About 40 people chose to forego the rugby to come along to Remuera Baptist Church for a very interesting armchair journey along the Appalachian Trail in USA. We followed the footsteps of Max Mason who took 6 months to hike this 3500km trail, the world's longest continuous footpath. Max had much to say about this trip, what he learned about this gruelling challenge of his life. How to keep going when the going gets tough - be grateful for what you have; practice stepping outside yourself and identify what's really wrong; use your self-motivational toolbox (this is tough but I'm tougher; I can't let my supporters down; others have done this before; this too shall pass); find your refuge; share your burden; keep the end goal in mind; don't sweat over the little stuff. We are all far more capable than we dare to imagine. We enjoyed a lovely pot-luck supper afterwards.