I’ll be a Full-Time Student While on My Thru-Hike

I have always been the type of person to stay active, maybe not always exercise active, but keeping my mind occupied. An Appalachian Trail thru-hike has been one of those things that I could get lost thinking about for hours. I rowed all four years in high school and my freshman year at Temple University. When I decided to step away from the sport for multiple reasons I needed to fill a hole in my life that was previously occupied by rowing. My idea of hiking the AT started over the summer of 2017 while spending a summer working in Craftsbury, VT.

As an environmental science major at Temple there are certain “life experiences” the university will give students credit for. I started getting my information together and went to the vice chair (Dr. A) of earth and environmental science and explained my idea. At the end of my spiel, I was not sure if we were on the same page. I basically tried to say that hiking the Appalachian Trail was equivalent to getting eight credits. Seems fair, right? The plan was to come up with a syllabus about what knowledge was going to be obtained and how I will be graded. So I started calling and emailing other schools with outdoor programs asking what their syllabi looked like and what were students graded on. I then stumble upon this small school in the Virginia, right on the border of Tennessee.

Semester-A-Trail

Emory & Henry College is located just outside Damascus, the popular trail town that hosts Trail Days. They have a program that allows students to spend a semester hiking the trail, also known as Semester-A-Trail. Students spend January and February taking classes and working on projects based around the trail until leaving for the hike in March. The program is run by James Harrison, a true outdoorsman and two-time Appalachian Trail thru-hiker. When talking to Jim for the first time I realized this is how I can make hiking the AT and still be a college student happen. I went back to Dr. A, explaining how I found this wonderful program already established and that’s what I’m going to do this. After obtaining syllabi from Emory & Henry I gave them to Dr. A so she could see if they would transfer in and count toward my graduation at Temple. I will be the first student to transfer in from their original school and complete the program with intentions to go back once my thru-hike and schoolwork is complete. One thing Jim has reiterated to me many times is, “You don’t get credit for hiking.” The work done before the trail is where my credits will stem from. The coursework is as follows:

  • Semester-A-Trail thesis in nature (four credits).
  • Human geography (four credits).
  • Phenology ( four credits).

I’ve had amazing help from my college adviser at Temple; Stephanie has gone out of her way to see this dream through with me. We have worked together for well over a year trying to figure out how this will get done successfully. There have been lots of moving parts and it took everyone to make this happen. It is hard to believe I will be headed down to Virginia in just few weeks time. I want to blaze the trail (pun intended) for students like me. College is what you make of it, and that is exactly what I am doing.

Until next time, happy trails.

Affiliate Disclosure

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek's ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!

To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.

Comments 8

  • Archie Lord : May 28th

    Can you keep up with your studies? Just for the first time when I started working and thought that everything would work out for me, I made a big mistake. But then I did everything right using the site https://edubirdie.com/logiciel-anti-plagiat which helped me to adjust all the processes in my studies and I started using logiciel anti plagiat.

    Reply
  • Jack : Jun 6th

    hi there! It’s great site. so many topics and opinions. I used to read, basically washingtonpost but now your site one of my favorites. Thank you!

    Reply
  • Roman Makarenko : Jun 13th

    It’s a great site. so many topics and opinions. I used to read, basically washingtonpost but now your site one of my favorites. Thank you! https://thetrek.co/appalachian-trail/full-time-student-hiking-appalachian-trail/

    Reply
  • Albrecht Hohenzollern : Dec 4th

    Being a student is not as easy as many people think. This is not the rest because you want to have fun and get knowledge at the same time. So, this fact made me read https://www.essayservicesreviewsclub.com/bestessay-com-review/ and save money for essays

    Reply
  • jaggu : Dec 26th

    indeed its an amazing article. Thanks a lot.

    Jaggu
    https://gcustudentportal.us/

    Reply
  • assignment writing tips : Dec 21st

    Assignment writing tips help you to get A+ Grade. We have the experience and expert Ph.D. holders. Who always ready to guide in assignment writing.

    Reply
  • Assessment Development Services : Jun 7th

    Are you looking for the best assessment development services? If yes, then you have come to the right place! Acadecraft is one of the finest in business. The company comprises a team that is experienced and qualified enough to handle all! If you want an innovative, unique, and accurate assessment, you should try Acadecraft! The assessment development services meet all the learning objectives and standards.

    Reply
  • Fiona : Jul 5th

    This is not the rest because you want to have fun and get knowledge at the same time

    Reply

What Do You Think?