This past summer I was fortunate enough to make several backpacking trips to the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania. The Appalachian Trail spans from Georgia through to Maine, weaving through the Appalachian Mountain range. The total length of the trail is approximately 2,200 miles. Some dedicated people, known as thru-hikers, complete the trail in its entirety which usually takes at least 6 months to complete. These people are easily some of the friendliest and most interesting people I have ever met.

The trail is very well marked and maintained, with more reliable water sources. These aspects make the Appalachian Trail (AT) ideal for backpacking for any length of time. I have hiked a section in central PA with the pinnacle overlook a few times.

A topographical map of the area

Hikers use maps and a compass to navigate these trails. A topographical map is helpful because it also includes information about elevation by drawing bands that represent each elevation level. In this case the elevation change between any two adjacent bands is 20 ft. Hikers use the line density to determine the slope of the trails at certain points, and choose the best path to their destination. On my trips I was able to visit both the pinnacle and Pulpit rock. These are both great overlook points, and characterize well the common points of interest that would be passed every day or so while hiking the trail.

View from the Pinnacle	Me looking over the edge of pulpit rock

The pinnacle, however, is more than just an overlook, the cliff face is scattered with caves to explore. Being able to go caving is a rare experience, they are not too common of a geological feature, and most large caves are now closed off and are dedicated to tourism. The pinnacle’s caves were very narrow (and dark), so I don’t have any pictures. Anyway, we entered the largest cave through a chimney; this is an opening about 4-5 ft. across where climbers wedge themselves between the walls to make the climb. I was the first to go down and a few feet into my descent I dropped my flashlight, and watched it fall about two or so stories down into the darkness. After I heard it smash into the rocks below, I realized how I too would smash if I fell. I have a Maglite (big metal flashlight) so it survived the fall somehow. Further into the cave, it became progressively narrower. Towards the end, or what we thought was the end, we saw something weird on the top of the wall. Unknowingly shining our lights on it, we quickly realized that it was a sleeping bat. WAS a sleeping bat. So now we have 6 kids and a bat all freaking out in a 3ft high cave, all realizing that there is nowhere to go. After a mad scramble, we all dove to the ground, covering our faces, and the bat was able to escape. Looking back I feel like batman just a little.

Backpacking with friends is a great experience; you make memories that last a lifetime. I’ll leave you with two pictures of my friend Chris at the pinnacle.

Two pictures of Chris on pride rock