Five million steps to go: Morristown woman embarks on Appalachian Trail adventure

Editor’s note:  Morristown’s Nichole Fortier Young is about to hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail. MorristownGreen.com will present her dispatches from the trail; our thanks to Nichole for allowing readers to share this adventure…without the mosquitoes!  Good luck and Godspeed, Nichole!

By Nichole Young

The Appalachian Trail spans 14 states (including New Jersey!), 2,189 miles, tens of thousands of feet of elevation change, and 5 million steps.

It takes anywhere from 46 days (the current record) to an entire lifetime to complete, but most people aim for 5-6 months. Of the 2,000-to-3,000 people attempting to thru-hike it this year (that means hiking the whole thing in one go), historically less than 25 percent will be successful.

Today — Monday, April 25, 2016 — I’ll join the hopefuls, setting out from Springer Mountain in North Georgia to walk all the way up to Mt. Katahdin in central Maine.

As if that wasn’t enough, I’ll also be joining a friend in Vermont to walk the 273-mile Long Trail, 100 miles of which overlaps with the AT, for a total distance of 2,362 miles.

Here’s the catch: Mt. Katahdin closes on Oct. 15^, at the latest, and often earlier due to weather. Oh, and I’d love to be home in time for my first wedding anniversary, on Oct. 11.

This gives me exactly 5 1/2 months to complete the Trail. If I take absolutely no days off, that’s an average of 14.4 miles a day. More realistically, with time off and other unforeseen delays, I’ll be averaging more like 17-20 miles a day whenever possible. Hikers consistently doing 25-30 miles a day is not unheard of.

The recent popular success of books-made-into-movies A Walk in the Woods (written by Bill Bryson and starring Robert Redford) and Wild (written by Cheryl Strayed and starring Reese Witherspoon) have brought American long-distance hiking into the public eye.

I’ve been planning this trip for about two years, and I hear many of the same questions repeatedly. People are often curious about the logistics involved and how it compares to the media portrayal. I’m going to share some of the most common questions I hear and, hopefully, answer some of yours!

Who are you going with?

No one! Enough people hike this trail that although I may hike alone during the day, I’ll cross paths with many other hikers, and then likely camp at night with several. Hopefully, I’ll find people that share my pace, and make friends along the way.

Wait, your husband isn’t going with you? Didn’t you JUST get married?

He’s not and I did! My husband is going to be holding down the fort at home, being a normal adult and going to work and school (he’s getting his MBA at Rutgers). He has no interest in this kind of trip, but he’s the most amazing and supportive person and will be my “crew captain” from afar. I’ve been planning for several years so he knew when he proposed that this was coming up. Thanks, husband!

What about food? And charging your phone? And showering? Ew.

The trail passes through or close to many small towns along the route. The east coast is pretty densely populated. I will rarely be more than two or three days from a town.

Many hostels and outfitters offer shuttles to and from major road crossings, and hitching is pretty common. The locals generally are familiar with hikers and happy to help. Although the trail itself is surrounded by protected and undeveloped land, the hike is popular enough that there’s pretty good hiker-infrastructure for most of its length: Hotels, outfitters, shuttle services, B&Bs, etc.

I plan to pop into town every four-to-seven days for a food resupply and/or restaurant meal, a shower, and maybe a motel room with three other stinky hikers to rest and re-organize. At these times I can make calls, send emails and texts, pay my bills online, update my Instagram (@nicholeyoung1) and my blog , and tell my mom I’m alive.

How can you afford to take 6 months off work? How much will it cost?

I quit the corporate world in 2013, and have purposely picked jobs since then that have a certain level of flexibility. I’ve been saving for about a year and a half, often working three- to four jobs and up to 18 hours a day to make sure I have enough money to do this hike without going into debt.

The general cost estimate is $1-2 per mile, or anywhere from $2,000 – $4,000 for food, supplies, replacing used gear, new shoes (I’ll go through about five pairs), the odd hotel room and restaurant meal, etc.

I have spent about $2,000 on gear. You can certainly spend more or less on any of these things, but that’s what I’ve heard for “standard amounts.”.Although I won’t be earning money, it’s much cheaper than living “normally”!

So you’re going to be like Bill Bryson? Or Reese Witherspoon?

Kind of… but better, hopefully. Bryson only did about 800 miles of the AT, which is totally respectable, but I hope to go all the way.

Reese Witherspoon (in the movie Wild, playing author Cheryl Strayed) did the Pacific Crest Trail, kind of the West Coast counterpart of the AT. She also only did about 800 miles, and was battling some pretty serious demons (drugs, her mother’s death, etc). I hope my trip will be less dramatic than either of theirs.

How big is your pack?

I’m carrying a 40-liter pack (the Gossamer Gear Gorilla), and my base weight (everything minus food, water, and the clothes I’m wearing) is 12 pounds, which will be about 20 pounds when fully loaded.

This is considerably smaller and lighter than most people – the average is 45 – 65 liter packs, and 25-30 pounds. I’m smaller than most people though, and have spent lots of time researching and lots of money to get my pack small and light.

Are you bringing a gun? Or knife? What about bears? Or serial killers?

I’m bringing a small camp knife for rope and packaging and that’s about it. Anything else is too heavy and probably totally unnecessary. Statistically, the trail is way safer than walking around NYC alone. Honestly, the biggest dangers are Lyme disease or water-borne illness – those are what I’m worried about, not bears. Sure, bad things happen, but I’m trying not to make decisions out of fear.

What will you eat? Can you cook?

I’m bringing a small stove that screws onto a mini gas canister, and a collapsible pot, to boil water. Everything I eat either will be uncooked (granola, dried fruit, peanut butter) or cooked by boiling (ramen, rice, beans, oatmeal, pasta, instant potatoes).

To this carb-y base, I’ll add spices, sauces, dried fruit and veggies, bouillon – whatever I can do to eat as many calories as possible and keep it flavorful and healthy, too.

As a vegan, I am not worried about getting enough protein (common misconception), but I am worried about getting enough calories since I don’t want to live on junk. Your food is fuel, and eventually living on garbage food will take its toll on your performance, no matter how many calories you’re getting.

Everyone worries about calories, though, and as my hike progresses and my “hiker hunger” kicks in, I’ll have to listen to my body and adjust my diet as necessary, carrying more snacks or eating more often as needed.

Plus, Ben & Jerry’s just released their dairy-free ice cream, and at 1,000 calories a pint, that’ll be a solid go-to town snack.

Any other questions? Planning a thru-hike yourself someday? Feel free to post your questions here at MorristownGreen.com! Happy Trails!

Nichole Young is a third-generation Morristown resident, and a 2004 graduate of Morristown High School (as Nichole Fortier).  After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Richmond, she worked in pharmaceutical research for three years, then studied dietetics at Rutgers. You may know her from stints at Be Well Morristown, SmartWorld Coffee and, for 13 years, at Glassworks Studio.  Nichole fell in love with backpacking during several short trips to national parks out west. After she conquers the Appalachian Trail in October, she plans to start a health-coach training program at Duke University, and celebrate her 31st birthday and her one-year wedding anniversary.