Newb
10-11-2006, 15:08
http://www.delphosherald.com/page2.php?story=11583&archive=
From the Delphos Herald. (I hope pasting it here is kosher)
DELPHOS— One’s college years are the time for many to “live it up.” Some travel abroad, intern in big cities or backpack through exotic places. One Miami University student from Delphos took the fall semester off to make memories in the Eastern United States.
Ryan Schmit, 21, recently concluded a four-month hike through the Appalachian Trail — all 2,175 miles of it. Schmit traveled southbound from Maine to Georgia.
“This had been a lifelong dream of mine since I was little and my dad introduced me to backpacking. We hiked a portion of the trail in the Smoky Mountains when I was in third grade. That’s when I first learned about the trail and it has intrigued me ever since,” he said.
Hiking through most states bordering the Atlantic Ocean, through wilderness under state and federal ownership, Schmit saw wildlife one will not see near the Tri-County.
“I saw tons of wildlife. In the north, there were a lot of moose, deer and loons, as well as chipmunks and rabbits. I got pretty close to black bears and saw rattlesnakes, porcupine and skunks,” he said.
The four-month trek required a fair amount of resourcefulness and help from his family.
“I took a sleeping bag, a one-man tent, a backpacking stove and I had to carry between five and 10 days of food at a time. Sometimes, the trail runs through a town and sometimes it crosses a road, so I went into town,” he continued. “My parents mailed boxes of food ahead to a post office in a town I was headed toward and the post office would hold it for me.”
Backpackers rely on small food items like granola bars and on a special soap to wash with in rivers and streams because standard soap is considered a pollutant, says Schmit.
Spectacular scenery and a variety of hikers are what the St. John’s High School graduate remembers most.
“The scenery was breath-taking. I hiked with several people for multiple weeks. There was a couple from Colorado and a guy from Vermont that I hiked through Maine with. They were thru-hikers going south to Georgia like I was. Some go northbound and some hike the trail in sections. I hiked with a section-hiker from Vermont for six weeks,” he said.
While mountain tops and long stretches of wilderness are part of the trail, it also crosses rivers. At one point, Schmit encountered a river that had seen many days of non-stop rain.
“Hikers most remember life-threatening situations and really bad weather. In Maine, there were a lot of rivers to cross. I had to take my shoes off and carry my backpack above my head. It had been raining for several days and everything was flooded. I had to cross a river where the water came up to my shoulders. I shouldn’t have even attempted it but managed to make it across,” he said.
Schmit also remembers the peace and quiet.
“For the most part, I hiked by myself. There were a lot of quiet times to just clear my head and think. When you’re not in the wilderness, you don’t get that serenity for any length of time,” he said. “It was the experience of a lifetime; just to have the solitude and time to think about and reaffirm my beliefs and values— my goals and where I want to go in life.”
The most meaningful part of the trail was the love he received from his family.
“The trail ends at Springer Mountain in Georgia. It was very nice that my parents, my girlfriend Stephanie, my sister and my aunt all met me at the top of the mountain,” he added.
Schmit worked ahead in credit hours so he could take the semester off. He will return in the spring and graduate afterward. The political science major plans to write his honors thesis on the trail and environmental legislation. He is submitting applications to various law schools, with hopes of one day practicing environmental law.
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The only thing I question is bathing directly in streams. Bio soap is supposed to be used away from the stream, right?
From the Delphos Herald. (I hope pasting it here is kosher)
DELPHOS— One’s college years are the time for many to “live it up.” Some travel abroad, intern in big cities or backpack through exotic places. One Miami University student from Delphos took the fall semester off to make memories in the Eastern United States.
Ryan Schmit, 21, recently concluded a four-month hike through the Appalachian Trail — all 2,175 miles of it. Schmit traveled southbound from Maine to Georgia.
“This had been a lifelong dream of mine since I was little and my dad introduced me to backpacking. We hiked a portion of the trail in the Smoky Mountains when I was in third grade. That’s when I first learned about the trail and it has intrigued me ever since,” he said.
Hiking through most states bordering the Atlantic Ocean, through wilderness under state and federal ownership, Schmit saw wildlife one will not see near the Tri-County.
“I saw tons of wildlife. In the north, there were a lot of moose, deer and loons, as well as chipmunks and rabbits. I got pretty close to black bears and saw rattlesnakes, porcupine and skunks,” he said.
The four-month trek required a fair amount of resourcefulness and help from his family.
“I took a sleeping bag, a one-man tent, a backpacking stove and I had to carry between five and 10 days of food at a time. Sometimes, the trail runs through a town and sometimes it crosses a road, so I went into town,” he continued. “My parents mailed boxes of food ahead to a post office in a town I was headed toward and the post office would hold it for me.”
Backpackers rely on small food items like granola bars and on a special soap to wash with in rivers and streams because standard soap is considered a pollutant, says Schmit.
Spectacular scenery and a variety of hikers are what the St. John’s High School graduate remembers most.
“The scenery was breath-taking. I hiked with several people for multiple weeks. There was a couple from Colorado and a guy from Vermont that I hiked through Maine with. They were thru-hikers going south to Georgia like I was. Some go northbound and some hike the trail in sections. I hiked with a section-hiker from Vermont for six weeks,” he said.
While mountain tops and long stretches of wilderness are part of the trail, it also crosses rivers. At one point, Schmit encountered a river that had seen many days of non-stop rain.
“Hikers most remember life-threatening situations and really bad weather. In Maine, there were a lot of rivers to cross. I had to take my shoes off and carry my backpack above my head. It had been raining for several days and everything was flooded. I had to cross a river where the water came up to my shoulders. I shouldn’t have even attempted it but managed to make it across,” he said.
Schmit also remembers the peace and quiet.
“For the most part, I hiked by myself. There were a lot of quiet times to just clear my head and think. When you’re not in the wilderness, you don’t get that serenity for any length of time,” he said. “It was the experience of a lifetime; just to have the solitude and time to think about and reaffirm my beliefs and values— my goals and where I want to go in life.”
The most meaningful part of the trail was the love he received from his family.
“The trail ends at Springer Mountain in Georgia. It was very nice that my parents, my girlfriend Stephanie, my sister and my aunt all met me at the top of the mountain,” he added.
Schmit worked ahead in credit hours so he could take the semester off. He will return in the spring and graduate afterward. The political science major plans to write his honors thesis on the trail and environmental legislation. He is submitting applications to various law schools, with hopes of one day practicing environmental law.
---
The only thing I question is bathing directly in streams. Bio soap is supposed to be used away from the stream, right?