Three Marquette hikers find drama, solitude and themselves ...
On the trail of a dream Three Marquette dreamers have begun solo mystic journeys hiking north along the 2,000-mile-plus Appalachian Trail. The trio hopes to experience an eleven-state, six-month spiritual trek that they've completed many times in their dreams. Meanwhile, three members of a Harvey family plan to join one of the hikers in August for two or three days of her adventure.
Yoopers on the trail are church secretary Jennifer Zabkiewicz, 29, and retired meteorologist Jack Pellett, 58. College student Mike Reynolds, 19, will resume his journey on May 8. Other trail hikers have awarded the three their "trail names": Church Lady, Weatherman and Spiderman.

You'd Better Like Spiders and Snakes— and Bears
Hiking the trail is a breeze if you don't mind warding off hungry bears, jumping over snakes, sleeping with persistent chewing mice, being devoured by billions of bugs, climbing steep mountains, walking over fifteen miles a day, stinking from only weekly showers, eating dried food, and possibly not seeing or talking to anybody for five days.
But where else can you have a brush with a "trail angel," spot a variety of wildlife, drink sweet water from springs, immerse your senses in the calmness found only in solitude, shuffle through a thick carpet of wildflowers, lay under the stars, and breathe crisp, fresh air which exists only in wilderness that few Americans can even imagine?
For decades, about 3,000 hikers have embarked yearly on the Appalachian Trail journey. Those starting at Springer Mountain, Georgia, usually begin heading north in early April, while those starting at Mount Katahdin, Maine, wait for the spring melt before going south.

2,168 Miles of Dreams, Streams, and Nature Themes
It stretches 2,168 miles over varied terrain, not counting the eight-and-a-half-mile walk up to the southern starting line on a north Georgia mountain.
Connecticut conservationist Benton MacKaye first dreamed of creating the Appalachian Trail in a 1921 article that appeared in a national architecture journal, according to the book, The Appalachian Trail: How to Prepare for and Hike it. MacKaye was a forester and regional planner who wondered what the Industrial Age was doing to man and nature.
A conference was held four years later, and by 1927, Maine native Myron Avery became the driving force, determined to see MacKaye's dream become real. In 1937 the trail opened, but it was closed the next year by a devastating hurricane. It didn't reopen until 1951 because of setbacks, including World War II.
By 1968 the trail was federally protected, and has been expanded and improved every year since, thanks to countless volunteers and trail clubs.

Words Fall Short Because the Trail is Not
Hikers will tell you they experience a nearly hypnotic immersion into deep thought, with blue skies in their mind, and serenity in their eyes, while walking away the weeks and stepping with the past, along the Appalachian Trail.
A trail that can't be conquered or mastered, one can only hope to live better as a human for having ventured forward every dewy morning or slipped without a seam into weary dreams every night, along the Appalachian Trail.

The First Step Toward the Rest of Her Life
On April 2, Jennifer "Church Lady" Zabkiewicz began her trek; by Saturday April 6 she'd reached the 50-mile marker near the quaint north Georgia town of Helen that smacks of turn-of-the-century Alps villages. By Saturday, April 13, she was near the 124-mile marker at an elder hostel in North Carolina.
Learning adventures began her first night when she tried to hang her food bag by a rope on a tall tree to keep away black bears. She put too much effort into tossing the rope up onto the tree.
"I got my cord wrapped around the tree,

and it wrapped and wrapped and wrapped around a branch," Zabkiewicz said. She got blisters on her fingers from pulling on the cord.
   "I got the line all tangled up, and I had to climb a different tree a couple times to get it down," she said.
   Another day she dropped all of her clothes into a stream. The clothes were in a compression sack that shrinks everything to the size of a big cantelope or small watermelon.
   "I was pulling a lot of stuff out of my bag to rehydrate dinner with water, and my clothes rolled down this little embankment and into the stream," Zabkiewicz said.

"I Hate Those Meeces to Pieces"
Then there are the tenacious mice, which will chew through anything if there is even a hint of food.
   "The one thing to look out for in the shelters is the mice," Zabkiewicz said. "The mice got one of the guys I'm hiking with three times."
   These savvy mice know all the tricks of hiding food from hikers and bears. They have learned to climb like mini-acrobats in search of grub.
   Another time, "The mice climbed on top of my food bag and ate a hole through the mesh in [another hiker's] tent to get inside and go after a wrapper from a peanut butter cup," she said. "The mice could smell that wrapper. They didn't realize the candy was gone.
   "When you're in a shelter you leave all the zippers in your pack open because if the mice want to go in, they can just climb in and out, and see what's in there, and see you have nothing," she said. "Otherwise they will eat holes through your pack."
   But to "Church Lady," the mice and other incidents represent only a few minor setbacks. She described the first two weeks as "a lot easier than I expected," but acknowledged that the steep path through the Great Smokey Mountains was just miles ahead.
   "Tomorrow it will be eight miles straight up," she said. "We're actually going to shoot for sixteen miles tomorrow to reach a shelter. We aren't sure if we're going to make it. I have heard it's really rough.
   "It was really cold the first week I was out, down in the thirties, just like home," Zabkiewicz joked by phone during an overnight stop in North Carolina. "It was nicer during the day but at night it was colder."

Homemade Dried Shrimp Brings New Meaning to a "Light Lunch"
Hikers must carefully plan what to bring and what not to bring. Everything taken adds weight to their backpack.
   Zabkiewicz carries about two pounds of food per day, as her family is sending food parcels to predesignated post offices or rest areas along the trail.
   "I am also carrying a little butter and a little oil and a couple spices," said Zabkiewicz, who dried her own food before leaving. "I have been having shepherd's pie, scalloped potatoes and ham, and turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes.
   "Yesterday I had shrimp, carrots and rice with cocktail sauce," she chuckled. "The guys that I am hiking with are real happy because I haven't quite gotten my hiker appetite yet. So I can only eat half of my meals and they are getting all the rest."
   Future mail drops with food include tacos, green beans and pasta, she said.

Trail Angels Fly Guard Over Weary Hikers with Gifts from Heaven
Fluttering wings are a common sound on the Appalachian Trail, but hikers find kindness under the wings of "trail angels." A trail angel is anyone who gives food, drink or assistance to hikers.
   In Hog Pen Gap, Georgia, one angel provided a cooler full of beer to some hikers traveling with Zabkiewicz, who doesn't drink alcohol. But the cold brews were popular with the other hikers.
   "That angel had also just been fishing and caught a whole bunch of rainbow trout, which he fried up and shared with us," she said.
   Another trail angel turned out to be a female worker at a North Carolina information center, who volunteered to drive Zabkiewicz to the nearest Catholic church after trying to locate other Catholics in the area.
   "She drove me to church even though she isn't Catholic," Zabkiewicz said. "She also took me through an Arby's drive-thru so I could get some food afterwards and brought me back here (to the information center)."

Wanderlust Brings Hikers Closer to God, Nature, and the Meaning of Life
A native of Livonia (near Detroit), Zabkiewicz followed her family to Marquette in 1995 after graduating from Alma College. She has been the secretary at the St. Louis the King Catholic Church in Harvey for over six years.
   Her job coupled with attending many church services along the trail inspired other hikers to give her the official trail name, "Church Lady." Most hikers earn a trail name based on personality, profession or trail experience.
   Zabkiewicz has taken a leave of absence from her job and must return by October 15, but she expects to reach the end of the trail in mid-to-late September.
   All hikers travel at their own speed, and most sleep in shelters along the trail, while others take small tents. Impromptu meetings with fellow hikers sometimes cause the creation of teams who travel together for a few days.

From Great Distances, They Hike Great Distances
Only the fifth summer of backpacking in her life, Zabkiewicz has met more hikers in a few weeks than during all of her other trips combined. She briefly teamed up with hikers from Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Tennessee and England.
   "I love hiking so much, and I love being out in the woods; I've only done a four-day trip before this and it was never long enough," Zabkiewicz said. "The AT sounded fun, and I wanted to see if I was up to the challenge."

Marriage "Alters" Trail Journey
Hikers often have reasons for short trips off the trail, whether it's visiting a small town, relatives or friends.
   "I have an uncle who lives in West Virginia, so I am going to stop and stay three days with him at the end of June," Zabkiewicz said. "And I have a friend in Pennsylvania, so I am going to visit him and his family for three days at the beginning of July. My cousin is getting married in New Jersey on July 13, and I should be right around the spot where the wedding is at that time," she said. "So they are going to pick me up from the trail."
   Zabkiewicz's other activites have included women's league softball, crocheting and downhill skiing; but this summer's journey promises to change her life.

Weatherman Travels Like the Wind Across the Trail
At last report, Zabkiewicz was six days behind Jack Pellett, who has been leaving messages for her in hiker sign-in books.
   Pellett retired in June 2001 from the National Weather Service office in Negaunee Township. A former emergency warning coordinator, he left behind early spring flooding in Marquette County for the Appalachian Trail.
   Pellet left March 26, and by April 17 was emerging from a six-day stretch through the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, visiting with his dad in Morristown, Tennessee, some three weeks into a twenty-five-year dream.
   The seventy-mile mountain hike took Pellett through Rocky Top, Tennessee. He endured foggy rain while peaking Clingman's Dome, the highest point on the Appalachian Trail at 6,600 feet.
   "Other parts of the Smokeys have been absolutely magical, walking on these knife-edge ridges," said Pellett, who first backpacked in Boy Scouts.

The Forecast: Mostly Glorious with Scattered Greatness and Intermittent Wonder
"The whole ridge that the trail is on is hardly ever wider than the trail and you're looking down hundreds or thousands of feet on either side," Pellett said, adding that wildflowers such as trilliums and Jack-in-the-Pulpits carpet some sides of the trail.
   Mountain hiking can mean a 3,000-foot elevation gain in one day, as the trail "is never just flat," said Pellett, who is averaging twelve miles a day, and fifteen miles on good days.
   "Everything that goes down must come up," Pellett joked about the literal ups and downs of mountain hiking. "You get along a ridgeline sometimes, but then you drop down into the gaps, and then there's another climb right out again, sometimes 1,000 or 1,500 feet up."

Hiking Across The U.S. Starts at Home
Pellett and Zabkiewicz used the nearly vertical road up Mount Marquette and nearby snow-buried trails to prepare for their Appalachian Trail adventure. Both hope to arrive at the north end of the trail in mid-September.
   "I think the training helped a lot," Pellett said. "We were hiking through the snow."
   The steep hill on MountMarquette is typical of some of the Appalachian Trail, he said.
   "We're going over stuff that is that steep. There are places steeper than the Mount Marquette road."

Trailing No Others
One of the toughest and most strenuous of backpacking trails, the Appalachian takes a lot of planning. (Ironically, Pellett only has hiked portions of the North Country Trail, which includes a stint across the U.P.)
   The two other almost comparable trails are the Continental Divide across the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Crest Trail that begins in Baja, splits California, and reaches the state of Washington.
   "The Appalachian Trail is rated the
toughest just because of it being so rocky and so much up and down," Pellett said. "The others have higher elevations and different challenges, like snow."
   Pellett's first footsteps on the Appalachian Trail were placed in the 1980s, when the then-assistant scout master took a large troop of Boy Scouts on numerous backpacking trips, including Mexico. They hiked short portions of the Appalachian Trail that Pellett will cross again toward the end of his trip.
   "The Appalachian Trail is one of the ultimate experiences in backpacking," said a re-energized Pellett. "It's been a lot like I expected it would be.
   "I don't think it has been as hard as I thought it would be mainly because I am carrying a lighter pack than I used to carry when backpacking. I take it slow and easy and kind of listen to my body."

No Average Days on Above Average Trail
An average day on the trail begins at 8:00 a.m. for Pellett, although it could be argued that all days are "above average" on the Appalachian Trail. Pellett usually hikes until about 5:00 p.m. and then begins looking for a place to camp.
   "Sometimes I camp alone on a ridge," he explained. "It gets to be about five or six o'clock in the evening, and so I just set down stakes."
   Pellett carries a small tent, but sometimes sleeps in the shelters that are spaced along the trail. Some tiny, older shelters are double-decker "and claustrophobic," with about twenty campers stuffed into an area the size of an average living room.
   "That's a little close quarters for me — I've only spent three or four nights in the shelters," said Pellett, who prefers a tent to the shelters that are crawling with mice.
   You can't hike the Appalachian without battling mice for rations. Pellett witnessed mice eating wool socks and a hat belonging to another hiker, after eating through a backpack.
   "I'd rather take my chances out there in a tent with the bears than inside the shelters with the mice," Pellett said. "They know where the food is and where the campers are."
   Several Yoopers plan to backpack small portions of the trail with Pellett and Zabkiewicz. Pellett's wife, Pat, will join him

in Virginia. Friends and relatives will join the fun in Maryland.
   Pat Pellett also dries food and sends packages to mail drops along the trail for her husband to pick up. Hikers burn 4,000 to 6,000 calories per day, Pellet said.
   "The amount of carbohydrates and fat that you eat certainly affects your performance while hiking," he said. "It's very difficult to get enough carbs and calories to do this kind of hiking."
   For about two weeks in April, Pellett was hiking at the same pace as several others. He met hikers from across the U.S.
   "It seems like the same group was pretty much going at the same pace," said Pellett, who separated from the group April 17 in Davenport Gap, Tennessee, to visit his father.
   "I don't know if I will catch up to them or see them again or not," Pellett said. "They
were all younger than I am. It was a real congenial group. We had a good time together.
   "They were from all over. The area that has the most hikers that I have found is Massachusetts. They apparently have a real big hiking community up there."
   Pellet prefers hiking alone, but doesn't mind natural company, such as hawks, eagles, buzzards and deer.

Easter Bunny Turns Into Trail Angel
Easter 2002 on a steep section of the trail was a bit holier as a family of trail angels invited Pellett and others to join in their feast. A rainy, cold Easter afternoon soon turned bright, as Pellett ate with the family in the north Georgia Mountains.
   "It wasn't a pleasant Easter morning," Pellett stated. "There at this gap up on the trail was a family setting up a tarp. They asked if I wanted to eat Easter dinner with them. Every year, they have an Easter dinner on the trail for any hikers that come through. That was real special."
   While the Smokey Mountains are said to be the toughest part of the trip, Pellett expects challenging hiking in New Hampshire mountains and in Maine.
   "We spent a lot of time at over 6,000 feet
in the Smokey Mountains," Pellett said. "It was real spectacular scenery. It was incredible."
   He says the continuous hiking triggers tunes in his head that help melt away the miles.
   "You get a tune in your head—it might be some church tune, or the University of Wisconsin fight song. It just goes on; it's hard to get out of your mind," Pellett said. "You get a pace or rhythm with that sort of thing."

Spiderman Drops in on Trail
Northern Michigan University freshman Mike Reynolds hiked 383 miles of the Appalachian Trail last summer, and will resume where he left off. Reynolds will leave from Elk Park, North Carolina, on May 8 to complete the remaining 1,800 miles to Maine.
   Reynolds gained the nickname Spiderman while teaching rock climbing to Cub Scouts in Colorado. "They said I climbed like a spider," he said.
   "The Appalachian Trail is every backpackers dream," said Reynolds, who first starting camping with his parents at age six.
   This Eagle Scout can't wait to soar along the mountain tops, great training for his plans to one day become a backpacking or mountain climbing guide. Majoring in outdoor education, Reynolds may also get into an environmental profession.
   Last year, Reynolds averaged 14 to 16 miles per day, and expects to maintain that rate this summer.

Outback in God's Country Leaves Hikers Speechless
"Backpacking is one of the most peaceful ways to get in touch with nature and closer to God than I can imagine," Reynolds said.
   "It's pristine. It's beautiful," he said. "Yeah, it rains, you get wet, and you get blisters but I can't really describe the beauty behind it."
   To read more about Reynolds 2001 trip check out his journal/website. www.reynoldsindiana.net.
– Greg Peterson

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