One year after we met on the AT in 2017, we traveled back to Damascus, Virginia for our “handfasting.” We celebrated with the AT hiker community our love for each other and our commitment to continue hiking and adventuring together for as long as there are trails to travel. A few of our local friends and AT hikers were able to join us for the short ceremony, but most could only there with us in spirit and shared their support and love through Gaia and Google. Dan Manweiler and Tom Peterson wrote us a special song, and Deni Peterson created a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Our dear friend, Lynn Manweiler, presided over everything as our personal priestess.

According to Wikipedia, “Handfasting is a rural folkloric and neopagan custom… in which a couple hold a commitment ceremony.” While its historical roots are a little vague, handfasting has been reimagined in modern times to mean many different things for different people in different contexts.

For us it’s a recognition that we have found in each other the pieces we’d been missing for a more fulfilling path forward. Despite our greying locks, we are committed to chasing adventure without too many possessions or obligations, and sampling life’s experiences at every opportunity, both the amazing and the mundane.

Every year on May 17, we retie our hands and renew our commitment to each other with the following haikus.

Girl Hobo ~

Honeysuckle day
A kiss on a hilltop waits
Will you walk with me?

Rusty ~

Yes, I’ll walk with you
Whatever the next journey
You are now my path