- A.T. in fourteen states
Last year, Associated Press ran an article about a woman who’d just completed hiking the entire Appalachian Trail in 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes! Well, that’s dandy.
While I’m in awe of the accomplishment, I’m wondering why she did this. What is the logic or meaning behind it? The article states that she never ignored the beauty of the 2,180-mile trek from Maine to Georgia. But did she stop to smell the wildflowers, rest by waterfalls, take the time to absorb the landscapes of nature, take the time to observe animals in their habitats? Bombing along at an average of 47 miles a day, I doubt it.
“Fastest is so relative,” the young lady states, “…what are you not going to see at three miles per hour?” That’s like saying, I read Tolstoy’s War and Peace yesterday, every word, so what could I have missed?
Maybe I don’t get it. Many others have tried for speed records thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. And I remember reading about one man who thru-hiked the triple crown (Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail), about 7800 miles, in one year! Think of all that he glimpsed but didn’t experience. How much did he really see and absorb in the Rockies, Yosemite, the Sierras?
For all you speed demons, slow down. And take the time to smell the flowers.
Miscellaneous: In my post about cleaning sleeping bags, Carol Chubb of Massachusetts suggests throwing several tennis balls into the dryer with the sleeping bag. This will help break up any down clumps. Thanks, Carol.
I wondered this the first time I read that she was going for such a record. I felt like that was just too fast, but then again there is a couple I’m following who are hiking the AT right now who hike much slower than I would ever be happy with. It’s like she says, speed is relative. I still don’t think she could possibly be getting the experience the way other hikers are getting it, and for me, hiking is about the experience, not just saying I did it.
I agree, Joslyn, hiking is about the experience.