I began section hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2009. The over 2000-mile trail begins at Springer Mountain in Georgia and ends at Mount Katahdin in Maine. Some hikers choose to hike the entire trail within one hiking season, usually taking 5 to 6 months. These hikers are referred to as thru hikers.  And some, like me, choose to hike a section each summer. Being a teacher and having several weeks off in the summer allowed me to hike a section in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2019. Of those years, some were good hiking years and some not so good. Like the year when I fell and broke my leg. However, this past year was one of my favorites because I shared the trail with my grandson.

When my grandson was 2 years old, I bought him a red A.T. tee-shirt with the slogan, “Hiker in Training”. Then for his 3^rd birthday I bought him a backpack with A.T. boldly printed on the back.  Through the years he asked a few questions about the trail and in 2015, his mommy hiked in a group with me on the trail. She got to see a bear and a snake. But, when she came home with her A.T. stories, I think, that was when he began to ask about when he would be old enough to go backpacking. So, in July of 2019, my grandson and I headed to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia to spend a night at the Tea-Horse Hostel and backpack from Gathland State Park in Maryland to Harpers Ferry on an overnight hike.

The Tea-Horse Hostel in Harpers Ferry comes highly recommended from this Grandma, aka Memaw. The hostel keepers are friendly and accommodating and assisted in keeping a young section hiker in a wholesome environment. After a night of sleep in his upper bunk, my grandson was dubbed Bacon, as a trail name, while he ate a lot of the bacon that was served at breakfast the next morning. All the thru hikers were encouraging and thrilled that a young section hiker was in their midst.

The hostel keeper shuttled us to Gathland Park, Maryland and we began the southbound hike toward the Ed Garvey Shelter. Bacon carried his backpack, prepared his lunch, kept up a good pace and when we reached the shelter, he helped to filter water and set up camp for the night. While eating a snack, Bacon watched a doe and fawn that without fear, leisurely grazed about 10 feet away. Bacon also decided that cold soaked Ramen noodles might be better than cooked Ramen noodles after a long day on the trail. And, the traditional space ice cream, well, not his favorite.

We were joined by thru hikers throughout the evening and although usually frowned upon, everyone was completely understanding of the tent that was set up on the second floor of the shelter. After an active day we were ready for our sleeping bags before dark. In the middle of the night, a loud bang woke both Bacon and I. We were sure a bear was in camp, but we didn’t hear anything more and fell right back to sleep. It appears that perhaps something fell out of the tree onto the tin roof of the shelter.

The next morning, we woke early and ate a quick granola breakfast before packing up and leaving the shelter. We went southbound again and descended the Weaverton Cliffs then walked the tow path that runs along the Potomac River. I do have to say that I had a moment of memory lapse and wound up off the trail for about a quarter of a mile, but the Guthook App quickly let me know that I had misunderstood the direction of a double blaze and we were able to backtrack before going any further. Bacon was tired but kept on walking with his backpack until he reached Harper’s Ferry. I had a,  “make a memory moment” when he was walking in front of me while we crossed the Potomac River into Harpers Ferry. That  little boy, that is so special to me, had just completed his first section of the Appalachian Trail at the age of 9 years old.

We took all the pictures that are special along the trail and then later that day we took a picture that will always be extra special to me. Our hiking adventure had begun and ended in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia which happens to be the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Headquarters. I had never registered as a section hiker, but on this day, both  Bacon and I/Specs registered and received our tags and numbers. We will forever be beside each other in the books with a picture of each of us standing in front of the conservancy.

As I said, many years on the trail were really good and some not so good and at least one, extra special. Bacon, thank you for the memory. Specs, aka Memaw.