Paul V. Stutzman along the Appalachian Trail.
By PAUL V. STUTZMAN
I’ve always wanted to see what lies over the next hill or around the next bend in the road. Traveling is an adventure, anticipating those surprises that wait ahead, those serendipitous meetings or discoveries that you never imagined. I knew hiking the Appalachian Trail would be an adventure. I’d read many accounts by thru-hikers (folks who hike the entire 2,174 miles in one season) of how the hike had changed them. But I never imagined how dramatically it would change my own life. I’ll back up just a bit to tell you that I was running pretty hard in the same rat race that many people run. My wife Mary and I had a plan to eliminate our debt and retire early and do wonderful things together.
Then Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer, and when she died in 2006, all my plans changed. Well, I guess that in reality, after she was gone, I really had no plan. Life as I had known it had been dismantled. I drifted through a year of trying to adjust to life without my wife, but I knew that only something drastic would kick me back into living once again.
I’d been a hiker for many years; the beauty of nature always had a soothing and healing effect on me. One of my dreams had been to hike the Appalachian Trail, and I decided this was the time to follow that dream. I left a good job, strapped on a backpack, and headed for the starting point on Springer Mountain in Georgia. The adventure lured me. I wanted to see what was beyond the next mountain, what waited on the path tomorrow. I admit, before I started I did wonder if I might get bored just walking every day through wilderness and over mountains. Really, what excitement could there possibly be just taking a walk in the woods, all day, every day?
My hike through fourteen states took four and a half months, two pairs of shoes, and forty pounds. I walked through snow and ice and heat and storms; suffered lack of sleep, injury, and loneliness; met bears and kind people and God; and, at the top of Mt. Katahdin in Maine, realized that my hike had not put my life back together as I had hoped. Instead, I had found a new life. In spite of the fact that I had read dozens of books on hiking the AT, I never imagined both the difficulty and the joy of this journey. There were surprises and discoveries almost every day, but the biggest surprise was how this hike changed my life.
If you’ve ever dreamed of hiking the Appalachian Trail – even just a small section of it – then do it! You’ll find your place in a family – the community of hikers and hostel owners and all those who welcome and aid hikers along the AT. You’ll find that there is still much kindness in our country, the close communion with nature will make you more aware of the beauty around us, and you will undoubtedly leave the Trail a different person.
Paul V. Stutzman left a restaurant management career to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail in 2008, after losing his wife to breast cancer. He tells the story of his hike and his changed life in his new book, Hiking Through: Finding Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail. See more photos from his hike on his website, http://www.hikingthrough.com/.
Thanks for posting! What I would love to know is where he got the guts to sit out on that rock like that!
.-= Dorothy´s last blog ..Win free copy of Sheila Roberts’ women’s fiction novel SMALL CHANGE =-.
You’re welcome, Dorothy. And courageous Paul certainly is!
I wonder how long it will take before “hiking the Appalachian trail” will stop being synonymous with marital infidelity. I suppose in this age of the short attention span we live in..about six months?
.-= ian in hamburg´s last blog ..Lawrence of Arabia would weep if he saw the Sinai Desert today =-.
I have no idea. :) But the short attention span I can relate to.
Welcome back Erica!!! I’ve always wanted to hike this trail since arriving in the US. I wil have to head out there and do it even if it;s only a small piece. Four months wow now that is quality time to learn about yourself and humanity. Nature has a remarkable way of healing even in its most destructive times.
.-= Cate´s last blog ..Bloggers no clicking, snapping or shooting, it’s a museum!! =-.
Thanks, Cate. I hope you’ll get the chance to hike a part of it yourself!
I found myself nodding at your last sentence. Spending time in nature can truly be a healing experience.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, Paul! I’ve found so much peace and freedom while walking in the mountains. The Appalachian Trail is definitely one trip to add to my list!
.-= Sonya´s last blog ..5 Awesome Mountain Photos =-.
I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed Paul’s guest post.
serendipitous meetings. love those!
Serendipity is magical.
Seems like a lovely trail. I first came across this in Bill Bryson’ book where he travels across America on a road tip. I haven’t been able to read his hike through the Appalcjian’s, but this post is definitely inspirational!
It does. I haven’t read that book of Bill Bryson though. Here’s a Wikipedia link if anyone’s interested in learning more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Walk_in_the_Woods:_Rediscovering_America_on_the_Appalachian_Trail
What an inspirational story! I don’t want to even think of him being on that rock! Eek!
What are you up to now, Erica? Busy with work? I’m the same with the lack of posting on my poor little Cool Travel Guide, as we’re just flat out with Grantourismo!
Don’t know how people like Jen maintain a few blogs *and* travel *and* have babies *and* renovate a house. We can barely manage with the first two! Hope you’re well!
At first I almost thought it was photoshopped or something. :)
Right now I’m back at home in Halmstad. Mostly been busy with work, also done some traveling on the west coast…
And yes, it’s both impressing and inspiring how Jen and other bloggers with a lot on their hands can keep up. Hope you’re well too! Even though I’ve been terrible at commenting, I’ve really enjoyed Grantourismo and am reading every entry.
Great to hear from you! Looking to forward to posts from your recent travels.
Thanks for the nice words. Glad you’ve been reading – we’re having a blast! Just left New York, in Austin now, Mexico for a month next.
I’ll post at least something from my trips in Sweden. But first guest posts and reviews.
From reading your blog posts and seeing your photos, I can tell you are having a blast. NYC, Austin and Mexico, what’s not to love!?
Lovely post! Oh my, the picture does nothing for my vertigo though! ;)
So sad to hear about the loss of a spouse on the way to early retirement. Good for you Paul for going for your dream despite the challenges!
One of the things I love about a dream journey is how it changes you.
Lara – I hear ya! Travel bloggers always amaze me. We’re traveling and raising a kid as we go, so I’m lucky if I get a post up a week. ;)
Journeys can certainly change us – sometimes in ways we couldn’t even imagine. I think all journeys change us to some extent – even if the change is not obvious at first.
And I must say it’s an incredible thing you’re doing! Regardless of how many posts you get up. :) Truly inspiring.
soultravelers3 – Well, *you* guys amaze me as well! We’re working 7 days a week, from the time we wake til the time we sleep on Grantourismo – for a year. Mind you, it’s no different to the crazy lifestyle we’ve maintained writing from the road these last 4 years, but there is no way I could imagine doing this with a child!
When my parents took us around Australia in a caravan for 5 years when I was a teen they weren’t doing crazy stuff like travel writing, they were living off wise investments and taking turns to do *normal* jobs – everything from grape picking to deep-sea fishing. One parent was always ‘home’ and the other worked relatively normal hours. Gosh, how life has changed for travelling families.