Becoming Odyssa - Jennifer Pharr Davis [4]
2
TRUTH
DECEMBER 2004
THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL INSTITUTE,
BANNER ELK, NC
It is impossible to fully prepare for a 2,175-mile hike. The only way to learn how to hike all day, every day, is to go into the woods and do just that. Since most people cannot or do not train for thru-hiking by thru-hiking, they have to get ready for the trail by reading guidebooks, scanning internet chat rooms, going on day hikes, and spending time at the local gym. To prepare for my first thru-hike, I decided to attend an intense three-day Appalachian Trail workshop led by Dr. Warren Doyle.
It was a cold winter morning in December 2004. I woke up at 4:00 AM and drove two hours from my home in Hendersonville, North Carolina, to reach Lees-McRae College in nearby banner elk.
Lees-McRae was where Professor Warren Doyle taught undergrad courses in elementary education. But beyond being an educator, Warren was an Appalachian Trail legend. He had hiked the trail thirteen times and counting, and when the Lees-McRae students left the campus for winter break, Warren used the facilities to host his Appalachian Trail Institute: a course designed to help prepare hikers who intended to hike the entire trail.
At 7:57 AM, I found an empty desk in the professor’s classroom and took a seat. There were nine other participants, and they all looked nervous. I fidgeted with my pen and rustled with my notepad until eight sharp, when Warren entered the room.
He was in his mid-fifties, he had a peppered gray beard and a larger belly than I would expect on such an accomplished hiker. He stood at his chair in front of the class and surveyed the Institute’s participants, then he took a seat, clasped his hands together in front of his body, and in a resounding voice, he asked, “Why do you want to hike the Appalachian Trail?”
I was pretty sure he was staring right at me, but he might have had the power to make everyone in a room feel that way.
“Let’s go around the room and have everyone tell the class who they are and why they want to hike the Appalachian Trail,” he said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
There I was, sitting in the classroom of the legendary Warren Doyle, who had hiked the Appalachian Trail more than anyone else, and I didn’t know how to answer the first question of his three-day workshop.
I had only spent three nights in the woods in my entire life, and I knew very little about thru-hiking. As we began to go around the room with introductions, I felt panicked and unsure of myself, like I was naked and everyone knew it.
The attractive young couple at the opposite end of the table were the first to respond: “My name is Doug, and this is my wife Sarah.”
My mind began to shift back and forth as I tried to listen to what the other participants were saying while reflecting on why I wanted to hike the trail.
“We want to do it as a couple,” said Sarah. “This has always been Doug’s dream, but now we’re married, so I want it to be our dream.”
“I’ve wanted to hike the trail ever since I was a Boy Scout,” added Doug. “But now that we’re married, I couldn’t imagine going off and leaving Sarah for six months. That’s why she’s coming with me. The only problem is that she’s really prissy, and I don’t know how she’ll cope without her makeup and curling iron.”
Everyone laughed, including Sarah, as she gave her husband a playful shove.
“It’s true,” she said. “I’m a priss, but I’m a stubborn priss.”
I smiled and thought about the advantages of having a hiking partner, someone to share your gear, your day, and your memories. When I decided three years ago that I was going to hike the Appalachian Trail, I thought that my best friend or my father might come with me. As time passed, it became clear that none of my friends or family would be able to go on this journey with me. Most of them thought I would abandon my plans well before now, but I was still determined to do the trail. I had adjusted to the idea of hiking on my own, and I was excited about it, though my mother was not.
“Wesley, why do