Appalachian Trail in The USA - Meanderings — Long Walks, Organics & African Stuff

The Appalachian Trail (A.T.) in the United States of America, is a continuously marked footpath extending 3416 km along the crest of the Appalachian mountain range. It goes north from Springer Mountain in Georgia, to Katahdin, a granite monolith in the central Maine wilderness. It traverses 14 States, with the highest elevation of 2,025 m at Clingmans Dome, in the Great Smokey Mountains. It takes anything between 4 to 9 months to walk and is said to be one of the great walks of the world. Approximately 3,000 people walk the whole length of it each year.

I've always wanted to walk it, and in 1989 I bought all the maps ready to go. However, as so often happens in life, it was put on the back-burner when I met the girl of my dreams, Judy, in Scotland. We got married and raised two boys in New Zealand, and now that the "boys" have "flown the nest", thoughts have returned once again about giving this Trail a go.

On the Appalachian Trail. © Duncan Smith

Judy and I had the fortune of spending three months with friends in America recently. They live right next to the Blue Ridge Mountains, where the Trail passes through Virginia. A quarter of the AT passes through this State and it was an ideal opportunity for us to do "day walks" along some of it. We wanted to see what it was like and whether we would like to return one day to do the whole thing.

We only had to drive five minutes from where we were living, park up and plunge into the woods. The track is well-marked, with white "blazes" painted on trees at regular intervals to guide us. There are huts and shelters spaced periodically along for hikers to use. However, these are few and far between, so most trampers are self-reliant, carrying all their equipment and food for their walk.

We came across a few hardy souls that were "thru walkers". They began in Georgia and were walking the whole path, northwards, to Maine in one go. I was astonished at how small their packs were, around 50 litres, as I was expecting to see huge burdens on their backs. This gave me hope that maybe I could match them and give it a go after all!

This part of the track wound through forests clinging tenuously to the steep sides of rock-strewn mountains. There are over 150 different types of tree on the Appalachians. On the lower levels mainly mixed oaks, but higher up there are tulip poplars, red spruce, Fraser fir, hickory, black and chestnut oaks, balsam fir, birch and locust. There used to be many chestnut trees here too, but in the 1900s a fungus wiped them all out. This caused a decline in some wildlife species dependent on chestnuts as a primary food source.

Snakes! Yes, we saw a few. One day, while walking up a steep slope to admire the view, Judy let out a squawk as a small black snake, with yellow stripes, appeared from under a rock and slithered in front of her. Wearing her ubiquitous jandals, she felt that, maybe, it wasn't the wisest thing to be wearing on a tramp. We headed back to the safety of our car!

Overhead, through the canopy of the trees, we could see large black vultures circling lazily in hot thermals. They seemed to follow us in hopeful anticipation of a meal! Buzzards circled too, rising ever higher. Their keen eyesight could pick out a meal from ridiculous distances, then swoop down to grab it, in the blink of an eye. Our favourites were the red cardinals, aptly named for their very bright red plumage and crested heads. They searched the bushes for tasty morsels like caterpillars, praying mantis or struggling beetles. They would carry them to their nest and feed their fluffy offspring. Kingfishers called to each other by streams that percolated through tangled undergrowth, and over moss-covered rocks that bubbled down from the mountain tops.

White-tailed deer on the AT. © Duncan Smith

We saw many white-tailed deer which seemed not too concerned with us but skipped away when we got too close. Their floppy tails flapped up and down, revealing bright white fur, warning others of danger, as they dodged between trees to the safety of dense bushes. We were keen to see other wildlife amongst the trees, but sadly, with such a short visit, we weren't lucky.

Here, in the safety of these vast forests, many large and small creatures live, including bears, groundhogs, skunks, racoons, bobcats, moose, elk, wild boar, coyotes, otters, beavers, chipmunks, opossums, porcupines, mink, tree frogs, snakes (of course) and a plethora of others all call the Blue Ridge Mountains home. Many species of animals and plants were new to us.

Autumn in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Tra La! © Duncan Smith

Once on the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the views were extraordinary. At nearly 2,000 metres above sea level, the mountains led away from us in all directions. They disappeared into a dense, purple haze hanging in the air from the intense heat. They were all masked in a seemingly impenetrable forest of millions of trees of all shapes, sizes and colours, strewn over them in happy randomness. It was the beginning of autumn, and the colours of the leaves were turning from a heady display of different greens into glorious reds, yellows, orange and browns. Nature had set up a spectacular show for us, and we sat in awe at what we were seeing. As the sun dipped below the mountains, the colours of the trees seemed to intensify and strengthen into deep, vibrant gorgeousness! The sky echoed the colours of the trees and made for one of the most beautiful sunsets imaginable.

We met families enjoying the peace of the forest and recharging not only their batteries but also their souls on the AT. On one occasion while tramping just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, a road running along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, we came across a family-orientated area designated for day visits and relaxing. Nestled amongst the forest it had tables, and seats for picnics all spread apart, so you didn't feel "crowded". As we entered the area, there was a large sign telling us that there were bears regularly seen here, and "Please don't feed them!" As if we would! We've seen the Yogi Bear cartoons and these guys aren't like him!

Of bears, I heard a story from a lovely friend we'd met, called Sandy, a spritely 75-year-old, who kept herself fit and active by walking. She told us of an experience she'd had while walking her two small dogs on the AT once. The dogs were happily running around and fossicking amongst the trees, about 50 metres ahead of her. When, suddenly, out of the bush, came two small bear cubs. Sandy immediately knew that where bear cubs are, a large mother was going to be close-by. She called her dogs back, and as she did so, the mother bear appeared. Seeing her two dogs, she immediately rushed down the track to towards her. The dogs were both cringing at Sandy's side, who was now very distraught.

According to experts, when you meet bears don't run away, you stand your ground, make yourself as large as you can and yell like mad. You put your arms above your head, with legs apart in the shape of a star, and scream and shout as loud as you can at the approaching menace. This is meant to stop them dead in their tracks; they turn away and leave you in peace. However, this scenario didn't work with this mother protecting her cubs. She stopped just short of Sandy, who was yelling and screaming for all she was worth, and took a lunge with her huge paws, claws drawn, at the trembling dogs either side of her, just missing them. Then, it stood on its hind legs and looked Sandy straight in the eye as if to say, "I'll leave your babies alone, as long as you leave mine alone!" With that point made, it got down, turned around and sauntered back to her cubs and dissolved quietly into the forest. Sandy said she let out a gasp of relief and collapsed to the ground with the sheer shock of what had just happened.

When you hear stories like that you think "do I really want to walk the AT, with so many things that can eat you, sting you, bite you or even kill you??" The answer has to be "Yes – I think it would be exhilarating!"

Watch this space!

Old cottage in the Blue Ridge Mountains, © Duncan Smith

View from the Blue Ridge mountains on the AT. © Duncan Smith