Taking Steps: Blue Ridge Outdoors

THRU-HIKING IS A COLLECTION of small victories: getting up the day’s ascent, finding the water source before dark, enjoying the company of shelter-mates. And those able to stack enough of those victories, perhaps six months’ worth, sprinkled in with side quests, a handful of zero days, and a hiker festival or two, could end up walking the entire 2,190 miles of the Appalachian Trail.

“The beautiful thing about hiking is that life moves at the same pace whether you’re out there for an hour in your local park or deep in the backcountry for days on end,” says Katie “Oats” Houston, community manager for Sawyer Products and a contributing writer to The Trek. “If you’re a confident weekend warrior, you’ve likely got the skills to execute a thru-hike. For most folks, logistics is the limiting factor: money, time, or obligations back home. Section hiking is a great way to increase your confidence, comfort, and chances of success.”

Due to current responsibilities, hiking the entire A.T. is indeed still a dream on the distant horizon for me. But earlier this year, I decided to get a proper taste of the trail by hiking the entire section of the famous footpath that runs through Maryland. I did the reasonable 41-mile jaunt—right around the trail’s midpoint—with my old man to welcome his retirement, a passage to the next phase in life. Here’s a step-by-step guide to an attainable section hike that offers a perfect introduction to the A.T.

Read the rest in the November 2024 issue here at Blue Ridge Outdoors.