Meet Garrison
#4 of 15
Trail Name: Scout
Hi! I am Garrison (trail name Scout). I am #4 out of 15, I am 18 years of age, and I am the oldest (by 11 minutes) of the first set of twins in the family. You’ll meet my twin in the next bio published. I was part of a handful of us born in the little old town of Paint Rock, Texas. I lived there until I was about 7, and then we made the move all the way up into the wet state (compared to the deserts of TX) of NC.
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When I was about 11 years old, my older brother (Grayson) started making dining room tables out of free pallets. He sold them on FB Marketplace and made a little money off of it. As that went on, I saw he was making a little bit of money, and at the time, I wanted to buy myself a computer. But, I had no money, and my parents wouldn’t let me get my own unless I bought it. So, I went and asked my older brother if I could start helping him around the shop to make a little money. He agreed and let me clean the shop and do smaller task. As time went on, it started to roll into a larger business. The quality of the tables started to become more of a table rather than a pallet with legs. We started using 4x4 legs and 2x4 frames. As we learned to work with more precise tools and the quality of the work continued to progress, we dipped into some custom work.
At this point, my dad had been diagnosed with work-related PTSD, and he was no longer working. So, my Mom, older siblings, and I all helped work the business to keep the bills paid in addition to owning a coffee shop in our small town. My mom, siblings, and I all divided up our time between the two businesses. I’m grateful for the years of business ownership, as it taught us accounting, marketing, small business management, attention to detail, customer service, quality control, budgeting and so much other stuff most kids don’t really learn this early. It was a creative way to learn algebra, geometry and more difficult math without even realizing we were learning it! Lol
The carpentry business really started to grow at that point and eventually became one of the biggest hand-built farmhouse-style furnishing companies on the East Coast. We built dining room tables, coffee tables, TV consoles, etc. This included delivery, which allowed my siblings and me to see most of the states on the East Coast and meet people along the way. When I was about 15 years old, COVID hit, and wood prices skyrocketed because of it. So, in all of 2020, we tried to keep it afloat. Unfortunately, in mid-2021, we sent our last order out the door, and we shut down. We all felt it was both sad and a relief.
The business and our mutual love for cars allowed me to grow a close relationship with Grayson. I have been known in the family as his right-hand man. Grayson’s one splurge for his hard work was buying his dream car, a fire-breathing 700whp, 2008 C6 Corvette. It had all the works put to it: an on3 twin-turbo kit, LS9 heads, a full fuel system tuned for E85 (the racing gas), a full exhaust system, 5-point racing harnesses, and much more. In mid-2021, as we prepped the car for a track night, we took it for a test run to make sure it was tuned well. As it began to reach a racing speed of 100mph, the back-left tire blew and spun us backward into a tree. I survived with a severe concussion, 2 collapsed lungs, and bruising. After being taken to a hospital, I was then flown to a huge nearby hospital. The craziest part of it all is that I don’t remember the crash at all. I just remember waking up in the hospital and seeing almost everybody I know standing around me. Another crazy side note is my older sister (Evye) wrecked her '86 Ford Ranger 3 months before and severed 2 of her fingers. They were able to reattach one. She told that story in her bio. All of that to say, 2021 was a crazy year and is one of the main reasons why we are out here.
In the normal fashion of Grayson being the oldest, he was the leader of us all. In being his right-hand man for so many years, I learned well from him. Since he was not able to come on the trail with us, I just naturally, without realizing it, took up the leadership role. In doing so, I’ve taken up many responsibilities on the trail, the most obvious being that I am at the front of what we call "the hiker line." I pave the way for success through the forest and to our destination where Smoky Bear awaits us and relies on us to make his life a little bit better.
Smoky and I have become really close too. He’s like a grandpa to all of us and has become one of our most favorite persons. Smoky and I plan out daily mileage and meeting/access points as we hike north. I’m also responsible for resupply for those of us on the trail.
- How did you get your trail name?
I am the scout of the family. I am at the front of the line and will hike ahead for various needs, including scouting out campsites, when needed. Especially when we get into areas where stealth sites are hard to find. I am the survivalist of the family.
Did you want to do the trail?
Definitely not at first, but as time got closer, I realized I kinda didn’t have a choice. My mom gave me the option, but I knew what it meant to her. I also knew it is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me to get close to my family again. Plus, it’s just something that you never really hear of many people doing, especially with their family.
What do you feel you’ve learned from the trail or that the trail has taught you?
Because 2021 was such a batshit crazy year, a lot of depression came from that year and the whole morale of the family went down. We all went to get our own jobs and we all just kinda started to separate and do our own things. We all came back together when we hopped on the trail. Because of the businesses, we knew how to work together really well and cohesively. We get frustrated with each other and still have bad days or get irritable. But we’ve learned how to get over it, communicate, and give each other patience so that things still get done and we still make progress. And we all really love each other. I think it’s the main reason why we are still on the trail.
What three things do you think of the most each day or the most while you hike?
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How I can’t wait to get home and get back to wrenching on cars again. I go through a list of my plans of what I’ll do when I get back so that we can start to get our life back on track. I have plans to do another thru-hike of the AT with my sister Evye/Canary, so I think a lot about that too.
What are your goals?
I definitely plan on getting my triple crown and to travel and hike all throughout the world.
What is one thing on your bucket list?
Conquer the tallest mountains in all 50 states.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Wherever tomorrow takes me.
Post Trail Update:
I returned to work part time working for the same construction company for which I worked before we left. I felt part time was best since I wanted to take a more active role in helping with the education of my younger siblings. Smoky and I have come up with an entire school routine which frees my mom up a lot to be able to take care of all the other stuff she is managing right now. I also just really enjoy watching them all learn and finding ways to make it fun for them. I'll be continuing my own education this fall, as I start classes at our local college.
