A Farewell to Normal

Quick Facts 

Appalachian Trail: a 2180+ mile foot path stretching from Georgia to Maine (through 14 states) envisioned by Benton MacKaye in 1921. The exact distance of the trail is constantly changing every year due to re-routing in certain sections. Currently, according to the 2015 AWOL guide the trail is 2189.2 miles long.

AWOL Guide: One of many Appalachian Trail guide books that gives details about water, landmarks, and trail towns

Trail Town: A town on or close to the Appalachian Trail that sees a huge influx of thru-hikers looking to resupply and have some modern amenities during the hiking session

“Thru-hiker”: someone who hikes the entirety of the Appalachian trail in one year (normally from March-October).

Mail Drop: Sending resupply boxes through the US mail system, boxes can contain food, basic supplies, warm or cold weather gear 

Zero Day: A day when no miles are hiked, typically this day takes place in a town and is used for a resupply day as well

A Farewell to Normal

Thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT) sounds like a nice break from the tedium.

I have made some poor decisions in my life; fortunately most could be rectified with minimal effort or simply the passage of time. In high school I wanted highlights in the front of my hair, which turned out to look like a skunk stripe coming out of my forehead.  Recently, I chose to live in a travel trailer for two months in the dead of winter in Maryland; I now understand why the older generation migrates to Florida every year. Presently, I have yet to find out what consequences my latest decision will yield. The recent decision in question is leaving the working world and scampering off into the woods to become a hippie (or an elf, one of the two)… at the tail end of a recession.

 I am well aware that because of my decision years from now I might end up homeless in an alley somewhere complaining to my future pet alley mouse Mr. Munchies, “Mistakes were made!” But life isn’t about trying to be as boring as possible.  Today marks the start of an adventure long in the planning. Yes, planning. For as much fun as it sounds to have a pet mouse named Mr. Munchies I have no intention of the future Mr. Munchies and myself living in an alley (a tent on the AT, maybe).

"Last Hike before the AT"

And so it Came to Pass…(the basic motivation and beginning prep for the AT)

The realization came last November (2013). I was searching for overnight hikes in Virginia and happened upon a blog of a 2013 thru-hiker. After reading all of her submissions in the matter of a day I realized that thru-hiking the AT might actually be feasible. In high school (almost everyone in Virginia vaguely knows about the AT) the skunk-haired me had initially ruled out the AT adventure, because heaven forbid I would have to PLAN AHEAD for anything, let alone start planning a year ahead of time. Now however, with 5 years of life and college behind me, the challenge of the Appalachian Trail is seen as an exhilarating test rather than revolting drudgery. 

The planning for this trip started last December (2013). On the knowledge/ experience front of this excursion I researched the Appalachian Trail to death; books, articles, blogs, forums, anything that had “Appalachian Trail” in the title or text. I contacted many past thru-hikers to ask questions and syphon advice. In the summer I forced my perspective-hiking-partner out into the woods or mountains almost every weekend to “practice” for the AT (a.k.a. getting some semblance of backpacking experience).  Needless to say the trail became a slight obsession. 

On the tedious, corporeal part of the AT prep I’ve been dehydrating food consistently (at least 5 times a week) for my resupply boxes since December (2014). The hiking season ended a bit earlier than expected so I took to wearing my hiking boots to work; blisters are a huge issue on the trail for thru- hikers, well broken in boots are the first step in avoiding this problem. The hiking boots probably were not the most professional looking shoe… but I wore a nice blazer… so in my mind the professionalism balanced out in the end. 

What it feels like to wear hiking boots to work. 

(Potential awesomeness is about to ensue… but you will feel quite derpy in the moment)

 

Out,

-Mullins