(POZ August 1999) Age: 31 Diagnosed: 1988 Trailblazings: Congressional aide, treatment advocate, founder of the Women’s Information Services and Exchange (WISE) Footloose Leader: Last year, the notoriously overcommittee’d Averitt wowed everyone when she set aside six months to hike the 2,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail, from Maine to Georgia. Deputy Dawg: Along with her little brother, Scott (trail name Flip Top, for his ever-open mouth), and friend Brad (Casper, for his pale pecs), Averitt (Amazing Grace, for her klutzy self) brought along Guinness, who trained with the crew. Imperfect storm: “We got a bit off in January. There was a bad winter storm with 30-below wind chill and trees falling all around us—crazy. They closed the trail to the Shenandoahs, but we were on it. Our last day we hiked 25 miles in sleet. Not safe, not fun, and not why we were out there. The guys wisely suggested a break.” Some Break!: Averitt then traded rain gear for notebook at January’s Retroviruses Conference in San Francisco. Back On Track: “We’re starting again where we stopped. A lot of people skip sections, but we’re a little anal.” Beaten Path: “When we finish, we’ll have trekked through a drought, a flood, a hurricane, a snowstorm, injury….” Maybe that’s why fewer than 10 percent of people who start the Trail finish it. Drug trip: Not bad for someone on salvage therapy, huh? For you pill-spotters, her pack includes ritonavir, saquinavir, Sustiva, ddI and hydroxyurea. Homecoming Queen: National Geographic and NPR’s This American Life have been along for sections of the trail. “Everyone will be there when we walk home to Georgia.”
(To stay caught up, take a hike to www.trekkingwithaids.com)
