Food is like a torture device because hiking 47 miles a day is hard enough. And then you're trying to get down 6,000 calories a day. Every hour, I needed a snack, every few hours I had to take in a meal and it's just not food, it's fuel. You're not enjoying it - you're seriously shoving it in your mouth and following it with water, juice or Gatorade.

One thing I think I've always felt about being in nature is that it's a very natural taste.

I know that I was hiking at a very young age because I remember being convinced that it was the trees that were talking.

Something deep within me connected with hard work, nature and simplicity.

I found things in the woods that I didn’t know I was looking for… and now I’ll never be the same.

Part of the reason I fell in love with the trail is because it was so extremely difficult, more difficult than the marathons and Ironmans I'd competed in. Not just physically but emotionally it was a new challenge, as well. It really helped me to learn and grow in so many ways.

Writing is one of the main ways that I process the experience.