Epilogue

It has been many months since I stood atop Katahdin and I am completing another round of updates to this website.  It still seems like something is missing.  I thought about adding something to the Acknowledgements section of the Credits page, but those thank-yous are specific to this website.  Or, I'd considered adding something to the Pointers page along the lines of, "You do, and you don't, hike alone.", but what I want to express is more gratitude than advice.

While it's true that hiking the Appalachian Trail for six months straight requires an individual, internal effort from the hiker, it's also true that it can't be done at all without help from countless others.  The Trail itself would not exist if not for the work of the thousands of volunteers and members of the 32 Trail clubs who have built and maintained the Appalachian Trail since it began in the 1920's.

As I walked along each step of the path, I couldn't help but be impressed by the enormous labor involved in creating it, going back to those who bushwhacked through these peaks scouting out routes and locating water sources.  Over the years people have donated hours and hours of their free time to cut back brush, paint blazes, do rock work, dig ditches, place waterbars, build bog bridges, erect and repair shelters, carry out trash, and the many other tasks that have kept the Trail alive.  I must admit there were times I cursed those who held responsibility for a section that had become neglected and overgrown.  But for the most part the Trail is in good shape and the best answer to those who complain is to hand them a pair of clippers.

Aside from the actual ongoing construction of the Trail, there are other unsung heroes who have contributed to the AT.  Thanks are due to those landowners who allowed strangers to cross their property for many years.  And more recently, many hours have been expended in legal battles to create a permanently protected, publicly owned, corridor for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.  The paperwork involved in rerouting just a small stretch of the Trail is staggering.  Many hands are involved in the task of publishing maps and guides, and keeping them updated.  Online, former hikers donate their time to chat rooms, email lists, and building websites (like this one) to share the experience of hiking the Trail and to offer help and encouragement to those considering a thru-hike. 

Along the Trail, you really are dependent on the kindness of strangers.  In this day and age picking up a hitchhiker carries some degree of peril, but there were always those few who were willing to give me a lift.  If I'd had to add in the extra time and miles to walk into every town for a food resupply, I'm not sure I could have finished.  And any restaurant in a Trail town that offers all-you-can-eat is engaging in a form of charity, because they certainly aren't making a profit from thru-hikers.  That goes as well for the hostels and cheap accomodations that many people offer to hikers out of the generosity of their hearts (because their rates probably just allow them to break even).  Trail Angels pop up everywhere, often when they are most needed.  The treats they provide may seem like little things, but sometimes they make the difference in helping you to keep a positive attitude and keep going. 

Family and friends left back home contribute to the thru-hikers journey.  They handle the practical matters of the household, and the logistics of mail-drops and gear swaps.  And they sacrifice the companionship of the hiker in order to allow them to pursue their dream.  The knowledge that so many people are interested in what you are doing, are incredibly supportive of you, is a well of strength that you can draw on when times are hard.

And, of course, other thru-hikers are a tremendous source of aid and comraderie.  Your fellow travellers can teach you a great deal, either directly or by example.  The most current trail information available is in the shelter registers.  Most importantly, these friends are the only ones who can really understand the strange beauty of this journey.  Hiking the Trail is much less of a solo experience than it was in the early years, but it is richer for it.