Chapter 2: In which Appalachia serves dehydration and a southern gentleman

I can’t believe how eventful my first day on the Appalachian Trail turned out to be. Well, it’s not like I’m too far down the road yet, as I stopped at Springer Mountain Shelter. But the approach road definitely posed enough of a challenge for me. I’ve heard some horror stories about “the stairs,” but I was so eager to get started that I practically flew up. Eh, well, apart from the 32 (!) stops to catch your breath. But I was lucky that day, as the weather in Norway would be considered a warm summer day. As soon as I stepped out of the stone arch I was already reconsidering the wisdom of packing 34 pounds of mostly winter clothing. Maybe I should have packed shorts and sunscreen?

It was slow at first as he took it all in. I’m hiking the Appalachian Trail. That’s just crazy and I would have never thought in my life that I would be so lucky. The heat also slowed me down. One of the main reasons I decided to start my hike in February was to withstand as much of the spring and summer heat as possible, without getting caught in too many snow storms. However, my liter of water was drying up quickly as I took large sips while walking up the stairs. However, upon checking out FarOut, I knew that fresh water would be waiting for me just a few miles away. So I did what I had to do and drank as much as I could so I could climb the stairs in the heat. Little did I know…

True to his word, there was a river running just past the stairs, and I dug out my new filter to get a fresh supply.

Dehydration station

You know how people say you should test all your gear before hitting the slopes? Well, there is a very good reason for that. Just the day before I had bought a new filter, a Platypus, since the previous one had started to smell a little strange. Since I’ve had good experiences with it before, I didn’t even think about trying it before leaving. And also, the hotel water smelled bad too (it could have been the regular water, not my old filter), so I didn’t want to expose my beautiful new filter to that.

The result? A very thirsty Norwegian with summer temperatures and a water filter that didn’t let any water through at all. Nothing at all. Completely clogged. And I had about three days left before I could get to an equipment store. So, I desperately tried again, filled the bladder with new water (even though there was obviously nothing wrong with the water) and squeezed as hard as I could. Nothing. Not a single drop. I felt mortified. This could actually be dangerous, I thought, as I desperately tried again and again. My water bottle was down to just a few ounces of water and I desperately needed to refill it. But there was no chance of that being the case.

Finally, I came to the conclusion that I would simply have to boil all the water I drank for the first three days and accept that it would be cumbersome and would seriously slow me down. I filled my bladder and continued, deciding to push a little before sitting down to start the boil. I was so angry with myself that I just needed to get that feeling out of my system.

Plus, I was feeling a little desperate. Would I have enough gas in my small gas cylinder to be able to boil all my drinking water for several days? And it would surely take at least 20 minutes each time, since my small pot would have to boil twice for each bottle of water. And then you would have to let it cool for quite a while before you could drink it. This was not at all how I wanted my first few days on the trail to go.

a southern gentleman

I walked for about another hour, before finally accepting defeat, every last drop of my clean water was gone. Then I stubbornly plopped down on a rock right next to the trail, reluctantly pulling out my cooking kit. I sat there, staring at it for a few minutes, before I started screwing my stove to the gas can. As I did so, a hiker came toward me from the opposite direction.

«Hello how are you?» He asked with that wonderful southern accent that people here have.

«Hi, I’m fine, thank you,» I responded before adding with irony in my tone, «It’s no coincidence that you have a working water filter, right?»

He stopped next to me and looked at me for a moment. I must have looked like a lost puppy, because he clearly understood that something was wrong.

«Yes, do you need help?»

«Well, actually, I really need help,» I said, and explained the situation.

«Well, I can help you with that,» he replied, as he dropped his backpack and pulled out his water filter. And shortly after I had water. CLEAN WATER!! I was so grateful!

After he had filtered my water, he said, «I’ll tell you what, you’re going to have my filter. We need you to stay safe out here.» Then he handed me his filter!

«Oh, no, I can’t accept that! It’s too much!» I exclaimed.

«No, I’m serious: after all, I’m going home today. And it’s a bit old, so you might have to return it once you get a chance.»

«Are you sure?» I asked, not really believing in this man’s generosity.

«Absolutely!»

For the second time that day, I started crying. Then I gave him a big hug and thanked him profusely.

They also say that the trail provides. And at that moment he really did. On my first day on the Appalachian Trail I nearly put myself at risk. Instead, a wonderfully kind man came to my rescue. This has to be the truest form of trail magic! Thank you so much!

Oh, and by the way, I made it to the top of Springer Mountain!

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