Jordan McCarron at mile 799.1 of the Appalachian Trail:

We can play outside from the moment the sun comes up until it goes down and even then we can sleep out in tents. We can have campfires and make s’mores and tell stories and jokes. We can eat Poptarts and M & Ms and candy bars all day long. We can catch toads and poke at snakes. We can swim in mountain streams and creeks. We can wear the same clothes everyday and never have to take a bath or comb our hair. And when we go into town, we can chug Coca-Cola and grape soda and stuff ourselves full of junk food.

Out here, we can do what we want whenever we want. This is our summer camp without the counselors (or, for Hot Springs and I, without the kids). We can do all the things we wanted to do but weren’t allowed when we were young. And while doing this, we can walk 2,100 miles through 14 states, from Georgia to Maine.