David Mansell, a 19-year-old from Houserville, and a 2019 graduate of State College Area High School, determined at age 13 that he wanted to research, prepare and hopefully someday complete the Appalachian Trail — a 2,200 mile hike from Maine to Georgia.
He financed the trip by working throughout high school. Following graduation in June of 2019, Mansell had acquired the gear necessary, trained and saved enough money to begin. He started his adventure on the Appalachian Trail in early July 2019 in Maine and finished at the southern terminus of the trail in Georgia in December.
Q: Where did you begin and what were you thinking as you started off on the 2,200-mile hike?
A: I started at Baxter State Park in Maine at the base of Mount Katahdin. You actually have to make your way to the top of Mount Katahdin to officially start the Appalachian Trail. The”‘starting line” for SoBo’s (south bound hikers) is at the peak of the mountain.
The first day was a mix of thoughts. Can I? Should I? What am I in store for here? Some excitement mixed with some nerves. My dad and brother had driven me to Maine and were with me when I began my trek up Mount Katahdin. They stayed at the base camp and waited to see how I was feeling after I made my way to the top and the starting point of the trail and then hiked back down the mountain to the base camp. I should say also that my parents, my brothers and my whole family really supported me during the year or so it took me to plan, save and get my gear together.
After accomplishing the first leg of the trail, getting my blood flowing, and returning down Mount Kathadin, I told them they could go home, I was feeling good and ready to go. I stayed in a lean-to shelter at the base of the mountain that night, and then the next morning I hit the trail for my first, full-day of hiking. The family was gone and so I was ready. I guess I had to be at that point.
MOUNT KATAHDIN in Maine. This marks the actual starting point for south bound hikers and northern most point of the Appalachian Trail.
Q: Hiking the Appalachian Trail alone must’ve been a little scary. But you didn’t hike alone for long did you?
A: Being alone on trail was at first kind of scary, but I learned early that you’re never really alone. I’ve never thought I was very good at meeting people and I told my dad that was one of my concerns. He told me that he figured I would learn how to talk to people because it was going to become completely necessary to do it. He was right. It was one of several doubts I had about this whole thing that the Appalachian Trail forced me to overcome. In my first few days, I passed several No-Bo’s (north bound hikers) who were on the last leg of their hike and heading towards Mount Kathadin where I had started. Most were willing to give me good advice and encouragement. Also, there were some SoBo’s who started out from Baxter State Park around the same time I did and we crossed paths now and then. It became obvious early on that there was a really strong “community” of thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail who are looking out for each other and willing to help any way they can.
On my second full-day on trail, I pushed through 25 miles and made my way to a camp area around sunset. Going 25 miles so early in my trip didn’t seem like a very good idea at first. I was sore, tired and thinking I may not be physically ready for a walk through 14 states.
That night at the camp area I met two fellow SoBo’s who were from Pittsburgh. I was wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates hat and they asked if I was from Pennsylvania. Throughout the evening we talked about the Steelers, the Penguins, how crazy this thru-hiking seemed and our shared goal to try to finish the trail. The following morning, we all decided to hike together for a while.
Long story short — we stayed together from Maine to Georgia and we finished the trail together in December.
THE “TRAMILY” of south bound hikers who met in Maine and completed the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail on Dec. 23, 2019. Pictured, clockwise from left, are Gretzky, Maverick, Rabbit, Ditto and Goose, as they were referred to by their trail names.
I should probably explain “trail names” here. Every hiker is given a “trail name” by fellow hikers. Usually the name has something to do with the hiker’s personality or a physical trait, or maybe a back story about their life. On our first day together, I gave both of my new friends from Pittsburgh their trail names. “Maverick” and “Goose” because they were both in the military and reminded me of the “Top Gun” characters — one leading the way, while the other navigated. They in return gave me my trail name based on my years of playing hockey back home in State College. For the next five months I would be known as “Gretzky.”
Along the way we met two more hikers who would become part of our “tramily” (trail family) — “Ditto,” from New Jersey and “Rabbit” from New York City. We met “Ditto” in the 100 Mile Wilderness in northern Maine and ‘Rabbit’ a few days after that. They were good guys and both continued with us throughout the remainder of the trail.
Our “tramily” of five didn’t always stay together on the trail. Sometimes a few of us would feel like pushing ahead while others weren’t feeling as motivated and wanted to take it easy for a day, or stop in a town to see a Steelers game on TV. Even other times I found that I wanted to go out on my own and hike solo for a day. Weird to think now that after a few months, one of my initial concerns (being alone) was at times something I really needed for a day or two. We always stayed in touch through texts and would ultimately meet up at a designated spot like a selected hostel, camp area or town and start out the next morning together again. They were all great to hike with and very supportive. We built a strong brotherhood and will no doubt remain life-long friends.
Q: What were some of the highlights of your hike from Maine to Georgia?
A: There is a lot of great scenery and cool places on the trail, but the first six to eight weeks spent hiking through New England probably offered some of the most beautiful scenery.
Maine, and the 100 Mile Wilderness, is an early challenge for south bounders on the trail and it is very cool. The Presidential Mountain range in New Hampshire was imposing but had amazing scenery. Some of my favorite days on the trail were spent going over the Presidential Mountains. One cool memory I have is when we were hiking through the eastern edge of New York near Peekskill. We were in the middle of the woods on a mountain side and could look way off into the distance and see the New York City skyline.
Getting through the “Four-State Challenge” was a really tough day, but now I see it as a highlight of the trip. There is an area of the trail in southern Pennsylvania where, if you time it right, and the weather cooperates, you can make it from over the Pennsylvania line and through Maryland, a corner of West Virginia, and then into Virginia. Four states in one day. It was a long and difficult day, and although a big bobcat considered making my last few miles a little more interesting, I made it to Virginia. It was about a 17-hour hike that day.
A nice thing about the Four-State Challenge is that it gave us a goal to complete on a one-day hike. Most days you are just trying to get to the next town, hostel or camp area to secure a lean-to shelter or a level spot to set up your tent. The Four-State Challenge gave one day on the trail a larger meaning — a kind of finish line in the middle of this huge trail.
Finishing the trail and arriving at Springer Mountain in Georgia was a huge highlight. Guess that’s obvious. We had actually done this thing. It was a little weird to think that we didn’t have to hike anymore. Somewhere in the middle of Virginia the trip stopped being an adventure and became a mission. There were days we really didn’t want to go any further, but we had too. We came here to finish this thing, and we had to keep moving no matter what, became the mindset.
Hiking with a “tramily” that offers support and a kick in the butt when needed was a big help. Completing the trail felt great. And doing it with the Maverick, Goose, Ditto and Rabbit made it even better. Five and a half months and 2,200 miles. It really was overwhelming. And, we were all going to be home for Christmas.
DAVID “GRETZKY” MANSELL on the trail somewhere in the mountains of New England.
Q: What would you say are the biggest challenges for a thru-hiker who is determined to finish the Appalachian Trail?
A: The first five or six weeks are all about getting in hiking shape. Getting your legs and back strengthened. Packing your gear every morning in a way that best helps you move. Knowing when to stop for some filtered water, or to feed on some protein. Getting in tune with what the trail is doing to you, and what you need to do to stay physically strong. After that it becomes a ‘mental game’.
Often you deal with boredom. Sometimes the beautiful scenery, or occasional snake, bear or deer sighting, can keep your mind occupied. But honestly there are a lot of boring times where you are just putting one foot in front of the other. A few months into the hike I started missing the comforts of home and family too, so that was another challenge. I guess I didn’t expect the mental part to be so rough at times. Best way to get over it is to just keep walking while listening to podcasts, music or audio books. But we would only use one of the two headphones. Got to keep alert with your other ear for snakes or anything else that could pop up. Keep knocking out miles. Pretty basic stuff.
The longer you go on the Appalachian Trail the more difficult it can be to stay on trail. There are a lot of small towns and hiker communities just off trail that offer motels, bars, restaurants, warm showers, laundry and a civilized life. When we were well past the halfway point on the trail, and knew we had lots of hiking still ahead of us, it could be hard to get our motivation back after a stay in a warm motel with a steak house just down the street. But we fought through those feelings and for reasons I can’t really explain we got packed and went back on the trail. Again, just keep walking I guess.
The last few weeks spent on trail were flat out tough. Tough enough to erase the ‘mental’ challenges and put our focus back to more of a physical mindset. We needed to really focus and really push or risk possible injury or hypothermia those last couple of weeks.
Being from the northeast, we all assumed that the southern edge of the Appalachian Trail would offer some good weather even though it was early December. We were wrong.
Throughout the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and into Georgia we faced the worst weather of the entire trip. Freezing rain, snow, high winds, temperatures at night well below freezing and some parts of the trail were a sheet of ice. Staying dry became vital. If you get wet, or your gear gets wet, in that kind of weather, you are in big trouble. The bad weather didn’t help our morale, and we spent plenty of time giving each other pep talks and convincing each other not to quit. We were so close to the end, and the weather was beating us up physically and mentally. Agreeing that quitting would not be an option for any of us, we pushed hard. The group starting knocking out 30 plus miles a day. Well above our average day hike. If it was daylight, we were walking.
On our last day on trail temperatures were a little warmer, but it poured rain all day. We didn’t care. It was time to finish this thing. There are no signs on trail that inform you that you’re getting closer. We worked our way along the trail kind of wondering where the end was, and then it seemed like suddenly we had arrived at Springer Mountain. There it was, the end of the trail. When we arrived at the southern terminus of the trail, Goose’s wife was waiting for us with a bottle of champagne. We popped the cork, hugged, took photographs together and then we were quickly off to Atlanta to rent a car and head north for Christmas and our families. Probably sounds like a boring ending to five months and 14 states. It wasn’t boring, it was really amazing.
A TYPICAL lean-to area found at various locations throughout the Appalachian Trail is ideal for camping. The goal daily was to get to an area like this before sundown. This photo was taken in Pennsylvania in fall of 2019.
Q: You’ve probably been asked this, but why? Why were you determined to do this?
A: I’m still not sure why I wanted to do this (laughing). I had just graduated high school, been saving money for this trip for three years, so I figured I might as well go for it. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life following high school, but I knew I wanted to experience something different and new. So all of those thoughts together kind of got me going.
Mostly, I just wanted to challenge myself and prove to myself that I could do something like this. Add to that, I was really interested in getting out of central Pennsylvania for a while and see other places. When you’re walking through a state, instead of driving through on a highway, you really get to know the terrain and the people. Also, I wanted to see if I had what it takes to survive out there. I’ve always loved the outdoors so the Appalachian Trail seemed like the right thing to do to try to push myself.
Prior to starting the hike, the Appalachian Trail was all about adventure and freedom to me. Now that I’m done, I think I’m confident that I can take care of myself. When I was on the Appalachian Trail it was all about endurance and making smart decisions to help me keep moving forward. Now I kind of feel like I was in my comfort zone out there. Kind of more comfortable than regular, day-to-day life.
So to answer the question, it was about challenging myself, and finding an adventure that would force me out of the comfortable life for a while and make me learn how to get disciplined, take care of myself, and see if I had what it takes to do this and finish it.
MANSELL as the group made it to the Georgia border in December. Georgia was the last of 14 states they needed to hike through. This was by far the toughest part of the overall hike because of very cold weather.
