Not only is hiking the AT a challenge (and a lot of people like challenges), and not only is it beautiful scenery, but the #1 reason people hike the trail is the people.
I read that AT people are the nicest people, that locals will put up hikers for the night in their homes for no/little cost, and the interactions with other hikers is the most rewarding component of hiking the AT. I can now attest to this. I enjoyed my experience overall, but the people I met were the most rewarding and memorable.
I met thru-hikers, section hikers, and slack packers. I met single people hiking alone (like me), couples, siblings, friends hiking together. I met retirees, a kid fresh out of high school, and every age in between. I met people from all over the US, including Missouri, Vermont, Connecticut, Florida, New York, and Massachusetts, and one person from Canada.
The thru-hikers I met were, by far, the most interesting. Each one had been on the trail since Georgia, for about four months, before meeting me in Vermont. They were nearing the end, with only 500 miles left of the 2100 mile trail, headed to Maine. I came to one resounding conclusion by the end of my hike: these people are crazy. They hike 20-30 miles a day, rain or shine, fueling themselves as they go, making friends along the way. Two thru-hikers I met had never hiked before this trip. They bought all their gear online, got a ride to Springer Mountain, Georgia, and just started walking. Four months later, there they were, in Vermont. They were sore and tired but just kept walking. Once thru-hiker I met said, "At this point, as long as I can get food, I can keep walking." I wonder where on the trail he is today.
The generosity on the AT was unlike anything I have seen. I saw people freely give up medicine, food, supplies, etc. to other hikers who might need them. Someone in my shelter the first night offered me water and helped my tie up my food. A woman, who had blisters on her feet after walking 10 miles that day, walked down the nearest stream to fill water bottles for a man who injured his leg. When a hiker's uncovered tent got caught in the rain, others went with him to help him carry in his tent and belongings inside. And everyone had just met moments earlier.
My last night on the AT was such an amazing experience, it was no accident it was how my trip ended. There were four of us in a shelter for the night, and we had all been there for a few hours before it was time to settle in for the night. We had gotten to know each other pretty well and got along famously. We shared stories, shared food, and had great laughs. I thought it couldn't get better. But it totally did.
Earlier in the day, we saw a few guys walking past the shelter (not on the AT) wearing only small backpacks. Where could they be going? We talked to them a little bit, and they lived and worked at a "therapeutic community" down the road. We mentioned that one of us was injured, and they gave us directions to their facility if we had an emergency and needed help.
Now, as it became dark outside, we had a good fire going in the pit in front of the shelter and were still hanging out. One of the guys from the facility, David, who we saw earlier had came back to the shelter. Cool, we thought he wanted to hang out and chat. It turns out, he brought a bag of ice for our injured hiker. Super cool. And then, he brought out a large bowl of food from dinner, including a fresh salad, pineapple, buttered bread, and rice. Whaaat?!? That was a shocker. He was super friendly to begin with, and now he was being superbly generous.
And there's still more awesomeness to come.
David has a hobby of recording people's stories and setting them to music, and he asked if he could record us. (I've been a long time fan of NPR's Story Corps, so I was especially intrigued.) He set up his modest recording equipment, got out his mic, and asked us to each share a story. He had a prompt to get us going and great followup questions to keep us going. I felt so honored to hear the other hikers' touching, memorable stories, especially considering we all just met a few hours prior. After we told our stories and had great fun, David offered to play a sample of the type of music he likes to set the recordings to. Of course! He whips out his lap top -- the exact Toshiba model I am on at this moment, interestingly enough -- and plays a song. We change from laughing and being hysterically silly to being completely silent. This song is one of the prettiest songs I have ever heard. I could listen to that song for days. When it finished, we all went nuts about that song. "Where did you get it?" "Who sings it?" "Where can we download it?" Get this: David is playing the music and singing (none of us would have guessed the latter), and his girlfriend wrote it. No flippin' way. We couldn't believe it. Such talent! David offered to take down our email addresses and send us our finished stories, so we wrote down our info and gave it to him. It was all too surreal. David bid us goodnight and returned home.
Once we got settled in our sleeping bags, we kept talking about what an amazing night it had been. Great conversation, a roaring fire, fresh home-cooked food, personal stories, and beautiful music. I asked the thru-hiker who was in our group, "How often has something like that happened in the four months you've been on the trail?" He confidently replied, "Never. That was the coolest night I've had on the trail so far. Music by the fire? That never happens."
That was my last night on the AT; I hiked out in the morning for a few miles and eventually made it back to my car. The experience at that shelter on that night will stay with me for quite some time.
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