Last weekend when I was staying outside of Roanoke for a wedding, I had the chance to walk a few miles of the Appalachian Trail. It was pretty awesome—now I have only about 2178 more miles to go to complete it.
Like most people, I had heard about the Appalachian Trail, but didn’t know much about it. Somehow I imagined that it was about as wide as a jeep and relatively smooth. My brief hike on the trail dispelled those notions. The trail is narrow, muddy, and steep, at least in those parts where I was walking.
I encountered the trail in Troutville, Virginia, a small town that is designated as an Appalachian Trail Community, where hikers can resupply along the way. Troutville marks a point on the trail where thru-hikers, those trying to complete the entire trail in a single year, will have completed about a third of the trail, assuming they started in Georgia.
It’s pretty exciting to think about hiking a 2200 mile trail, but it requires a lot of planning, training, and commitment. Generally thru-hikers spent five to seven months hiking on the trail, and quite a few people drop out along the way for many different reasons.
As I climbed a hill and came to a meadow, I noticed this small tent. Apparently a hiker decided this was a good spot to spend the night. You can see part of the trail, which is marked with white “blazes,” like the one on the wooden post.
Mike Powell 
There’s no way I could hike the whole trail – aside from stamina, I hate camping – but I’d love to hike a stretch of the Appalachian Trail some time.
I’ve been watching some videos of folks who have hiked the entire length of the Appalachian Trail and I think you have to be a little crazy to commit to spending such an extended period of time to such an endeavor. It’s almost guaranteed that you will be cold, wet, and miserable for extended periods of time. I think I might be able to do a week long section of the trail, but I would need a lot of preparation in advance. (It’s amazing how you have to pare down what you are carrying.)
I have the same relationship with the Appalachian Trail. On different trips I saw a little of it near Mount Katahdin in Maine, Harper’s Ferry in West Virginia, and the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee/North Carolina. Although I would love to through-hike it, the months of requisite free time is the limiting factor.
It’s my dream to thru hike the AT. Maybe not any time soon… but some day :). Great post, Mike; any amount of time spent on the trail is worth sharing!
Thanks. I am educating myself more about the AT. I don’t know I will ever be able to do a thru hike, but I am considering trying to do part of the trail that runs through Virginia, the state in which I live.
Great read!!! Love the hiking tale 🙂 I gave ya a follow. I have a few hiking tales myself you might enjoy, would appreciate the follow back. But otherwise thanks for the tips and story 🙂
Thanks, Zane. Your adventures, your narratives, and your photos are tremendously inspiring. I looked at a couple of your more recent postings and look forward to exploring more of your blog.
Thanks pal 🙂 im currently working on a blog about Saskatchewan!! Haha, its beautiful here. I found your last blog about “mating” insects great! Theres a whole world out there which we dont notice huh?!
I tend to spend most of my time shooting with either a telephoto or a macro lens. In either case, I am used to zooming way in on my subjects. The world is pretty amazing and there are lots of details in everyday subjects that we never see, because we don’t look carefully enough or because we are moving too fast. That’s one of the reasons why I am intrigued about hiking and enjoy “going along” with you on your hikes as you describe some of the challenges and high points (literally and figuratively) of the trails.