My Experience on the AT!
This past week I went backpacking on the Appalachian Trail with a group of 4 guys. That’s right – I was the only girl! It wasn’t so bad though – I did just as well as they did… minus a breakdown I almost had Wednesday (I’ll explain) and a gross encounter on Friday (which I will explain too)! Everyone has asked me how the trip went, so I thought I would share a few high (and low) lights! I tell everyone that I am not “that” kind of girl… you know – the one who enjoys dirty woods and enjoys going without a shower for 5 days (though, we got to take 2 this year) – except for once a year! Once a year... I am THAT girl! It’s so weird!! I absolutely love my time on the AT! I love the physical challenge and I love being completely disconnected from the world! It is such a great time in my world and I am so thankful for the opportunity!
High (and low) Lights:
**For those of you who enjoy details… this is for you – For those of you who don’t… sorry…this is going to get long. Read it in sections if you must!**
Monday: We got started around 2:30, so we took it easy and only hiked about 5 miles! We had a great campsite in the middle of absolutely nowhere with a tiny stream nearby for water. We had a hard time getting our fire going (which we love so dearly) because everything was wet!
Tuesday: Hiked about 13 miles total. We decided to stay at a campground that was ½ a mile off the trail. There were supposed to be 10’ waterfalls about a mile away that had a great swimming hole. The book said, “A favorite swimming spot for campers.” HAH! It was a pretty area – but there were no falls – which meant we hiked 2 extra miles for nothing L The good news is: I got to take a shower… and use a real bathroom! No trees for me! And we had a sweet fire!
Wednesday: The Breakdown –
It was decided on Tuesday night that we should hike to the Partnership shelter on Wednesday. The Partnership shelter had a nice privy (bathroom), a hot shower, and the capacity to hold 16 people. It was really nice!! It had a picnic table, a fire pit… and a loft. It sounded like a good idea to me – I mean, shower… SWEET! Only…the Partnership shelter was 17 MILES AWAY! That’s right, we hiked 17 miles Wednesday – and the majority of our journey was uphill. At one point in the day I thought I was going to die… my legs refused to work and my feet hurt beyond what you could imagine! I was angry… I hurt… but I could do absolutely NOTHING about it. You had to keep going. After about mile 10 there wasn’t really anywhere to camp… and at mile 12 everyone ran out of water. There were no water sources around, so we had to carry on – or dehydrate. I was *this* close to crying!
I have never been more excited to reach a destination in my life! As hard and strenuous as the trek was – it was completely worth it. (As I type this, I think about how true this is spiritually. Discipline is hard – and it sucks. Holy cow it sucks. Its painful and it hurts, but the end result is worth it…) The shower was amazing, even though I could hardly stand on my feet.
The best news of all: bats inhabited the area! That’s right! Bats lived in the shelter. There is a journal at shelters for people to share their stories… and one guy even wrote about the bats urinating on him in the middle of the night. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well. Also, in the middle of the night, Steven awoke to something chewing on his finger. It disappeared before he could turn his flashlight on… but his finger was bleeding – and missing a little skin! Gross.
Thursday: We had a fairly easy day since we hiked so far Wednesday. We enjoyed lunch in a cow pasture… surrounded by pies – and ended up hiking somewhere around 7.1 miles to another shelter. This one wasn’t quite as nice – and instead of bats… this one had mice. We were sitting around the fire at the picnic table that night – and a mouse crawls across my shoulders. AAAH!! Also, in the middle of the night I hear a rummaging through my pack. There was a granola wrapper in the side pocket of my pack – when I woke up, it was above Steven’s head… and there were little mousey droppings all around his head. Didn’t get great sleep this night either.
Our water source for the night was a nearby stream/creek/whatever. It was pretty shallow… so we dug out a sink in the rocks that we washed ourselves off in. Pretty funny! (Oh... and we had a privy! Woo Hoo!)
Friday: We were 5 miles away from the car, so we ended our day fairly early. There was a settler’s museum right off the trail, so we stopped by there, took a tour, and had lunch! Close to the end of our trek, we had to cross railroad tracks. As we did so, I noticed a horrible odor – one that comes from a dead animal. Everyone else noticed as well – and as we look around, we see it. Right there in the MIDDLE of the trail laid a black bear (which was a little exciting, because the guys hoped to see a bear). A train had hit the bear, which cut him in half and threw him right on our path. Of all the things I saw and experienced over the week, this one took the cake. I can handle bats… and mice… and strenuous hikes, but I could not step over a dead bear with his guts hanging out! No Way! I said to the guys over and over, “I CAN’T DO IT! I CAN’T!!” and they kept saying, “Ashley, you HAVE to!!” So…obviously I did… because there was no way around. I HAD to go over it! I almost threw up about 3 times, but I made it!
We came out around 1:30 and enjoyed some fried chicken that Mrs. Karen at the Exxon in Atkins made especially for us (another cool story). We spent the night in a 2 room suite at the Red Roof Inn, had a great dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s, and even caught a movie together!
I know I mentioned more lowlights than highlights, but we really did have an awesome trip. When you spend 5 days with the same people, every hour – you get to know a lot about one another. I am so thankful for the relationships I built on that trip and for the deep conversations we had! It was an amazing experience… and I can’t wait until next year!!
High (and low) Lights:
**For those of you who enjoy details… this is for you – For those of you who don’t… sorry…this is going to get long. Read it in sections if you must!**
Monday: We got started around 2:30, so we took it easy and only hiked about 5 miles! We had a great campsite in the middle of absolutely nowhere with a tiny stream nearby for water. We had a hard time getting our fire going (which we love so dearly) because everything was wet!
Tuesday: Hiked about 13 miles total. We decided to stay at a campground that was ½ a mile off the trail. There were supposed to be 10’ waterfalls about a mile away that had a great swimming hole. The book said, “A favorite swimming spot for campers.” HAH! It was a pretty area – but there were no falls – which meant we hiked 2 extra miles for nothing L The good news is: I got to take a shower… and use a real bathroom! No trees for me! And we had a sweet fire!
Wednesday: The Breakdown –
It was decided on Tuesday night that we should hike to the Partnership shelter on Wednesday. The Partnership shelter had a nice privy (bathroom), a hot shower, and the capacity to hold 16 people. It was really nice!! It had a picnic table, a fire pit… and a loft. It sounded like a good idea to me – I mean, shower… SWEET! Only…the Partnership shelter was 17 MILES AWAY! That’s right, we hiked 17 miles Wednesday – and the majority of our journey was uphill. At one point in the day I thought I was going to die… my legs refused to work and my feet hurt beyond what you could imagine! I was angry… I hurt… but I could do absolutely NOTHING about it. You had to keep going. After about mile 10 there wasn’t really anywhere to camp… and at mile 12 everyone ran out of water. There were no water sources around, so we had to carry on – or dehydrate. I was *this* close to crying!
I have never been more excited to reach a destination in my life! As hard and strenuous as the trek was – it was completely worth it. (As I type this, I think about how true this is spiritually. Discipline is hard – and it sucks. Holy cow it sucks. Its painful and it hurts, but the end result is worth it…) The shower was amazing, even though I could hardly stand on my feet.
The best news of all: bats inhabited the area! That’s right! Bats lived in the shelter. There is a journal at shelters for people to share their stories… and one guy even wrote about the bats urinating on him in the middle of the night. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well. Also, in the middle of the night, Steven awoke to something chewing on his finger. It disappeared before he could turn his flashlight on… but his finger was bleeding – and missing a little skin! Gross.
Thursday: We had a fairly easy day since we hiked so far Wednesday. We enjoyed lunch in a cow pasture… surrounded by pies – and ended up hiking somewhere around 7.1 miles to another shelter. This one wasn’t quite as nice – and instead of bats… this one had mice. We were sitting around the fire at the picnic table that night – and a mouse crawls across my shoulders. AAAH!! Also, in the middle of the night I hear a rummaging through my pack. There was a granola wrapper in the side pocket of my pack – when I woke up, it was above Steven’s head… and there were little mousey droppings all around his head. Didn’t get great sleep this night either.
Our water source for the night was a nearby stream/creek/whatever. It was pretty shallow… so we dug out a sink in the rocks that we washed ourselves off in. Pretty funny! (Oh... and we had a privy! Woo Hoo!)
Friday: We were 5 miles away from the car, so we ended our day fairly early. There was a settler’s museum right off the trail, so we stopped by there, took a tour, and had lunch! Close to the end of our trek, we had to cross railroad tracks. As we did so, I noticed a horrible odor – one that comes from a dead animal. Everyone else noticed as well – and as we look around, we see it. Right there in the MIDDLE of the trail laid a black bear (which was a little exciting, because the guys hoped to see a bear). A train had hit the bear, which cut him in half and threw him right on our path. Of all the things I saw and experienced over the week, this one took the cake. I can handle bats… and mice… and strenuous hikes, but I could not step over a dead bear with his guts hanging out! No Way! I said to the guys over and over, “I CAN’T DO IT! I CAN’T!!” and they kept saying, “Ashley, you HAVE to!!” So…obviously I did… because there was no way around. I HAD to go over it! I almost threw up about 3 times, but I made it!
We came out around 1:30 and enjoyed some fried chicken that Mrs. Karen at the Exxon in Atkins made especially for us (another cool story). We spent the night in a 2 room suite at the Red Roof Inn, had a great dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s, and even caught a movie together!
I know I mentioned more lowlights than highlights, but we really did have an awesome trip. When you spend 5 days with the same people, every hour – you get to know a lot about one another. I am so thankful for the relationships I built on that trip and for the deep conversations we had! It was an amazing experience… and I can’t wait until next year!!
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