In the end, it wasn't about going the distance for Jennifer Pharr Davis

Through the end of the year, we'll be keeping you updated in this weekly enewsletter on two main events celebrating our 40th Anniversary: MST in a Day and Jennifer Pharr Davis Hikes the MST.

If you have friends who love to hike, please forward this enewsletter and encourage them to sign up and get involved.

40th Anniversary Weekly Coverage

No. 16, November 20, 2017


	Jen Brew, Charley and Gus celebrate the finish atop Jockey's Ridge.

Jennifer Pharr Davis: In the end, it wasn't about the distance

On Saturday, Nov. 18, Jennifer Pharr Davis completed a task she began with her family at Clingmans Dome on Aug. 15: hiking the 1,175-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail. She shares her thoughts upon completing her journey atop Jockey's Ridge State Park.

I wanted to hike the Mountains-to-Sea Trail to reclaim something that I lost. Instead, it made me realize everything I had gained.

In my twenties my identity was that of a long-distance hiker. I worked until I had enough money to tackle a long trail and then I set off into the woods for hundreds or thousands of miles. I don't think it was an addiction but it was certainly a lifestyle. I cherished the sinewy strength that appears under a soft layer of comfort, the freedom to think through your thoughts and clear your brain, the permission to feel deeply and act accordingly.

I still think of myself as a thru-hiker, I just assumed that I would have to wait until my children were much older before I could complete another long trail. When the opportunity arose to partner with the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and promote the footpath for its 40th Anniversary, I was thrilled.

"This was it!" I thought. "I am going to experience a thru-hike just like I used to."

But everything had changed.

Continue reading on our website, here.

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Relive Jen's three-month journey : through the following:

Find her blog posts, as well as profiles of people she hikes with and what she's eating on the trail on our website.
Sign up for this weekly enewsletter.
Follow Jen on the Friends of MST Facebook page.
Check out photos from her hike.
Visit her page on the Friends' website, JPDhikestheMST.org.

Summiting Jockey's Ridge, finishing the MST

Jen's final day on the trail in pictures

Jen is joined by friends and family on her climb to the finish at Jockey's Ridge.

Jen: Done on the dune!

Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail Executive Director Kate Dixon gives Jen a congratulatory hug.

What was Brewin' off the trail?

While Jennifer Pharr Davis made her way across the state on the MST, her support crew - hubby Brew, 4-year-old daughter Charley and just-turned-1 son Gus - joined her when they could.

And when they weren't hiking with her, they were having their own adventures just off the trail. Get a sense of Jen's final days on the trail from the perspective of Brew and the kids on Brew's Facebook page, here .

Let the 40th Celebration continue (with our MST Trail Guides)

Continue celebrating our 40th anniversary by continuing to celebrate the trail - by being on it!

Hiking is especially critical during the holiday season, a time of stress and of abundant goodies! Our detailed Trail Guides - available in Mountain, Piedmont and Coastal Plain/Coast editions - make it easy to plot the hike you want to take, whether it's a short morning excursion or a day-long escape.

Discover our guides here and start planning your next MST hike.

Thanks to our sponsors!

There would be no Mountains-to-Sea Trail, no reason to celebrate a 40th anniversary, without the generous support of our many sponsors, including BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, Great Outdoor Provision Co., REI, Duke Energy, Farm to Feet, First Citizens Bank, Mast General Store, Rostan Family Foundation, New Morning Gallery, AntiGravity Gear, Prestage Farms and Wyrick Robbins.

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