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, F E A T U R E
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jj Vince Tomecek adjusts his rainsuit on the second day on the AT in Georgia.
V ’    { ti  V j ,  ? `i_· tion. My brother battled crippling I
j , flu e   r,      I- ;  tg ,   .v,§T~g.·  ,j» I knee pain and experienced the wrath j
4       ‘_:,   ‘ii  'I.   ,j·  V r °»'Jw$4’   t' I, of a yellow jacket hive near West Vir-
Qi   *‘ P ’t`a‘ 5     I  , j  " j ,   ginia, resulting in ll stings. Vinnie’s .
{  ij      g ,f g if .     body became one large rash eventu— I  
_   S  Q -,;; irprVv_ ~Y E}. ,*3     ally forcing him to the emergency j . j . ..irr
"" it  i· V   . jj.   ¤- room for a course of steroids. Hypo- f  
‘ It       y‘;' , j   j   ' thermia forever chases hikers on the t  
V W it     G           V.,·   trail. Even in the heat of the summer,  
· ? “ ’·ii i  7%*;      lates     ‘»‘i     1 ·  
’·.r   g    ~ r-V   “ <'f‘ie‘*"t;‘:Z‘   rrr  e ·=- 4 I ‘ OW tempetatutes at htehet ete"a‘  
  .     Li- ti0¤S»°°‘“b‘“"d Wh t3‘“’t°t°€d us  -‘ 
  ‘ .    s    r   if M   te keen nteving te generate bedy  
 ia.;      it     heat and prevent the specter of hy-  
w _i’-     pothermia from catching us. Injury  ` 
. . » *   ‘‘“i slowed us down but never prevented  
. , · _   ~-:.— » `   · us from scratching the itch to reunite  
- .. ` - with the AT’s diverse terrain and  
many towns ahead.  
.- ‘,‘   · ~   -·- ~ Logistics of the Hike  
I The AT wanders through and  
· around many rural communities in  Pi »,`,   
t the eastern United States. The towns   ‘,i_ T  
offer opportunities for a shower, hot     if `
Photo; Nick Tomecek meal, and food for future hiking.
Sometimes we sent ourselves pack-
j except l`or water and breakfast. Breakfast had evolved into cereal, fruit, and ages with $hPPhe$ te Pest etttees that
| dehydrated milk in a plastic bag, followed by a couple of breakfast bars. We Wenld held them fer eat att}Vat·
would stuff a l`ew Snickers or Milky Ways in our pockets for a hiking snack Othet thhee we Wenld lust find a gre-
` later and then would "camel up" on water. We drank two quarts of water be- eety Stete ahd Putehaee a tew days I
fore hitting the trail so we stayed hydrated without carrying the water on our Wetth ef feed- Many Peepte Steed ‘¥
l ljucksr with mouths agape, ogling us, failing
i It is important to understand that this adventure emerged from our expe- te dhdetetahd WhY We hved th the
‘ riences growing up in Boy Scouting, eventually achieving the highest rank of Weeds. eSPeetat_lY Wheh theY Saw enr
i Eagle Scout. While scouting established a love of the outdoors, and helped aPPeatahee$·Ythhte ahd_t ate hath‘
' cultivate the romantic notion of walking over 2,000 miles, the program estab- tahy thlh Se htkthg 20 nnlee ef eatej
lished certain “‘old school" philosophies about backpacking that have no tlehuththg tettath eaeh daY made tt
place on the AT. I cannot remember a backpacking trip with the Boy Scouts dtthehtt_te_thathtath eat Wet3ht·We
j where I did not fill every nook and cranny of my oversized pack with camp- Wete Skthttght $Yhthette etethee that
ing trinkets. extra junk food, fresh fruit. and multiple changes of clothes. The dtled qulekly when Wet, making OUT
resulting weight on my back would cause my joints to groan, my feet to gauht ttathes aPPateht» Whtte enr
pound. and my back to hunch after only a couple of miles. buzzed hatteuts ahd Captath Ahab
Much like our experiences with the Boy Scouts, many hikers start the trail heatds Seated aWaY Yeuhg ehddteh·
with packs weighing 50 to 60 pounds. After three days, they have thrown A Pettty Wethah th Dathaseuavaa
most of the l`ancy trinkets away or quit the trail altogether. Our goal pack eehhhehted eh enr aelaeatahee es
weight was 30 pounds, and we religiously adhered to the limit, even cutting We Walked ent ef a dellnr $tete·
labels off our clothing and sawing off spoon and toothbrush handles. _"Ye’l1 heed te eat a Steak? She
Pack weight. more than anything, is a deciding factor for many to either go $hldelY utteted th nur dtteetteh White
home or plow ahead. Go home‘?!‘? Vinnie and I saw going home as failure to het twe ehddteh Seewted ee theY
achieve our goal. After all. only jobs. bills. and responsibilities were awaiting Passed- I Swahewed hatd ahd PehtetY
us. We set out to walk from Georgia to Maine, but soon realized that thru- telahed ee tt She 2aVe a eehtpthhehb
hiking the AT is not about getting from A to B. but instead about the experi- temethhetthg that ahY thahetehe te`
_ ence. details. and journey in between. Even after the initial body-hardening tett Wehtd ehtY refleet leeetty eh I
process causes much ofthe physical pain to recede. the trail continues to be a thtthhtketa ne a gteuP· Aetthg like a j
series of mental and physical hurdles. Every day we thought to ourselves, Uhttetth· edt ettheat nnneernnee i
"Walk 20 miles today or go home and get a job." We kept walking. thatked Us as tePte$ehtattVe$ ef ah
First there is the physical pain. For two months I was afflicted with numer- etgahtzatteh that Wahted te Sletead
ous blisters. eventually sending me to the ER in Erwin.Tenn.. with an infec- ehty geedwilt j
20 Kianrtickr /—\l.Ul\lNl j
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