My family and I have started to hike some of the Appalachian Trial. The trail is 2,166 miles long and stretches across 14 states. Some people hike all the way through while others hike parts of the trail throughout a few years. People who are good hikers usually finish the trail between 6 to 9 months and only about 26% of people actually finish hiking the trail every year. The trail can be very strenuous, have bipolar weather, dangerous plants and animals, and many other obstacles standing in the way of making it to Mount Katahdin or the ending point if a hiker starts from Georgia.

When I heard that we were hiking the trail it was not actually until 2 weeks before the event took place. After all, it was my spring break and hiking up mountains with 28 pounds on my back did not sound like fun to me. Although, when I looked up more about the trail the more I slowly started to get excited. The trail is a dangerous place, but also has some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. My short trip on the trail was an adventure I will never forget and I am excited to go back in the spring.

Starting on the way to Georgia, we went to see some of our family in Kennesaw. They gave us a huge feast and before we knew it we were off to the hotel to take showers and get ready for the next day.  The hotel was absolutely beautiful and it was the same hotel where Robert Redford and Nick Nolte filmed part of the movie, “A Walk in the Woods”. No homemade meals, technology, or even time to read a book in the next 8 days.

I talked with some hikers who were also starting the treacherous journey. Waking up bright and early, at eight, was not on my to do list. “The first day is the hardest” is the saying for anything someone tries for the first time and trust me it definitely was. When I woke up the next morning I was no doubt feeling the ten miles we did. That first night was the best event that happened.

We had met Windy, Veggie Mama, and Tin Man who are the nicest people I know. We would later hike with them throughout the trip and a few months later in early June. The views were absolutely amazing but the summits were even better. I had memorable moments with multiple people and even found some trail names for them as well. I met some college students who were also there for spring break..

One of the most memorable times I had was when we had hiked up to Blood Mountain, which is the tallest point in Georgia at 4,459 feet. Tin Man got lost there. The day before it had rained and we were all worried for him because of his elderly age along with his knee problems. Veggie Mama had started the day with him then we left shortly after to get to Neels Gap after lunch, where there was a small side shop.

When we made it to Blood Mountain, Veggie Mama was up there questioning if we had seen Tin Man on our way up. We were all troubled because no one had seen him for hours. Later we found out that he walked in a circle for a few hours, tripped, and hurt his knee. He had gotten a ride to Neels Gap where he was eating a burrito when we arrived. Everyone was relieved to know he was okay and sad to see him go because he was in no condition to continue on the trail.

After our sweet farewells we all decided to go the next camp that was about ten miles away. When we got there it was around dusk and was starting to get cold. My brother and I started to set up the tent while my father got the fire started. Everyone in our little group had made it and was huddled around the fire trying to keep warm. The next thing we know a guy had come up to our group praising us that we had a fire. Meanwhile, it was 20 or so degrees out with 30 mph winds and he had finger less gloves on, shorts, a very light jacket.

We were freezing even when we had everything we brought with us on. We huddled together around a fire to hear his reason for hiking, it was to catch up to his buddy, Sneaky Pete. He was not the only run in we had but one thing is for sure that the trail showed me that everyone is different.