A.T. journal: Morristown’s Nichole Young conquers the Smokies

Nichole Young on Charlie's Bunion in the Smokies, in May. Photo courtesy of Nichole Young
Nichole Young on Charlie's Bunion in the Smokies, in May. Photo courtesy of Nichole Young
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My tent, pack, and bear-proof food bag. Photo by Nichole Young
My tent, pack, and bear-proof food bag. Photo by Nichole Young

Editor’s note: Last month Morristown resident Nichole Fortier Young embarked on a six-month solo hike on the Appalachian Trail. Here’s her first dispatch from the A.T.

By Nichole Young

Hello!

I’m writing to you from a bunk bed at the Laughing Heart Hostel in Hot Springs, NC, at Appalachian Trail mile 273.

Hot Springs is the first true “Trail Town” northbound hikers come to — the trail literally pops out of the woods and wanders down Main Street, past restaurants and motels and houses, past the post office, over a bridge, and back into the woods. It’s a great stop for some hot (non-Ramen) food, groceries, and R&R (or B&B: Beer and Bed).

Some of landscape we were walking through in the Smokies. Photo by Nichole Young
Some of landscape we were walking through in the Smokies. Photo by Nichole Young

Today is my three-week trail-iversary. I know people say this all the time, but I really cannot believe it’s only been three weeks. So much has happened and yet I’m still doing the same thing every day: Walking in the woods.

The landscape has slowly changed, the foliage thickened, and the weather, oddly, has gotten cooler, but my daily routine is consistent: Wake up with the sun, hit the trail around 7 or 8 am. I have usually picked a stopping point for the night, conferring with my new hiker friends.

We leave the shelter at different times of the morning, and will often leap-frog each other during the day, but mostly we hike alone for eight or 10 hours, gathering together 12 or 16 or 20 miles later and comparing our days’ experiences over camp chores.

Then I am usually in my sleeping bag reading my Kindle by 7, and almost always asleep by 8. It’s a simple and lovely life, where the most important decisions are to stop for water at this spring or the one three miles up, to have pasta or rice for dinner, to sleep in the shelter or set up my tent. It already feels like I’ve been doing it forever.

I’ve been lucky enough to meet some really interesting and fun people early on. For a while my “Trail Family” consisted of three men and three women, which was unusual (women are seriously outnumbered here, making up only about 30 percent of through-hikers).

Due to injuries, we’ve reshuffled slightly, but I’m still with a really great core of hikers. Most of them are in their mid-20s, from the East Coast, and are intelligent and well-educated people who just aren’t fully invested in the traditional definition of adulthood success.

I love hearing everyone’s backstory and motivation for hiking. Some have wanted to do the A.T. since they were very young, and some only committed a month before leaving. It takes all types. Supposedly by this point, at least 20 percent of everyone who started in Georgia has quit. Some of my friends have already given up or been injured and left. Yet many are still going strong.

An early morning view in the Smokies, with typical cloud-cover. Photo by Nichole Young
An early morning view in the Smokies, with typical cloud-cover. Photo by Nichole Young

A HIGH POINT

The highlight and major milestone so far has been Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Hikers hear about the Smokies from the day they start: How tough the landscape is, how hard the climbs, how aggressive the bears, how crowded the shelters.

The A.T. is in the Smokies for about 70 miles, bouncing back and forth along the NC/TN border for most of it. Most people take six- to eight days there; my group did it in four.

We hit the highest point on the whole A.T., Clingman’s Dome, at 6,667 feet. We did our two longest days yet, 19.4 and 19.6 miles. At an unmarked place called Copper Ridge, at mile 218.9, we were suddenly 10 percent done with the trail.

We enjoyed stunning 360-degree views from Clingman’s, from fire towers, and from geologic trail features with names like Charlie’s Bunion and the Sawteeth. The Smokies were gorgeous. They were lush green, filled with wildflowers and drifting mist and rolling blue mountains everywhere I looked.

Now, 30 miles after leaving the Smokies, we all feel strong (even when limping at the end of a long day or slapping duct tape on a new blister), and we feel confident. We feel like real hikers– and we smell like it, too.

We have our sights set on leaving North Carolina for good, conquering Tennessee, and entering Virginia, where rumors say the landscape flattens out and hikers routinely knock out 25 or 30 miles a day. But between now and then, I’m just trying to take it all in, rest my feet when I can, stay hydrated, and enjoy the journey.

MORE ABOUT NICHOLE’S A.T. ADVENTURE

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.

Nichole Young on Charlie's Bunion in the Smokies, in May. Photo courtesy of Nichole Young
Nichole Young on Charlie’s Bunion in the Smokies, in May. Photo courtesy of Nichole Young

3 COMMENTS

  1. Keep on truckin Nick. You are not only making your Old man proud ( really never thought you could make me prouder) but, The whole of Morristown also. Love you Babe.

  2. I am so impressed with Nichole’s AT adventure! She grew up in my neighborhood and so I feel connected to this adventure. I’ve done my share of hiking in the past and visited Great Smokey Mountain National Park. It is gorgeous. Looking forward to more of her journal entries!

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