James Sharpe, of Ellicott City, recently hiked the entire Appalachian Trail.
The 2,174-mile trail runs though 15 states, from Springer Mountain, Ga., to Mount Katahdin, Maine.
Sharpe, 25, spoke with The Examiner about the six-month trek.
Not everyone who starts a so-called thru-hike finishes. What was the hardest leg of the trip?
The hardest part is definitely the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the whole state of Maine.
It?s a lot harder at the top.
It?s incredibly more steep than the Maryland section.
In the White Mountains, most people are day hikers, but we had extended-trip backpacks, so we were carrying a lot more as we went up and down.
The trek can really test a person?s sanity. Did you reach your breaking point?
I did stay fairly sane most of the time.
Everyone has those breaking points where they want to quit.
The hardest part is mental, but if you surround yourself with friends and take it easy, you can get past that part.
Were you ever afraid for your safety?
[One] night in the White [Mountains] where I was camping in the wilderness, and the trees were so dense you couldn?t set up a tent, so I just plopped down in my bag.
At 1:30 a.m., I heard a noise and as I shuffled to hear what it was, I heard a bear galloping off.
That freaked me out.
It was definitely a bear.
Do you have advice for hikers considering it?
My advice would be spend a weeklong trip by yourself and carry a notebook and record everything.
You realize only when you are out there what you would do differently.
It?s helpful to practice beforehand.
I hadn?t done that.
