Lessons from the Appalachian Trail by Joe Leithauser, June 2021
If you know my history hiking the Appalachian Trail, it has always been challenging for me. My first time was a 7-day backpacking trip with some college friends right after Denison's graduation. It ended after only 1 day due to a virus that nearly cost me the sight in my left eye. The second time was with Peter and Clare 7 years ago. We hiked 23 miles in very cold weather, it was never above 20 degrees and below zero overnight. Clare and Peter showed their grit…Although this year we had different challenges, blisters, heat, humidity, elevation changes, and 35ish miles over three days, one thing stayed the same, Izzi Fuller and Sally were gritty. Proud of both girls – and the dads as well. Maybe our kids can handle more adversity than we think if we don’t jump in and protect them from it.
Lesson 1 – Resilience - I was listening to a podcast recently and the podcaster Jocko described a Marine unit that had a low turnover, high reenlistment, great morale, and incredible resilience through stressful situations. The commanding officer credits communicating all aspects of the plan to his entire unit as the reason for this resilience. I downloaded Guthook's Guide and printed out our trek mile by mile including landmarks, water, campsites, and elevation changes. This worked great as Sally remarked to me on the first day that she was comfortable leading us on the trail because she knew the plan. I have started adopting this more intentionally at work as well. If everyone knows the plan, everyone can lead and adjust when needed. We called an audible the first day and camped at Pogo instead of hiking all the way to Annapolis Cliffs.
Lesson 2 – Practice – My first two backpacking trips on the trail I didn’t really practice using the equipment that was going to support me on the hike. This time Sally and I hiked through the Denison Biological Reserve for a total of 10 miles before we started our hike. For the first two days, wearing the clothes I practiced I was fairly comfortable, my feet survived without blisters and no chafing. On the third day, I used different equipment that I had not practiced in – and was significantly less comfortable. I had a decent-sized blister on my foot and more chafing than I had the previous days. I should have taken one more hike and maybe made a different decision on my clothes.
Lesson 3 – Awareness – I learned much from the hike with Peter and Clare about their personalities. If you want to learn who your kids really are, put them under stress to see how they act. Sally is a good mix of her siblings – she has Clare’s determination and drive and Peter’s compassion. I was quite a bit slower on the trail than Sally, but she would wait and sometimes come back to make sure I was ok. This trait will serve her well I believe.
Lesson 4 – Listen to your Body – We met a thorough hiker who told us a story about having to leave the trail due to a knee injury caused by overuse. She knew it was a problem but didn’t stop even though her body was telling her to stop. Our last day was very hot and humid we had about 11 miles, mostly over rocky terrain and climbing down South Mountain. I’m not sure I have ever sweated that much in a single day. I started to feel a little nauseous once we hit the C&O towpath so I just laid down sipping water for about 10 minutes before we continued. My body told me to take a rest even though we were close to the end.
Lesson 5 – Know the Way – We started our hike on the first day at High Rock in Maryland. I thought it would be easy to find the path back to the Appalachian Trail. We did find the trail, but not at the spot where we should have started – this cost us an hour of hiking and a pretty steep elevation change over rocks. Our first day would have ended better (and an hour earlier) if I had just taken the time to check the guide and find the right path. I let the excitement of getting our hike underway get in the way of knowing the way.
All in all, it was a great trip with incredible memories. Susan’s support and help along the way made this trip successful for each one of us. We couldn’t have completed our hikes without her. So I guess that is Lesson 6 – Ask for and accept help when you recognize you need it. Thank you to my mother-in-law Jeanne for her hospitality, it made a difference too!
Happy Trails to You!
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| Father Daughter Hike |
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| off to find the trail |
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