Personal Narrative-Hiking The Appalachian Trail

Hiking the Appalachian Trail
“In the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” said Jack Kerouac, author of On the Road. Many people live the way he describes, just doing everyday activities all their life. I want to do something memorable. Because of this, one of my dreams is doing a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. A thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail entails trekking the entire route without stopping. Running slightly over 2,000 miles, most people start in Georgia and end in the middle of Maine. For nearly all hikers, it takes five to seven months to complete. The trail is always near a town, so many people, if they’re willing to use the extra money, will spend a few nights a week at a hotel on top of a comfy mattress. The cost can add up, however, so there are more than 250 shelters located along the trail. People can also bring camping supplies and
set up camp for the night wherever they wish. Being near towns also makes it easy to stock up on supplies, and repair or buy new equipment if needed. In conclusion, the Appalachian Trail is an extensive route that takes time, effort, and money to complete. There are many things that attracts the trail to me. Starting off, I simply just like hiking. I’ve always found it, along with its two cousins (walking and running) to be enjoyable. Another reason I’m interested in hiking the trail is the tranquility of it. All of your problems, worries, and anxieties: nonexistent. When you’re out there, it’s just you and the Appalachians, and there’s some sense of freedom about that. Something else that I like about it is the sense of adventure. Every day starts off waking in a new place. There are many places to visit along the hike, such as Mount Washington State Park, the highest point in New England. The Clingmans Dome and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park along the South Carolina-Tennessee border, the highest point on the trail, is also a sight to see. Laurie Potteiger of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy calls it “a big long spiral ramp that brings you above the treetops. You’re surrounded by mountains as far as the eye can see.” The entire trail is full of beautiful and interesting spots and you get to see them every day for half a year. Besides of attractions, the trail is full of people as well. Thousands of people attempt a thru-hike each year, and I’ll meet new people constantly. Many hikers end up travelling with others that they meet on the trail. My last reason for doing a thru-hike is the sense of accomplishment I would get from it. While thousands of people attempt it, only a fourth of them make it to the end. It’s 2,000 miles of putting your foot ahead of the next, and the only thing that you have is yourself. Being able to hike all of it would make me really proud of myself. These are all reasons that I feel I need to trek the Appalachian Trail. There are many downsides of doing a thru-hike.
One is being away from friends and family. While I do plan on taking this course with Jessica Hines, I’ll be away from everybody else I know for months. I will have a phone on me, but besides being on it for a short while near the end of the day, I won’t be using it. Another con about the trail is that it’ll be incredibly hard; for half a year I’ll be spending my days walking. Sore, weak, and tired, I’ll want to quit, so I’ll have to keep myself going. It also takes lots of preparation before hand—if you plan on making it to the finale, you better be in good shape. Being out in nature, I will need to be wary of bugs, especially ticks (that carry lyme disease) which are prominent in that area of the country. The final problem of going through this is the cost of it. There are many things you need to bring with you, and in order to have enough for the entire trip, you should have between $3 - $6,000. In closing, there are many difficulties that I will have to face while traversing the
trail. There are countless things that I will want to bring with me during this journey. First off, of course, I’ll need bags to carry everything in. One big cost is food—we need three meals a day for two people, and after six months that adds up. Since we’ll be exercising every day, we’ll be hungrier than most. While we’ll often buy food as we stop into towns, there will be days when we eat out as well. For this we’ll need cookware. For water, since I won’t want to carry gallons of water with me every day, I’ll need to bring a water purification system to drink water alongside the trail. Along with food, occasionally I will sleep in hotels when I just need a rest. There are also shelters located along the trail, so when I stop in the vicinity of one of them I’ll have a building to sleep. Most nights, however, I’ll simply set up camp. For this I’ll need a tent, a sleeping bag, and sleeping pad. I’ll bring clothes that are suitable for facing the conditions, and good hiking shoes. Lastly, trekking poles, which help you walk faster and more easily. Even more importantly, they keep your knees from being hurt. They also stop you from becoming a T-rex, with super strong legs but weak arms. A few other things include a first aid system, toiletries, sunscreen, bug repellant, a map, a compass, and a knife. There are many things necessary for hiking the entire trail, and I will make sure I have all of them. I think that my wanting to do this reveals a lot about myself. It shows that I’m willing to commit myself to something—I’m planning on doing this for six months, after all. Despite all of the hard work that will need to go into this, I still want to. Something being difficult doesn’t deter me from doing it. If I care about something and I really want it, I’ll put as much into it as I can. I don’t want to just have a life filled to the brim with regular activities day after day with nothing else. I want to have stories; I want to actually do something. In conclusion, the Appalachian Trail goes from Georgia to Maine, ending a little over 2,000 miles. I want to hike through the entirety of it because of the peace of it, and how proud it would make me. I also look forward to seeing all of the different places and people. There are many things that I will need so I can go through with this. Many downsides come along with it, though I am willing to deal with all of them. While it will be many years until I do so, I cannot wait until I have the chance to hike that goddamn trail.