Personal Narrative: Hiking The Appalachian Trail
I conquered Mount Le Conte at the age of nine, the 3rd highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains. It intersects with North America’s longest hiking trail - The Appalachian Trail - with over 2,200 miles of mountains, rivers, and pure wilderness. Ever since learning about the Appalachian Trail, I have wanted to hike it. So that’s what I did.
While my ultimate goal is to thru-hike the entire trial, I decided to start with hiking the Georgia section. It took planning and preparation to find the right balance between having the necessary supplies, without making the pack too heavy. Even so, the pack weighed 35 lbs. and many thought a 120 lb. girl would not be able to do it. They were so wrong!
Many days were easy hiking, blue skies and sunshine. Hiking over 10 miles a day was challenging but not overwhelming. But on the third night, the rain came. The Appalachian Trail is so hard packed that when it rains, the trail becomes a river. The heavy rain soaked everything: boots, socks, pants and even my raincoat. Everything in my so called “waterproof” pack was wet. My pack now weighed 50 lbs! After 8 miles of hiking, we reached Neels Gap, a divide in the mountains where hikers can exit the trail. All I wanted to do was quit. I was exhausted, the forecast called for more rain, and the next section …show more content…
This experience illustrated to me that you will often need to rely on other people to help get you through tough situations, just as they will need to rely on you. Even the smallest encouragement can boost a person’s spirit and help them conquer the toughest of obstacles. During the hike, we pushed each other to do better, giving encouragement when it was needed, especially when we felt we couldn’t take one more step. There will be challenges that I have to face in the future, but I now know to overcome them. Working together, people can achieve greater things than they can on their
While my ultimate goal is to thru-hike the entire trial, I decided to start with hiking the Georgia section. It took planning and preparation to find the right balance between having the necessary supplies, without making the pack too heavy. Even so, the pack weighed 35 lbs. and many thought a 120 lb. girl would not be able to do it. They were so wrong!
Many days were easy hiking, blue skies and sunshine. Hiking over 10 miles a day was challenging but not overwhelming. But on the third night, the rain came. The Appalachian Trail is so hard packed that when it rains, the trail becomes a river. The heavy rain soaked everything: boots, socks, pants and even my raincoat. Everything in my so called “waterproof” pack was wet. My pack now weighed 50 lbs! After 8 miles of hiking, we reached Neels Gap, a divide in the mountains where hikers can exit the trail. All I wanted to do was quit. I was exhausted, the forecast called for more rain, and the next section …show more content…
This experience illustrated to me that you will often need to rely on other people to help get you through tough situations, just as they will need to rely on you. Even the smallest encouragement can boost a person’s spirit and help them conquer the toughest of obstacles. During the hike, we pushed each other to do better, giving encouragement when it was needed, especially when we felt we couldn’t take one more step. There will be challenges that I have to face in the future, but I now know to overcome them. Working together, people can achieve greater things than they can on their