BROTHERS JON QUALLEY, left, and Craig “C.J.” Qualley, both alumni of Iron Mountain High School, set out this week to hike the entire 2,190-mile length of the Appalachian Trail, a 14-state trek from Georgia to Maine. The journey is expected to take five to seven months. (Theresa Proudfit/Daily News photo)

Craig “C.J.” Qualley wasn’t sure of his next move after graduating a semester early from Western Michigan University with a degree in finance. He didn’t want to jump immediately into a job.

Then he read an online article about Christian “Buddy Backpacker” Thomas, the 9-year-old who recently became the youngest person to complete all three of the nation’s longest hiking trails. Thomas, along with his parents, hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide, an entire trail a year, all before his 10th birthday.

That article inspired Qualley to attempt one of these thru-hikes on the Appalachian Trail.

Qualley said tackling the trail offered the opportunity for “mental, physical and financial challenges,” “adventure,” plus the added reason “there is no time like the present.”

“It seems like at this point in my life everything has lined up to allow me to drop everything for a half a year and go out on a hike,” Qualley said. “I felt like if I didn’t do this now I might never do it.”

When told of what he intended, mother Jenny Crosson of Norway tried to sound supportive. Secretly, however, she thought her youngest son was crazy.

Her own research on the Appalachian Trail only raised more red flags, so she turned to her oldest son about his little brother’s plans.

Instead of trying to stop him, Jon Qualley decided to join him on the trek.

“I haven’t seen him so excited about something in a long time, and I can’t wait to share this journey with him,” Jon Qualley said.

The Iron Mountain High School graduates will begin their journey this week hiking north from Springer Mountain in Georgia and, if all goes as planned, travel through 14 states in about five to seven months before finishing their trek at Mount Katahdin in Maine.

Completing the entire 2,190 miles in one trip is a massive undertaking accomplished by only about 1 in 4 of the thousands of hikers who each year attempt a thru-hike.

They will stop every three to four days, sometimes staying a night or two in a hotel or hostel along the way, to shower and pick up supplies.

C.J. Qualley admits he’s going into this a bit of a novice.

“I have done very little hiking in the past and have done no hiking while carrying a backpack. My body will have to adjust to the long days of hiking and the additional weight in my pack as we go, I guess,” he said.

While Jon Qualley said he has done a lot of hiking in his life, it’s been mostly “just short strolls through the woods,” he said, and he’s never done a hike-thru.

However, he has been preparing the past couple months by putting on more miles and hiking in winter “to prepare for the early and late months on the A.T. when the temps drop low.” He also has been hiking with a pack to get used to the extra weight.

“Hiking has become a big part of my life in the last year and is already starting to feel like more of a lifestyle than a hobby,” he said.

The Qualleys will use the time on the trail to re-connect. Although they were close as kids, the boys are 6.5 years apart in age and have been living in different communities for the past four years. C.J. is coming back from school in Kalamazoo and Jon has returned from living in Duluth, Minnesota. Looking forward to the adventure together, they also know that too much time by themselves may bring some squabbles on the trail.

Crosson describes her sons as “polar opposites” — Jon is “extremely outgoing and chatty, a big talker and thinker” and although he is more “outdoorsy” than his younger brother, he tends to be more laid back and not much of a planner.

“We joked that Jon would show up with flip-flops,” Crosson said.

The younger, more competitive brother, on the other hand, has done his research for the trek but tends to be on the quieter side. “C.J. could go days without talking to anybody and keeps everything to himself,” she said.

While starting the trip together, both agree they intend to finish the hike with or without the other. Meaning if one brother becomes injured and needs to cut the trip short, the other will continue on without guilt or regret.

Packing everything they need to live on the trail, the Qualleys’ backpacks will include a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, small stove and fuel tank, water filter, trekking poles, food, a pot to cook in, some additional clothes and battery pack to charge their cell phones.

Because the trip will cost approximately $1,000 a month, they plan to pack cheap, high-calorie food that doesn’t weigh much and is easy to pack, such as Pop Tarts, energy bars, instant oatmeal, tuna packs, peanut butter, nuts, dried fruit and candy bars, resupplying every few days.

They consider their most essential item to be lightweight hiking shoes. They are easier on the feet but will need to be replaced several times along the way.

Some would consider their cellphones to be a luxury item, but C.J. says it’s necessary “to stay in touch with people and to manage my finances while we are away.”

Jon Qualley said is taking his cell phone as well but “will use it as little as possible.” Both men plan to journal during the trip.

Crosson said she is both excited and nervous for her sons, but will live vicariously through them while they are gone.

“The more I hear from them, the better it will be,” she said.