Tri-County Citizen

Chesaning graduate to hike over 2,000 miles on Appalachian Trail






Former Chesaning High School graduate Zachary Colston will hike the entirety of the Appalachian Trail, over 2,000 miles from Georgia to Maine, starting April 11.

Former Chesaning High School graduate Zachary Colston will hike the entirety of the Appalachian Trail, over 2,000 miles from Georgia to Maine, starting April 11.

The Appalachian Trail is a breathtaking American landscape, with over 2,000 miles of scenic trails that traverse through 14 states and many of the highest mountains of the Appalachian Mountain range. One Chesaning High School graduate has plans to complete the footpath that stretches between Maine and Georgia.

Zachary Colston, a 2004 Chesaning graduate, plans to begin a six-month trek through the trail starting Monday, April 11. He will begin his journey in Springer Mountain, Georgia and head northbound toward Mount Katahdin, Maine. He wishes to complete the trail at the end of September.

Most travelers who undertake the “thru-hiking” journey, which means hiking the entire AT within a single year, start in March or mid-April and head northbound in Georgia. Southbound hikers generally begin late May to mid-June and start in Maine.

Colston will endure terrain that ranges from gentle woodlands to near vertical rock formations. The trail can lead hikers from areas with frequent access to roads, to high ridges where highways are elusive for days on end.

Most “thru-hikers” or “2,000-milers,” complete the trek between five and a half to seven months, and about 80 percent of hikers who begin the trail fail to complete it. That, coupled with possible dangers of limited resources and the threats of injury of danger from wild animals, and one can see how this local resident is about to undertake the journey of a lifetime.

It appears the 30-year-old is no stranger to adventure, having spent the last ten years living and working year-round on Mackinac Island, where his hiking skills first were put to use, he said.

He first began aspiring to complete the Appalachian Trail around eight years ago.

“I’ve known about (the trail) for a long time and its always been something I’ve wanted to do,” he said. He traveled to Maine with a friend three years ago and hiked some of Mt. Katahdin’s hardest terrain there.

“I figured if I can do that (hike Mt. Katahdin) I can do the rest of it,” he said, adding that the final inspiration came this year.

“I was writing a book this past November, and one of the characters is an outdoorsman, and so this (trip) was inspired by that,” he said.

“I figured, ‘why wait?’ I might as well do it now.”

Months of diligent research and studying the trail’s official hiking guide have helped prepare him for the journey, he said. He also hikes regularly in Florida, where he currently resides. Colston is there now working to save money for his pending trip; the average cost of which is about $3,000 – not including gear.

His lone companion will be a 20 to 30-pound backpack condensed to the bare essentials. Its contents will include maps, hiking guides and other necessary information as well as a tent, sleeping pad, and specialized socks and undergarments made to keep in body heat and repel moisture. His food requirements will be two pounds per day and he plans to carry three to six pounds of food on him at all times. He will also be equipped with a 1.75-liter container for water and a unique, bagged filtration system, he said.

On a good day of terrain and weather, Colston said he plans to trek about 13 miles on average.

As far as sleeping provisions, the majority of time he will use his tent and camp out in nature, though certain times will call for a hotel-stay.

“There will be times when I will want to stay in a hotel, take a shower, clean clothes, re-supply, etc. There are some spots I’ve marked on my itinerary where there’s no shelter along the way except going into town,” he said.

The threat of bears, snakes and wild boars is very mild, according to AT hiking guides. Though precautions should be made to protect hikers and their food, there is little worry of these animals causing any serious harm.

“Obviously they (wild animals) are out there, but it’s not a worry of mine. I know the precautions I have to take, such as hanging my food in bear bags. From what I’ve read, bears don’t really bother people, though there are rattlesnakes in the rocky areas that hide under the rocks,” Colston said.

Through his months of travel, he will step foot in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

“I realize it (the hike) gets too tough for many, but personally I don’t find this intimidating. Unless something really bad happens that’s out of my control, I’m not going to stop,” the hiker said.

“There’s the threat of injuries and things, but you just have to be cautious, listen to your body and take it easy. There will be what they call zero-miles day, where I won’t walk at all, in order to give my body a break.”

For this former Chesaning high school graduate, the experience is a dream come true and once in a lifetime opportunity.

“Overall, it’s kind of one of those bucket list things. I would be disappointed if I looked back when I was old and had never done it.”

“My dad says I’m retiring before I start my career. I don’t want to be stuck somewhere in a job with kids before I do this – I want to do all these things now before I start my life,” Colston said.

After his journey through the Appalachians, Colston plans to return to Michigan for the holidays before heading off to Seattle with plans of possibly completing his master’s degree. The author, who holds a bachelor’s degree in creative writing, also plans to document his hiking experiences in his next book.

According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the AT is almost 2,190 miles long and takes the hiker through about a dozen small towns. It also passes through eight different national forests, six national park units and numerous state parks, forests, and game lands.

For more information, visit appalachiantrail.org.


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