Our very own Eagle alumni, Isaac Hull and Ali White, took their forced COVID-19 gap years and made the most of it.
White, a 2016 graduate, embarked on a 2,190 mile hike along the entire Appalachian trail.
During her forced COVID-19 gap year, White started her journey in Springer Mountain, Georgia and ended at Mount Katahdin in Maine. White’s hike along the trail came to an end on July 26.
Hiking the trail is not an easy task, but White made the most of the physical and mental challenges.
“I had an amazing trail experience that was everything I’d been looking for. I got to meet new people, intimately explore the geography of the east coast, form new lifelong friendships, join the wonderful hiking community, reaffirm my own mental and physical strength in the face of hardship, and finish my hike by summiting Mt. Katahdin,” said White.
Hiking the trail allowed White to gain a deeper understanding of herself.
“Most of my self-discovery confirmed what I’d suspected – that I’m very introverted and love spending most of the day alone, that I enjoy challenges and chances to grow through discomfort,” said White.
Even though her trip confirmed what she already knew about herself, she also learned more about her personality.
“I was surprised by just how open I became to changing plans spontaneously and how well I adapted to being assertive and asking people for what I need,” said White.
Mind over matter was something White had to learn for herself while out on the trail.
“The mental landscape is the toughest. The trail forces you to overcome boredom and discomfort every day for months. This skill is hugely valuable and hard-earned,” said White.
White set off on the trail by herself, but encountered many new lifelong friends and trailmates.
“I anticipate lifelong friendship with all my closest trail buds! I met all kinds of fascinating and wonderful people in trail, all of them with different lessons to teach,” said White.
“I took a few weeks to road trip through the Northeast after summiting, then returned to the Outer Banks to relax for a while and plan my next steps! I’m content with the length of the thru-hiking experience,” said White.
White hopes her trail experience inspires many to follow her and her journey along the Appalachian trail.
“I’m super happy with my trail experience. To those thinking of thru-hiking, I’d advise building up to the goal by taking short trips and visiting the trail to become familiar with your gear and the terrain. It’s important to clearly understand your motivations for hiking to make sure they match with the thru-hiking experience,” said White.
Isaac Hull, a 2020 graduate, decided to take a gap year to travel to different kayaking sites around the world. Some of the countries that Hull traveled to include; Mexico, Zambia, and Iceland. He also went to several kayaking destinations here in the United States.
Overall the trip was a great experience for Hull. With a few bumps along the way he still managed to make the most out of his experience.
“I don’t think I have any complaints. I got so, so, so lucky with the opportunities that presented themselves and my travels far exceeded my expectations for the year. Originally I was going to travel around Chile for a few months, but instead I went to Mexico and Zambia so it worked out perfectly. There were a few rivers I missed in California because of car problems, but I’ll be back next year,” said Hull. 
In order to reach the kayaking destinations, there was a lot of hiking involved. Fortunately for Hull, most of the destinations he went to were well known and had well-beaten trails leading to the starting points. The difficulty came in when some of the rivers he wanted to kayak were off trail.
One instance of this is when Hull went to several kayaking destinations deep in the Sierras of Northern California.
“Instead of parking at the start and finish of the river, you have to hike your kayak and gear through the mountains to get to the start of the run. This typically involves camping gear for one to three nights in the wilderness, since the hike and river are very time-consuming,” said Hull.
Throughout his experience, Hull learned many lessons. Kayaking around the world is not an easy feat and involves a lot more than just carrying a kayak to and from each destination. Especially for a recent high school graduate.
“I learned a ton about living on my own, living/cooking on a budget, living out of my car, managing my money, and balancing work with training. I learned about following through and finishing the job even when you are going insane,” said Hull.
Hull has no regrets regarding his trip. He even plans on returning to most of the places he visited on his trip. He is very glad and appreciative of the experiences he was able to have and how much he was able to accomplish.
Hull offers advice to people who are planning on doing something similar or doing something that they have some hesitations about yet still have a great desire to do it.
“Do it! Don’t put your head down and follow what everyone else is doing, don’t just go to college with no clue of what you want to study – make your own decisions. A lot of the trips I did seemed so far-fetched at the start of the year, but with some common sense and the internet, you can surely get by. My biggest piece of advice is everything happens for a reason, and when you face a problem move forward to the next decision or task at hand instead of wasting time thinking about the past,” said Hull.
To watch a summary of Ali’s hike click the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ142YGwhYU
