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  • 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, Goals, Hiking
    • November 19, 2023

    Dreams Begin & The Appalachian Trail

    Yesterday, I set out on a perilous and ambitious endeavor: to start hiking the Appalachian Trail.  My fifteen-year-old oldest daughter,...
    Kim Ford Appalachian Trail
    • Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Maryland, West Virginia
    • July 27, 2025

    Hike #27 From Bike Tires to Hiking Boots: A Full-Circle Journey to Harpers Ferry

    Day 4 Maryland COMPLETE | July 27, 2025 | Hiking with Katie |10.28 miles, 899 ft ascent, 1,614 ft descent,...
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    • Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia
    • September 5, 2024

    Day 4 – Slackpacking Virginia – Why? – AT Hike #19

  • #34 Every Step Matters

    • June 20, 2026
Kim Ford, SIOR, LEED AP

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  • 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
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Photo of Kim Ford

Kim Ford

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.
Slackpacking Massachusetts
Appalachian Trail Beginning Hiking Massachusetts

Day 0 – Slackpacking Massachusetts

Today was arrival day, the day I got to meet the 11 strangers I…

Kim Ford June 9, 2024
Carl Hiking north of Boiling Springs PA
Appalachian Trail Hiking Pennsylvania

Hike #2 | 8.71 miles | Pennsylvania | Bernheisel Bridge Road to Boiling Springs

I didn’t dare ask my husband if he would hike the Appalachian Trail with…

Kim Ford December 4, 2023
Kim and Carl at the AT crossing at Sheet Iron Roof Road in Carlisle, PA
Appalachian Trail Hiking Pennsylvania

Hike #1 | 9.05 miles | Pennsylvania | Sheet Iron Roof Rd to Boiling Springs

We were ready for our first hike on the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania, or…

Kim Ford November 20, 2023
Kim Ford Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail Goals Hiking

Dreams Begin & The Appalachian Trail

Yesterday, I set out on a perilous and ambitious endeavor: to start hiking the…

Kim Ford November 19, 2023
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339.13 MILES ON THE AT
Kim Ford, SIOR, LEED AP

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. As my daughter says, "Beauty in the Struggle." Just remember... "The trail may change your plans, but it never has to change your purpose."

Recent Posts
  • 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
  • Day 3 PA Hike 2026 4

    #38 Finding A Better Way

    • July 7, 2026
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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.

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