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As a child, Sammy Potter asked his mother for an unusual birthday present: to go on a hike.
Now, Potter is getting more than he imagined — an anticipated nine-month trek with his best friend along three of America’s most arduous trails: the Appalachian, Pacific Crest and Continental Divide.
Potter and Jackson Parell, both students at Stanford University, embarked on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia on New Year’s Day, taking the first steps on a nearly 7,940-mile journey to become the youngest known hikers to finish the ambitious trek dubbed the Calendar Year Triple Crown.
It’s “a massive, massive, massive thing to do. We’re going to hike three trails in one year. Just that sentence is insane,” said Potter, 21, who aims to complete the epic excursion before classes resume Sept. 20. “At this point, it’s about putting one foot in front of the other.”