Morristown hiker’s A.T. Journal: Halfway there!

MIDPOINT MARKER: Nichole Young has earned those miles the old-fashioned way: On foot. Photo courtesy of Nichole Young.
MIDPOINT MARKER: Nichole Young has earned those miles the old-fashioned way: On foot. Photo courtesy of Nichole Young.
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Magical halfway point of the Appalachian Trail. Photo by Nichole Young
Magical halfway point of the Appalachian Trail. Photo by Nichole Young

Editor’s note: Morristown resident Nichole Young reaches a great milestone in her six-month Appalachian Trail adventure. Congratulations, Nichole!

By Nichole Young

We’ll Make It, I Swear — Bon Jovi, “Livin’ On a Prayer”

On Wednesday, June 29, 2016, I rounded a bend in the trail and spotted a small wooden sign nailed to a tree.

HALFWAY THERE: Nichole Young reaches halfway point on her six-month hike. Photo courtesy of Nichole Young
HALFWAY THERE: Nichole Young reaches the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the psychological halfway point on her six-month hike. Photo courtesy of Nichole Young

Less than a foot wide and five inches tall, it had only four characters carved into it: “1000.” My hiking partner and I took off our packs, sat down on rocks, and looked at it, grinning.

When I started the trail, I remember celebrating on day three or day four that we had made it to 21.9 miles – one percent of the entire trail. One thousand miles was not even a blip in my consciousness.

The AT is a marathon, not a sprint, and you have to take it day by day. With a 75-80 percent drop-out rate, thinking about getting even halfway felt like a jinx.

Later that day, I crossed into West Virginia, the fifth state through which the Appalachian Trail winds.

Then, on Thursday, the icing on the cake: Not long after sunrise, I walked across a highway bridge and entered Harper’s Ferry, WV, the home of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarters and the psychological halfway point of the trail.

While the literal halfway point shifts slightly year to year as the trail is re-routed, and generally falls somewhere in southern Pennsylvania around mile 1100, Harper’s Ferry, at mile 1023, remains in hikers’ hearts as the symbolic milestone, proof that we’ve made it farther than about half of everyone who left from Springer Mountain, GA.

MIDPOINT MARKER: Nichole Young has earned those miles the old-fashioned way: On foot. Photo courtesy of Nichole Young.
MIDPOINT MARKER: Nichole Young has earned those miles the old-fashioned way: On foot. Photo courtesy of Nichole Young.

The Trail passes directly through town, and the ATC itself is only .2 miles off-trail. I started my day excited to get there and hiked the nine miles into town quickly, ending up at the converted house half an hour before its 9 am opening.

Volunteers began arriving as I sat on the front porch. They greeted me warmly and congratulated me on arriving. The Conservancy takes a photo of every hiker who begins in, ends in, or passes through Harper’s Ferry in the course of their hike, numbering and archiving them in binders that the next round of hikers can browse through.

Getting one’s photo taken in front of the ATC sign is a rite of passage, and a milestone, and having mine done was surreal and lovely. It felt like a celebratory ritual. The good folks of the ATC made me feel welcome, and accomplished, and successful.

Although I am one of thousands of hikers they see in a season, I feel I have claimed my place in the history of the AT. My photo will be there for future generations to see, or not see, and I know it’s there, only a few pages ahead of or behind the photos of my friends, people I’ve fallen in love with out here who have seen me through all one thousand miles.

It’s hard to say what to expect in the coming weeks and miles. Although I’m trying to maintain marathon mentality and taking it day by day, I’m eyeing the maps of what’s coming with confidence and excitement.

VERDANT FOREST halfway on the A.T. Photo by Nichole Young
VERDANT FOREST halfway on the A.T. Photo by Nichole Young

Pennsylvania, grudgingly referred to as “Rocksylvania” or “The state where boots go to die,” is coming up. So is home sweet home, the Garden State, which has the most aggressive bear population of any stretch of trail.

We’ve heard reports of many water sources in New York state going dry, to the point that local Trail Angels have started leaving gallon jugs of tap water at road crossings for desperate hikers.

The heat will continue to get worse, we’ll get plenty of experience with afternoon thunderstorms, and the humidity and bugs will start to affect our quality of sleep.

I know this is all coming, but I feel good. I have excellent people around me, calves of steel, and a positive attitude. The first 1,023 miles weren’t easy, but they’re in the rear-view. Bring on the next thousand.

Questions? Feel free to ask in the comments.

Follow along and see more of the scenery on Instagram!

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.

 

The midpoint on the Appalachian Trail. Photo by Nichole Young.
The midpoint on the Appalachian Trail. Photo by Nichole Young.
ON THE TRAIL, halfway home on the A.T. Photo by Nichole Young.
ON THE TRAIL, halfway home on the A.T. Photo by Nichole Young.

 

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