She quit that job on Good Friday, April 7, to fulfill a lifelong dream to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. Two days later she was in Spring Mountain, Georgia, beginning her trek.

As hundreds of thru-hikers make their way from Georgia to Maine this summer using the Appalachian Trail (AT), they have to pass through quite a bit of milage in Virginia on the way — but how … ...

Cris Howard, of Reston, Virginia, put her executive-level biopharmaceutical career on hold to hike the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail.