This is a picture of me writing in my journal on my very first backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail back in 2000.
You certainly can’t tell from this picture, but I was miserable!
I had high hopes of pursuing a lifelong dream of thru-hiking the entire Appalachian Trail one day. This trip was supposed to be a trial run.
Let me just say it didn’t go as I had hoped!
But I’m glad I kept a journal to document my experience because, years later, it became the beginning of something I never could have imagined.
One of the unexpected joys of publishing my first Appalachian Trail book, Facing Fear Through Faith: One Step at a Time, the first in a trilogy memoir about my eleven-year journey, has been reflecting on the stories behind the stories—the moments that never fully fit within the pages of the book but helped shape the journey.
And this is one of those stories.
At first, I thought I was simply writing a book about hiking the Appalachian Trail.
But somewhere along the journey, I realized I was writing about something much deeper—facing fear through faith.
People often asked me, “Aren’t you afraid?”
As I searched for the answer, I discovered that fear was never overcome by becoming stronger or braver. It was overcome by learning to trust God with one faithful step at a time.
Around that same time, I became fascinated with my own family history. I discovered names, dates, and records—but very few stories.
It made me realize how easily ordinary lives can disappear from history when no one takes the time to tell their stories.
That’s when I understood that I wasn’t simply writing about mountains or miles.
I was preserving a journey—one that revealed God’s faithfulness through ordinary moments, unexpected Plan Bs, and one faithful step of obedience after another.
If the pages of my Appalachian Trail trilogy encourage someone to trust God a little more deeply, to pursue the dream He’s placed on their heart, or simply to preserve their own story for those who come after them, then this story was worth telling.
My hope and prayer is that this story encourages you to take another faithful step in your own journey.
Blessings & Health,
Jackie
Continue the Journey
Explore Jackie’s Facing Fear Through Faith Appalachian Trail memoir trilogy and the accompanying photo journals.