My experience on the Appalachian Trail

    You've probably heard of the Appalachian Trail- the 2,190-mile-long trail that goes all the way from Georgia to Maine.  You're probably wondering- how could ANYONE stand even a day on the Appalachian trail- conserving food for weeks on end, and carrying as little gear as possible on your back, measuring the weight down to the last ounce? My first experience with the AT(as trail geeks call it) was when my Dad, my younger brother, and I went on an overnight trip on the Appalachian trail to see what all that is like.  My name is [ANONYMOUS], and this is the story of how I learned to stop complaining and love backpacking.
    One day, back in the summer of 2017, I was alone in my room, listening to some rock music (back then, I was more of the stereotypical "alternative/emo/edgelord" type of person), when my Dad came in and asked if I would like to go on a trip with him and my younger brother on an overnight trip on the AT.  My brother overheard it, and we both started to complain about how it sounded painful to walk for that long, and how it hurt just to carry our school backpacks.  However, my Dad said that he would like it if we went with him, and that we were going to go with him like it or not.  My mom couldn't go because she had some back issues at the time, but I digress.  I didn't want to go on the AT because I was afraid that I couldn't even carry 25 pounds on my back, that I wouldn't acclaimate to the wilderness, and that I wasn't in shape.
    My Dad planned the trip about a week in advance so that we would have time to buy all our gear from R.E.I., which was a store near us that sold what they called "outdoor gear," which included stuff like mountain bikes, backpacks, water bottles, sleeping bags, and other things of that sort. It took about 30 minutes for my Dad, my brother, and I to choose backpacks that fit us, looked good, and had a certain amount of space.  We also stocked up on water filters, freeze-dried food, sleeping bags, water bottles, toilet paper, and energy supplements.  Finally, the time came.
    It was time for us to hit the trail.  My anxious feelings hit a high point whem we drove up to Shenandoah National Park, and parked our car at Skyland Lodge.  From there, we hiked over 10 miles to an overlook called Marys Rock.  While we were hiking, my Dad and I noticed that I could run very fast- even with 25 pounds on my back (this was the original reason why I would later join the cross country team at my high school).
    After spending several hours looking at the view and eating lunch at Marys Rock,
my Dad, my brother, and I decided to head back a little bit and spend the night at Byrd's Nest shelter #3, just along the trail.  The shelter was an old stone building, with one wall missing.  It had a nearby latrine, and it had a bear pole for hanging the backpacks.  While we were there, we shared the shelter with a hiker named Dema, though he preffered that we called him "Coyote."  I asked why he preffered to be called that, and he said that most hikers preffer to use their "trail names" to have a sense of anonymity.  He also said that at every shelter, there is a little logbook that is meant to be left at the shelter, where the hikers write about their trail experiences as a form of commuication with other hikers. They sign their entries with their trail names and the dates they arrived and left.  I looked through the shelter's logbook, and the day before, a hiker named Tess said that there was a family of mice living in the shelter.  Coyote reminded me to brush my teeth, or else a mouse would crawl into my mouth to eat the food specks that are stuck in my teeth.  As we ate freeze-dried dinner, we also decided to share the shelter with a hiker named Clean Sweep, and another one who hadn't yet come up with a trail name.  We sat for a while and told stories about our trail experiences.  After a few hours, we unpacked our sleeping bags and went to sleep.
    The next morning, we took down our bags from the bear pole, and we headed back to Skyland lodge.  While my Dad, my brother, and I were eating our breakfast from the all-you-can-eat buffet, we encountered Coyote again.  We had a good time talking and eating some more, and after an hour, us and Coyote went our separate ways as we headed home.
When I got home, it felt so good to finally eat real food, and to sleep in an actual bed for once, though I still liked sleeping in a sleeping bag, and eating freeze-dried food.  Even though it was just an overnight outing, it felt like a while.  I still liked it.  If there is anything that I learned from that outing, it is that hiking can be fun, even though you have to be in shape for it.  The trip on the Appalachian trail helped me like hiking and backpacking, because I like the exercize, the views from the overlooks, and the freeze-dried food, though I also liked meeting the interesting characters that are the hikers on the trail- they have some interesting quirks, and I also learned that most people go on the trail to be alone for a while.  If there was anything I lost on that trip other than 5 pounds of my bodyweight, it was my anxious feelings when it comes to hiking.