Geraldine Largay, a 66-year-old retired Air Force nurse and seasoned hiker, set out on a northbound thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in July 2013.

Known on the trail as ”Inchworm” for her slow but steady pace, she had been hiking for three months when she mysteriously vanished into the dense wilderness.

It would be more than two years before her body was finally discovered — and among her belongings lay a notebook that that told a gut-wrenching story…

The Appalachian trail

The Appalachian Trail stretches over 2,190 miles from Georgia to Maine, mostly winding beneath a thick canopy of trees that feels like one endless green tunnel. But don’t let the beauty fool you — a thru-hike is grueling.

Hikers usually spend five to seven months on the trail, carrying everything they need, planning resupplies, and camping in all kinds of weather.

Starting in early spring, hikers push themselves to keep moving through sweltering heat, freezing nights, and the constant ache of sore muscles, all just to make it to Maine by late summer.

Geraldine Largay, a 66-year-old retired Air Force nurse, was an experienced hiker who had decided to take on the challenge. Known to her friends as Gerry, she had hiked long trails near her home in Tennessee, completed a course on thru-hiking, and easily made friends along the trail.