Appalachian Trail Hikers

 It is that time of spring when the northbound Appalachian Trail  hikers pass through our county. They are hiking their way from Georgia to Maine, covering two thousand, one hundred and ninety-seven miles on foot. We often see them resupplying at the supermarket or resting against their backpacks on the sidewalk of the Outdoor Trails store. This week, we hosted two hikers at our house whom our daughter referred to us. I drove down to the supermarket to pick them up and brought them back up to our house. The weather had become rainy and they were all too happy to have an overnight respite, a warm shower, and a home cooked meal. In all of our interactions with through hikers over the years, we have found them to be polite, kind, and very interesting people. They are adventurous and happy. We admire their spirit for undertaking such a huge task. The qualities in these fine people always reinforce my faith in humanity.

Meet 'Styles' and Night Watch". Their trail names are given to them by other hikers for a particular reason and that is how they are known for the duration of their hike. They were a delight to host and we wish them Godspeed on their adventure.