The Appalachian Trail is a 2,197-mile-long public walking path that extends between Mount Katahdin, Maine, and Springer Mountain, Georgia.
It is open to the public for hiking, backpacking, and camping, but few complete the entire route.
Those that do are referred to as thru-hikers.
Wheeling resident Sarah Barbeau plans to become one of these rare hikers who can claim the prize of completing this world-renowned hiking trail. Not only that — she’s doing it alone.
Just why would someone decide to take a 6-month walk totaling 2,000-plus miles?
“I love nature, love hiking, and love being outside. The idea of spending 6 months focusing on walking, sounds like a fun challenge to me,” the 27-year-old explained. “We all spend too much time on our phones, computers, and tech. Spending time walking is a great meditative pastime that contrasts with our tech lifestyles.”
She has been training and hiking with her brother near Harper’s Ferry recently, which is the headquarters of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. She also hiked on her own enough that she was familiar with the challenges and rewards of hiking and camping. She first camped as a child with her family.
“I feel this is something I can do, and I’ve challenged myself to do it,” she said.
She’s bought the necessary gear including a down-filled sleeping bag, lightweight backpack, hiking shoes, clothing and trekking poles. But overpacking is not smart so she has a goal of carrying no more than 35 pounds.
She begins her hike in mid-February at Springer Mountain.
Managed by the National Park Service, the A.T. (as it is sometimes called) passes through a total of 14 states. According to the voluntary registrations collected by the authorities, 18 others are planning to begin to hike-thru at about the same time as Sarah. (Hikers register their plans online at appalachiantrail.org).
Sarah knows various people who have hiked segments of the trail, and she used to work with one person who successfully completed the arduous walk.
“I used to work at the Public Market with Sarah Morgan and she did it not long ago and I know various people who have hiked segments of the trail. In fact, it seems whenever I talk about my upcoming hike, I find people who say they or a friend or relative did it in the past.”
However, only one in four complete the entire route.
Her plan is to start with walking 8 miles a day for the first week or so, then go up to 15 – 20 miles as a goal distance per day. She expects to spend about six months completing her task.
Of course, this means she’s living outdoors for most of this time, though there are primitive shelters set up along the trail that are first-come, first-serve to hikers. According to Sarah, the shelters are placed every 8-10 miles and offer dry camping with a roof. Unsheltered campsites that are cleared and ready for use on the ground also exist around the shelters for those who are too late to claim use of the shelters.
Hikers follow the schedule of nature and the sun and Sarah plans to be in her campsite every day well before sundown (which is considered hikers’ midnight, by the way). She will cook her meals on a small portable stove.
Since strength is important and hikers need lots of energy, she plans to eat a lot of calories during her journey. She has already dehydrated meals to take with her and every few days she’ll go through a town and purchase food she needs to replenish her stock, like rice, pasta, beans and oatmeal.
Water is vital and she is prepared with a filtering source for springs and natural sources of water that she finds along the way.
What about technology? Well, cell phone service goes in and out on the A.T. but she will have a power bank to charge up and plans to take a Kindle, her GPS (Garmin), and cell phone along. Her Garmin has SOS ability so that if there is an emergency, she can contact authorities even if there is no cell phone reception.
What food will she miss the most?
“I’ll miss having eggs for breakfast every day, for sure, though I’ll buy hard-boiled eggs if I can find them along the way.”
Sarah is a college graduate with a Liberal Arts degree and work experience in retail, food, wine and museums. Most recently, she was the shop manager at Good Mansion Wines in Wheeling. Thru-hiking can be a life-changing experience and when Sarah was asked what she plans on doing after her hike, she says that she hopes the experience itself will provide clarity on her future.
“I’m hoping that the achievement of this goal and the whole experience will help me in building my future. I know I’d like to work in the outdoors, maybe in park service, education or agriculture,” she said.
“All my work experience involved working with people, so I hope I can get into a field that combines the outdoors conservation, preservation or recreation with people.”
With her obvious skill at planning and her determination, Sarah has a great chance at both of her goals.
