Appalachian Trail Sampler

After doing the Inca Trail Hike in 2006 and climbing Mt. Apo last year, my hiking boots hasn't seen much action, just gathering dust in my shoe rack. Last May, I did a bit of walking in the Shawangunks and thought hey, I've been missing this. I miss the sensation of sweating it out while letting those legs work. I miss hitting the trail while experiencing nature's unadulterated beauty. It's time to hike again, even for just a day.

Despite being highly urbanized, New York City is not far from wilderness. A section of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (also called Appalachian Trail or simply A.T.), one of the country's premier hiking routes, passes through upstate New York's wooded areas. When I stumbled upon Outdoorbound, a New York-based adventure company, my heart beat fast enough for me to book a day hike with them. To spice things a little bit, I invited my friend Tatum whose legs are seen mostly hitting the clubs and not the trail - she freaks out at the thought of creepy creatures.

The Appalachian Trail is one of America's longest marked footpaths at 2,175 miles. It passes by six national parks, eight national forests, numerous state parks and crosses 14 states, stretching from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Katahdin in Maine. Hard core hikers do what's called thru-hiking, finishing the entire length of the trail in one season, usually 6 months! I do love to hike but I certainly don't have the passion and time to spend half a year in the woods.

DAY HIKERS

With six other New Yorkers, we met early Sunday morning in Manhattan. Erin, our guide for the day, drove us on a van for about an hour upstate. Somehow, Erin couldn't locate the marker of the trailhead even with her map and we drove around for several minutes - asking for directions and making phone inquiries - until we found our spot right by the roadside. After Erin gave us a rundown on this section of the Appalachian Trail, we went to business right away. Our objective was to reach Lake Canopus, hiking 5 miles in all.

LAKE CANOPUS

The undulating trail is clearly marked with "blazes", a rectangular white painting on trees and rocks. This makes it easier for hikers to find their way especially when caught during heavy downpours. Although there's still wildlife in this area like white-tailed deers and black bears, Tatum's fear of creepy creatures turned for real when Erin found a brown snake sunbathing on a rock along the trail. The snake was probably not too happy with Tatum's high-pitched squeal as it merely disappeared without even saying a "hisss" to her.

As we continued along the path through second-growth forest, it became more apparent to me how important protecting national and state parks are for future generations. For much of the last three centuries when the eastern corridor was increasingly populated and developed, a good portion of the Appalachian forests were heavily logged. Not until federal and state laws were enacted that man was tamed from indiscriminate cutting-spree.

TATUM WORKS IT

For us today, we simply follow the Leave No Trace ethic as we sample this part of protected wilderness. When I think of this, I remember the mountaineer's creed I came across in Mt. Apo:

Take nothing but pictures,

Leave nothing but footprints,

Kill nothing but time,

Bring nothing but memories.

At a vantage point overlooking Canopus Lake, we feasted on our packed lunch. Just a few hours ago, I bought my lunch at Pax Wholesome Foods at Times Square in Manhattan and I'm amazed that I'm now devouring it in the midst of maple and beech trees and wild blueberries. We went down to the lake where people were actually swimming. Swimming in a cold lake isn't for me and I simply basked in the glorious sunshine of a beautiful sunny Sunday. As sweaty Appalachian thru-hikers came in for their lunch loaded with huge backpacks, I could only smile at their dedication at what they do. Tatum was shocked with disbelief. But at least for us, hiking a part of this great American trail beats the treadmill of any gym anytime.

WHO NEEDS A TREADMILL?