‘There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about the trail.’

By Alex Pittman
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer

Amanda Phillips didn’t know quite what to do when two moose started running toward her at full speed as she and her boyfriend hiked through the woods on the Appalachian Trail this year.

Without hesitation, the 22-year-old Arbutus, Maryland-native dove behind a tree and hid until the thousand-pound animals raced past and disappeared into the forest.

The incident was just one of the many experiences Phillips experienced this year as she hiked the entire distance of the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. And while the recent college graduate had no proper training in backpacking and camping, she said the trip allowed her to conquer some of the wildest terrain on the East Coast.

Phillips became a “thru-hiker” on March 15 and spent six and a half months on the Appalachian Trail. The trip finished when she summited Mount Katahdin, one of the highest mountains in Maine, on Oct. 5.

“Edward Abbey is a well known author in the environmental writing world and has an amazing quote that described my reasoning perfectly,” Phillips said in explaining why she decided to take the trip. “He says, ‘It’s not enough to fight for the land, it’s even more important to enjoy it while you can. While it’s still here.’”

According to The Appalachian Trail conservatory website, the AT is almost 2,190 miles long and runs through 14 states. While thousands of people attempt to hike the entire length of the trail each year, only one in four actually finish. An estimated 15,524 hikers have completed the trail since the 1930s, with about 600 to 800 making the trip each year, the website said.

The drive to take on the A.T. came from Phillips’ desire to take on a big adventure after graduation. It had also been a dream of her boyfriends and a little bit of her dream too.

Phillips graduated from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry as an environmental studies major. While her major explored human interaction with the environment, several of her classes helped her identify certain parts of the trail.

“I was so excited for the upcoming hike that I began obsessing over blogs, books, gear websites and anything else that had to do with hiking,” Phillips said. “I’d never been backpacking before, so I had a lot to learn.”

When planning to become a thru-hiker, Phillips said, she had to plan for weather, possible injuries, specific gear, and food. Phillips saved for about a year and a half, but also had to take into account that she was also putting herself through college.

Phillips said that no matter how much someone plans, they won’t know what hiking the Appalachian Trail is like until they actually hike the trail.

“Food resupply is the biggest expense,” Phillips said.

To hike the trail comfortably, she said, the average hiker would need to save up at least $8,000 to cover food (“lots of pasta, Pop Tarts, Nutella, and anything that would last a few days in a backpack.”), possible hostel or hotel stays, gear in case the original gear breaks, and – most important, Phillips joked – beer.

Phillips said she and her boyfriend had to hike 13 to 20 miles a day over a 12-hour span to stay on schedule.

“Some days were very productive and we would hike from sun up to sundown, while other days we found a gnarly view to hang out at and wouldn’t hike as far as we planned,” Phillips said.

The A.T. had some incredible views, Phillips said. Some of her favorite places on the trail were in Vermont and Maine, and some of the hardest parts were in New Hampshire.

“The rocks got huge and scary in ways I never could have imagined when we reached New Hampshire,” she said. “At times it seemed like life or death to do some of those climbs in the rain. I had a friend who was almost struck by lightning twice hiking along a ridge line in a thunderstorm.”

Phillips said some of the hardest parts to overcome on the trip were the days when it was cold and rainy.

“In the beginning we did it no problem, but towards the end, we began taking zeros (a day where you don’t hike) when it was really rainy,” Phillips said. “A lot of times, one wrong step could easily break a leg or twist an ankle. I was never really concerned about my life, just getting injured to a point of leaving the trail.”

But the most important and memorable part of her trip was the experience and the people she met on the trail. Phillips developed friendships that she hopes to continue for years to come.

“You develop a family on trail (we cleverly call our tramily), and it is a bond unlike any other,” she said. “You are all going through this whirlwind of beauty and hardship, freedom and fear, and it connects you for life. Not to mention the trail angels you meet as well. Trail angels are people who selflessly help hikers out simply from the kindness of their hearts. We were fed, given rides, and even taken into people’s homes…The trail absolutely restores your faith in humanity.”

All photos provided by Phillips