Research will be conducted by the 'Honeymooners', thru-hikers Sheri and Randy Propster, as they hike from the Atlantic to the Pacific on over 5,000 miles of the American Discovery Trail.
That's Right, Honeymooners! On December 22, 2005 Sheri Wiest and Randy Propster were officially married.
After meeting we developed a relationship that was immediately recognized as healthy and happy. Throughout the past twelve years of our lives we have attempted to be together in every available moment knowing that we are always a stronger team when we are together. We enjoy the challenges of life because we recognize that we are standing on a strong and sturdy foundation, a foundation based on Teamwork, and a foundation based in Love.
We feel our team becomes even stronger with the creation of the 'Honeymooners', a trail name fit for a trail team that understands the teamwork required to accomplish the challenge of thru-hiking the American Discovery Trail.
We met in the fall of 1993 as student athletes at Old Dominion University. While playing field hockey Sheri received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. While playing soccer Randy first studied Journalism and later studied Environmental Protection at Tidewater Community College. After some time together we discovered our common passion for backpacking and in March of 1999 set out on a 222-day journey from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail. While thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail we were known to the hiking community as 'Waterfall' (Sheri) and 'Tagalong' (Randy). We took our first steps north from Springer together and hiked each and every day together sharing each and every step, and so, by the time we reached Kataydyn, 'Tag Team' was an acceptible trailname as well.
After completing our adventure on the Appalachian Trail we immediately began entertaining new goals and adventures. Life and the exploration of our world requires exposure to enjoyable environments and finances. We moved to the oceanfront where we could enjoy the ocean and be employed by the Department of Defense at the Outdoor Adventure Center in Virginia Beach (Randy's hometown) as Recreation Specialists. As a team, we were instructors and lead facilitators instructing backpacking, kayaking and surfing techniques as well as facilitating exercises on the Navy's Dam Neck Tower and Ropes Course. Our facilitation on the Navy's ropes course provided life enhancing team building techniques and guidance to many government installations as well as numerous school and community programs.
A few years down at the beach and the mountains were calling. We allowed our love for backpacking to lead us away from Virginia Beach to search out a life in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia in the small community of Wintergreen. Sheri spends her indoor time employed at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports where she can be surrounded by a hiking environment. During winter months, Randy teaches both children and adults his passion of snowboarding, and in summer months he works as an associate at the Devils Knob Golfcourse. Our love for the outdoors and passion to teach have lead us to this "virtual field trip" with an opportunity to live in the field with an educators mind set, hoping to enrich both our own lives and those of the numerous students and teachers involved in this interactive experience.
Our goal is to Thru-hike the American Discovery Trail with an educators perspective utilizing modern technologies to compile information pertaining to the environmentally, historically and culturally significant points of interest we discover throughout our journey. This interactive website is designed to cooperate with curriculum presented in traditional classrooms and will become the platform upon which we will display our research and discovery results.
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| 'The Honeymooners' |
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