I’m actually writing 3 ½ years after the fact, but I just finished reading the journal of a friend from college who completed the Appalachian Trail in 2003.  Jim Dirlam, a Brooklyn boy through and through, has always been the outdoorsy, adventury kind of guy.  Prior to this, he had done several multi-state bike rides (Idaho to Colorado, the New England states…) so I was pretty sure if anyone could pull it off, it would be him.  Jim was actually inspired by a Bradley grad that was in my class, Christine Olex, who had done the AT a few years prior.

The starting point for a south-to-north navigation of the Appalachian Trail is not far from Atlanta.  Springer Mountain in northern Georgia is the southern terminus of the trail and this is where a lot of people start.  The other end/start point of the AT is Mount Katahdin in Maine.  It’s a 6 month, 2,175 mile trek that is just as much a mental endurance test as it is physical.

When it comes to sports or physical challenges that require mental toughness, I’ve always said that golf is right near the top because in order to win a tournament, you can’t make errors for 4 straight days.  One bad shot can mentally untrack even the best of pros.  But I say the mental toughness that pro golfers face isn’t on the same level as hiking then entire eastern seaboard, most of it mountainous, some of it rocky, and all of it challenging.  Imagine having a goal that requires you to walk through the wilderness for 6 months straight with very few “zero mile days” to recover your body physically.

Rain, snow, lightning, and wind all have to be dealt with while walking through streams, mud, slippery rocks and treacherous inclines.  Mix in some bears and other assorted wildlife and you have a real-life Pirates of the Caribbean Disney ride.  On top of that, it’s not like you have a warm and comfy bed to sneak into at night.  Yes, there are hostels and homes and hotels that accommodate hikers on certain parts of the trails, but a lot of nights are spent sleeping in exposed shelters or in your tent.  Oh yeah, and you need to do all this while packing as lightly as possible in order to reduce the discomfort in your daily walks.  But when I say “light”, that can mean 50+ pounds depending on how much food or other supplies you have at any given time.

As an avid walker who tries to walk several miles a day, I’d like to think I would have been able to do something like this in my younger years but I will never know.  Not everyone can make a six month hiatus from the working world, so planning years in advance is key.  In addition, you have to plan to have people mail boxes to certain checkpoints in order to get supplies you need, clothing changes based on the season, etc…

Anyway, Jim’s journal is pretty fascinating and I lived the trail vicariously through him.  The final 100 miles in Maine has no access to the civilized world so you are on your own.  He wound up getting to Mt. Katahdin on the unofficial closing day of that park (October 15).  To add to the climax of his last hiking day, he had to encounter 80 mph wind gusts going up the mountain.  To get this far and not walk the final few thousand feet to the peak was not an option.

The bottom line is he accomplished something few people have and for that I think he deserves kudos.  I’m sure the trip is a good way to cleanse the mind in a way and at the same time becoming stronger because you are fending for yourself in ways we don’t normally do in our society today.  There are certain accomplishments which will stand the test of time, meaning you can brag about them 50 years from now, and hiking the Appalachian Trail is one of those.

Jim, please set the record straight if I got any of my facts wrong.  You did well, man, and no one can take that accomplishment or memory away.

If anyone is interested in reading his journal, I have a PDF file I can email you.