Finally – Just Doing It!
June 9, 2007 – 9:22 am
If you don’t recognize the sign that accompanies this entry, you probably are not going fully appreciate how much I am looking forward to the next few days. I will finally be taking the time to do one of the activities I really enjoy – hiking on the Appalachian Trail. I was just looking at the pictures from my last long backpacking trip when Scott Schwarzer and I took seven days to hike the 100+ mile length of the Shenandoah National Park. I was shocked to see that it was back in 2003 that we completed “Rich and Scott’s Big Adventure.” Funny how life tends to get in the way of the things one enjoys. Note to self – take a break a little more often.
So what is so great about backpacking? Well, if you are a hunter, you have gotten a taste of the benefits of spending time in the woods alone. Just keep in mind that, when you go backpacking, you are not supposed to kill stuff. This is a very important distinction between the two activities. However, if your idea of “roughing it” is staying in a Holiday Inn instead of a Sheraton, this type of vacation is probably not for you. The Appalachian Trail, or more affectionately the AT, is a 2000+-mile marked hiking trail in the eastern U.S. It is maintained by thirty-some trail clubs and multiple partnerships starts at Springer Mountain, Georgia and ends atop Mount Katahdin in Maine. The trail, which is marked by white paint blazes, passes through the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. We are very fortunate to have approximately 550 miles of the trail that running through Virginia. In fact more of the AT is contained within Virginia’s border than any of the other states. If you have ever walked on a wooded path along the Skyline Drive or the Blue Ridge Parkway in Shenandoah National Park, you were probably walking on part of the AT.
Although, by starting in Georgia and walking north, “thru hikers” are supposed to “walk through all four seasons”, Virginia is a bit of a wild card. Many hikers think Virginia is the wettest, most difficult part of the hike for northbound hikers because of the spring weather. It is not uncommon for it to rain 20 out of 30 days during the spring, although that has not been a problem this year. Of course, on the AT your efforts are often rewarded with beautiful views and Virginia has some of the best on the trail. I have always throughly enjoyed the physical challenges of hiking the trail and I hope to “thru hike” when I retire in five years. In the meantime, I have to steal opportunities to do nearby section hikes.
Unfortunately (or maybe not), I won’t be able to bring a computer along on this hike, I will keep a journal of any interesting experiences that occur during the next few days so I can do a follow-up entry when I return. No work, no phone and no computer – this may take a little getting used to but I am sure I will adjust.