As Gorgi Rigby starts hiking the Appalachian Trail this year with her sister Melanie (see previous post) it will be Melanie’s first time on the trail but not Gorgi’s. Her first time on the trail was with her son in June of 2016, starting in Maine with the intention of through hiking to Georgia and finishing by Thanksgiving. Her son was going to be with her for the first few weeks and then she was going to do the rest alone. Just 10 days into the hike she, unfortunately, tripped over a large root and took a hard fall that ended up breaking her leg in two places. At the time they were five miles away from a dirt logging road. She splinted her leg with Duct tape and her son carried her pack. It took 11 hours of hiking in excruciating pain, but they finally made it to the road. She said it was pure agony. It then took another day to get to a hospital.

The unfortunate injury did not stop Gorgi’s dream of hiking the trail. Her leg recovered and she has been back to the Appalachian Trail in 2017, 2018, and 2019 doing section hikes. She has now completed 400 of the 2200-mile trail. She is returning this year with her sister with the goal of finishing Maine. Their packs are full of freeze-dried food and they are hoping for a fun adventure. We will keep you updated on their journey.