Exploring the Appalachian Trail
Dylan Rogers, NCHC Partners in the Parks Appalachian Trail Experience, 2024
Dylan Rogers, Valencia College
When I signed up for the Partners in the Parks Appalachian Trail trip earlier this year, I had little idea of what to expect. I did know that I wanted to spend my summer well, which is why the trip piqued my interest in the first place. I figured that meeting other honors students from around the country and spending time outdoors with them learning new things and gaining new experiences would be pretty meaningful and educational. I was right.
Before this trip, I had never visited the Appalachian Trail (AT) or even been camping in the backcountry before. I had only ever been to campgrounds with water, electricity, and bathrooms, which are certainly nice amenities. But, as I would learn on this trip, certain of these comforts must be given up to experience nature in a truer and fuller way.
After arriving at the hotel we were staying at for the first night of the trip, I began meeting other students. There was an interesting mix of majors among our company, from psychology to health, environmental science to English. We all had different backgrounds, but what we held in common was an appreciation for being outside and exploring. While some of us were more familiar with camping and backpacking than others, we all had things to learn from Christina McIntyre, our trip facilitator, and Derick Lugo, our resident author. Both had extensively hiked the AT before, and so became inexhaustible springs of fascinating knowledge regarding the trail and its culture.
While the trip contained many highlights, one of my favorite parts (aside from being on the trail itself, of course) was staying at the Len Foote Hike Inn, a LEED-certified backcountry inn, complete with solar panels, a composting toilet system, a family-style dining room, interesting history, and, of course, incredible views. Here we got to meet and talk to other inn guests, including people from the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, who were able to give us more insight into how they, as one of the 30 trail maintaining organizations, work together to maintain the entire ~2,190-mile trail.
Earlier in our trip we also got to hear from Sarah Adams, the manager of the Georgia and Nantahala regions of the trail, who told us about the other major organization responsible for the trail and its continued existence: the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC). We learned about how the ATC, along with the 30 local trail-maintaining organizations and the government (specifically the National Park Service and Forest Service) come together to make the trail possible through "cooperative management."
While I've so far recalled a few enjoyable parts of my trip which taught me much, I don't believe I can ever properly capture in words the memories made in our group this summer. What really made the trip special was being around like-minded people who were able to simply learn and live. We didn't have to worry about our complicated lives off the trail for an entire week and could just enjoy each other's company.
I'll close this reflection by mentioning that by the end of our trip, me and two other students decided that we enjoyed the experience so much and could time our school/life schedules right to plan a thru-hike of the entire trail together next spring/summer. What made such a plan possible, I think, was the combination of expertise and guidance from Christina and Derick paired with the amazing memories and experiences we were so fortunate to have. Who knew bringing a group of strangers together to learn and explore nature could be so incredible!
While I don't think I'll ever be able to put into words how meaningful the experience was as a whole, I hope this reflection at least makes clear that it has been personally impactful, deeply formative, and is something I will cherish for the rest of my life.
