Trail names, angels, and bears…oh, my!
Hiking the Appalachian Trail in SNP
Every year thousands of people traipse through Rappahannock County, but you may not see them unless you are in Shenandoah National Park at the right time of year.
These visitors are thru-hikers on the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail (the “AT”), 101 miles of it in SNP. The trail winds its way from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine, but according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, “More of the AT passes through Virginia than any other state.”
The Rappahannock News met two thru-hikers — Zac Huxley, 23, of Hartford, Conn., and Dan Egan, 39, of Boston, Mass. — at nearby Elkwallow Wayside, where Dan and Zac were resting and provisioning for the next leg of their hike. They shared their experiences on the AT.
Question: I’ve read that thruhikers have unique trail names based on a personality quirk or something disastrous. What are yours?
Dan: I’m Wicket.
Zac: Fruitbasket
Dan: It’s easier to remember trail names than actual names.
How did you meet?
Dan: We met on the second day. We were part of a ‘tramily’ [for trail family] of about 12 people. Eventually some got sick or quit. Right now it’s just the two of us.
Are you trying to go all the way to Katahdin and when do you expect to get there?
Dan: Yes, end of August or the beginning of September. Usually midOctober they shut [Katahdin] down. They won’t let you summit anymore. It’s not even open yet; they’re not going to open it till June 15 because there’s that much snow [still] up there.
Zac: People figure five-and-a-half to six months [to complete the AT].
How do you have time to do that?
Dan: I took a leave of absence. I work for a locksmithing company. I told my boss what I was going to do and the company was nice enough to give me the time off and then give me my job back when I get back. Zac: Same here. I work for an accounting firm in Hartford.
What kind of logistics go into planning this besides approaching your jobs?
Dan: Saving enough money. You could probably do the AT for $3,000. But with $5,000 you’d be able to stay at hotels in towns and go to a restaurant.
Zac: Other than that, though, you try to carry four to five days of food to get you to the next town or the next general store.
Dan: Some people plan every single stop or there are certain towns you know where there is no place to re-supply, no grocery store, so you have people at home mail a package to you. And you can pick it up at the post office.
Do you take a lot of breaks along the way?
Dan: About every four or five days we hitchhike into a town to buy groceries, take a shower, do laundry.
Zac: It’s called a ‘zero day’ because you don’t hike at all. You go to a hotel or a hostel and do as little as possible.
Is it difficult to hitch a ride?
Dan: To be honest, not really. Zac: A lot of people are part of this AT community and they want to help hikers when they see them.
Dan: They are called ‘trail angels.’ [You can get] a list of their numbers and you can call them. If they are available they’ll just come pick you up for free and drive you into town. One thing that has surprised me is the amount of generosity from people.
So you figure you do about 20 miles a day?
Zac: We worked up to that. We started at eight, ten miles a day.
Dan: They call it ‘getting your trail legs.’
Have you met any of our local friendly animals?
Dan: Especially in Shenandoah, we’ve met a few bears. I walked up on one a couple days ago. And I said, ‘Hey bear’ and started to slowly back up and he came on the trail and started to walk towards me. I just kept backing up and eventually he stopped. I made noise and he just ran away.