These Boots Were Made for Hiking: Appalachian Trail Seminar

By: Amanda Fisher, Honors College Sophomore

(Imagine heavy piano music.) At 5:45 am, my alarm clock went off, and I thought I was going to murder someone. Why is my alarm clock going off at this terrible hour in the morning? Then, I remembered I was going to go hike today on Medoc Mountain! I quickly called my friend Kaitlyn and my boyfriend Will to make sure that they were both awake…and…I rolled over and went back to sleep until my heavy piano music alarm once again woke me up.

I was less than wide awake, but after packing everything and layering my clothes correctly, I was ready to go! I left my apartment, found my friends Kaitlyn and Davis, and filled out some paperwork. And we were off! Not going to lie, I cuddled up next to Will and fell asleep for the entire drive to the state park.  Once there, our tour guide, Brad, gave us a short lesson on where we were going to be hiking, and we were sized for our hiking backpacks. Finally, it was time to start the hike.

The beginning of the hike was muddy and uphill but not terribly hard. I was so thankful for my hiking boots. They kept my feet dry and warm. Virginia and Will only had tennis shoes, and they were sliding all over the place.

Around noon, we made it to the ‘mountain’.  It was great to stop, rest our feet, use the bathroom (orangutan style), and eat some food. I learned a valuable lesson called “don’t-put-jelly-on-your-sandwich-because-it-will-get-squashed-so-that-the-jelly-goes-everywhere.” Luckily, the bag was zipped, but it was still a lesson learned.

After lunch, we learned how to put up our tents. Emma was my tent partner, and it was a good thing because I had no idea what I was doing.  Once all the different style tents were up, we all toured around them. Our tent was a two-person tent with two door entrances. After that, we packed up, made the place look like we had never been there, and hiked back down the mountain. I liked hiking up way better than hiking down!

One of the nice things about the hike was that I bonded with my friends and teachers and had time to reflect on my own thoughts. I had an amazing time on the hike. Everything was perfect: the weather, the people, and the hike. Now, I just cannot wait until the four-day hike on the Appalachian Trail over Easter Break!

To view trips of the class hiking the Appalachian Trail, click here.