An Unfinished Odyssey on the Appalachian Trail
A Memoir
by
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At Middle Creek we encountered flowers and weeds chest-high. At Floyd Mountain they were shoulder-high. We walked uphill through stinging nettles and got royally stung. One day, Tom was waiting as I came up the trail. "Be careful, there’s a rattlesnake in those bushes." Sure enough, Tom had come by and it had rattled. We took some photos and moved on. The trail takes the hiker over the open summit of Apple Orchard Mountain. Its elevation of 4,225 feet is the highest until Mt. Moosilauke in New Hampshire. On the descent the footpath goes under an ominous rock called the Guillotine. Tom and I crossed the James River and moved northward. A few days later we arrived at the Shenandoah National Park. Tramping the Shenendoah was acclaimed as a wonderful experience. In the 1930s the CCC had graded the trail. For the most part it’s easy walking in a wilderness park-like setting. We’d had a few chilly evenings. Tom was proud of how he would heat a stone each evening, wrap it in a towel and place it in the bottom of his sleeping bag. "Warm and comforting," he said. One evening we were sitting around the campfire. Tom went into the shelter and, to his annoyance, learned his hot rock had burned a hole through the bottom of his sleeping bag. He had to pour a canteen full of water over the glowing material to put it out. "Well," he said in a disgusted tone, "that’s the end of that." The next day Tom threw the burned sleeping bag into a convenient roadside garbage can. "Either you win or you lose," he announced. "It’s just extra weight, anyway. From now on I’ll roll up in my ground cloth and extra sweater." (In the coming days, I would often hear Tom tossing and turning at night or see him at dawn warming himself before a fire.) I have a sense that I belong to a world where different, and arguably more important things matter. It is born when the gray night sky starts to brighten and scarlet streaks appear as dawn breaks on the promise of a bright new day. Dew glistens in the grass. Birds burst forth in song. Across a meadow a deer and its fawn casually browse. I awaken, take a deep breath and gaze across this pastoral setting. The adventure of the day’s hike beckons – thick green forests, lush meadows, abundant wildlife, the merry babble of sparkling brooks, ascents to mountaintops and the reward of panoramic views. At such moments, time is suspended and serenity and beauty envelop me with a feeling of being intensely alive and in harmony with nature--. Then there are days when the hills seem steep, it rains, the woods are dark and the journey winding and long. But with single-mindedness of purpose comes the determination to keep going. The only things that could stop me now are illness, injury, or boredom. I didn’t realize it but I would soon be tested in a way I didn’t expect. On this day, however, I left Harpers Ferry after dinner and walked 2½ miles down the towpath of the old Chesapeake & Ohio Canal to the Sandy Hook Youth Hostel where I stayed the night. The Appalachian Trail takes the hiker up the Weverton Cliffs and continues to the (first) Washington Monument, built in 1827. To the north, along a ridge, I met a fellow shuffling along the trail wearing shorts, a cotton shirt, and beat-up moccasin-type shoes on the broken-down heels of which he was walking. Rather scratched and disheveled, he introduced himself as Tee Banks, a minister from Baltimore. Tee explained God had sent him a message that a tidal wave was about to hit the East Coast.
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About the Book
An Unfinished Odyssey on the Appalachian
Allen hikes the trail and encounters emotions that range from elation to despair. In his travels he confronts numerous events and challenges: rattlesnakes, bears, fire, injury, love, loneliness, illness, rain, cold and snow. This is the adventure of a young man search for meaning and overcoming adversity.
The fast paced narrative portrays and emotional and spiritual growth of the hiker and articulates one individual’s relationship to the beauty, danger, excitement and tediousness of the trail. This absorbing story will be satisfying to the reader on several different levels and will be remembered log after the final page.
About the Author
Abe T. Allen has hiked over 7000 miles in the Northeast. Among the long-distance trails he has walked are the Appalachian Trail, Finger Lakes Trail, Long Path and Long Trail. In addition, he has climbed the 111 4000-foot peaks in New England and New York as well as the Hundred Highest Peaks in New England. Mr. Allen graduated from Dartmouth College and the Western New England College School of Law. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar and is certified as a teacher and administrator in Connecticut. He has worked for many years in education.