Backpacking Is In the Air!
A retrospective on the unknown, new adventures, and finding purpose.
At some point in every March, I find myself drawn to the forest by a gentle but firm invisible hand. Maybe it’s the temperature change and glimpses of spring – a daffodil here or there – or maybe my internal clock has just forever changed by a decision that was made back in 2019. With it’s bare tree tops, crunching of leaves underfoot, skittering squirrels, and the promise of the unknown – March will forever be long-distance backpacking season in my mind. It is a season of change and more to come. On this day in 2019, my partner and I had big plans in store…
The Appalachian Trail is an ~2,190-mile continuous footpath beginning on Springer Mountain, Georgia – traversing 14 states – and ending at the summit of Mount Katahdin, Maine. A few thousand backpackers of varying experience levels – including couch to thruhike – will take on the challenge each spring (or summer) to cover the entire trail in one calendar year. To cover all the miles of the trail in one year is considered a thruhike of the Appalachian Trail (AT) – and this what we were setting out to accomplish.
Much of the trail takes you through sections of wilderness for several days at a time. It’ll lead you over steep mountains, along narrow ridges, through beaver dams and across the endless boulders of Rocksylvania. You’ll encounter blistering heat, hours (or days) of rain and/or lightning storms with nothing to shield you but small bits of fabric. For shelter and sustenance, hikers must carry everything they need for 3-5 days on their backs including food, tent/hammock, sleeping bag, water filter, basic toiletries, first aid…the gear list goes on. Packs carrying the necessary gear can vary from 20 lbs to 45 lbs….or more! While you will find a 3-sided shelter every 10-15 miles, many hikers choose to camp in their own tents for the added privacy of enclosed walls. Shelters provide coverage from the elements (mostly), but they also mean potentially sharing your bed with mice, spiders, and the ever so present possibility that the kind stranger sleeping next to you might snore or had beans for dinner. While thousands of hikers set out each year to attempt an AT thruhike, only 25% of those who set out are actually successful. This is for many reasons, but injury, lack of funds, general loneliness, and enduring months of pain are a few that top the list. All this considered – a thruhike of any long-distance trail is no small feat to take on.
Why leave the comfort and stability of your job, home, and family to walk 2,190 miles across the east coast?
Now, you might be thinking – WHY would anyone in their right mind voluntarily subject themselves to this lifestyle? Well, I am no longer ashamed to admit that I do not 100% know the answer to that question. In the months leading up to March 25th, 2019, as I poured over books and articles and blogs promising to provide the best advice for a successful thruhike – I felt inundated by the question of why. All the articles were firm – you must understand your why to have any hope of success. Otherwise, you will surely fail (along with the other 75%). To console myself, I created a why. I created hundreds of whys. “I need to get the nomadic bug out of my system”, “I love backpacking“, “I’m only truly myself in the forest”, or “I need some time to contemplate my future”….and it goes on. I’m not saying all those reasons were completely wrong, but they weren’t completely right ether.
I may not fully understand the why behind it all, but it’s a question I find myself unable to let go of. It is endlessly fascinating to contemplate and try to uncover the root of why we do hard things. Why sign up for that 100-mile race? Why attempt to backpack 330 miles on PA’s wildest footpath faster than anyone has ever backpacked it before? Why leave the comfort and stability of your job, home, and family to walk 2,190 miles across the east coast? The question and it’s “answer” are incredibly individual, personal and complex.
To get to the root of the WHY behind it all, it might be helpful to begin with the HOW – how did we end up on this path leading to the Appalachian Trail?
A PATH TO THE PATH
Lets back up to 2015 – the year I dub my quarter-life crisis. Life was just beginning to “get real” for me. Student loans, the daily grind, and every day trying to hold hope for others in my career as a mental health worker. Feeling a looming lack of purpose, I found myself gravitating towards the forest – a place of imagination and adventure in my childhood. Soon I found myself spending all my time outside of work trying to find new trails to hike. Weekdays, weekends, all the days I was exploring new trails. While I learned the do’s and don’ts of hiking alone – I would sometimes find I didn’t read a map right, I ran out of food, or I forgot to drink water. Of course, I also yelped when I saw a snake. I hid behind trees or bushes when I heard loud noises, or footsteps (it was usually a squirrel). Sometimes I even hid from hikers, too. People felt scary in the woods. For about a year, I took the learn-as-you-go approach (pack that food & water, Erica!), and kept returning to the trail, hungry for more lessons.
One day as I was hiking a short section of the Mid State Trail, and I spotted my first ever backpacker…I was CAPTIVATED. You mean I can…stay out here? The online searching commenced, and on my tiny post-college income, I soon owned the cheapest (but somewhat quality) backpack, tent, and hiking boots that I could find. The sleeping bag was borrowed – that could come later. I then went on my first ever backpacking trip – solo – on the Mid State Trail!
Many mistakes were made. I am embarrassed to say that common sense did not prevail over my excitement to begin. My first-aid kit was abysmal (a couple of Band-Aids!), and I packed an assortment of nonsense items like an herbal medicine book (when was I supposed to be reading?!) and three sets of hiking outfits….for a TWO DAY TRIP. I was also missing quite a few other items that are now staples of my backpacking gear list.
Day one of my first ever backpacking trip was wonderful, regardless. It was sunny, I sang out loud to the birds, while also hoping the local rattlesnakes would hear my noisy singing self and decide they’d rather be anywhere else. After a long, cold night (I packed no sleeping pad, no pillow, & no coat), I was ready for day two and a long hike back to my car. Onward! I had a bounce in my step and the thrill of adventure propelled me swiftly across a boulder ridge. Mother nature had other ideas in mind, though, and in a cloud of excitement, my foot caught on a boulder. I tripped! My pack was so top-heavy that my outstretched arms barely broke any impact at all as my forehead took the brunt of the blow on a boulder. After assessing the damage, and understanding I had 10 miles left to hike back to my car, I noted a couple things:
- My first aid kit will need a serious overhaul/upgrade
- Head wounds are messy – glad I brought those extra outfits…
This first adventure had me taking a step back and contemplating the seriousness of the task at hand. If I wanted to continue diving into the world of backpacking, I may need some help.
Enter online dating! Later that same year, we sat at a local pub. On our first date, we chatted away, sharing our passions with the stranger before us, hoping to make a connection – and it turns out we did! I described my previous hapless backpacking experiences. I was in need of a hiking buddy, and this guy across from me knew a local trail which we could backpack over the course of a weekend (bonus – he’d done it before!). After a few weeks of manic texting back and forth with my new hiking buddy, the plans were set – our second date would be backpacking the 30-mile West Rim Trail in Tioga State Forest. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You hid behind bushes from other hikers, but you’re going to spend 48 hours alone with a man you just met…in the wilderness? What can I say – he had a trustworthy face 🙂
That second “date” was in 2016. Over the next 3 years we had officially deemed ourselves a couple, bought our first 2-person backpacking tent, and began training and planning to backpack the entire Appalachian Trail together. To prepare, we completed 2-3 backpacking trips each year, trying out new gear and learning new lessons. We learned that backpacking in June (summer!!) does not inherently mean you are safe from hypothermia if it’s raining and also 50- degrees out. A proper raincoat is still required. We learned that a 2-person hammock does not necessarily mean that 2 people should try to sleep in said hammock (don’t). Chugging water when you are dehydrated is a very. bad. idea. Also, no matter how young you think you are – your knees do not agree. Take those trekking poles along, and your knees will thank you. As for me, I learned to be more aware and less afraid. While I no longer hide from hikers, I do still jump at the sight of a snake (or bear).
Of course, planning for a thruhike of this magnitude requires much more than just physical training and proper gear. We had jobs, a home, a cat…all these things would need taken care of in some way while we were off wondering the wilderness for 5-6 months. We had both determined individually that we needed a break from our careers, along with time to consider what’s next in life. This made quitting our jobs a relatively easy choice. However, it also meant strict saving practices. During those preparatory years, we bought much of our necessities from thrift stores and yard sales, and kept recreational expenses to an absolute minimum. We spent more on groceries from the Surplus Outlet and dined out minimally. Our goal was to save up $5,000 each in order to fund the adventure. As for how we would generate new income after the trek, we decided, “Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.”
The house was a rental, but somehow this task took a larger toll than deciding to leave our employment. We packed up all our belongings and moved them into storage, while living out of our backpacks in an empty house. Our recently seam sealed tent was set up in one room while we slept on our sleeping pads in another room. A third room was an explosion of gear, boxes, and scales to weigh items we were considering bringing along. Our lives were beginning to turn upside down, and it was only the beginning.
The cat, however, we could not just do away with! I often dream that our beloved cat is the adventurous kind – the kind that would pitter patter alongside me, taking in the wilderness, and sniffing the forest air for critters to chase. But, alas, he is just not that kinda dude (and that’s okay, we love you Peeves). Peeves the cat would need a temporary home, and thankfully we had an incredibly generous mom who would take him in while we are off galivanting the east coast.
Jobs, gone. Home, gone. Cat – in good hands….we climbed into my parents’ car for a 13-hour road trip from PA to GA on March 23rd, my partner’s 29th birthday. My parents planned to see us off at Amicalola Falls, Georgia, in just a couple days. After a last minute stop at a local outdoor store, and another last minute gear purge in the parking lot, we were ready to take off. We bid my parents fare-well for now and stepped through the stone archway – onward into the wild.
To this day I cannot accurately describe the feeling of those first few steps… as we away from my parents and into this new-to-me world and our lives in the hands of the universe. Tears stung my eyes and fear gripped my throat, but the thrill of the unknown adventure also had butterflies in my stomach. I knew I loved backpacking, but I had never trekked farther than 85 miles over a few days. Would my body be able to handle this? Will my gear hold up? …What if I hate it?…
The next few months would not fail to provide adventure, joy, hardship, and struggle. I still cannot explain the “why” of it all…but I do know that backpacking has brought more purpose into my life. It gave me my childhood wonder back, along with the humbling understanding of how precious this one life is that we’ve been granted.
I also know that this is why I’ve decided to make it my business to help others explore hiking and backpacking. As a guide, I hope to share this passion, along with the humbling and healing nature of the wilderness, with others who might find a similar inspiration and thrill that I find. Sometimes, there is no one reason why. You just need to explore your wild roots!
Happy trail-iversary to my hiking buddy, husband, and best friend – Jesse LuBera!
Stay wild.
