Early in the summer of 2017, I spent two weeks in the state of Maine, hiking with my friend Collin as he began his departure on the Appalachian Trail. After a little under a week taking simple hikes in Baxter State Park, we ascended Mount Katahdin, the northern point of the AT, which we would have to hike up and then back down in order to officially begin our journey.
My time with Collin brought us down Katahdin, out of Baxter State Park, and into what’s known as the ‘100 Mile Wilderness’. The longest stretch of the Appalachian Trail without any source of resupply. If you need help, if you need more food, it will have to come from another hiker or from outside of this dauntingly named stretch of land. Our packs weighed somewhere around 45lbs each, as we carried with us everything we would need for over a week of hiking through this expanse. Admittedly my pack weighed slightly more due to my own choice to carry with me my camera. Go figure.
While hikers journey on the trail, each person eventually acquires a trail name; simply a nickname given or earned, and then used in books along the way. We met a man and his dog who took on the names of Calvin and Hobbes; a young married couple who claimed Goose and Maverick; an admittedly nerdy fellow named Hard Drive, so named as his head was filled with many random, and oftentimes useless facts; and there were many more. Meeting other hikers was easily my favorite part of my time on the trail.
We were somewhere around halfway through the hundred miles when I officially neared my trail name. Having an eye for details, at multiple points along the trail I had spotted lost items; sunglasses, bandanas, bug nets. I had picked them up, carried them with me, and somewhat ironically, was able to return them to their owners as we would congregate in campsites at night. As I returned one such item to its owner, and told about how I had been able to return multiple items along the way, Collin referred to me as a pack rat for having picked up and carried all these small items. Right as he said it, it was obvious that would be my trail name.
So Pack Rat it was. I’m proud of my trail name because it was earned through attention to detail, to find these items along the way; persistence and willingness to carry these extra items with me; and the extroversion and good communication to talk with our fellow hikers and naturally finding the homes of the lost items.
Photos from the trail:
1 – Descending Mount Katahdin
2 – A small wooden board game packed in by one of our fellow hikers
3 – Sun shining into a lean-to through thick campfire smoke
4 – Afternoon view back toward Katahdin
5 – One variation of the terrain in the Hundred Mile Wilderness
6 – Ornaments made of paracord, sticks, and old cans, hanging in a lean-to
7 – Beautiful sunset in the mountains
