Trailblazer Blog

1. Take Risks and Start the Journey. Disclaimer - this feels a lot easier when you are young. I am so glad that I hiked the AT at age 21 and started a company at age 24. In a lot of ways, I didn’t know any better. After having a family + mortgage starting a company...

There are a lot of urban hikers doing their things this week. In cities all across the country, people came together on Martin Luther King Jr Day to walk in unison. They walked in remembrance of a civil rights leader and to honor and commemorate past marches, such as...

Was there something about our Mountains-to-Sea Trail hike that resonated with you? I have found the effects of time spent outdoors to be countercultural and deeply personal, yet entirely universal. A Fitbit can never measure the benefits of hiking. My experience on...

Todd Gothberg Todd has a hint of a Yankee accent that lets you know he’s not a native, but he has lived in North Carolina for over twelve years now and he raised his three daughters in Asheville. Todd has worked in the corporate sector for most of his career, but when...

Hiking the MST near Asheville In the past two weeks, we have covered over 180 miles of the Mountains to Sea Trail. But if we were on any other path, in any other state, I doubt we would have made it this far. After we started in the Smokies and Brew got sick on DAY...

The Mountains to Sea Trail was born 40 years ago when Howard Lee gave a speech outlining the idea of a footpath that stretches across North Carolina. That seed of an idea has grown and matured over the past four decades to blossom into one of the best and most diverse...

All marriages have “arrangements,” right?! Those small bargains that you make with your partner to stay sane and married. Brew and I agreed when we became parents that as soon as I finished nursing we would allow each other two weeks a year to do WHATEVER. For Brew...

The Continental Divide Trail is not easy to get to, but it is worth the effort. This past August I flew to Colorado, met my hiking partner at the airport, and then picked up a rental car and drove 6 hours to Rock Springs, WY. From there we took a two-hour shuttle to...