Editor’s Note: Westbrook native Gretchen Carroll, who goes by the trail name Ukalady, is hiking from Georgia to Maine along the 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail. So far, she has spent 86 days on the trail, hiked 1,019 miles and raised $1,060 for Rippleffect scholarships.
I have completed 1,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail! I must admit I feel very accomplished and proud of my progress. My hiking partner Chameleon and I enjoyed taking some goofy pictures at the 1,000-mile mark. Soon I will be halfway to Katahdin!
Before entering Virginia everyone kept telling me, “Virginia is flat. Virginia is a green tunnel.” It wasn’t until my first day in Shenandoah National Park that I finally felt like those predictions were relatively accurate. The terrain was gradually going up and down and there were multiple times in the day that I felt like I was is a green tunnel or a green alley. Having so much leaf cover was wonderful and beautiful or mysterious, depending upon the lighting.
People also told me that there were a lot of bears in the Shenandoahs. That certainly was true. One bear kept tromping through my campsite my first night in the park. The second day I was 15 feet away from a mother bear and her cubs before I saw them. The cubs were very cute climbing the tree and the mother hid in the bushes as Chameleon and I passed by. I saw enough bears in the Shenandoahs that I’m not sure of the count, but nearly every day. I managed to sleep through a bear entering camp the last night.
Despite how much I talk about my surroundings while hiking, I spend a lot of time looking directly at the trail in front of my feet, checking for rocks and roots, while my mind wanders. It wasn’t until being on the trail that I came to realize just how much of the time I have music going through my head. Unless I am actively involved in a conversation, there is most likely a song playing in my mind. It keeps me occupied but I have also discovered I have difficulty turning the music off. I enjoy listening to the birds singing, the wind in the trees, and the buzzing of insects. Unfortunately I seem to have a 10-second listening span before my internal radio comes back on. I hope to truly be able to clear my mind to listen to my surroundings for longer periods of time by the time I finish my hike.
To donate money for outdoor education scholarships at Rippleffect visit www.gofundme.com/GretchenAT.
To read more about my hiking experiences on the trail visit www.mtnrvr.blogspot.com.
Chameleon and Ukalady celebrate at the 1,000-mile mark.
Spiders tend to build their webs across the trail each night. Hikers who like to be the first on the trail may find a quiet path but, as a trade-off, they’re the first to have to break through cobwebs.
Hikers hang their food on a bear pole in the Shenandoah National Park. An ever-present deer watches in the background.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
