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Now he's committed to hiking 106 miles of New Jersey's Highlands Trail.
Blanke always had an interest in hiking but felt intimidated by all the things that might go wrong.
"I had to do so much research just to get comfortable going out there. What if something goes wrong? What if I get hurt? What if I get lost? What if I encounter a bear, or a tick or a snake?" Blanke said.
He felt more confident after doing some research but felt the process should be streamlined for people who have an interest in hiking but don't know where to start.
Blanke now chronicles his adventures traveling the Highlands Trail on his website. He split the journey into 21 parts, with a blog post dedicated to each one.
He plans to condense the necessary information into an easy to follow guide once he completes the trail.
For beginners, he recommends the Saffin Pond portion of the trail.
Blanke took initiative to map out the Highlands Trail, an effort that required piecing together various maps from different sources such as the Mahwah-based New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. He created one hugely encompassing guide.
He's nearly finished with his task, having completed 16 of the 21 trails.
Blanke hopes his travels and writings will inspire others to take an interest in hiking but he also invites others to join him on the remaining adventures. he can be contacted through his website.
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