It All Came Down to This
It was the day before I began my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, and I finally released my first blog post. The blog would be the primary way through which I would share my journey on the AT (Appalachian Trail) that summer. I hoped to post once a week; twice if I could afford the battery power from my cell phone. I’d spent a lot of time planning and preparing for the Appalachian Trail during my last semester at Harding University, probably more than my grades could afford. For the previous five months, I’d been buying gear, testing it, borrowing gear, testing it some more, and even sending gear back now and then until I was just forced to go with the things I had – no more experimenting. I’d also been training, starting with the Little Rock half Marathon and then hiking 40 miles of the AT during spring break, while doing extensive hikes and long distance runs throughout the semester on the weekends. It’s possible that I had never been so committed to something which required as much planning and research, especially since I had never backpacked more than two or three consecutive nights in a row. Now, I would venture to spend months out in woods until I had reached my journey’s end.
Against the Odds
I could hardly believe the time had finally come, that in less than 24 hours I would take my first step on the Appalachian Trail. It was impossible to tell if I was really physically and mentally prepared to finish the entire 2,185 miles from Georgia to Maine – but what I did know is, well, I’d never know unless I went for it. I also knew I was against the odds. Some had said that I couldn’t do it in the time I’d chosen (between 90 – 100 days), and some, a few, believed I could make it to the finish. But I was ready as ever, so I thought, and I’d say to myself things like “bring it on!”, and “how bad can it be.” I suppose I said those things less and less frequently after I researched facts on the official Appalachian Trail Conservancy website like:
- The Trail is roughly 2,180 miles long and goes from Georgia to Maine, passing through 14 states through the entire Appalachian Mountain Range.
- The total elevation gain of hiking the entire A.T. is equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest 16 times.
- The A.T. is home to an impressive diversity of animals. Some animals you may see include black bears, moose, coyote, porcupines, and snakes.
- About 2 to 3 million visitors walk a portion of the A.T. each year. 1 in 5 who even attempt a thru-hike the AT successfully completes the journey.
I should clarify something here: “Thru-hikers” walk the entire Trail in a continuous journey. “Section-hikers” piece the entire Trail together over years. I was the thru-hiker, somewhat brave and somewhat out of his mind, who hoped to be that one in five who would make it all the way to Maine, to the very last mountain in Baxter State park named Mt. Katahdin where sat the finish line more than 5,000 feet above sea level.
Parting Words
Before I closed my computer to get one more night of luxurious sleep, I gave some shout outs on my blog to people who had encouraged me to make this attempt. I gave a shout out to Dr. Stewart, my college professor, for introducing me to the trail and helping me along in preparation. I gave a shout out to Windstream, a fortune 500 company based in Little Rock, who agreed to let me start my first job post-college in September, which would give me just enough time since I was starting in May, I hoped, to pull it off. I gave a shout out to friends, and even acquaintances, who encouraged this adventure and gave me great advice – “You know who you are!”, I wrote in my blog. Last, I wanted to give a shout out to my family, for being incredibly supportive of the trip. The whole endeavor to hike the entire AT sort of sprang up out of thin air, so my graduation gifts ended up being the things I needed to survive out there. They were willing to get behind me and do whatever they could to help me make it to the end, and for that, I cannot put a measure on how much their support would help me to persevere in difficult times.
With that, I thanked everyone for taking their time to check out the blog, and I finished with some quotes that deal with the start of a great journey. Among them were:
“Nothing was ever accomplished without perseverance.” – unknown
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Confucius
“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try” – Gail Devers
“Everything is possible for him who believes” – Jesus Christ, Mark 9:23
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Solomon, Proverbs 3:5-6.
I could have never known how every one of those shout outs and every one of those quotes would end up meaning ten times as much to me in end.
