“Tame”

The (not so) amazing tale of two women’s Appalachian Trail adventure in Georgia.

If there is one question that I’ve heard repeatedly since I publicly announced my intention to hike the Appalachian Trail, it is “Have you read or seen ‘Wild‘?”  Well, unlike the author of Wild, Cheryl Strayed, the names of these two women will be kept confidential and they will be known only by their trail names of BonBon and Katwalk.

Unlike the aforementioned Ms. Strayed, Katwalk and BobBon did lots of research before beginning their hikes. They did everything they could to cut down the weight of their packs – with some success –  so that it was not of “monster” size.

However, in looking at comments on our posts on Facebook and Trail Journals, several (lots!) of Katwalk and BonBon’s friends mentioned the disparity between their hike experience and the hike portrayed by Reese Witherspoon in “Wild.” So, in the interest of fairness and clarity, we have decided that our hike, is better labeled “Tame.”

Part of our early strategy was to give our bodies time to adjust to the weight and the miles. It seemed that most of the injuries we have seen over the past two years appear to be related to doing too much too soon. Unofficial statistics indicate that as many as 1:4 hikers never make it out of Georgia. In fact, we got together with five other hikers (one sectioning, three thru hiking and one sectioning with an option to thru hike) last Saturday night. Four of the five have already left the trail.

While Ms. Strayed was once down to her last 65 cents in a remote area of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), we have strayed into every reasonably-priced cabin and motel between Springer and the North Carolina border. We suffered through someone doing our laundry, having hot tea or coffee in a warm cabin, being shuttled to and from trail heads, AYCE breakfasts, and soaking our stinky hiker bodies in a hot tub. We drank wine (and beer). By using a shuttle, we were able to carry less than full packs

While not the most economical way to start a thru hike, if it keeps our minds positive while we get our bodies strong, it will be a worthwhile investment. We are less than 10 miles from the border and feeling strong

In the meantime, North Carolina is calling and we plan to spend more time sleeping in the woods.  Stay tuned for further Tame (mis)adventures!

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Comments 1

  • imin2w8s : Apr 8th

    Way to go, ladies! Good for you for setting a pace that is comfortable and wise for YOU! I’m following your trail journal closely, as I will be 52 before I can realize my dream of thru-hiking (kids). I can’t wait to go on my first week-long hike on the AT next spring! Thanks for inspiring me to hike my own hike, without getting caught up trying to keep up with the ‘pack’.

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