Reflections From My Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike
Today, January 17, marks six months since I completed my 2024 Appalachian Trail thru hike. On July 17, 2024, with passersby-turned-friends by my side, I clambered up the rocky path to Mount Katadhin’s summit after four months and five days of traversing the Appalachian Mountain range from northern Georgia to central Maine.
It feels crazy to think that this time one year ago, I was planning out my hike. So much happened on the trail—as well as in my personal life—that it feels like ages ago, but at the same time, it’s weird to be that far removed from it already.
The Moments That Made My Hike
On top of Katahdin that day, I felt an intense sense of pride, but more than anything, I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for the amazing memories I made.
I still get a little teary-eyed when I think about some of those memories or look at photos and videos I took on the trail. Some moments on the trail just really stick out in my head.
Moments like the day I woke up to several inches of snow in the Pisgah National Forest along the North Carolina-Tennessee border. I remember in the days leading up to it, everyone was saying the forecast showed a possibility of snow. I was, for some odd reason, skeptical. I didn’t buy it. The night before the snow, I sat by the shelter with a guy named Birddog, and the two of us mused on the situation.
“I don’t believe it’s gonna snow,” Birddog told me.
“If it does snow, it won’t be enough to stick,” I added.
We were wrong.
Overnight, it snowed hard and we woke up to several inches of snow. I’ll be honest, it was a rough morning. I got a slow start to the day and wasn’t feeling good in the cold. However, once it warmed up, I actually started to love it. The forest looked so pretty in the snow and it was nice to walk on. One nerve-racking part of it though was that, for a good chunk of the day, I was the first person on the trail that day; because the snow was covering the trail, and there were not yet footprints from previous hikers, it was hard at times to tell where the trail was exactly.
Maybe my craziest day on the trail was the day I hiked the Presidential Range in New Hampshire with Star Girl. I’ve never experienced weather like that before or since. There were wind gusts around 90 miles per hour and intense rain. I was genuinely fearful that one of us would get injured or intensely hypothermic. In all honesty, I likely did experience some hypothermia.
I’ll never forget walking up to Star Girl and her turning to me to say, “I peed myself.”
I didn’t blame her. Although, in all honesty, I didn’t know how to reply. I just said, “Okay.”
If you’re ever hiking in that area, I strongly recommend you be wary of the weather conditions.
I also often think about the day I experienced intense kindness from a stranger-turned-friend. In the early days of my hike a man named David from Roanoke, Virginia read my blog and reached out to me. He said he wanted to host me in his guest room when I got close to Roanoke. He had just moved near the trail and was interested in helping some thru-hikers out on their journey.
When the day came, the man, who at that point was a stranger, overwhelmed me with his generosity. He fed me three wonderful meals, took me to the store to resupply and replace my worn out shoes and gave me what was my most relaxing day on trail.
Another memory that really stands out is one of my last days on trail. I was hiking with Homesick, Scout, Pig Pen and Gazelle. It was Scout’s birthday, so we stopped at a nice sandy beach on a pond in Maine and brought some drinks and treats.
We all laughed when Gazelle took his inflatable and used it as a raft to float around the pond.
There were other similarly fun moments, like when I celebrated crossing the border into New Jersey with Clover over a beer, or when Pumba, Rex, Grasshopper, Dingo and I found a brewery near the trail in Virginia with an awesome view of mountains.
People Not Miles
Very early on in my thru hike, I summited Albert Mountain around the 100-mile mark of the trail in North Carolina. I was eating a snack and sitting next to another hiker I’d just met, a guy from Wales named George. He was a nice guy and we were chatting when an older woman approached us and asked if we were thru-hikers. We said yes, and she explained that she had thru-hiked the trail a couple years prior.
Her advice for us: “It’s about the people not the miles.”
That’s why I wanted to highlight some of the amazing people I met along the way.
Jennifer and Angela were some of the first people I met. I met them on my second day. They were so kind to me, and they invited me to come stay in a campervan Jennifer’s parents, Gary and Sheila, were driving alongside the trail, and I’m just so grateful for their generosity. One night we took the camper to a state park in Georgia and another night, a really beautiful lake in North Carolina. I walked with them for a good chunk of Georgia and North Carolina before I ended up outpacing them. It was fun keeping up with them via text and hearing about their progress. I eventually got a photo from Jennifer of her atop Mount Katahdin. It was cool to see she finished.
In Virginia, I met Pumba, a Marine who had just left the military before hopping on the trail; Dingo, an Australian gal who was one of the funniest people I met my entire hike; Rex, a super funny guy from New Hampshire; and Grasshopper, a super kind soul from Connecticut. I hiked with them through the later days of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and into Pennsylvania. Pumba, whom I really connected with, actually moved to Chicago where I have lived for about two years, so when we got back to normal life, he and I actually caught a Chicago Bears game together.
That hiking group fell apart in Pennsylvania when a couple members of the group had to leave trail temporarily for various personal matters. I was a little disappointed to have lost such a fun group, but I quickly ran into Clover. Clover and I began hiking together in Pennsylvania and hiked together on-and-off all the way to Maine. I think she’s the person I hiked with the most of any other hiker during my thru-hike. Clover and I eventually met Homesick and Scout, a couple from Wisconsin, in Connecticut. They were awesome folks. I loved hiking with them, just super kind souls and fun to be around. The four of us hiked together for a while.
Eventually, we got a little split up in Vermont when Homesick and Scout strayed behind to meet up with a friend while Clover and I went ahead. Around that time we met Star Girl and ran into Pig Pen. Star Girl was a super nice gal from Washington while Pig Pen, from Ontario, was someone I met all the way back in the Smoky Mountains and I kept running into her for like two thousand miles. It was crazy how we kept seeing each other. As we entered New Hampshire’s White Mountains, we got separated. Clover and Pig Pen got ahead while Star Girl and I were close behind. So for a good chunk of time I hiked with Star Girl. She and I had a great time hiking through the most idyllic parts of the trail.
In Maine, the group I would eventually summit Mount Katahdin with assembled. Clover, who lives in Maine, slowed down to meet up with friends and family, and Star Girl decided to get off trail. However, Homesick and Scout caught up with us, we all caught up with Pig Pen and we met a new hiker: Gazelle, from Japan. This is the group I made I finished my thru-hike with, and I’ll always cherish those memories with them.
The Sights Of The Trail
Since my hike, people have often asked what my favorite part of the trail was. It’s a very hard question but I always say western Maine.
The Saddleback Mountains, which come right as you enter the state if you’re hiking northbound, might’ve been my singular favorite mountain(s) on the trail, though Mount Katahdin is definitely up there too. There were also just so many beautiful ponds and amazing vistas. Maine is just so spectacular.
An extremely close second was the Virginia Triple Crown area. The “Triple Crown” refers to three on-trail landmarks: Dragon’s Tooth, a super cool monolith; McAfee Knob, the summit of which is said to be the most photographed spot on the AT; and Tinker Cliffs, which has majestic views.
However, to me, what made this area so pretty is the foliage. If I’m being honest, it might’ve been just because of the time of year I happened upon this area, right as spring was springing, but the leaves were more gorgeous here than anywhere else on the trail. They were intense varying hues of beautiful green.
In third place was the White Mountains of New Hampshire. This is a common favorite for a lot of people, and for good reason. The mountains here are so beautiful. They’re also extremely challenging terrain.
And now that I’m done hiking, I’ve moved just south of these mountains in New Hampshire! In an unexpected twist of fate, I got a job offer for a really great job in New Hampshire, and I decided to move there. I literally got here days ago after moving from Chicago. I’m very excited to get back up there and do some more hiking. I also hope to ski on some of the mountains I hiked over this winter.
In all, I just feel so blessed to have been able to have this experience. It was maybe the coolest thing I’ve ever done, and I just can’t get over how awesome it was. A little piece of me will always be on the AT.
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Comments 4
I absolutely LOVE when bloggers return after they complete their hikes and “update” their followers with what they have been doing since finishing, their thoughts about their time on the trail, and plans they have for both the near and distant future.
I am often left feeling as if a friend has suddenly disappeared from my life after spending months following their blog.
Thank you again for taking the time to update us.
I loved reading these memories of William’s hike of the AT. What an amazing experience, and one I think no one can really understand unless they have themselves spent over four months walking 2,200 miles. It is an experience William and the other walkers will have with them and in them their entire lives. As William’s father, I am so proud of him.
Welcome to New Hampshire! Not only do you have the mountains of NH and Maine, but explore the fabulous Maine coast. If you loved hiking above timberline on Saddleback, you have to return to ski it and nearby Sugarloaf.
One thing I ask of all hikers and writers is to drop the “mount” from Katahdin. It translates from indigenous language to “the greatest place” and it is sacred to the Penobscots. They refer to it as just Katahdin.
I always tear up reading trail reflections 😭 Thanks again for sharing this Will. So glad you and Pumba hit it off! He’s the best. Hope you two can make your way out to Denver for some hiking this Summer!