Experiences- Week One

After 5 days on the trail I have realized I could not have picked a more perfect name for my blog, “The AT Experience”. So far this week has not just been a hike through the woods, but a wonderful mix of experiences. A Physical Experience- The trail has gotten more intense each day, other than day one which was generally flat, the terrain is constantly up or down. I have blisters on four toes & my knees are pretty sore, but ill make it! A Mental Experience- We started out in rain and had one night of bitter cold sleep, it does not leave you waking up in the most chipper mood but you think about the sunny days and the stellar views and mentally overcome any negativity. A Social Experience- I have met between 10 and 20 new people each day, from other thru hikers,to trail angles, to section hikers and spring breakers. Meeting people and hearing their stories is one of the highlights of the trail. A Spiritual Experience- I imagine this gets stronger the further you get on the trail, but hiking all day and camping each night really allows you to explore your thoughts, reflect, and appreciate life. A Fun & Beautiful Experience- I think this is a given 🙂

Today we hiked 11.5 miles which put us at 43.2 on the trail. I have been hiking with a great group of people and have never felt “alone” on the trail despite the fact that I started solo. We are following the slow and steady approach for the first couple of weeks while our bodies adapt.

Some notes from the trail..
I should have gotten a 15 degree bag instead of a 25, I would be much more comfortable at night!
I should not pack so much hot breakfast because I am too cold and lazy to start my stove in the morning.
Talking to new friends while hiking makes the day fly by.
When taking six months of your life to walk 2189 miles, it’s worth it to walk a half a mile off trail to see a waterfall or an amazing view.. It’s the little things.
Spring water (with purification drops of course) straight out of the creek tastes better than tap water.
Sometimes the trail is not marked very well so it’s important to pay attention to where you are going!

 

Heading to Springer Today!!

So, I spent four hours writing a post about the last few weeks of preparations and travel, but it is on my computer and I don’t have wireless, so I will not be posting it anytime soon because… I am starting the trail today!! Technically in about seven hours since it is already past midnight. 🙂 I need to try to get some sleep but I wanted to update any followers with my status. I will be leaving Springer Mountain, Georgia tomorrow and should be at my first resupply at Neels Gap by Thursday. I have met some really great people at the ATKO (Appalachian Trail Kick Off) event whom I will be hiking with to start. I will be keeping a slow pace the first couple of weeks, letting my body adjust and trying to not strain my knees (which I hurt in a fall a couple of weeks ago). Will update later this week, perhaps when I reach Neels Gap!

Prequel – Reflections & Reasons

I read somewhere that a common topic of conversation, especially when first starting out on the trail, is the motives behind doing a thru-hike: “Why are you here?” “How did you get here?” Each person who takes on the trail does so for his or her own set of reasons and with different expectations and goals in mind. I am excited to have these conversations during my hike and hopefully share some of the stories with you. For now I will attempt to dissect my own reasons for hiking the Appalachian Trail and how I got here.  

Growing up I always had an “end goal” of getting good grades, going to a good college, getting a good job and having a comfortable life. I worked hard and landed a position with a great start up company right out of college. I lived near NYC, traveled a lot, and had an adorable apartment and a boyfriend who was my best friend. I was really happy until I was not.

As time passed, I started to realize that the fast paced city lifestyle was not something I enjoyed. I was always sad leaving the office at the end of a beautiful day, knowing I had missed it all while staring at a computer screen.  I would go home with a headache, too mentally exhausted to do anything. Weeks flew by, years flew by.

One evening, I came across an old friend online and reached out to him. I learned that he was living somewhat of a non-conventional lifestyle but was following his dreams and what really made him happy in life. Our conversations sparked something in me that to this day pushes me to go after what I want in life even if it seems out of reach.

I started to consider what really made me happy and began doing those things more. I tried rock climbing for the first time and fell in love with it, I went on hikes in the NJ area and in the Catskills, and on my first backpacking overnight since high school, I took my bike out and explored the NJ canal system and I went on long weekend trips across the country. I got scuba certified and went skydiving and I could not get enough adventure. I re-focused my finances and my free time into things that I loved and I realized that the only thing that would hold me back (what holds a lot of people back) is fear of change and failure. Letting go of that fear, I sold my things and moved to Colorado.

Being in Colorado has transformed my life even further.  I have been fortunate in that I have been working part time since I moved here and have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time exploring the state- hiking, climbing and skiing in many beautiful areas. These experiences and the emotional euphoria they provide me has only reiterated in my mind that I am on the right path for me and that I need to keep pushing myself along.

Lily Mountain, Estes Park Colorado

In the future I plan to have a career related to the outdoors industry. There are a number of routes I can take, and I cannot even begin to speculate where I will end up, only time can tell. In the short term, my “next step” is to hike the Appalachian Trail.  I am looking at the trail as my grad school, an education for where my life is headed.  I know I have a lot to learn, I know it will be hard and I know there is no way I could completely prepare for this journey. I also know that I have the motivation and drive to overcome the obstacles that I will face and I have faith that I will finish with a sense of confidence and independence that I cannot even imagine.  I can’t wait. 

It’s really happening!

I have plan, it’s no longer just an idea that I am working toward, but an actual plan. Plane tickets have been purchased, I have notified my job that I will be leaving, my roommates have started to look for my replacement, I have a deposit down on a storage unit and my garage is quickly filling up with boxes of dehydrated food and non-perishable, high calorie snacks.

This year I will spend about six months backpacking from Georgia to Maine. In March of 2013 I will set out to complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.

A few fun facts about the AT, for my friends who may be wondering what the heck I am talking about!

• The idea for the Appalachian Trail was first conceived in the early 1920’s.
• The first documented thru-hike was completed in 1948 by Earl Shaffer and at the age of 80 Earl completed another thru-hike!
• While completing my thru-hike I will venture through 14 states; Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
• The AT is slightly less than 2,200 miles long. (Sections are re-routed so the exact mileage can change from year to year.)
• The most common way to thru-hike is NOBO (North Bound) starting in the Feb-April time frame however SOBO (South Bound) hiking is popular as well. SOBO hikers cannot begin their journey until May, when Baxter State Park opens for the year.
• Baxter State Park closes on October 15^th or earlier if weather is bad. NOBO hikers must keep this date in mind while on their Journey. It would be a huge bummer to make it to Baxter and not be able to finish the hike!
• The average thru-hike takes six months.
• “Zero days” are days spent in towns along the way, resting, recovering, showering and enjoying the local culture.

I am beyond excited for this next adventure and look forward to sharing it with you. Stop back soon! 🙂