The last five miles of the Appalachian Trail is a daunting hike up Mount Katahdin, a 5,628-foot peak in Maine. Though only a small fraction of the length of the trail, it is by far the most challenging portion of the hike.
Georgia Harris and Randy Motz stood at the base of the mountain on Sept. 25, 2006, with mixed feelings about the final leg of their journey. For the past six months, the couple had traveled through 14 states, walked 2,169 miles, and done it all together as a married couple of 16 years.
“You’re so drained emotionally,” Motz said. “It’s bittersweet. You’re glad it’s done, but you don’t want it to end.”
Motz and Harris, then 56 and 47, respectively, finished the trail that day, accomplishing the goal they set out for themselves five years before.
Are there any goals you still have?
Motz: We want to continue hiking, and we’ve got some other trails that we would like to hike, like the John Muir Trail, the Long Trail and a trail in the United Kingdom to hike from coast to coast.
Do you have a favorite hiking book?
Harrris: It’s called “Walking on the Happy Side of Misery.” I picked it up and started scanning through it in Damascus, Va., about a quarter of the way into the hike. I was kind of miserable then, my feet were hurting, and I went, “Oh, I am not going to read this now!” So that was one of the first books I picked up when we were done.
Do you have any favorite local hiking spots?
Motz: On the Appalachian Trail, from Harpers Ferry heading north to South Mountain, there’s a lot of pretty places there and shelters.
Any advice for new hikers?
Harris: Read as much as you can, talk to as many people as you can and get involved with the local trail clubs. We learned a lot about hiking from the Potomac Appalachian Trail newsletter.
In 2001, the Germantown couple was re-evaluating their lives. With their four child grown up and moving out, they needed something to do. Health was important because both of their families have a history of diabetes.
“We were worried about physical fitness and exercise, and something that was a little bit more of a challenge,” Harris said. Hiking the Appalachian Trail “was the first thing that popped into my head.”
The couple dove into the task of preparing for the hike. It would take five years to get ready and find a six-month period when they could both take off from their jobs: Harris works for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and Motz worked for a recording studio in Rockville.
They took classes on hiking tactics, wilderness safety and medical treatments. They researched and tested hiking equipment, eventually adopting a philosophy Motz calls comfort hiking to ensure they were never stressed beyond their limits on the trail.
“If you don’t get a good night’s sleep, it ultimately catches up with you on the trail,” Motz said.
And they hiked, trying to acclimate themselves to the Appalachian’s conditions. Before they left, the couple hiked the entire C&O Canal, and hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail in Vermont.
On March 25, 2006, Harris and Motz arrived at Springer Mountain in Georgia, the southernmost tip of the trail, to begin the hike. With their packs weighing in at 38 pounds, they were prepped with everything needed to survive.
The only item they still needed periodically was food. Before leaving, Harris and Motz prepared boxes full of vacuum-sealed food to be mailed to post offices in towns along the trail. They also hitchhiked into towns to eat at buffets and occasionally buy other supplies.
“All the food you prepare looks really good to you at home,” Harris said, “but when you eat the same thing every day, it starts to get old.”
For their health concerns, the trail was a perfect solution. Each day, Harris and Motz hiked an average of 12 miles, burning between 4,000 and 6,000 calories, the equivalent of running two marathons.
“It’s stress-relieving,” Randy said. “It’s a very simple life. And we were able to share the experience.”
Exactly six months to the day they began hiking, Harris and Motz completed the trail, and were able to list their names among the 10,000 hikers who finished the trail before them.
Three years later, hiking is still a crucial part of their lives. Their home is decorated with pictures and tokens from the trail. Motz, whose job had been filled when they returned home, wrote a book about their hike. Both are active members of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, which manages 1,200 miles of trails in the mid-Atlantic region. They travel to nearby hiking outposts to give presentations on their trip and help others prepare.
And of they’re always still looking for the next trail to hike. Harris and Motz recently traveled to New Mexico and Arizona to hike in the desert and learn about American Indian cultures.
“We’re more active now than we’ve ever been,” Harris said. Hiking the Appalachian Trail will “change the way you look at everything.”
