How I obtained university credit for making the path of the Trail of the Apalaches

HIGH School found me in the midst of my time in a bad mood, «I don’t need society anymore.» I spent weekends and summers camping, walking and paddling with friends. In my spare moments, I listened to Eddie Vedder in the wild soundtrack in repetition while studying the top maps of the New Hampshire white mountains to plan my next great trip.

From Monday to Friday, I would return to sterile white corridors and fluorescent lights of the local public school. Although I never had academic problems, I had the feeling that none of that mattered, that I was waiting for my time, hoping to do something real with my life.

During my second year, I discovered that I could graduate a year earlier. My school required that you take an additional online classes and have a plan for the university. I quickly reduced some programs that emphasized outdoor field learning, with Vermont’s Sterling College as my best option.

Although Sterling offered more outdoor time than probably any other university, my first semester still left me wanting something else. During that period, I began to accelerate through the Books of Trails of the Apalaches such as walking through walks, a walk in the forest and tests of the Apalaches.

Springer’s fever hit me with all his strength. I decided to get out of school for the trail of the Apalaches before knowing that I could get credit for more cat.

Fortunately, a comprehensive advisor encouraged me to explore taking some independent studies on the trip to maintain my status of registration. He was sure that previous students had received credit for independent studies while traveling.

How I obtained university credit for up to the passage of

Before I realized, I met with the president of the University to discuss my plans to incorporate independent studies and through which they are carried out. To my surprise, he loved the idea. It helped me connect with the faculty for my independent study program and encouraged me to talk about my next adventure in a meeting of all schools.

At the next meeting, I made the announcement, looking for other students to join my walk. Two other students joined my plan and working with the faculty, we all design courses for our trip.

I created four independent studies:

1. Logistics for the planning of a walk
2. Field photography
3. Natural History of the Mountains of the Apalaches
4. PSYCHOLOGY THROUGH HIKER

The three work together in the logistics of planning a walk. The other three independent studies differed for each of us.

For my title, I specialized in environmental ecology and humanities, a program that explores the relationship of humans with the environment through the arts. The natural history of the mountains of the Apalaches and the photography of the country fit very well in my degree program, and through the psychology and logistics of the planning of a walk told as optional.

The courses

The university has a different schedule now, but when I attended Sterling, each semester began with an intensive session. This «intensive» lasted a couple of weeks and allowed students to concentrate on a course to completely immerse themselves in a subject or study abroad.

Together with the other two students, I attended Sterling’s winter intensive while preparing me for our walk. This allowed us to obtain some credits before our walk. As we were all in the same year, we all took a class called Bounder II, which focused on fundamental skills that would facilitate the rest of our time in Sterling.

During this time, we also work on the logistics of planning a walk. A member of the Sterling Faculty who taught field expeditions in the Southwest American, Labrador, and Sierra Sierra supervised this study while planning things as equipment, time and food. We would document and review our plans at the end of the walk.

For the most part, the other three studies had to be completed along the way. However, we spend the rest of the fall and early winter before the walking material for these courses. I read books on photography techniques in the desert, studies on the psychology of resistance athletes, ecology guides for eastern United States and more.

Along the way, I practiced taking photos of people, landscapes, streams, waterfalls, plants and wildlife for crossing photography.

To complete the natural history of the Mountains of the Apalaches, I learned to identify new species and documented the changes in the landscape and the composition of species while we walked further north. I also monitored the unusual characteristics, such as large patches of invasive species that we notice.

For psychology through Hiker, I kept a diary of my own emotional trip along the way and interviewed other hikers about their motivation and experience.

The cons of university credit

The obvious problem when studying while you have to study while it is through. There is nothing like putting in a long and hard day on the path just to get to the camp and realize that you need to write an entry into the newspaper, try to interview another hiker and take notes on the species that saw that day.

There were days when I was excited to do the job and many when I was too exhausted to do my best. Having to keep up with both during a walk sometimes made the trip feel more than an adventure.

The team was another problem.

Most hikers I know are obsessed with the weight of the pack. They reduce only to the necessary equipment and find the lighter version they can pay for items such as sleeping bags, stoves and tents.

Our independent studies meant that we had another team to worry about. For my journey photography course, I wore a DSLR camera, and for my natural history course, I had a field guide for wild flowers. The other students with me carried out items to take samples and natural equipment such as tweezers, measurement tape and a GPS to record information for the American Chestnut Foundation.

I do not remember exactly where, but at the beginning of our walk, an angel of trails weighed packages in a space in Georgia. He told us that until now, all our packages had been the heaviest that had passed that season. We laughed at the time, but it was far from ideal.

Frías and snow temperatures in Georgia, followed by two snow feet in the smoks, meant that I also clung to a cold weather team for a good part of my walk before sending it home to exchange a lighter team. I probably based on vitamin I during those first weeks.

«The university students»

When we made an effort to lighten our packages, we made decisions that other hikers would probably consider as madness. When we arrived in Virginia, we all slept under a canvas and shared a stove, in which we cook huge meals and distributed in three bowls.

As we rarely were more than a few meters away, we often observed to participate in strange behavior such as measuring trees, others through hikers often recognized us as «university children» in sight.

Today, I could probably replace much of our course team with an iPhone and a battery bank. I completed this through 2013, and although the iPhones existed, they were not part of my university students budget. Today, used phones are quite affordable and offer good quality photos, electronic book guides, applications to take notes, plants identification applications and more.

Professionals of University Credit

A great friend of my first year class sat next to me after returning to Sterling. He said: «I’m glad you have gone and have returned.» He told me that although I had never mentioned going, it seemed «flying» during my first semester, and that leaving the path of the Apalaches seemed to help me find my place in Sterling. I think he was right.

Through those who have reaffirmed many of my ideas about wanting a job and a lifestyle in which I could spend time outdoors, but also taught me many new things. People will surprise you with their kindness, and there are many rare ideas out there, so you don’t have to give up society completely.

The courses also improved my specific ways.

I think that the field photography course forced me to take more photos than would be otherwise, which helped me make me a better photographer and gave me many fun photos to look back.

The course of natural history that I took and part of the work that my friends did meant that we became much better to identify wild plants, trees and fungi on the way than their average hikers. This ability meant that we could search with confidence to complement our dinners.

Some of the things we ate on the path were frankly Gourmet. We chew winter crossbow leaves and balm fir resin, sauteed fresh fungi such as teeth and chicken in the forest, celebrated with fast leaves and black raspberries, and throw ortigas, ramps, wild onions and chicks in our noodles and snapshot.

All planning and research on human motivation and emotions during resistance trips probably facilitated my experience.

It’s worth it?

I would not change the way the path of the Appalaches was walking for the world. That said, it is probably not the easiest way to complete a walk. The university is not easy, even when you love what you are studying. It can also be a difficult time in life to finance a walk. My savings account had about four dollars when we arrived in Katahdin.

If this makes sense for you, it will depend on many factors, such as your financial situation, the largest study and the support system.

What universities will let you walk?

Sterling College is the four -year institution smaller accredited in the United States. They emphasize experimental education and independent learning, offering titles such as ecology, applied conservation biology and sustainable agricultural food systems. While they are not the only university to share similar values, I know that its unique structure played a role in the viability of this project.

That said, I cannot promise that Sterling will approve his trip, and there are other options to explore. The Emory & Henry University of Virginia offers a dedicated semester-A-Trail program, which allows full-time students to complete a walk. Another author of The Trek, Tilghman Moyer, completed this program in 2019.

Many small schools and universities offer students the opportunity to design independent study courses, as I did for Sterling. If you are currently registered in a school or postulates to schools now, it could be worth investigating this.

Students with specialties such as outdoor education, environmental studies, conservation or related fields can have better luck convincing their school that a walk applies to their education.

Through university credit it is excellent, but I do not recommend requesting a university just because they offer an option to walk. Be sure to love the degree program and the environment in school as well. His walk will be a significant part of his life and education, even if he does not obtain credit for it.

Outstanding image: Photo courtesy of Jordan Charbonneau; Graphic design by Zack Goldmann.