Hi! My name is Minta and I have brown curly hair, hazel eyes, and a heart that craves communion with my Heavenly Father in the wilderness (with a healthy dose of adventure along the way). I'm incredibly thankful for my wonderful parents and the fact that they brought me into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the first time before I was even a week old. Much of my childhood has been spent in and around the outdoors and I have only grown to love it more as I have matured into an independent young woman. Since I have started this blog to chronicle my upcoming summer journey on the Appalachian Trail, a bit of background on how I fell in love with the 2,100 mile footpath might be appropriate.
My obsession with the trail started years before I actually set foot on it for the first time. I vividly remember standing in line at a Boy Scout (did I mention I also have a favorite brother?) dinner that was in a school cafeteria with a giant map of the US on the wall. Someone asked me if I had ever heard of the AT and I was absolutely fascinated as they described the people who hike all the way from Georgia to Maine. I was 10 and I decided I wanted to be one of those people. I read tons of books and constantly dreamt of hiking the trail, but there was just one small issue: I had never been backpacking...until I met my best friend, Emily, and her precious trail-loving family. In high school, I started going on weekend backpacking trips with them and decided trail life really was for me. I have fallen deeply in love with the simplicity of it all...eat, sleep, hike, listen, and experience. That's pretty much it. I would like to invite you to read along with me as I embark on this journey back to the garden (see "Back to the Garden: Behind the Name" page for more info).
