Tomorrow I’m off to start the Appalachian Trail.
In pursuit of its promise of a new horizon each day.
In spite of it’s reputation for breaking ankles as well as wills.
Drawn by the lonely path, I fear neither the bear nor the banjo music ringing in the deep wood.
In short, I’m done watching youtube videos of how to eat, sleep, and shit on the trail. It’s time to take the first step.
Nothing left but to start heading NOBO.
Pensive Nomad 
The Diehl Motto: “Create a Memory”
Yesterday began a journey for the parents as well as the son. After years of nurturing, coddling and making as many right decisions as wrong decisions when raising our son, we released him into the wild. It was the right time. He knew it, we knew it. A month of living at home, after experiencing years of freedom in college, was creating angst and tension in Nathan that needed a release. For parents who knew how rarely in life you get the gift of time not consumed by regular life, we yearned for Nathan to begin an adventure that would imprint him forever.
So yesterday at 11:46 AM, after 5 hours of driving on Monday night and 4 more hours of early morning driving, we arrived in Troutville, VA, a trail friendly town where the Appalachian Trail crosses Lee Highway, before entering a forest where the Blue Ridge Parkway parallels the trail. We realized that the hours spent on the road covering 600 miles, would take Nathan close to two months to cover on the trail.
With temperatures in the low 40’s, the backpack was rummaged for a hat and jacket. Hugs were passed around, jokes about bears were shared at Mom’s expense, and a few tears were shed. We walked by the first trailhead sign, found the first white slash marking the trail and wondered how many more Nathan would pass in the next couple of months.
We walked with our son, our hearts bursting with pride and a little bit of trepidation, about a ¼ mile into the woods. For possibly the first time in life, starting him off on a trail that we could not follow. One last goodbye we watched his backpacked figure disappear into the trees, and now that he was out of sight, the tears came in earnest. Not tears of sadness, not tears of joy, but tears of pride, concern and hope as he started this awesome adventure.
We equipped Nathan with a GPS transponder for safety, so seven hours later, like a spaceship leaving orbit, he activated the unit to give us our first communication, a simple text message relayed by satellite that reported his position and a simple message “Hey Mom, didn’t get eaten today”. Like searching for your child in camp pictures, we immediately plotted his position, looked at google earth and imagined our young man sleeping in the wild.
Day One:
8.3 miles done, only 992 miles left.
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love the adventure! we signed up for updates. would love to bring supplies if you know where as u pass thru! savor the journey
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Enjoy this opportunity, my boy. My heart ached watching you walk off into the forest, yet was strengthened from what I know you will gain from this experience.
You are an incredible, amazing, brilliant and talented man with a heart of gold. Enjoy every step of this journey, all the ups and downs, new friends, scenic views. Stay safe, stay strong. And dont forget to give us a spot or text every day (had to throw that in). …btw, I LOVE reading your written words. You have a gift.
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