Add it to the List.
This month's column is about one of those trips you must make before you die...hiking the Appalachian Trail.
I became inspired by this trip after reading the book mentioned on the right "A Walk in the Woods." Now I am not going to sit here and say I have immersed myself in this entire trip....yet, but I have bitten off a couple chunks, enough to further whet my appetite and share the experience with you.
A brief background. The Appalachian Trail or simply The A.T., is a 2,174-mile hiking trail in the eastern United States, extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. Along the way, the trail also passes through the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. The trail was originally conceived by Benton MacKaye, a forester who wrote his original plan shortly after the death of his wife in 1921. MacKaye's Utopian idea detailed a grand trail that would connect a series of farms and wilderness work/study camps for city-dwellers.
A continuous trail that extends over 2,000 miles is pretty cool, but what is even better is that the path is maintained by thirty trail clubs from various states, working together to keep the path clear and the lodges up to code. It is kinda like the adopt-a-mile signs along the freeway. How it works is that you enter the trail somewhere along the 2,000 mile stretch, like jumping on a freeway. Then you hike 10 miles each day (give or take based on your goals). Each night you aim to make it to a shelter and swap stories with the other hikers. These shelters are not quite as luxurious as the Ritz, but it gets the job done.
Along the way you will run into these people that are attempting to hike the entire trail. The crazy part about this, besides the distance, is the timing. You need to start in Georgia as soon as the Spring hits in order to make it to Maine before the temperatures drop in the Fall! What is even crazier is that there are people that have accomplished this multiple times.
Like I said, I have not done the whole trail, and am not suggesting you try it straight out of the gate, but rather make it a great weekend adventure with the friends or family. If you ever want to do the whole trail, shoot me an email, I am open to the challenge. I can only imagine what a feeling of accomplishment accompanies this achievement.
In my attempt to give you a glimpse into the mind of one these incredible adventurers, I have provided a link to a Journal from a man that made the entire trip from April to September. He wrote in his journal every night and posted it on the Internet. Scan through, read a couple days and maybe it will inspire you to hit the trail.
All the best.
Darren Hitz
Hitz Adventures
p:248.910.8152
f :480.393.4077
darren@hitzadventures.com
www.hitzadventures.com
The Appalachian Trail is outstanding! For a more primitive experience, don't overlook the Benton MacKaye Trail. I hiked a 17 mile section of it yesterday in SE Tennessee. The trail also shares the same southern terminus as the AT. It also forms a 550 loop with the Appalachian Trail.
Happy Trails!
Posted by: Jeffrey Hunter | March 11, 2007 at 02:33 PM