CHOOSING YOUR OWN ADVENTURE (One Step at a Time) ELIZABETH JERNIGAN, AICP
March 22, 2019 • Women’s LeadHERship Workshop
Photo: https://today.appstate.edu
THE GREAT SOUTHWEST EXPERIENCE Canyon De Chelly 2000
ABOUT ME
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” ~John Muir
Photo: https://www.nationalparks.org THE WONDERLAND TRAIL MARYLAND CONSERVATION CORPS Washington State 2001 Assateague State Park, MD 2002
THE WONDERLAND TRAIL Washington State 2001
ABOUT THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL
“When you’re on the AT, the forest is your uni- verse, infinite and entire. It is all you experience day after day. Eventually it is all you can imag- ine. You are aware. . . somewhere. . . there are mighty cities. . . but here. . . the forest rules.” ~Bill Bryson HIKING THE LADY BIRD JOHNSON The “Environmental First Lady” APPALACHIAN TRAIL
2,174 Trail Miles in 2004
Source: https://www.rei.com/blog/hike/21-appalachian-trail- Source: http://www.ladybirdjohnson.org statistics-that-will-surprise-entertain-and-inform-you
Source: http://www.ladybirdjohnson.org
TRAIL ECOLOGY Temperate Rainforest in the Great Smokey Mountains
HISTORY OF THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL
Photo: Brian Stansberry MY MOM GRANDMA GATEWOOD “The Section Hiker” First woman to hike the AT solo, and in one season
Source: Appalachian Trail Conservancy
JENNIFER PHARR DAVIS First woman to claim fastest known time on the AT
WOMEN WHO HIKE
“Facing a mean landscape of angry rivers and hateful rock she stood, a women, mother of eleven and grandmother of twenty-three. She had not been able to get the trail out of her mind. She had thought of it constantly back home in Ohio, where she tended her small garden and looked after her grandchildren, biding her time until she could get away.” ~ Ben Montgomery (2014). Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail. Chicago Review Press
Source: https://thetrek.co/appalachian-trail/4- Source: https://jenniferpharrdavis.com/ things-female-thru-hikers-need-hear/ MAY 22 - DAY 39 20 Cold Spring Shelter to Rock Fish Gap Miles
HIKE YOUR OWN HIKE
“The trail is the thing. Not the end of the trail. Travel too fast, you miss all you are traveling for.” ~Louis L’Amour
Photo: Compass Points Media
FORCE OF NATURE SPRINGER MOUNTAIN, GA Southern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail PLANNING FOR THE AT Maps & Guides
HITTING THE TRAIL
“It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” ~Sir Edmund Hillary
DAMASCUS, VA (Our) Starting Point on the Appalachian Trail APRIL 14 - DAY 1 10 Damascus Va to Abingdon Gap Miles SHELTER REGISTERS APRIL 15 - DAY 2 8.5 Abingdon Gap to Double Springs Miles
Photo: www.atmuseum.org
OLD ORCHARD SHELTER Grayson Highlands State Park
What I packed
What I read Photo: Frank Kehren, www.appalachiantrailhistory.org SHELTER ENTERTAINMENT MAY 2 - DAY 19 Mouse Kill Tally 20 Little Laurel Shelter to Hot Springs Miles
FINDING BEAUTY IN ANONYMITY
“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread” ~ Edward Abbey
Max Patch ON MAKING DO
“Mountains have a way of dealing with overconfidence” ~Hermann Buhl
Graphic: ww.rei.com
MAY 11 - DAY 28 13 PIEDMONT TRIAD REGIONAL COUNCIL Mount Collins Shelter to Derek’s Knob Shelter Miles Kernersville
Clingman’s Dome JUNE 11 - DAY 9 7 Lost Mountain Shelter to Wise Shelter Miles
Mount Rogers State Park
JUNE 24 - DAY 72 6 Pickle Branch to Four Pines Hostel Miles
SURVIVING VIRGINIA
“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going” ~ Beverly Sills
Dragon’s Tooth JUNE 27 - DAY 75 12 John’s Spring Shelter to Tinker Creek Shelter Miles
ON KINDNESS
“I can only describe that feeling as being exactly like the feelings you would experience as a child on Christmas morning or waking up on your birthday, except stronger. ” ~ Kyle Rohrig, Lost on the Appalachian Trail
McAfee Knob
SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK Virginia TRAIL MAGIC JULY 25 - DAY 103 23 Max Patch Pine Knob to Deer Lick Shelter Miles
TRAIL MAGIC JULY 28 - DAY 106 17 Ms. Janet Pine Grove Furnace to Alec Kennedy Miles AUGUST 5 - DAY 114 16.5 SEPTEMBER 6 - DAY 146 22 Windsor Furnace to Allentown Hiking Club Miles Bennington Notch to Arlington Rd Miles
Pulpit Rock
AUGUST 7 - DAY 116 16.8 Allentown Hiking Club to George Outerbridge Shelter Miles
ON POWERING THROUGH
“The best view comes after the hardest climb.” ~ Unknown TRAIL LOVE SEPTEMBER 20 - DAY 160 9.5 Gorham, NH to Kinsman Notch Miles
Mount Moosilauke
SEPTEMBER 21 - DAY 161 16.3 OCTOBER 3 - DAY 173 12 Kinsman Notch to Franconia Notch Miles Trident Col to Carlo Col Miles
Franconia Notch OCTOBER 6 - DAY 176 10 OCTOBER 14 - DAY 184 18.5 Full Goose Shelter to Grafton Notch Miles Moxie Pond to Monson to ME Miles
Mahoosic Notch Bigelow Mountain Range
OCTOBER 12 - DAY 182 19 OCTOBER 16 - DAY 186 13.7 Stratton to Long Falls Dam Rd Miles Monson to Wilson Valley Lean-to Miles
Big Wilson Stream OCTOBER 22 - DAY 192 OCTOBER 17 - DAY 187 5.2 14.4 Katahdin Stream Campground to Mount Katahdin Miles Wilson Valley Lean to Logging Rd Miles
Katahdin from Barren Mountain Ready to Climb
OCTOBER 20 - DAY 190 22 OCTOBER 22 - DAY 192 5.2 Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to to Rainbow Spring Campsite Miles Katahdin Stream Campground to Mount Katahdin Miles
Katahdin from Pemadumcook Lake Tablelands OCTOBER 22 - DAY 192 5.2 OCTOBER 22 - DAY 192 5.2 Katahdin Stream Campground to Mount Katahdin Miles Katahdin Stream Campground to Mount Katahdin Miles
Summit Summit
OCTOBER 22 - DAY 192 5.2 OCTOBER 22 - DAY 192 5.2 Katahdin Stream Campground to Mount Katahdin Miles Katahdin Stream Campground to Mount Katahdin Miles
Summit Summit ON BEING YOUR BEST SELF
“If you think you’ve peaked, find a new mountain.” ~ Unknown
KNOWING YOUR OWN STRENGTH GET OUTSIDE!
THANK YOU
Elizabeth Jernigan Trail Planner, Greensboro Parks & Rec [email protected] 336.373.3816
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
Be confident\RX UHVWURQJHUWKDQ\RXWKLQN Be open to changeHYHQZKHQLW VXQH[SHFWHG KnowZKR\RXU your peopleDUH Be kind Be passionate