ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL

According to Appalachian Trail Conservancy, only one in four people who attempt a thruhike of the Appalachian Trail successfully complete it. Not many attempt it in the first place; it’s a 2,194.3-mile trail passing through 14 states from Georgia to Maine.

Stephan Say, ’20, a Cumberlands wrestler who earned his degree in criminal justice, completed the Appalachian Trail in October 2022 with a new outlook on life.

Why did you decide to try a thru-hike?

A friend from work said we should hike the AT, and I was like, “What is that?” Then he told me about the Appalachian Trail, and I did research. Among other things, I watched a YouTube video called “Appalachian Trail: A Journey to the Soul,” where this guy who had depression hiked it. I understood. I was feeling depressed at the time. I lost my dad in 2021, and since 2015 I’ve lost about a dozen people who were close to me. I would see other people so happy and full of life, and it would upset me because I was anything but. So, this hike went from something I kind of wanted to do to something I absolutely had to do. I knew once I set foot on that trail that there was no turning back for me. It was all or nothing.

How did you prepare for the hike?

I feel like the only way to prepare for a thru-hike is to thru-hike. No matter what I did, it was still trial by fire in Georgia. It was very, very rough. That said, I did a ton of research on hiking gear and on what the experience of the hike would be like, which helped me set my expectations. Still, researching is nothing like living through it. I pretty much winged the entire trip.

Tell us about your journey.

I started in Georgia on April 15th, and I didn't actually get to the trail until my second day because I purposefully started on the "approach trail," which is at the bottom of a mountain, hiking up.

I swapped out most of the gear I started with; there are hiker boxes on the trail where you can drop off whatever you don't want and pick up whatever's in the box that you'd rather have. I went through five different pairs of shoes. There are a lot of shelters hikers can stay in along the trail, which was helpful sometimes. Normally, I slept in my hammock. I hiked in spring and summer, so it wasn't too cold.

I ate Ramen bombs — Ramen noodles and potatoes — for about six months. It's pretty much impossible to keep on weight out there. The guys end up looking like the "Walking Dead" by the end of it, and the women look like supermodels.

I mostly hiked on my own, but, when I saw people, I would strike up conversation and stick with them for a while. I talk a lot, so people started calling me Motor Mouth, which is my trail name now. Hardcore hikers all have a trail name based on something about them.

I finished on October 15th, exactly six months after I started.

What did you gain from the experience?

One thing I learned is to "embrace the suck." Not everything is gonna go to plan, but you have to keep trudging through. Overall, I am not the same person I was when I started it. It changed me more than I could ever describe. I feel so happy, so full of life. I have the childlike wanderlust like when I was a kid. It was the best experience of my life and just all-around spectacular.

Are you planning any other thru-hikes?

Yes. There are many trails I want to complete, some longer, some shorter. Of the longest ones I want to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail, which is 2,653 miles, and the Continental Divide Trail, which is 3,028 miles. If I do all three, that's the Triple Crown of Hiking here in the U.S.