Three pairs of shoes, 2,144 miles, 6 months or 165 days and memories for lifetime – stick that on a resume.

From March 15 to Aug. 26, Dede Harner of Montoursville, hiked the Appalachian Trail from end to end – starting at Springer Mountain, Ga., and finishing atop Mt. Katahdn, Maine.

“We took a leap of faith that it would work,” Harner said of herself and two hiking partners she met through the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

Well before starting out, she researched the trail. Harner is athletic and outdoors-minded and felt ready to tackle the hike.

“I have pretty much been athletic all my life. I run and mountain bike,” she said. “I just kind of started to add walking to my routine. I figured I had 2,000 miles to get used to it. I went a little bit slower and built up to longer mile days.”

“I did read people’s accounts on their hikes and they were really beneficial. I didn’t know how hard New Hampshire was. You can get online and look and read trail journals,” Harner said.

She used mail drops to pick up food and other supplies for the journey.

“When you are hiking the trail, you can only carry enough food and water for a few days, until you have to get into town,” she said.

Her family helped make up her mail drops, which contained food for a week and anything else small and light that a hiker might need. The drops were sent to post offices in towns off the trail or hostels where hikers stayed.

Light and small, that is the way to pack for the Applachian Trail, she said. Her gear was simple: a sleeping bag, an extra set of clothes, rain gear, food, stove and other small personal items.

Outdoor survival skills weren’t something she learned before going out, Harner said, and she wasn’t worried about having to use them.

However, “you learn how to use duct tape,” she said. It came in handy when fixing holes in a rain coat, putting hiking poles back together and even covering up blisters.

Other things “you got used to,” she said, such as not showering for up to six days.

Meals weren’t fancy either. She ate lots of protein. Anything considered “diet” was a no-no “because you need to maintain calories,” she said.

She packed foods such as toaster pastries, dry cereal, crackers, Snicker bars, peanut butter and ready-to-eat meals.

“One thing I ate a lot of was Ramen noodles, mashed potatoes and stuffing mixed together. That was really good … sometimes mashed potatoes and tuna mixed together,” she said.

She always carried two 20-ounce bottles of water. If she refilled from a stream, Harner used treatments to make the water drinkable.

Sleeping arrangements didn’t always mean “sleeping under the stars.” Harner said she stayed in shelters along the trail, where she laid side-by-side with other hikers. Sometimes they would tent, and other times they stayed in hotels, trail shelters and hostels.

The intensity and demanding rigors of the trail didn’t sway Harner from her goal of finishing the trail.

“I never wanted to quit. It got really challenging in New Hampshire and parts of Maine, but I never wanted to quit,” she said. “I had set a goal and I just really enjoyed it. I didn’t need much motivation to go on.”

In her opinion, the Appalachian Trail was more of a constant up-and-down rock climbing adventure rather than a long hike. Going down the big slabs of rock was frightening, she said.

Some of the memories from the trail are burned into her mind.

“One night, one girl and I stayed in a fire tower … and that was a crazy experience. As the night went on, the wind got harder and then it started raining,” she said.

Other highlights included almost running straight into a bear, seeing cubs up a tree and swimming in the ponds of New Jersey.

“There was always something cool going on,” Harner said.

With more than 2,000 miles of trail to traverse, hikers will see some unusual sights – amazing greenery, odd rock formations and outstanding views.

Harner also said she met some interesting characters on the way.

“There would be people along the trail like The Cookie Lady. She bakes 12,000 cookies a year to share with hikers,” she said. “Then there is a guy they call The Ice Cream Man and he gives free ice cream. He is a guy in his 70s. We got there and had ice cream as we ate our lunch.”

“The Ice Cream Man” had a croquet course set up “and we stopped that afternoon and played with this guy,” Harner said.

Another encounter was with a hiker who really wanted to get in touch with nature.

“When were in New Jersey, I was in front and I turned around and there was a naked hiker. When he went by me, I pulled out my camera to take a shot. He asked for front or back,” she said, smiling. “He carried a big jug so when he ran into families, he could cover up.”

Harner said she consider it a privilege to be able to do what she did.

“It was so awesome every day. I hiked around here and never really hiked anywhere else,” she said. “Every day you would be hiking along and you’d be hiking into something. One day we hiked in and there were longhorn steers right on the trail and you had to hike around.

“You just never knew what the day was going to bring, and that’s what was cool about it,” Harner said.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Hannah Burdick spent a day in November shadowing Outdoor coordinator Jessica Welshans. She contributed to the following article.)

By HANNAH BURDICK

Jersey Shore High School student

and

JESSICA WELSHANS

jwelshans@sungazette.com

http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/536335.html?nav=5013