Unexpected icy trails - Yaktrax or similar helps the trek |
Blissful Hiking
Fulfill Your Hiking Dream! Here to help fellow hikers by offering wisdom, ideas, and lessons learned from a two-time AT North and South, Long Trail, Foothills Trail, Allegheny Trail, Colorado Trail, Florida Trail, BMT, Pinhoti, Shenandoah Nat'l Park 500 miler completions. Former AT Ridgerunner for six years. Author and Speaker on Hiking and Backpacking
Saturday, January 07, 2023
My 5 Nonessential Essentials in a Winter Hiking Trip
Thursday, October 13, 2022
Lessons Learned from an October Section Hike on the AT – Damascus to Bland
The climb north to Buzzard Rock yields a great view |
Most bridges went over dry areas unless they were bigger creeks |
Snow and cold wind on Chestnut Knob |
what I usually do with bears, talked to them like my dogs in a confident manner and they thankfully moved. But it was still nerve-wracking.
Sunset at Thomas Knob Shelter |
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
2022-2023 Trail Festivals and Conference Schedule
for 2023
Check back for more events.
Dreaming, Planning, Hiking, and Finishing an Appalachian Trail Thru-hike
Blissful Hiking Adventure celebrates fifteen years with a new episode on the Blissful Hiking Adventures Podcast Network
Episode Seven - Dreaming, Planning, Hiking and Finishing an Appalachian Trail thru-hike - A 15-year Anniversary
Blissful the Hiker reminisces about her dreams of hiking the entire AT beginning as a teen and waiting thirty years for its fulfillment. She recalls the many twists and turns to get to that moment, and then the twists and turns of hiking the trail with a teenage son.Wednesday, September 07, 2022
15 year Anniversary of a Northbound Completion - Fun Facts!
Mt Washington fun fact - I have climbed this peak four times.
Average Miles per Day
|
10.30
|
Average Miles per Hiking Day
|
12.19
|
Average Miles per Week
|
72.09
|
Number of days in Trail Towns
|
33
|
Number of nights in a Shelter
|
50
|
Number of nights in a Tent
|
72
|
Number of nights in a Hotel
|
26
|
Number of nights in a Hostel
|
30
|
Number of nights in a House
|
23
|
Number of Day Hikes
|
12
|
Longest Day
|
22.90
|
Shortest Day
|
1.5
|
Number of Days over 20 Miles
|
8
|
Number of Days between 15-20
|
41
|
Number of Days between 10-15
|
85
|
Number of Days between 5-10
|
32
|
Number of Days between .1-5
|
14
|
"Did We Ever Get Lost?" Yup. One day Paul Bunyan was lost for over five miles in Maine. He finally got a ride back to the real Appalachian Trail after realizing he was on a logging road going nowhere. He did not get into camp until 9 PM. Talk about one worried Mom!
Paul Bunyan Enters Hot Springs, NC |
OR better yet - Discover it all in the Book where you can read about north AND south adventures in one easy place!
In Print - Amazon and Barnes and Noble
E-book - Kindle (only $4.99!)
Wednesday, August 03, 2022
Are You Ready to Hike? A Step by Step Process
Here are a few tips I’ve used to begin the process and get myself ready for that next great adventure.
Veggies, especially the green types, lean meats and fish, whole wheat products, and drink plenty of water are good choices. Try to cut down on refined sugary products and useless carbohydrates like white breads, crackers, muffins, things that will spike your sugar levels. Also, when you feel full, stop eating. Don’t take the second helping. Controlling portions helps. Look into intermittent fasting. A few pounds shed now is less that needs to be carried on the trip.
![]() |
I do day hiking in nearby Shenandoah to prepare. But any place where you can walk will do. |
Tuesday, July 05, 2022
Where Should I Go? Six Things to Consider When Determining Your Hiking Trip
Lots of trails. Lots of choices. |
![]() |
My finish of the 1100 mile Florida Trail, Feb, 2018 |

Friday, July 01, 2022
Preparing for the Unexpected on the Trail - Review of the Jase Medical Kit
Preparing for the unexpected sounds like a misnomer. How can one prepare when you don't know what may happen? Especially in the area of medical treatment with hiking and backpacking long distances. I have already covered in a blog on first aid kits but was contacted by an interesting group of physicians that have come up with an emergency medical kit for people like us as well as travelers, etc. It is a medical kit of antibiotic treatments for emergencies, including antibiotics to treat giardia, tick-borne illness, infections--ailments that can often plague a hike.
I was most impressed with the professionalism of this company when ordering this product. I was particularly impressed with how quickly they could assess my needs and then respond and mail the kit. I find this kit to be a major relief-saving factor for problems that crop up in the backpacking field. More than once I’ve suffered from an infection in my toenail and wondered what to do. I even once used some of my doxycycline, which the doctor dispensed just for tick illnesses in case I needed it, and found it worked.
To find out more, go to Jase Medical Supplies.
Friday, May 27, 2022
The All-Important Hiker Tramily
Have you ever heard the word “Tramily”? We know, of course, our regular family, but to a hiker, Tramily means the hiker family, and a unique and special family at that.
After walking thousands of miles of trails, I am happy to say that the experiences have knitted me with many wonderful hikers that have become a “tramily”. We share our love of the great outdoors, meeting in ways we knew would never be possible if not for the trails we hike. Many times, we are out on a trail and suddenly a fellow hiker starts to show up each day. We see them at the shelter area at night or while
gathering water or at a trail intersection or in a trail town resupplying. Recently on my Pinhoti Trail hike this past spring, I had a chance to fall into company with a young hiker, Ruby. She far outdistanced me with speed and strength on the trail. But she hated hiking in rain. I usually walked in rain if I had a particular destination in mind, so we ended up seeing each other frequently. And with that, we developed a comradery that lasted off and on for a few weeks. Sadly, she eventually outpaced me and went her merry way on the Benton MacKaye Trail, but I’m thankful for the time we did spend and our many adventures. The hike on the Pinhoti also knitted me with a hiker friend I first met way back in 2007 on my first AT hike while in the Great Smoky Mountains, and because of that, we connected. I spent several days with her hiking, especially the boring road walks of the Pinhoti, and as a guest in her home.
I stay in touch with many of these great hikers through social media. But I also gather with hikers when I can to see each other face to face and share adventures over meals, workshops, and visits. This past winter, I headed for Florida for the annual Billy Goat Day
which is actually a birthday celebration for an extraordinary hiker, Billy Goat. Now it has become a gathering for Florida Trail hikers. I see old and new faces, and we share food and conversation. After that, I was a guest speaker at the outdoor She Can Adventure Summit for women and again spent time kindling new and old friendships and sharing my love of the trails and tramily through speaking and my hiking adventure series of books.
Just recently there was the big hiker gathering in Damascus, Virginia each year called Trail Days, and again hikers by the hundreds come to see each other and have fun in the friendliest town along the Appalachian Trail.
Trails are much more than just a walk in the woods or putting on miles to reach a destination. It’s also an opportunity to meet hikers and develop everlasting friendships, making the tramily a growing part of our lives and the hiking experience.
I look forward to hearing of your tramily experience – feel free
to share in a comment to the blog or use this Contact form! And If I have met
you on the trail or a gathering, let me know where and when as I count you as
part of the Tramily.