My Reunion with the Appalachian Trail

[@cynthiasmith4966]

Your hike was epic in every way! Your passion for the AT would be so appreciated and well channeled by taking others along physically for a day hike, a section hiker experience or a public speaker to raise funds/volunteers for the AT. Many hike the AT but they just move on without the bucket fulls of gratitude that burn in your heart! Believing you will find and conquer a new AT path that will fulfill your aching heart. Indeed, you became one with this trail! Godspeed and best wishes!

[@blueskynancy3396]

That is a great idea!

[@chasingblazes2022]

You are amazing. You cannot even imagine how much your insight means to me. I can tell you for sure, that trail is calling me....everyday. I keep thinking about what I was doing a year ago....the preparation, the anticipation of something I knew was much bigger than me or my dream. My heart does ache for this trail...what I am to do with that or about that has yet to reveal itself to me. Thank you for your constant support, kindness and insight.

[@BucksMom218]

You are my favorite person to follow…thank you for sharing your amazing journey with us! ❤️🐾🐾🥾🥾

[@chasingblazes2022]

Wow, thank you! It means so much to me to read this!!

[@Pman-hz7tz]

Followed your entire journey. Only thing I can think to say is thank you for sharing, thank you for being you! Many people you will never meet have been touched by you. Your heart, your soul. Keep on being you. Best of everything to you and your family.

[@chasingblazes2022]

Thank you so much for your support. You have no idea how much that means to me. Interestingly enough, I have been touched also by so many people in this little community we have created together. I've been given so much by those whom I do not know with their love, support, encouragement and insight! I am very blessed. Best to you and yours also and thank you!

[@dianemason3299]

Thank you for sharing your journey! Of all the Thru Hikers I followed this year, your passion and love for the AT, your gratitude for each day, and the beauty, or difficulty it held....it just showed through your videos! I don't believe anyone could love the AT more than you! God Bless!

[@chasingblazes2022]

Ohhhh thank you so so much! Honestly the love and support from people like you in this community has been something which is truly special. God bless you!

[@GearNerdSikuTsuga]

No, thank YOU for keeping in touch and sharing your post-trail journey. You're keeping the dream alive for those of us yet to embark!! Many blessings to you, and hope to see you again out there someday!

[@chasingblazes2022]

Awww that's so sweet of you! I'm excited for those who have this amazing experience ahead of them!!! It's the adventure of a lifetime!

[@carolreese8001]

Thank you for sharing your journey. You brought us all along for the beauty, the good, the bad, the pain, the rain and then finally Maine. What an adventure of a lifetime. This video is very special as is the AT Congratulations thru hiker you did it. You had to dig deep to Get it done. True grit, laughs, tears, and cheers

[@chasingblazes2022]

Thank you so very much. I gained from having you all with me too. This wasn't just one way fulfillment...believe me. There were so many days when I would read the comments and be uplifted by all of you! Y'all believed in me and that was incredible! Thank you for all your support...I'm a very fortunate person to have connected with so many incredible people like you along this journey.

[@jeffanderson2759]

Memories!!1 Cherish them!!! You've accomplished something people only dream of.

[@chasingblazes2022]

Amen!!! I do cherish every one of them....even the rain soaked ones!!

[@Hikingin70sshorts]

You should have a lot more subscribers Frizzle. Your a person of depth, passion and character, and actually have something worthwhile to say. Thank God for visionary men like Myron Avery. May God give us the visions we need to make the world around us a better place for those to come.

[@chasingblazes2022]

Ha ha ha thank you! I appreciate you and your kindness. Something I never take for granted...thank you so much!

[@helengoetz8530]

You were blessed and you blessed all of us with your beautiful journey. You are a True woodswomen and adventurer. You deserve to be proud of your time along with the turmoil and happiness on you time on the AT.

[@chasingblazes2022]

Wow, thank you! I was so very blessed....with every step, every breath of fresh air, with every ray of sunshine and every rain drop. I love your words....thank you so much.

[@JackieFarkas]

I was one that watched your thru hike. It was incredible. I can understand why The Height of Land touches you so much. It is a beautiful place. I look forward to seeing more videos. You get it and You get me. Thank you

[@chasingblazes2022]

Awww thank you. I love how people like you get me. Sometimes I'm not sure if I should put all that emotion out there - if people will think I'm just a big ole bag of tears and emotion lol, but honestly, sharing this experience....all of it, is something I love to do. I love taking everyone with me....everyone who wants to go anyway. I appreciate you.

[@joeheritage]

Your gratitude and good nature were so welcoming. Loved watching.

[@chasingblazes2022]

Thank you so much!

[@RR2bhiking]

Watched this one tonight! I remembered when you were thru hikiking and were walking up there, and then you put the clip back into this video. Well Done, again!

[@chasingblazes2022]

Thank you so much!

[@nanabd]

It was a beautiful stay.

[@hikerguy7012]

i followed your entire journey... loved how you took time describing the trail and what you were seeing to your dad... the way you took time to read placards along the way... the way you let your emotions guide you... no wonder your tears flow and memories flare back up... so awesome Frizzle... my hopes are to experience this magnificent journey someday... great video and commentary as usual... you go girl!!!!

[@chasingblazes2022]

Thank you so much for your support and kind words. This means so much to me.

[@disrn6862]

Beautiful ❤️

[@chasingblazes2022]

Thank you.

[@roxanekelley-g7g]

Love all your videos, I'm dreaming of doing a section of the AT. You are such an inspiration, please keep the videos coming.

[@chasingblazes2022]

Thank you so so much!!! You can do it! Make it happen! If you have any questions at all please feel free to let me know - I'm happy to help.

[@nanabd]

❤ It was an honor to follow you and thank you for taking us all along.

[@chasingblazes2022]

Thank you for joining me!

[@mollybutcher5487]

So glad we met back in March all those months ago. I know how much the trail meant to you - I have now completed 200 miles this year and cannot wait to do more next year. Once you get one the trail you can’t wait to do more miles!! I totally understand how you feel! I can’t wait to see what’s next for you Michelle!!! Hope you have the best holidays ahead!!!

[@chasingblazes2022]

I am too Molly! You are amazing!!! 200 miles is no joke! Keep on hiking and I hope you have an amazing holiday season too.

[@pamkowal7464]

I’m so glad you were able to hike the AT at the age you are now, with all the emotional depth and wisdom of a mature woman who has accumulated lots of life experience already. When you said in this video that the AT has had a profound impact on your life, I wondered how differently that impact might have felt to you if you had still only been in your 20’s. Perhaps the mystery of Life’s wild beauty and vastness and your integral part in its unified whole might not have registered in quite the same way. What I felt in watching this video was your intense yearning to somehow recapture and hold on to that great mystery, even as you reacclimatize to your previous daily life amid family and friends. I could feel the pull of your heart as you briefly walked up that remembered path in the woods. It energetically feels from this side, as a viewer of your experience, that the enormity of the entirety of the AT is almost too big for your heart to hold, and that there is a siren call for you to allow the boundaries of a separate self to fall away. You ‘feel’ to me as though emotionally, in many ways, you have BECOME the trail, itself, and that a large part of a separate ‘you’ has dissolved into the very act of walking and has become simply the verb ‘walking’. I can feel your struggle to integrate the new, reconfigured boundless part of Frizzle into the old skin and bones confines of your old life. And, to be honest, although I don’t know you or your husband personally, I’m wondering if your husband is having trouble grappling with your ‘deconstructed’ inner shift. Has he expressed to you any desire to attempt his own thru hike? Is he continuing to have the struggle that he had initially upon your return, to reconnect to the subtle and/or dramatic changes in your perspectives and how you are relating to him from a more inward place that he can’t reach?

[@chasingblazes2022]

Very interesting perspective....I don't think this experience would have been nearly as rich and impactful if it had been a younger version of me. My 20 something self would never have gained this much...not even close! I appreciate you raising that thought. I can't even tell you how much I appreciate you sharing what you saw, felt and experienced from watching this. Of course I know what I felt...but to see this through YOUR lens is magnificent. I keep reading your words over and over....absorbing them and acknowledging some aspects that I haven't considered, or even noticed. It's funny how sometimes a person is so immersed in what they are experiencing that they don't see for themselves what is happening. I value this insight, these questions and these thought proving considerations. I feel the need to ponder all of this....see where the thoughts bring me. Thank you so very much....really. You are amazing!

[@jamesbonner5989]

Enjoyed following your hike. When you spend six months of your life accomplishing such an awesome adventure you will always have emotional memories of different things and people that may come up at any time.

[@chasingblazes2022]

Truth! Thank you for your support!

[@PatTownsend]

An emotional video! I remember that spot on the road well. The overlook was beautiful that day and I was crossing with Pig Pen. The pic I took was memorable. Keep up the great videos!

[@chasingblazes2022]

Yeah my emotions took over and that was it for me. Thanks for watching!

[@robertdesrosiers4743]

hey frizzle great to see you be well and blessed

[@chasingblazes2022]

Thank you and blessings to you too!

[@anneoconnor3614]

What a moving video..... have you stayed in contact with Cuppa Tea? Or any of you Tramily ...

[@chasingblazes2022]

Thank you so much - it was a moving experience being back there. Caught me off guard...way off guard. I am in touch with my tramily - they are amazing. I'll be sharing a sneak peak into their worlds soon!

[@sarahhagen2051]

I’m not crying 😭

[@chasingblazes2022]

me either lol....thank you.

[@robertspry7377]

wonderful ... 😜

[@timoates3311]

How is cup of tea doing?

[@chasingblazes2022]

She's doing well! I hope to share some of the tramily with all of you soon!

[@jeffanderson2759]

BTW, how are the others doin'?

[@chasingblazes2022]

They're doing well! I'm going to be sharing a peak into their lives soon!