Marked with white paint and rock piles, the Appalachian Trail is one of the longest continuous footpaths in the world. It spans from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine, and each year attracts thousands of hikers.
Established in 1936, this 2,180-mile trail — the AT for short — cuts across 14 states, through forests and fields, over mountain ranges and across rivers. In the AT’s early years, few braved the long journey. In 1970, just 10 people completed the entire trail. But in recent years, the number of hikers has grown drastically. Last year, about 900 hikers completed the trail.
Of the successful hikers last year, 32 were Maine residents, according to Appalachian Trail Conservancy records.
This year several more Mainers are attempting the arduous journey.
“When I say I’m from Maine, everyone says, ‘Oh, there’s so many of you guys on the trail this year,’” said Emily Leonard of Lowell, who is currently hiking the trail solo and writing about the experience on her BDN blog, Happy Hiking.
“In one [AT] shelter, there were nine of us from Maine,” she said.
Leonard is a “thru-hiker,” someone attempting to hike the entire trail without any significant stops. And like most AT thru-hikers, she started at the trail’s southern end in Georgia this spring and is trekking north. The end point: Maine’s tallest mountain, Katahdin.
According to the ATC, about one in four thru-hikers make it all the way, and on average, the journey takes six months.
Starting with Leonard, here are a few of the hikers from Maine that are currently on the trail, following the AT’s telltale white blazes home:
Emily Leonard, 49, of Lowell
Trail name: Black Bear
“I got caught in a thunderstorm today and that got me off Bluff Mountain quickly and had me praying out loud,” Leonard said on April 7 while resting at Hot Springs, North Carolina.
Originally from Enfield, Leonard has lived in Maine her whole life. She graduated from the University of Maine and has been happily married for 24 years. She taught physical education for ages K-6 and coached soccer before becoming a full-time mom to two sons, now 18 and 20 years old.
Now with an empty nest, she thought it would be the perfect time for an adventure. She began the AT on March 10 in Georgia and plans to hike the entire trail.
“I don’t have a major reason I’m doing it,” Leonard said. “Just a lot of a little ones. The timing is right.”
While Leonard is technically hiking solo, she rarely feels alone. During her first month on the trail, she’s made friends with many fellow thru-hikers, and she looks forward to meeting up with them at the end of each day.
“We don’t hike together, but we say we’re going to meet at this shelter or town,” Leonard explained. “We kind of look out for each other.”
You can follow Leonard’s AT journey on her BDN blog at happyhiking.bangordailynews.com.
Collin Popper, 23, of Bangor
Trail name: Indy (for “indecisive”)
“When I started this journey, I was really nervous and scared and remember wanting to quit the first few days,” said Popper on April 6 while hiking the AT. “But I have awesome people out there encouraging me to go on and take another step. And now, here I am, a month into it and loving it.”
Popper grew up in Bangor, attended Bangor High School and still lives in Bangor, where he managed the Hampton Inn before hitting the AT. He started the trail in Georgia on March 13 and plans to hike the entire trail.
“It’s a very humbling experience,” Popper said. “It makes you appreciate little things so much more — like running water or being able to have any accessory or foot item you want by just driving down the road.”
He plans to hike the entire trail solo, and so far, he’s been amazed at the generosity of fellow hikers, as well as non-hikers, people he meets at hostels or while resupplying in towns along the way.
“There have been so many memorable experiences out here so far,” he said. “Some are funny, some scary, but all and all, awesome. I’ve learned that if there’s something you want to do, then just step up and try it. You only live once. I would rather try than never have tried.”
“There are some days I wake up not ready to hike high mileage,” he added, “but I push through it, and at the end of the day, I’m so proud to have made it.”
Popper was in Hot Springs, North Carolina, on April 6 and planned to push forward at an average of 18 miles a day. He’s physically and mentally feeling strong. Right now, one of the challenges he faces is making his trail money last all the way to Katahdin. On average, AT hikers spend about $1,000 a month during the hike, according to ATC.
Follow Popper’s journey through posts written by his father, Chris Popper, at wdea.am/category/appalachian-trail/.
Nathan Conroy, 30, of Portland
Trail name: Lobsterman
“My plan is kind of crazy,” Conroy said. “I’d like to go as many miles a day a possible. I know 40-plus is possible, so that’s what I’m shooting for.”
He’s always been full of energy, Conroy said. As a kid, he used to ask his teacher permission to run in place behind his chair rather than sit down.
“For me, I have a good time when I’m expending mass quantities of energy,” Conroy said. “I feel like a carbonate bottle. Keeping it in only bottles it up more. I’m usually happy when I’m getting energy out, and I want to share it with other people — that’s just how I work.”
Conroy has never hiked the AT or any other particularly long trail, but he has experience backpacking the rugged terrain of Patagonia, where he travels every winter. He’s also an avid climber (rock and ice) and runner.
His approach to the AT is different from most thru-hikers. He took 45 days off work and plans to hike (or run) as much of the trail as possible. He plans to keep his pack under 15 pounds, but he’s concerned he won’t have enough clothes and shelter to stay warm this time of year. He’s playing it by ear.
“My plan is to go really light and fast and have a blast,” he said.
Jennifer Pharr Davis currently holds the unofficial record for the fastest thru hike of the Appalachian Trail with a time of 46 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes, averaging 47 miles a day, according to a 2011 story in Bangor Daily News.
“My real goal, I think, is to do a lot of thinking, to get out of this concrete jungle,” Conroy said. “A part of it is reconnecting and putting everything society-based in perspective. Part of it is being in my own mindspace. And part of it is pushing my physical limits.”
Steve and Karl Berger, a father-son team from Boothbay
Trail names: Walking Man and Karl
Karl Berger, 24, and his father, Steve Berger, 61, plan to hike the entire AT together. They started the trail in Georgia mid-March, and by April 7, they’d hiked to Hot Springs, North Carolina, where they were enjoying the amenities of civilization with several other thru-hikers — including Leonard, or as they know her, Black Bear.
Established by Myron Avery in 1936, the AT has come to mean many things to many people over the years. An adventure. A rite of passage. An escape. For the Bergers, the trail is a chance to spend time together, according to a story in the Wiscasset Newspaper about the duo.
Karl’s parents divorced when he was 8 years old, and since then, he’s spent little time with his father. He sees the long walk from Georgia to Maine as a way for them to make up for lost time.
“Were about to head back into the thick of it all,” Karl Berger said on April 8 before heading back onto the trail.
Maine-based journalist Ryan Leighton is producing a full-length documentary about the Bergers’ hike of the AT that will premier this fall on Boothbay Region Community Television. The trailer for “The Bergers’ Life on the Trail” can be found on vimeo.com.
Carey Kish, 56, Southwest Harbor
Trail name: Beerman
Kish hiked the entire Appalachian Trail in 1977, and he’s back to do it again. A well-known writer in the Maine outdoor community, Kish is author of the blog Maniac Outdoors for Maine Today, and is the man behind the 10th edition of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s “Maine Mountain Guide,” a holy grail for Northeast hikers.
“You should see this view,” said Kish on Wednesday as he stood more than 4,000 feet above sea level on Rocky Top in the Great Smoky Mountains range in Tennessee.
“I’m having the time of my life,” he said. “It’s just a great adventure so far. The trail is a little different from when I hiked it last, 38 years ago, but the trail is the trail. It’s still here, and it’s a beautiful thing.”
“The experience of being out here every day, walking up and down mountains, getting lost in your thoughts, seeing beautiful things and meeting good people — I’m doing good.”
Kish started the trail in Georgia on March 19. Follow his “Six-moon Journey” on his blog Maineiac Outdoors at mainetoday.com/blog/maineiac-outdoors/.