Hey, everyone!
Sorry for missing last week - I was under the weather, as they say. My goal is to send out a free story every Friday, but heh, these are freebies, right? (grin) Mostly short fiction I’ve published various places in the past, brought fresh to new readers.
And...I never said I’d send out weekly fictional stories, am I right? So today’s offering is a true-life account of a personal misadventure from a few years ago. Hope you get a kick out of my Appalachian Trail Fail!
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When it comes to actual backpacking, I’m an epic failure.
The first time I gave it a real shot was about ten or twelve years ago. My wife and I joined two other couples (who were almost twenty years older than us!) for what was to be a relatively short hike along the Appalachian Trail.
(By the way, some 'through-hikers' take six to eight months or more to walk the complete AT, which is about 2,200 miles long. Now that's commitment!)
Our plan was to backpack and camp just six days along the Blue Ridge Mountains, crisscrossing Virginia’s awe-inspiring Skyline Drive. It's a beautiful drive; so how much more majestic would the trip be if done on foot!
So we loaded up and headed out. Drove from Wichita, KS, to Lynchburg, VA, where we dropped off our Toyota 4Runner at some friends'. Our goal: cover about ten miles each day and camp each night.
That sounded reasonable, right? I was a relatively healthy guy in my mid-forties back then, a swimmer in college, even an occasional triathlete. I trained a bit, took long walks. But not like I should have. Who needs to train with a backpack? It's just a few extra pounds!
I can hear you say “oofta.” And yep, you guessed it. I barely made it through the first day!
Forty pound backpack (too much), new hiking boots (dumb), not enough water (double dumb). I bonked at mile eight. Bonking, for those not into extreme sports, is when your muscles refuse to be of any use. They just say, “Nope, I'm done.”
So what did I do? I basically limped and bellyached the last couple of miles. Even traded my heavy pack for my wife’s lighter one! She was fine. She had actually trained properly.
Completely embarrassed myself. I guess I wasn’t that trim college athlete anymore.
Like I said, there were six of us. Fortunately (for my ego!), one of my friends was about as bad off as I was. We both staggered into camp and watched our wives set up the tents. The next morning we were still hurting.
Long story short, we ditched the Appalachian Trail, drove the 4Runner to Shenandoah National Park and relaxed the rest of the week. It was a great decision despite the major fail. Instead of backpacking, we basically day-hiked a few miles each day in the national park.
That's what got me starting on my new hobby of day trips and light hiking. And it's something you can do as well. Day-hiking is really just a fancy way of describing walking outside and enjoying nature. It's a great, low-impact, high-reward exercise that benefits both body and soul.
For the past decade, then, my wife and I have been day-hiking sans backpacks. It can be just as enjoyable an adventure as backpacking because you’re still outdoors and in the company of friends.
Last year, my wife and I, along with another couple, took a road trip through north central Kansas, then headed west to the Kansas Badlands, a short trip to Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park.
When we hiked that area, we got in about six or seven miles; and it wasn't very strenuous activity. I had plenty of water. My boots were thoroughly broken in. And I had no weight on my back! It was a blast.
One more short story about my Appalachian Trail fail. That first night, after an exhausting ten miles, we're in our tent and someone stumbles into camp around midnight, drunk as a skunk. He's yelling and carrying on. So my friend exits the tent and encourages him to keep on hiking!
The next day, as we head back to the car after deciding to abandon the AT, we come across this man passed out on the trail. We check to see if he's okay, but he's just sleeping off the drink. So we simply step over him, shaking our heads.
I guess my trail fail wasn't as bad as it could have been!
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Appalachian Trail Fail © 2022 by Lyndon Perry
Well, thanks for reading! I’ll eventually post this (mis)-adventure on my wife’s new travel and wellness blog, called Boom Travel & Wellness. But you read it here first!
Definitely check out the blog. There you can find out more about our day trip to Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park in Kansas, as well as our upcoming hike along a portion of the Camino de Santiago in Spain.
What are some of your memorable hiking or camping adventures? Any trail fails to share? Drop me a line. I’d enjoy hearing from you. Until next time! - Lyn Perry