Dana Tokarzewski

The Art of Long Distance Hiking

My name is Dana, but on trail they called me ‘Atlas’. An innovator, a problem-solver, a disciplnarian, a navigator, a creative, one who carries the weight and smiles while doing so. Millions of steps, blood, sweat, and tears carried me from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail and from Massachusetts to Canada on the Long Trail. Thru-hiking molds you. Waking up at the crack of dawn in a 35° thunderstorm just to get moving, pulling on wet socks for the 3rd day in a row, persevering through snow and heavy winds, heat waves and droughts and wildfire smoke, crawling up countless steep inclines just to descend on the other side; you learn and adapt and just keep going foregoing creature comforts in pursuit of the summit or terminus. It’s a reconnection to nature, a celebration of simplicity - it rewires your way of seeing the world with everything you could possibly need upon your shoulders.