30 SECONDS!

On the morning of June 2nd, 2005 I will be leaving everything to live out in the woods and walk from the tip of New England all the way down to Georgia. I can't believe this day has finally come, and I can't wait to get out there and hike. I have a ton of thank yous before I go. Thanks to my Pop and Maddy for buying me all the gear last Christmas, even thought you really didn't want to promote the whole hiking lifestyle. Thanks to my Ma, who had no real idea as to why I wanted to do this, but blindly followed and supported. Thanks to my sister Melissa who throughout all the highs and lows of my thru hike planning, has been there with unconditional love and support. Thanks to my Grandpa and Grandma Benvenuto, Grammy Haber, GiGi, Uncle Pete, Aunt Maria, Aunt Ali, Uncle Jean David, and my 3 cousins. I have been blessed with a great family who all have been very supportive of my upcoming adventure. Thanks to my extended family; the Hunter's, the Augliera's, the Well's, the Gentry's, and the Mannion's. Without these four familys taking me in and making me feel like a welcome part of their family I couldnt have got to this day, they have all been supportive and were always there to feed me dinner. Thanks to all of our sponsors; Granite Gear, JetBoil, and Pacific Health Labs. Finally thanks to all my friends who have kept me in check all these years and been there for me; Spencer, Dave, Johnny, Blake, Alison, Paul, Kate, Brady, Courtlandt, Taylor, and the list goes on. I'm lucky to have the friends I have, and I am thankful everyday that all these people that acctually like me. Oh, and one last thank you to Pop Tart, Andrew Skurka, Tuuli, the staff at EMS in Meriden, and all the members of WhiteBlaze.net all of whom taught me the ways of thru hiking and what it takes to complete the 2,174.1 miles.

Hope I didnt foget anyone.