Zach Davis - Appalachian Trials: A Psychological and Emotional Guide to Successfully Thru-Hiking The Appalachian Trail

By: Zach Davis

Copyright 2012 Zach Davis
Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition License Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your personalenjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away toother people. If you would like to share this book with anotherperson, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Ifyoure reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was notpurchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.comand purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard workof this author.

Copyright 2012 Zach Davis

All rights reserved, including the right toreproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

This book is also available in print at mostonline retailers

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Although hiking the Appalachian Trailrequires a thru-hiker's own legs to walk each of the five millionsteps from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin, Maine, tosay that this process can be done alone is nothing short offictitious. Because this book is a non-fiction, I would like tosend gratitude to the all of the people who have helped me alongthe way. During my journey, I received the help and support fromcountless others. If I were to list out all of the people whooffered this assistance, the acknowledgements would be larger thanthe longest chapter in this book. To the friends and family backhome, the trail angels, the readers of my website, the selflessstrangers along the trail, and my fellow thru-hikers, youare what make the Appalachian Trail such a truly unique andmemorable experience. This book is written in hopes ofreciprocating the positive karma that you have shared with me overthe course of my half-year on the Appalachian Trail.

John G. I sincerely appreciate yourunyielding pursuit of adventure. Without you, the AT would not be achapter in my life, and in turn, neither would this book. To quotemy buddy Steve Jobs, stay hungry.

I would like to give special thanks to IanMangiardi. Without you, this book would not be possible. Not onlydid you provide me the peace of mind of offering your in depth gearknowledge during any and all hours of the day, your on-trailadvice is ultimately what allowed me to join this exclusive clubknown as Appalachian Trail thru-hikers.

Paula Murphy, having such a creative andpassionate designer on my side has made the final stages of thisprocess both fun and educational. You are brilliant. Thoseinterested in procuring some high quality design work forthemselves need to check out www.branditarians.com.

To B. Hanson Macdonald, your benevolence inoffering a complete stranger help in editing an aspiring authorsfirst book is a gift that will not soon be forgotten. Yourenthusiasm and diligence for this project is a true reflection ofyour altruistic and empathetic nature. Thank you.

I would like to send a very special thank youto my family. Danielle, your unwavering faith in your brother iswhat makes an inexperienced camper feel capable of completing a2,181-mile backpacking voyage. You should probably consider scalingback your confidence before he attempts an even more recklessexpedition.

To my father, James, I would like to saythank you for being my Houston Control while on the trail.Your boy-scout like research of my exact coordinates notonly provided an additional layer of comfort in what could havebeen an unnerving situation, it offered additional peace of mind tothe person who needed it most. Which leads me to my next recipientof gratitude.

Michele (aka Mother Badger), what can Isay? Your anxiety for your sons wellbeing not only drove himinto his bravest undertaking to date, its the foundation for whythis book is being written in the first place. And speaking of thisbooks writing, your tireless and compassionate assistance in theface of a very stubborn and close-minded author played a biggerrole in its completion than you can ever know. I take that back.You do know.

I love you all dearly...

Because this is the e-book version ofAppalachian Trials, I am going to do my best to incorporate all ofthe capabilities of such a technology.

In other words, I will be including photosfrom my journey sporadically throughout this book. Some of themwill be appropriate relative to the surrounding content; otherswill not. I just wanted to give you a heads up before you stumbleupon a random turtle image.

I warned you.

On with the show!!!

I went to the woods because I wished tolive deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, andsee if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I cameto die, discover that I had not lived.

- Henry David Thoreau

INTRODUCTION

than you can recall. Youve lost sleepover whether you should bring a down or synthetic sleeping bag.Youve mapped out every location where mail drops will be sent.

And then somehow you stumbled uponthis book.

A psychological guide? To hiking? Letme guess, one foot in front of the other. Do this approximately 5million times and you have successfully walked from SpringerMountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. Its as simple as that,right?

Right. Except for one thing, the fivemillion part.

In no uncertain terms, the psychological andemotional struggle is what drives people off the AppalachianTrail.

Its the unpredictable and dauntingpsychological impact of your Appalachian Trials. Its thehomesickness, redundancy, and loneliness. Its the thick,sweltering heat while scaling a shadeless, rock-face mountain. Itstrying to sleep through sub-freezing temperatures, hoping thatwearing every damn article of clothing in your pack and wrappingyour sleeping bag over your head will provide enough warmth togrant a few hours of sleep. Its the constant swarm of mosquitoes,flies, and gnats. Its the boredom that comes from another day ofwalking through lackluster terrain. Its the pain thatstrangleholds every muscle of your body upon waking. Its puttingon sweat soaked clothes for the fifth morning in a row. Its tryingto sleep next to that snoring asshole six inches from your face.Its waking up in a shelter to sound of a mouse eating his waythrough your backpack. Its pooping in the rain; have fun tryingto wipe. Its drinking discolored stream water. Its wanderinga mile off trail before realizing you have no idea where you are.Its checking your nether regions for parasitic and diseasecarrying ticks at the end of an exhausting day. Its living in aconstant coat of filth. Its walking consecutive days with a set ofthrobbing blisters between your toes and on the sides of yourheals. Its veering off trail to go to the bathroom, only to lookdown and notice that youre standing in poison ivy. Its rockseating through your boots and insoles, making it feel as thoughyoure hiking barefoot. Its running through a storm while hearinglighting crash down on every side of you. Its the rustling of ananimal prowling outside of your tent just moments before you weregoing to fall asleep. These are the reasons people throwin the towel, not because a climb is too daunting.

Thats why all the how-to advice inthe world regarding logistics and terrain, while important, will donothing to keep you inspired enough to stick with your goal. Goingthrough the hassle of devising an elaborate re-supply schedule -aconventional pre-trail suggestion- gives the illusion of essentialpreparation, but in reality, 70% of aspiring thru-hikers wont makeit to all of their re-supply locations. If a mail-drop is sent,but no one is there to receive it, does it really exist?