If you haven't joined Reflector photography chief Greg Eans on his walk of the Appalachian Trail, I encourage you to don your virtual hiking boots and read his Web log at Reflector.com.
Greg is spending the entire month of April hiking nearly 500 miles of the trail in Virginia. His reports so far reveal some of the wheres and whys of this special trip as well as the gifts that accompany solitude.
March 31 — Arrived at Grayson Highlands, Va.... We see one of the famous Grayson wild ponies.... Later that night we stopped at an overlook .... We saw two wild turkeys. The male was showing his full display of tail feathers.... We got a good night's sleep listening to the owls and frogs outside our tent.
Greg has always been a hiker. But an excursion like this has long been in his mind — a siren calling in the form of hawk cries and full moons. "I've got a whole month to stay in that moment," he said in a story about his trip last week.
His wife, Marion Blackburn, has often joined Greg on shorter jaunts. She understands the call that takes Greg and other hikers to the trail.
"It's impossible to describe," she told me, as we talked about why anyone would want to plan so long to be hurting, cold and wet for a solid month. "It's a deeply human, spiritual, athletic and aesthetic experience." A trip like this one, she said, pushes you to a different place.
April 1 — On the way up, we saw six wild ponies grazing in a clearing. Their colors varied wildly.... The clouds began rolling in and soon we were surrounded by them. We watched them pass by like ghosts.
During this first week, Marion said she cleaned the house for three solid days as she waited for phone calls from Greg on the trail. But she said they did not arrange for him to call at specific times because that would intrude upon the freedom of "the walk."
April 2 — Three thunderstorms today... By nightfall, I was really tired but a long way from shelter... The nearly full moon was rising and I pulled out my rain poncho and laid it right there on the trail and got in my sleeping bag... I watched the dark clouds rush across the moon's smiling face with the trees silhouetted against it. Nine deer were in the woods nearby....
Marion also contributes to the web report — this experience clearly is a challenge for her as it is for Greg. Here's part of the entry she wrote April 5 about hiking with Greg to the starting point of his trip:
Leaving Greg on the AT was tough... I worry all right, starting when he disappeared in the mist that early morning. Hiking down the mountain I listened for him to call, "Wait ... I forgot something" but heard nothing.
Only the clouds sprinkling rain everywhere... I relived our walk that morning. The rhododendrons, the trailing arbutus and soggy trail bottoms I'd left hours earlier grew clearer, more organic and sparkling as I revived them.
I miss him a great deal, but can't say I'd like him home. Instead, I wish to be with him, in the clouds, on the mountains, on his long walk, with hours together to ramble on about nothing of consequence the way we always do on the trail.
At Reflector.com you'll find a story in which Greg goes into detail about his motivation and preparation for the trip. There's also a map and a list of "critters" he has spotted and, of course, the blog. I commend it to you especially.
As you can see from these excerpts, it is rare that we have an opportunity to walk in such hidden country with guides so appreciative of its magic and so eloquent in its description. Take an April and go with Greg to these special places. And like all of us here, you might worry about him just a little.
