Back in 1980, after thru-hiking the Trail, I convinced myself that I’d join a maintaining crew as soon as I got back. At the age of 17, I first had to graduate dreaded high school. Soon came new paths. College, navigating careers, marriage, and kids. Forty years later, I realized that the best way for me to give back was staring me in the face — to combine my two loves of art and the A.T.
Unlike the four-and-a-half months it took me to hike the A.T., “The Appalachian Trail Print Collection” has taken me three years to complete. It required designing 14 images (one from each state along the A.T.), carving 165 cherry blocks, printing 32,000 colors by hand, and binding 220 volumes of prints. During this time, I also went through two surgeries, radiation therapy, and I lost my father. I drew on the lessons that I learned through hiking, mainly: “As long as you keep going, nothing can stop you.”
I want this project to connect with the A.T. community as well as to give back. I believe that the Appalachian Trail brings out the best of us. It certainly has done that for me.