Wayne Campbell is a charter member of BCGS and an active volunteer. You may find him at one of our meetings directing traffic, delivering coffee, or helping another member with research.  

It is appropriate that his photo is taken in front of a wall of maps. This past summer, Wayne set out to hike the entire Appalachian Trail (AT).  The AT is 2200 miles long and passes through 14 states from Georgia to Maine.  Wayne has wanted to hike this trail since he was a teenager.  He retired last year and decided to give it a try. 

 

He started in Harper's Ferry, WV and ended in northern Massachusetts, just short of Vermont.  That's "only" 527 miles, almost ¼ of the AT.  Wayne says none of it was flat.  It was generally uphill or down.  It was always too hot, too cold, or too wet.  Sometimes all in the same day.  Wayne got lucky and only had one blister his entire time on the trail. 

 

He lost 8 pounds during his hike, but does NOT suggest hiking the AT as a weight-loss strategy.   It's way too hard.   Most AT hikers are asked the same questions:

• No, he didn't hike alone. The AT is a very social place.  He never camped alone and never hiked more than a few miles without meeting other hikers.
• No, he did not see any bears (but some of his friends did).  Yes, he saw many snakes - mostly small garter snakes, big (but harmless) black snakes, and a few mean-looking rattlesnakes.
• Yes, he carried everything on his back.  A typical pack weight was 32 pounds.  Usually he carried about 4 days of food.  He resupplied occasionally in the many small towns along the way.
• He slept in tents, shelters, hostels, rooms in private homes, under pavilions, and in hotels and motels.

The best things about hiking the AT were the friends made along the way, the scenery, hugging the largest oak tree he ever saw, the experience of small town America, and eating.  Hikers cannot carry enough to satisfy their hunger, food is very heavy.  So when AT hikers enter town they tend to enjoy hearty meals.  There was a fellow on the trail recently who ate a half gallon of ice cream, and then washed it down with a cheeseburger, fries and a large soda.  That's a HEARTY meal!

 

The worst things about the trail were: smelling bad (imagine not bathing for 4 or 5 days), being dirty for days on end, noisy campsites, rattlesnakes, ticks (Lyme disease), and big spiders.  Wayne claims to have seen the largest spider of his life in NY.  He and his friends were allowed to camp behind a restaurant one night and as they were setting up camp, one of the staff told them to watch out for the bear who shows up about 9:30 when employees take out the garbage.  That's when they noticed that the game commission had set up a bear trap about 50 feet from where they were camping.  Wayne and his friends went to bed late that night. 

 

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