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My Appalachian Trail – The “Shakedown” Video

Planning a hike of the entire 2,190-mile-long Appalachian Trail is no small task, let alone actually hiking it.

EDITOR’S NOTE: ENJOY KEVIN’S PRIOR TRAIL PREP SEGMENTS BELOW⤵︎

My Appalachian Trail – Shakedown #2: Withlacoochee

Equipment and gear must be researched, purchased, and tested. After spending a year getting fully outfitted, I was ready to test everything. Earlier this year I had two “shakedown” hikes, but both in Florida where the terrain is nothing like the AT, so I thought a small slice of the actual trail was in order. I picked out a 54-mile-long section in North Carolina and based on the speed I’ve been moving on the Florida Trail, budgeted myself four days to do it in.

Big mistake …

Turns out mountains are very different. Who knew? I had no problem climbing them, but the speed I was moving was barely one mile an hour instead of the two and a half mph I was counting on. After two full days I realized that if I kept hiking for all four days, I’d wind up on the backside of a mountain with no exit point and another full day’s hike to my car. I really had no choice but to cut it short and left the trail at the only possible exit point to get back to work on time (I still had a ten-hour drive to get home).

Having only hiked 27.3 miles in 51 hours on the trail, I still left feeling quite satisfied with my gear choices as well as my physical ability to negotiate the ascents and descents of the AT. I’m sure I’ll move slow in the early weeks but most certainly gain my “trail legs” and be knocking out 20+ mile days by mid-trail.

Being my first time on the Appalachian Trail, everything was a “first” for me. I compiled a few of my favorites into a short four-minute video to remember it by.

Enjoy!

Kevin Newsome
Kevin Newsomehttp://www.newsomesstudio.com/
KEVIN is a past president of three professional photography organizations, and earned the designation of Certified Master Photographer with the Professional Photographers of America. He is a published author, and an accomplished speaker/instructor at state and national professional photography conventions and schools throughout the US and Canada. Full-time professional photographers, Kaye and Kevin Newsome, are well known for providing high quality photography for Tampa’s families, children, high school seniors, executives, and providing corporate event and convention coverage throughout the US. Kaye earned an Associate of Science degree in photography from the Art Institute of Ft Lauderdale, and also serves as the Executive Director for the Florida Professional Photographers, Inc. She was the very first photographer in the state of Florida to be accepted into the National organization, Special Kids Photographers of America, certifying her talent and abilities in photographing children with special needs. Together, they photographed over 800 weddings before redirecting their documentary style and journalistic talents toward corporate events, award banquets, and conventions around the country. They earned enough trust and respect from their brides and grooms, that they quickly created a children and family portrait business. In time, that evolved into a very successful high school senior portrait business. The digital age brought a huge demand for their talents in the executive headshot business. And since the very beginning, they’ve met the demand for foreign passport photos (measured in millimeters) and copy and restoration of old photos. Over time, their talents were honed in each of these genres, and today, their studio is capable and qualified to provide photographic services in a host of areas for both the consumer and corporate markets.

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