Thru-Hike Adventure on the Appalachian Trail PDF

"I kid. Just a little humor from an exhausted tenderfoot," I say with a tired smile. "Are you guys starting a thru-hike?" asks the possible park ranger. He's short and skinny, with glasses way too big for his face. Long strands of his hair are combed over to one side, but I can't tell if he's going...

"I kid. Just a little humor from an exhausted tenderfoot," I say with a tired smile. "Are you guys starting a thru-hike?" asks the possible park ranger. He's short and skinny, with glasses way too big for his face. Long strands of his hair are combed over to one side, but I can't tell if he's going bald or if he's just sporting a bad hairdo. That aside, he has a friendly face. "Yeah, we are," I reply. "At least you're attempting, huh?" asks the woman. "No, I'm quite sure I'm going all the way," I say politely. I'm not going to fall into a mindset of maybe I'll make it. I already have enough going against me, starting with how clueless I am about the trail. Positive thoughts are my biggest asset out here in the unknown. I could have told her all that, but I'm still collecting as much air as my lungs can muster. "The goal is Katahdin, nothing less," I add. "That's the way to think," says her companion. "So, what I have here are AT matches that I give to all northbound thru-hikers," the maybe-ranger chimes in. "Some keep them as souvenirs, and others take them all the way to Katahdin. For a while, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy gave out gifts to thru-hikers who resented the matches after finishing their hikes. I'm not sure how it works now, but take them with you all the way, and you may be surprised." "Thanks," I say as he hands me a book of matches. "Are you a park ranger?" "No, I'm John, the caretaker here at Springer Mountain Shelter," he says. "You can also grab a small rock from here and take it to Katahdin, as a token of your thru-hike," Josh says, joining us. "Yeah, but the thing about that is, all the rocks here were brought down from Katahdin by southbound thru-hikers. You'll just be taking them back home," John says with a big grin. I have a feeling he has told that joke many times before but is just as gleeful to tell it again. I skip the rock tradition, but I keep the matches. You never know. I may need them along the way. While we're chatting, it hits me. I'm here, at the start of the Appalachian Trail. I endured the strenuous steps, and now I'm atop Springer Mountain. It's all downhill from here, right? Difficulty... Strenuous 11