And when Briana got married and had kids, she planned to pass that love of exploration on to them too.

But…yeah, that was a little tricky at first.

Cambyr! Trey! Put your shoes on! We’re going for a hike.

What? Mom, seriously?

Yes, seriously. Now, come on.

Mom, no offense, but hiking is kinda not my thing. I know you really like it but…

So, Briana took out her map, loaded up her backpack with supplies, and went out to explore new hiking trails on her own. As long as her kids were safe and happily looked after, Briana was ready to take on the world! She scaled up the majestic peaks of Machu Picchu in Peru, and felt like she was taller than the sky itself. Then she trekked through the winding, muddy slopes of the Amazon rainforest, in awe of the bright-colored macaws and howler monkeys. In 2018, Briana hiked through the White Mountains of New Hampshire, its craggy paths and giant waterfalls inspiring her. She felt like she’d found her calling; like she needed to be out in the wilderness for the rest of her life. She vowed that once her kids graduated from high school, she was going to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, which is the longest hiking-only footpath in the world, running through fourteen states and covering over two thousand miles.

Um, sounds cool Mom. I mean for you.

Thanks, hon. Remember if you ever change your mind, I’d love you to join me.

Yeah…I don’t think that’s gonna happen, but I appreciate the offer.

But the next year, something did happen.

One day, Cambyr was watching a YouTube channel called “Fight for Together” about a family of eight who hiked the Appalachian Trail. She couldn’t believe it. They were all having so much fun! There were kids older than her, younger than her, and they all seemed to be laughing and cheering each other on as they trekked through rain, sleet and snow. The family cooked for each other and carried the littlest kids on their backs as they made their way through winding paths and peaks. Cambyr was mesmerized by the video. She felt like she had to go on an adventure like this.

Um, Mom? About that Appalachian Trail idea…

It was fun, but it wasn’t easy. Some of the trails were mucky from the rain, the mosquitos buzzed and bit, and Cambyr was not used to navigating all the stones and twigs. There were thick tree roots sticking out of the ground and ziggety zaggety slopes that her mom called switchbacks. At one point in their training, Cambyr slipped and broke her elbow! The first thing she was worried about was whether they’d have to postpone their plans. But after surgery and physical therapy, she was back on the trail again.

Hiking for six months is more than just a test of physical endurance. Cambyr was only 13 years old, and she’d need to keep up with her schoolwork somehow. So she and her mom met with her teachers at Amesbury Middle School to come up with a plan for her last few months of eighth grade. While she hiked, Cambyr promised to write about her experiences for English class. She would read about geography and history and do some online classwork for math. She and her mom also planned to speak Spanish to each other on the trails to keep her language skills up.

As for Briana, she took a class in herbalism so she’d know which plants were safe to eat like fiddleheads and wild leeks, and which ones they needed to avoid, like hemlock and poison ivy. Briana also got certified in wilderness first aid, so she could help keep them both safe and healthy. And she decided that she had to bring her guitar with her on the trip to keep them in good spirits. As the weather got warmer, both Cambyr and Briana felt more and more excited and confident. They booked their tickets to Springer Mountain in Georgia where they were set to start on March 1, 2020.

Day one: The day started off with us going up Springer mountain. At the bottom of the mountain we decided to drop our packs. We ran up the mountain. It felt so great to be free! I had only worn my pack for two minutes and it already felt good to take it off….

Day two: So, along the Appalachian trail there are these people called trail angels. These people spend their own money to buy things for through hikers. In the back of this one truck there were bagels and cookies, fruit roll ups, marshmallows, bars and chips. It was hiker heaven!

Cambyr and Briana were in good spirits, keeping a steady pace and meeting lots of fun people along the trail. But pretty soon they came head on with a cold, driving rain and got really soaked. Of course, this was part of the deal. They just had to keep going. By day three, though, they were completely drenched. Their socks, their shoes, their packs — all a soggy mess.

Cambyr called it the hardest day ever. It was hard not to be discouraged. But they slogged through and tried to cheer each other up by talking in funny accents

I say mother, my shoes feel rather puddly

The bigger the storm, the bigger the puddle

When they finally made it to the hostel where they were supposed to stay for the night, all the beds were full! After 16 miles of trekking through the rain, they were so exhausted and soggy, so they just camped out back behind the hostel instead. And the next morning, when they woke up, they discovered something amazing nearby…

It was a heated public bathroom with…a hand dryer!

Cambyr and Briana had never been so happy to see a hand dryer before. They dried their hair, their shoes, their clothes. They stood under the dryer for at least an hour, letting the hot air blast away all their dampness and doubts. Then they headed back out to the trail, full of new momentum and hope.

Once they were both fueled up for the morning, they packed all their things and headed out. Every day they were stepping into the unknown. There would be new heights to climb, new forests to navigate, new rivers to circle or wade through, in all kinds of weather — the blazing sun, the pouring rain, snow, sleet and even hail!

They hiked anywhere from ten to thirty miles each day, depending on where they wanted to spend the night. One day they actually went 46 miles, and wound up using the stars as their guides. Their feet stung, their bodies ached, and every root and rock felt like a challenge. But even when it hurt so much that they felt like they couldn’t take one more step, they kept on going. They worked hard to distract each other, singing songs, or making short videos to send to Cambyr’s little brother who was back in Massachusetts. They talked about everything from their favorite movies to their favorite mantras.

Whenever the climbs got really tricky or steep, Cambyr liked to repeat her favorite mantra to herself: you can do it, you can do it. She also made up one to say in Spanish: arriba la montaña, arriba la montaña. She swears it helped her keep going.

When they could, Briana and Cambyr scavenged for mushrooms, berries, and medicinal plants. Briana especially loved a plant called chickweed. She knew from her herbalism class that chickweed could help soothe aches and pains so she picked it and munched on it a lot. So much, in fact, that her trail name became Chickweed. Trail names are like nicknames that people call each other on the trail. While Cambyr and Briana were hiking and climbing, they met lots of people with funny trail names like Pop Rocks, Umbrella, and Wack-a-Mole. Cambyr decided to take the trail name Kaleidoscope because her personality is all the colors of the rainbow.

Each night, Chickweed and Kaleidoscope found a new spot to lay down their weary heads. Sometimes it was an outdoor shelter with lots of other hikers all packed in their sleeping bags. Or they’d go to a hostel which had rows of cots in a giant room and people could pick out where they wanted to sleep. They bought groceries and shared meals whenever they were near a food store. Cambyr also used the evenings to do school work and write in her blog. Every once in a while, they splurged for a hotel room and pretended they were glamorous queens, feasting on pancakes and laying in big beds with pillows as fluffy as clouds.

Wherever they were, Briana always made sure to pull out her guitar as the sun went down. She taught herself scales and chords and channeled whatever energy she had left into making a song. Cambyr loved these moments of stillness and calm, both of their bodies finally resting, drifting off to sleep inside the music.

It was a brilliantly sunny morning and they were so excited, they could barely catch their breath. The first part of the trail was a breeze. They felt like superheroes, charging past groups of hikers and chatting about all the different states they’d visited. But then, they got to a part called the “staple”, which is a very tricky section of Mount Katahdin with a lot of exposed rock and scary heights. Lots of hikers turn back at the staple because it’s so hard to figure out where to place your hands and feet safely to climb.

Cambyr and Briana both took some deep breaths and centered themselves. They had come so far. Turning around now was not an option. They knew the trailhead sign was just a few miles away. It was so close, they could almost taste it! They placed one hand, then one foot, then another, and another. Pieces of rock were slipping out from under them as they started up the steep ridge. They had to scramble on their hands and knees and ignore all the echoes of rocks hitting the ground far below. Sometimes the switchbacks were so narrow, they could only inch across…one…step…at….a…time!

It took them a very long time to climb up that small portion, but when they did, their smiles were brighter than the sun itself!

There it was. The famous sign that says KATADHIN: Baxter Peak, Northern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Cambyr and Briana were giddy with joy. They couldn’t believe they were actually here! They’d hiked 2,190 miles. Two thousand one hundred and ninety miles of singing, laughing, crying, eating bacon, studying maps, putting on socks that felt like they would never dry, searching for the strength to keep going.

When they got to the sign, Briana pulled out her guitar and raised it above her head. After all, that guitar was a huge part of their journey. Then, she and Cambyr yelled YAHOOOOOOO up at the sky. They didn’t know what else to say. There were no words that could equal all these feelings of joy and relief, love and triumph. They had done it! They had risen to the challenge and surprised even themselves with their stamina and courage.

They had done it as a mighty mother-daughter team, with and for each other.