When Covid hit in 2020, Bristol resident Thomas Dawson had an epiphany that resulted in him gearing up and mentally preparing for the trip of a lifetime — a 2,194-mile hike from Maine to Georgia along the entire route of the famed Appalachian Trail.

“Covid made us all realize that life is precious and that we could be gone the next day, whether we get hit by a bus or cancer or something,” Dawson said from his back porch on Burton Street, behind the Herreshoff Museum. “It made me realize I’ve got to commit to something and not just think it’s out there, I have to schedule it.”

Realizing that the trail would likely be overrun in 2021 with people who planned to set out on the journey in 2020 but were delayed by the pandemic, Dawson set his sights on 2022, and he left for Maine’s Mt. Katahdin this past Tuesday to begin the trek with his older brother, John.

At 60 and 68 respectively, Dawson and his brother are no strangers to tests of extreme endurance. The pair have run ultra-marathons together — grueling, 100-kilometer runs without stops that push the body to the limit.

“You try not to stop and you certainly don’t want to sit down,” Dawson said, reflecting on the first ultra-marathon he ran in the early 2000s. “That’s when doubt sets in and people start looking for outs.”

Hiking the AT is a different kind of endurance test. Rather than one long, consistent push towards the finish line, a hike of the trail can take many months to complete. The record for fasted thru-hike from Maine to Georgia is held by Karl Meltzer, who completed it in just under 46 days in 2016. The oldest to complete the trail was M.J. "Nimblewill Nomad" Eberheart, who finished in November of 2021 at 83 years old.

But the Dawson brothers aren’t going for any records.

“We’re not going to be fast out of the gate,” he said, adding that he wants to enjoy the trip with his brother, an accomplished eye surgeon with a practice in Tennessee.

“When I told him I was going to do it, he told me he was going to have a sabbatical and a ‘practice retirement,’” Dawson said with a smile. “He’s always been a 110 percent or nothing kind of guy.”

Dawson grew up in northern Virginia and fell in love with Bristol after seeing it during a boat trip in 2012. He’s lived on Burton Street for the past five years. “This is probably where we’ll retire to,” Dawson said.

Over the past two years, Dawson has done lots of research into how to pack for the trek. Carrying light is the key, as well as wearing proper socks and shoes that provide enough support while reducing the risk of blisters and injuries. And although the journey is by no means an easy feat, its popularity over the past couple decades has resulted in many more opportunities for rest and reprieve along the way than in the past.

“The trail is designed to go through a town every three days,” Dawson said. “It’s not like Earl Shaffer, the guy who did it the first time where you had to mail stuff to yourself…You really only need a change of clothes and maybe some personal items you can’t buy.”

As for possible hazards on the trip, Dawson isn’t too concerned about the odd bear they may encounter, though he is bringing pepper spray in the event of any ornery wildlife, or human life, they may come across. The concerns are more primal, actually.

“We’re both worried we won’t be able to bring enough toilet paper,” he laughed.

Dawson, an architect by trade, said he hopes to be finished with the hike at its terminus point, Springer Mountain in Georgia, by Christmas, but that he plans on making some trips back home to Bristol throughout the adventure. He said he credits his wife of 33 years and his architecture firm for giving him the green light to pursue the dream.

The hike, and all the reconnecting with nature and deep self-reflection that comes with it, will be beneficial for his mental health, he believes.

“Especially considering what’s going on in the news today, I am looking forward to unplugging,” he said. “I’m a problem solver, that’s what I learned to do in my profession. And when I see things like these shootings and we can’t get it under control, I just feel helpless. I just feel like I need to get away from it for a while.”