helps You Find What Matters Most
  • Vermont AT
    • Hike #28 The Cairn Field | A Path Marked by Intention
    • Hike #29 Suspended Between Struggle and Gratitude
    • Hike #30 The Weather Queen Said Rain… We Said Game On
    • Hike #31 Forget the Views, I Found My Quartz
  • Virginia AT
    • Day 1 – Slackpacking Virginia – AT Hike #16
    • Day 2 – Slackpacking Virginia – Time & Choices – AT Hike #17
    • Day 3 – Slackpacking Virginia – Beauty in the Struggle – AT Hike #18
    • Day 4 – Slackpacking Virginia – Why? – AT Hike #19
    • Day 5 – Slackpacking Virginia – Grandma Gatewood & Zero Day – AT Hike #20
  • About Me
Trending
    • Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia
    • September 4, 2024

    Day 3 – Slackpacking Virginia – Beauty in the Struggle – AT Hike #18

    Hike #3 Virginia – Massie Gap in Grayson Highlands State Park to Elk Garden (summit Mount Rodgers the highest peak,...
    Cows on Appalachian Trail near Damascus, Virginia
    • Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Vermont
    • September 22, 2025

    Hike #29 Suspended Between Struggle and Gratitude

    Hike #29 Day 2 Vermont | September 22, 2025 | Hiking with AGC | 10.88 miles, 2,759 ft ascent, 2,933 ft,...
Follow Me
  • 0
Social Links
  • Twitter icon
More like this
  • Evergreen Forest Appalachian Trail
    • Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Massachusetts
    • June 13, 2024

    Day 6 – Hike #8 Slackpacking Massachusetts

  • King of Zero's and Nebula

    #40 Sometimes the Trail Becomes the Story

    • July 9, 2026
Kim Ford, SIOR, LEED AP

  • Twitter icon
Trailblazing NextTrailblazing Next
  • Appalachian Trail
    • Dreams Begin & The Appalachian Trail
  • Maine AT
    • Day 0 – Slackpacking Maine
    • Day 1 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #11
    • Day 2 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #12
    • Day 3 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #13
    • Day 4 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #14
    • Day 5 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #15
    • Day 6 – Slackpacking Maine – Summit Katahdin
  • Maryland AT
    • Hike #24 Purpose, Peaks, and Privy | Kicking off the State of Maryland on the AT
    • Hike #25 Best Laid Plans & Beauty of the Detour
    • Hike #26 The Blair Witch Project: Fear, Forests & the Fierce Path Forward
    • Hike #27 From Bike Tires to Hiking Boots: A Full-Circle Journey to Harpers Ferry
  • Massachusetts AT
    • Day 0 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 1 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 2 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 3 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 4 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 5 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 6 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
  • Pennsylvania AT
    • Hike #1 | 9.05 miles | Pennsylvania | Sheet Iron Roof Rd to Boiling Springs
    • Hike #2 | 8.71 miles | Pennsylvania | Bernheisel Bridge Road to Boiling Springs
    • Hike #9 From Doubt to Delight: A Newbie’s Unexpected Fondness of the AT
    • Hike #10 Adventure and Shadows: A Hike Through Duncannon’s Dark Past
    • Hike #21 Frozen On The Trail And In Life
    • Hike #22 – The Dragonfly & Lessons From the Trail
    • Hike #23 Mile by Mile: The Power of Small Goals on Big Journeys
    • #32 Trail Magic and Human Nature
    • #33 The People You Meet Between Here and There
    • #34 Every Step Matters
    • #35 Going Downhill
    • #36 The Detour I Never Planned
    • #37 🎵 Where Did She Come From, Where Did She Go, Where Did She Come From, Squarepie Joe 🎵
    • #38 Finding A Better Way
    • #39 Every Mile Has a Story. Today Had Three.
    • #40 Sometimes the Trail Becomes the Story
    • #41 Sometimes Being Lost Helps You Find What Matters Most
  • Vermont AT
    • Hike #28 The Cairn Field | A Path Marked by Intention
    • Hike #29 Suspended Between Struggle and Gratitude
    • Hike #30 The Weather Queen Said Rain… We Said Game On
    • Hike #31 Forget the Views, I Found My Quartz
  • Virginia AT
    • Day 1 – Slackpacking Virginia – AT Hike #16
    • Day 2 – Slackpacking Virginia – Time & Choices – AT Hike #17
    • Day 3 – Slackpacking Virginia – Beauty in the Struggle – AT Hike #18
    • Day 4 – Slackpacking Virginia – Why? – AT Hike #19
    • Day 5 – Slackpacking Virginia – Grandma Gatewood & Zero Day – AT Hike #20
  • About Me
Trailblazing NextTrailblazing Next
  • Appalachian Trail
    • Dreams Begin & The Appalachian Trail
  • Maine AT
    • Day 0 – Slackpacking Maine
    • Day 1 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #11
    • Day 2 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #12
    • Day 3 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #13
    • Day 4 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #14
    • Day 5 – Slackpacking Maine – AT Hike #15
    • Day 6 – Slackpacking Maine – Summit Katahdin
  • Maryland AT
    • Hike #24 Purpose, Peaks, and Privy | Kicking off the State of Maryland on the AT
    • Hike #25 Best Laid Plans & Beauty of the Detour
    • Hike #26 The Blair Witch Project: Fear, Forests & the Fierce Path Forward
    • Hike #27 From Bike Tires to Hiking Boots: A Full-Circle Journey to Harpers Ferry
  • Massachusetts AT
    • Day 0 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 1 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 2 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 3 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 4 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 5 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
    • Day 6 – Slackpacking Massachusetts
  • Pennsylvania AT
    • Hike #1 | 9.05 miles | Pennsylvania | Sheet Iron Roof Rd to Boiling Springs
    • Hike #2 | 8.71 miles | Pennsylvania | Bernheisel Bridge Road to Boiling Springs
    • Hike #9 From Doubt to Delight: A Newbie’s Unexpected Fondness of the AT
    • Hike #10 Adventure and Shadows: A Hike Through Duncannon’s Dark Past
    • Hike #21 Frozen On The Trail And In Life
    • Hike #22 – The Dragonfly & Lessons From the Trail
    • Hike #23 Mile by Mile: The Power of Small Goals on Big Journeys
    • #32 Trail Magic and Human Nature
    • #33 The People You Meet Between Here and There
    • #34 Every Step Matters
    • #35 Going Downhill
    • #36 The Detour I Never Planned
    • #37 🎵 Where Did She Come From, Where Did She Go, Where Did She Come From, Squarepie Joe 🎵
    • #38 Finding A Better Way
    • #39 Every Mile Has a Story. Today Had Three.
    • #40 Sometimes the Trail Becomes the Story
    • #41 Sometimes Being Lost Helps You Find What Matters Most
  • Vermont AT
    • Hike #28 The Cairn Field | A Path Marked by Intention
    • Hike #29 Suspended Between Struggle and Gratitude
    • Hike #30 The Weather Queen Said Rain… We Said Game On
    • Hike #31 Forget the Views, I Found My Quartz
  • Virginia AT
    • Day 1 – Slackpacking Virginia – AT Hike #16
    • Day 2 – Slackpacking Virginia – Time & Choices – AT Hike #17
    • Day 3 – Slackpacking Virginia – Beauty in the Struggle – AT Hike #18
    • Day 4 – Slackpacking Virginia – Why? – AT Hike #19
    • Day 5 – Slackpacking Virginia – Grandma Gatewood & Zero Day – AT Hike #20
  • About Me
  • Twitter icon
Day 6 PA 2026 Gap Kim on Rocks
Appalachian Trail Hiking Pennsylvania

#41 Sometimes Being Lost Helps You Find What Matters Most

Kim FordJuly 11, 2026225

Sometimes the trail teaches its greatest lessons when you lose your way. On our final hike of this Appalachian Trail section, we navigated rocky terrain, avoided rattlesnakes, reunited with a remarkable thru-hiker named White Owl, and discovered that getting…

Continue reading
King of Zero's and Nebula
Appalachian Trail Hiking Pennsylvania

#40 Sometimes the Trail Becomes the Story

Kim FordJuly 9, 2026252

What began as a weather-driven change of plans became one of the most meaningful days of our Appalachian Trail journey. As storms threatened, we split our hike into two shorter sections and were rewarded with the unexpected gift of…

Continue reading
Kim and Katie Day 4 PA 2026
Appalachian Trail Hiking Pennsylvania

#39 Every Mile Has a Story. Today Had Three.

Kim FordJuly 8, 2026245

Today's Appalachian Trail hike marked a milestone as we reached the northernmost point of Pennsylvania we've completed. Along the way we met inspiring trail maintainers, finished an unforgettable audiobook, and were reminded that the best days on the trail…

Continue reading
Day 3 PA Hike 2026
Appalachian Trail Hiking Pennsylvania

#38 Finding A Better Way

Kim FordJuly 7, 2026260

After a devastating storm, the Appalachian Trail was littered with fallen trees, blocked crossings, and constant obstacles. Every few hundred yards, Katie and I had to stop, assess the situation, and find the safest way forward. The experience became…

Continue reading
Appalachian Trail Hiking Pennsylvania

#37 🎵 Where Did She Come From, Where Did She Go, Where Did She Come From, Squarepie Joe 🎵

Kim FordJuly 6, 2026588

A chance encounter with a thru-hiker named Squarepie turned an ordinary day on the Appalachian Trail into a reminder that kindness doesn't always come with closure, but we always get to choose the role we play in someone else's…

Continue reading
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • ...
  • Last
Must Read
  • Day 6 PA 2026 Gap Kim on Rocks 1

    #41 Sometimes Being Lost Helps You Find What Matters Most

    • July 11, 2026
  • King of Zero's and Nebula 2

    #40 Sometimes the Trail Becomes the Story

    • July 9, 2026
  • Kim and Katie Day 4 PA 2026 3

    #39 Every Mile Has a Story. Today Had Three.

    • July 8, 2026
Kim Ford

Trailblazing Next

People who say they never got the chance never took the chance. The scariest place to be is the same place as last year. Just do it.... take the first step.

Follow Trailblazing Next

  • Facebook
  • Twitter iconTwitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
Trailblazing NextTrailblazing Next
© 2024 Trailblazing Next. All Rights Reserved.