Bethany Varner completed her hike on July 1 this year. She had zero overnight backpacking experience, yet she adapted so well to the challenge that she was even able to squeeze in a cruise with her boyfriend while on the trail. On the way, she rediscovered her faith in humanity, sharing her journey on YouTube with an ever-growing following. She also blogged regularly, at The Trek.       You can see some of her photos from the trail on her Instagram account, and if you happen to tweet from time to time, why not follow her on Twitter?     Without any updates from Attie, John Boyet has stepped into the breach by providing us with some excellent gear advice while I'm away on the John Muir Trail. If you have any questions for John, just email him at john@trailwalkergear.com.   If you'd like to follow part of my hike, I'll be posting on Facebook at When I'm 64. Also, if you'd like to pledge a few bucks to the child abuse prevention agency which I'm supporting on this trip, just email Bridget Harry at the agency at bharry@familypartnership.org. Thanks so much for any help that you can give.