The Appalachian Trail Institute

Warren and me - AT 08

This past weekend I traveled to Mountain City, Tennessee to help Warren Doyle with his Appalachian Trail Institute.  Warren Doyle is an Appalachian Trail legend.  This upcoming year he will finish his 16^th thru-hike of the AT; that’s basically 35,000 miles of Appalachian mountain walking.  To put it into perspective, the circumference of the earth is measured at 24,900 miles; it is as if Warren has taken a healthy jaunt around the equator and then some.

ALL this to say Warren knows his stuff; he is a living guidebook on the Appalachian Trail.  However, despite all his miles Warren does not like to take much time talking about the gear and logistics of the trail, instead he prefers to help prepare people mentally and emotionally for the 2,175-mile journey.  And that is what the ATI, or Appalachian Trail Institute, is all about; it is a four-day intensive workshop that helps people train their hearts and mind for the challenges of the trail, and here and there with much less frequency he make some suggestions on physical preparations.

Warren gearing up to go

At this winter’s ATI there were 15 workshop participants from 10 different states.  The ages ranged from 23 years to 62 years of age and there was almost an equal split of men and women.  Everyone at the workshop hoped to hike the entire trail and the majority of the group planned to start this spring.

It is overwhelming to be in a room with a group of people on the brink of pursuing their dreams.

On Friday the group spend the morning talking about the reasons each person wanted to hike and what they expected from the trail.  After a long and heartfelt morning session, the group headed into nearby Damascus, VA to walk through the local grocery store and outfitter, where everyone was able to share what food and gear they were interested in taking on their trek.  All the while, Warren echoed that it was not your gear or diet that would allow you to complete the trail but rather your heart and desire.

After our town stop, we traveled to the nearby Appalachian Trail and covered a moderate 6-mile section.  For some folks it was their first time to step foot on the AT and their faces lit up with smiles and amazement, as the enchantment of the trail became a gripping reality.

Warren frolicking

On Saturday it snowed.  When the blue Appalachian Mountains turn white it is a magical scene.  It looks as if mountains of clouds comprise the landscape and makes it feel as if you have left the earth for some celestial realm.  Because of the inclement weather we spent the day inside; it wasn’t the snow of the trail that worried us, it was the ice on the roads that kept us indoors.  We spent most of the day talking about how hard long distance hiking is.  Warren dispelled expectations that the trail would be fun or enjoyable.  Granted, those may be by-products of hard work and overcoming challenges, but they are not the day-to-day reality of the trail.

The day-to-day reality of the trail is blisters, rain, snow, hot weather, humidity, hard climbs, hunger, thirst, fatigue, and general discomfort.  But the discomfort is what makes the trail so special, it is what makes you realize that you are tougher than you thought and that you need less than you were taught.  The reality of the trail and life is that if we want to be gain patience and perseverance then we are going to need to be broken.  The trail is guaranteed to break you, but it also promises to put you back together in a more beautiful and complete manner than existed before.

Strategy Session

The cool part of the ATI is that we spent a whole day telling the thru-hiking hopefuls how hard their hike would be, and that just made them all the more excited.  I had to leave the workshop this morning as the group headed out for another short section hike on the AT.  It was hard to say goodbye to the friends that I had made in the past two days, but I had confidence that they were going out on the trail for the right reasons and I know that they will do well.  And deep down inside I was full of envy that it was them and not me!  Maybe I need to go back to the trail to be broken of my jealousy?!   : )