Month: June 2013

I asked my dad to write a quick blurb about his thoughts on me hiking as a fun guest post (and to judge if he thinks I’m crazy for doing this). Little did I know he’d reply with this tearjerker. I am beyond lucky and grateful to have such a supportive dad. 

You’re going to do WHAT!!

It seems like a faint echo from a long time ago when Julie said, “I think I’ll try walking the Appalachian Trail”.  Like any good parent, I didn’t say “no” or object.  I just simply acknowledged the remark – hoping that this was just a passing fancy and that she would change her mind.  Not surprisingly, that hasn’t happened. The echo from months ago has grown louder and louder as we moved from winter through spring and into early summer.  Now, we are only a few days away from when Julie will leave on her (and our) life changing adventure.  As her father, I know I should be strong and supportive and I want to be, but I’m scared beyond words.  That said – I’m bursting with pride about Julie’s decision.  Her inner strength and determination to take this fork in the road is certain to lead down a long path of unexpected difficulties and challenges.  Few of us risk taking that path in life.  It’s usually much easier to “follow the crowd”, do what everyone expects, or let circumstances determine our next steps. But, that’s not Julie. 

Julie is a person that never fails to surprise and amaze me with her perspective and unique ability to not only set very high and often non-traditional goals, but then to go out and achieve them.  In high school it would have been easy for her to earn a little money working in town and hanging out with her friends, but she chose to work as an unpaid research intern at a Boston hospital where she helped to create an online Motivational Enhancement Therapy program for at-risk teens.  In college, she could have had a semester studying abroad in one of the world’s hot spots for college students, but she chose Nepal, a very poor country where she had to learn the Nepalese language and to adjust to being without such “basic” essentials as reliable electricity.  During her last summer break before her senior year in college, she could have taken a job anywhere, but elected to go to Tennessee to work as a counselor for youth with aggression and behavioral problems.  So, I guess it shouldn’t come as any surprise to me or anyone else that Julie is now about to undertake a new challenge: The Appalachian Trail

One can only imagine what it must be like to be out in the Appalachian Trail wilderness for months on end relying solely on willpower and physical stamina to trudge forward day-after-day, step-by step, over relentless miles of rugged terrain.  Few of us would be willing to survive on the limited food supplies in our backpack, or the need to pitch a tent or to find a shelter in order to be able to sleep every night.  Even fewer (I head this list) would want to endure or cope with the elements of rain, wind, heat, cold, and to deal with the certainty of blisters, wet clothes, and the lack of any human conveniences.   For Julie, it’s these very challenges that motivate her.  Conquering the fear and obstacles and doing it in her on her own way is part of what drives her.

Like I said at the beginning, I’m really nervous and scared to death for Julie’s safety and well-being, but I have complete trust and confidence in her judgment and I support her determination to move forward.   And whether she completes 100, 1,000, or the entire 2,000+  miles of The Appalachian Trail, my positive thoughts and unending love will be with her to help cushion her every step along the way.

She makes me very proud to be her Dad.

What does it mean to “thru-hike” the Appalachian Trail?

It means I am going to walk approximately (it’s always changing ever so slightly) 2180 miles from Mount Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia.  I’ll be a Southbounder, which is significantly less common than starting in Georgia as a Northbounder (1500 annual Northbound vs a couple hundred Southbound). I just read that fewer than 1000 Southbounders have ever finished, so that’d be pretty cool to join such a small club. Some fun facts from the AT website are that the total elevation gain is equivalent to hiking Mt Everest 16 times, 1 in 4 thru-hikers that attempt the trail actually completes it, and it passes through 14 states (Maine and NH are the hardest–I am in for a rude awakening).

How long will it take you?

Obviously it varies and it’s hard to predict how fast I’ll end up hiking, but the average is 4-6 months. My goal is to be done by Thanksgiving, and starting on July 1^st, that puts me at just under 5 months.

Why are you going alone?

Part of it is by choice and part of it is out of convenience.

 First, the easy part to describe: With work not ending until June, I was unable to join my friend Brenna on her Northbound hike in April. I thought about asking other friends if they were interested, but few can get or are willing to take time off of work to walk 2000 miles. Fair. And probably smarter than I am.

Now onto the more complicated-to-describe part: I ultimately made the choice to go solo because it’s what I desired. Although it is probably safer and less lonely or scary starting with friends, these are also the reasons that made me decide to go it alone. If I am going to challenge myself to walk 2000 miles, why seek out a safety net in asking friends? I’m not saying that going with others is a cowardly decision. Yet I know myself and for me, I know I would rely on the other person or people to make decisions or show me how to do things. By going alone, I’m refusing to take the easy way out (again, for me).  If I get lost or don’t know if I should push myself or need to fix my gear, I am going to have to learn what to do. And I like that. Going by myself also allows me to truly hike my own hike, or HYOH as thru-hikers abbreviate. I won’t be obligated to hike at someone else’s pace or go into towns (or get back on the trail) when I’m not ready. I can decide to stop for three hours for lunch or push myself for a really long day or sleep in one day. Going alone can be intimidating, yes, but it’s also exhilarating knowing I can control pretty much every aspect of my hike (okay maybe not weather or the number of uphills, as much as I’d like). 

At the same time, I know I will meet many people along the way that I will become close with. So I guess I won’t get a truly solitary experience, but at least beginning alone gives me an added challenge.  There is a sort of thrill that comes from attempting something entirely on your own and an even greater thrill and sense of accomplishment after achieving such a task. My hope is that I will be able to experience this.

What are you going to do about food?

There are two ways that thru-hikers get food on the AT, through maildrops and through resupplies in towns along the way. While I may do some maildrops, I am planning on relying nearly entirely on resupplying in towns.

Maildrops are when a hiker prepares meals ahead of time (or has someone at home doing it for them) and mails them to post offices along the trail. The advantages are obvious—less planning/thinking required on the trail and the ability to have more variety or food that may not be available at local stores. While this is appealing, I ultimately get stressed out just imagining trying to plan out so many meals so far in advance and then having to coordinate going into towns with post office hours.

I may later regret it, but I plan on going to local grocery stores, shops, etc. to get my food. The options in some places may be sparse, and in those cases I may do some mail drops, but to me the easier option seems to be figuring it out as I go. That’s not to say you can’t ship me cookies along the way…

Where are you going to sleep?

I have a tent so that gives me the freedom to sleep pretty much anywhere (minus a few exceptions like the White Mountains). However, there are also over 200 shelters along the trail at an average of something like 14 miles apart. These often are basic three walled wooden shelters, but some of them are fancier, with bunks or even fireplaces. Each morning (or the previous night) I’ll decide how far I plan to hike often based on these shelters. Right now I plan to set up my tent near shelters so I can have the camaraderie and company of others found at the shelters, but be free of loud snorers and mice in my solo tent. This may change completely as I go.  Who knows.

Can I join you?

YES! I’d love company for any length of time at any point on my trip. Yes, I wrote all that BS about hiking my own hike and the exhilaration of going solo, but I want to hike with you! Seriously. Just imagining seeing familiar faces along the trail makes me excited and grin sitting at my computer typing, so imagine how excited I’d be to have you join me! I will be updating my blog so you can probably have a general sense of where I am from that, but if you are genuinely interested, text me (I’ll have my phone) and we can work something out.