Home At Last! - Appalachian Trail

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#1

Long, long ago, in a different world, in another life, a kid from NYC told his parents that he quit his job and was going off to hike the AT from Georgia to Maine. Not many people did that in 73 and far fewer finished. It was the year “Deliverance” was released and his parents believed that they would never see their son again. Why he would want to walk 2000 miles, sleep in the snow, rain and footloose fog of the mountains for half a year was a mystery to them. But he did, and he finished, and the trail changed him.

Thirty years later, that kid stumbled upon an obscure web site dedicated to the trials and tribulations of today’s through-hiker. It was filled with everything you could ever want in life. Beauty and adventure, excitement and boredom, success and failure, brilliance and stupidity, laughter and sadness… all the things that make life interesting. All the things he experienced and remembered. As Yogi Berra said… “It was Deja-Vu all over again”.

This is a unique community. We share the trail in all its guises for a few short miles, then life moves on. The necessities of employment, marriage, parenthood and citizenship seem to erode the veneer of our adventure until it becomes “Just another story that Grandpa tells.” But after immersing myself in this site for the past month I know now that I am connected to this trail by a 2000 mile thread that can’t be broken. So when Grandpa stops at the side of some nameless road and stares at a white paint blaze on a trail heading north, forgive him. He is home.

To all the individuals who work so hard to make this site a success, and to all the hikers who have the courage to write about your personal adventures, warts and all… THANK YOU!

								CitySlicker (GA>ME 73)

Cityslicker73

#2

CitySlicker

Do you have a journal from 1973? I would love to hear how the trail was back then.

Bib B

#3

I wanted to say a hearty “AMEN!” to the appreciation voiced in CitySlicker’s last paragraph.

Wild Hare

#4

CitySlicker and Wild Hare,
I agree with you! I think this site is an excellent source of information, and I truly truly appreciate it! I “third” the “Thank You!”
Happy Hiking!
-Danielle :slight_smile:

Danielle

#5

Cityslicker, if you don’t have a journal from 73 maybe you could start one now on this site and recall as much as you can about your hike. I know lots of hikers would love to read about the AT in 73.

Waterboy

#6

Thanks Cityslicker for paving the way and reminding us that before there were clear paths, visible blazes, books, videos, Rucks, Gatherings and other events, there were pioneers like yourself. :cheers

StarLyte

#7

Now you have to admit, anyones’ parents would have been scared to let their kid hike in the wilderness after Deliverance :lol

StarLyte

#8

Stay with us here on this site CS. Give us your input on what hiking the trail was then and tell us some of your stories.

Peep

#9

As a North Georgia banjo picker I resemble that remark, hee hee! That movie did for hiking what Jaws did for swimming. I first hiked part of the AT in '75 and remember similar comments about Deliverance at the time. Congratulations you toughed it out and completed the AT with all that heavy gear we used to carry!

One time, as a joke, my son and his friend took his banjo out in the woods near a quiet local trail (not the AT). Hidden just out of sight of the trail, he did that G-C-G roll/strum that kicks off “Dueling Banjos.” You should have seen the looks on the two hikers, he had to hold his mouth shut to keep from busting out laughing! The hikers looked at each other in shock, whispered “WHAT was THAT?” and ske-daddled down the trail as fast as they could go!
Amazing how movies can completely shape our fears…
Welcome Home, CS!

RockyTrail

#10

Several of you asked if I had a journal from my hike. The question prompted a trip up to the attic last night to look for an old suitcase that contained whatever I had salvaged after my return from the trail. There was more than I thought. I carried a small hardcover calendar book that contains mostly anecdotal info (Food, miles hiked, food, weather, food etc). I kept track of where I was in the ATC trail guide of the day and wrote long letters home, few of which survived. I had considered doing a summary of the trip and posting it but did not think it would be useful to the new generation of hikers. (It was so long ago and so much has changed.)

But the more I think about it, the more it intrigues me. But fair warning, all tales grow with the telling. The mountains get bigger, the rains come in Biblical proportions, the beasties grow fiercer and the rocks of Pennsylvania get sharper. You get the idea; several people here are real good at it! Isn’t the AT all uphill??

Anyway, give me a few days and I’ll see what I can do. Look for a very lonely 1973 journal sitting way back in the “Old Journals Section”. And thanks for all the encouragement.

Cityslicker73

#11

I too grew up in NYC and first set foot on the AT in '75 for a 60 mile section from NY to NJ. In '79 I headed up from NY to NH on the AT solo and my parents were also paranoid of such a trip fearing the trail could be “infested with murderers” and other assorted lowlifes. Of course the experience was great as the AT back then did not have the volume of use of today. In looking back I can now understand my folks fears as NYC of the 70’s was indeed a dangerous place to exist which tainted many folks perspectives on people and life in general.

OJ

#12

Go for it! I know many of us would love to read a journal back when the AT was hardly known about!

Mags

#13

Hi City Slicker! I (& apparently some others) enjoyed how you write. So type away; exaggerations & all! It comes with the territory. I’m of that era of time too; it’s kind of fun to look back & laugh (or cry) a bit in appreciation of what we felt, experienced, & thought, & of what was to come! I’ll enjoy reading more; maybe when it’s completed; or even if it’s not; put a note in this post to let us all know. :cheers

leah

#14

Hey Cityslicker, I stumbled across this site about a month ago and It has really brought back the memories. I did the PCT in 1982 with a guy named Doug Harrington (The Candy Bar Kid). The memories aren’t as sharp as they used to be but this site has been a welcomed whetstone for me. I want to say to all on the trail(s) enjoy it while you can. Although you dream of being back home laying on a couch watching baseball and drinking cold beer (after a shower) the reverse happens as the years go by, the trail will haunt you with visions and smells long after the pain is gone. After 22 years I still get flashbacks daily of sections of trail and things that were said by fellow hikers. And the occasional dream that I am back on the trail but, wait… I have to be back to work by Monday. Enjoy, remember, beer in town, hard stuff on the trail. Do they still have the post office/store/tavern in Belden. Now that was heaven.

Bones

Bones

#15

You make those words flow right off your fingers. Get back out here. Your going to die in that city!

Greg

#16

This is my first time visiting the site, and I am trying to plan my thru-hike for sometime within the next two years. Anywho, I picked up a book at the library, just by chance, aoubt two years ago and it changed my life and created my dream of hiking the trail. Maybe you’ve all heard of it, but it’s titled “A Walk Across America” by Peter Jenkins. It’s the true story of Peter back in the 70’s, a citykid, who dropped out of college to literally walk across America, starting with the AT. This is my favorite book and has truely changed my life; not only do I now want to hike the trail, but it made me decide to get an Alaskan Malamute when looking for a dog. Anyway, just thought you might all want to know about that.

Tala