Looking for Adventure? Consider a nice long walk

Looking for Adventure?
Consider a nice long walk – about 2,000 miles

By Annette Spahr

On April 15, 1999 Beau Faulkner filed and fled. No, he wasn’t running from the IRS, rather he began a six month and two week journey in search of himself.

Most people desiring more time for introspection begin writing in a journal, or take up meditation. But that was too tame for this avid adventurer and part-time HACC student. Instead, Faulkner — a bartender at Harrisburg’s Appalachian Brewery Company — joined approximately 2,500 others attempting to backpack the world’s longest, continuous footpath from start to finish without stopping. In the end, he was one of the ten (thus among the .4% who typically finish each year) who completed what Appalachian Trail experts call a "thru-hike"— walking 2,160 miles (about eight to ten miles a day). Think about that the next time you go to the mall and complain about having to walk too far from the parking lot.

Running along the crests and across the major valleys of the Appalachian Mountains, the "AT" as avid hikers call it, begins in Springer Mountain, Georgia and ends at the peak of Maine’s Mount Katahdin. Like most hikers, Faulkner chose to begin in the south and travel north. "It makes more sense because you’re heading north as the weather warms," he explains, "and most people try to time their trip so they can hit New England when fall arrives."

Faulkner reports that the journey takes most thru-hikers five to six months to complete, but adds that he went two weeks past his intended finish date because he likes to take his time. And who can blame him when you consider what you’re seeing by walking through 14 states, 18 national forests, and six national parks.

Faulkner recalls the night he and a few fellow hikers were camped near New Hampshire’s Mount Washington. "It was a great night," remembers Faulkner. "I was with some really cool people, saw a moose, and then the northern lights lit up the sky — a very intense shade of green and white light. You had the feeling that you were watching a real phenomenon.

"But you had that feeling a lot along the trail," continues Faulkner, "and I’m not just talking about the natural sights. Meeting all the people made it an amazing experience. I’m a very social person, and you quickly learn that hiking the AT can be a lonely trip, but only if that’s what you want it to be; I’d meet new people every day, hike with some for a few days, then move on. There’s no typical thru-hiker. I met students, retirees, you name it."

Faulkner began the trip with a friend, Jimmy, who attempted to hike the trail in 1995 but had to quit when he broke his leg. 1999 wasn’t destined to be Jimmy’s thru-hike year either; he pulled out in New Hampshire. But the pairing served Faulkner well while planning for the hike. "Jimmy was my mentor," he recalls, "giving me a heads up on how to prepare and what to pack. If you want to hike the trail, definitely find a few people who did it and then pick their brains. Also there are a number of great Internet sites. I think the best one is www.trailplace.com. But the main thing to remember is that everyone has his or her preferences. There’s an old trail saying: ‘Hike your own hike.’ Decide what works for you."

For some people it may be hiking from bed and breakfast to bed and breakfast (a number of Internet sites cater to such clientele). For the purists — those who lighten the weight of their packs by sanding the paint off the metal frame and instead of a camp stove use an empty soda can and denatured alcohol — hiking their own hike can mean refusing even to leave the trail for supplies in order to remain true to an extremist’s definition of thru-hike. "I fall somewhere in between," shares Faulkner. "My pack started out at 55 pounds in Georgia, but then you quickly start shedding things, learning what you can do without. I ditched many first aid supplies. Do you know what the definition of a thru-hiker’s first aid kit is? Duct tape."

Food can be a big weight issue, thus thru-hikers learn to rely on such gourmet meals as macaroni and cheese and instant mashed potatoes. "I don’t know when I’ll be able to stomach eating another pop tart," laughs Faulkner, who notes that he and Jimmy would plan a four to six day food supply, hiking between drop spots — post offices — to pick up packages of supplies sent by friends, or to visit a grocery store (which are plentiful up north in the more settled areas of the trail).

Of course, you have to plan at least one off-trail trip for a new pair of shoes. Like many hikers, Faulkner went through two pair, losing the first because of a bad case of blisters. But when cornered, that’s the absolute worst thing he can say about his trail experience. Given this thumbs up, when does he plan to return? "I’m sure I’ll hike stretches of the trail again, but I won’t do another thru-hike for quite awhile, maybe when I have children of my own to take along." He’s setting his sites on a new adventure — maybe California’s Pacific Crest trail, stretching from Mexico to Canada.