Canuckelhead’s Appalachian Adventure
Come with me on a journey and leave your cares behind. We
will unite with hundreds of folk, some who will become as brothers, most who
pass by as time, yet all, who have this yearning for the adventure that we are about
to embark on. It will take us places that we have only dreamed of, or read
about in books. The lessons that we learn about the natural world around us
will be overshadowed only by what we learn about ourselves. Planning is
essential, but our willingness to disregard what we have set out to accomplish
and manage what we are able, is paramount. This is the trail’s greatest irony!
My name is Terry Hall. I was born on December 13th,
1956 in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. On a clear day, from vantage
points near my hometown, one could see Mount Katahdin rise on the horizon, due
west, 60 miles. At some point in my youth I realized there was a trail from
Georgia to Maine that began or ended at Katahdin, but I had never entertained
any thoughts of walking the 2160-mile trek. Economics and employment compelled
a move to Alberta in 1981 where I received an introduction to backpacking from
a close friend. With a growing passion for hiking, a goal to hike the
Appalachian Trail was born. At first the thoughts were casual; buy a map, join
the Appalachian Trail Conference and dream of the trip to start in 1998. The
years passed quickly and the summers of “96” and “97” became practice runs for
the real thing. Attempts for a leave of absence from work were unsuccessful so
termination of a 16-year career became the stakes. There really was no
question. These were the circumstances leading to my adventure.
I am not a writer, as the following work will confirm. A journal entry
was made daily over the course of the 154 days on the trail and upon returning
home, a second draft was developed, drawing on memories that were still
distinct. A third and final draft was created by a friend with a command of the
English language and the skills of sentence structure. The pictures of this
work are mostly my own but several of the better ones were obtained in a photo
swap that I organized near the end of the journey. My thanks go out to my
fellow hikers who took part in the swap. I thank God for the strength, the will
and the means by which to complete this journey and a record of it.
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