Nevertheless She Persisted…down the Appalachian Trail

Women’s History Month Lecture
Wednesday, March 22; 12:30 pm; E106

Faculty members Lynne Ryan, Hilary Campbell, Robin Hawks, Lisa Kara, and Maggie Marangione will relate tales from their May 2016 hike, which was planned to cover about 40 miles in four days, from Thornton Gap to Swift Run in the central district of the Shenandoah National Park.

Five Things You Need to Know

They gave each other Trail Names

“Regretty” “Huffy Puffy” “Weepy” “Gimpy” and “Clenchy” (Identities and circumstances behind names may or may not be revealed during the talk. Also, these may or may not be rejected names for the Seven Dwarfs.)

Tensions ran high

They battled unpredictable, unseasonable weather, illness, strange rustling noises, and “off the charts” strenuosity. “I did not think this would be about survival.” (Hilary)

Those Who Wander are Not Lost…or possibly they are

“Don’t tell the others.” (Lisa) This is what you say when you realize you’ve misread the map and what you thought was a shortcut has really caused you to go backwards (and uphill) about two miles. “My morale has reached a low point.” (Maggie-despondently sitting down to eat a hardboiled egg.)

They learned grit, resilience, time management, and empathy

“We came into this with different backgrounds, so we had to ask ‘how do we work together to accomplish this when everyone does not have the same skills?” (Robin) Sounds very much like a classroom.

They Got By With a Little Help from Their Friends

“If nothing happens, there is no story. It was more a comedy of errors than a hike.” (Lynne) “We prioritized being together over everything else.” (Maggie) “Lisa saw that I was struggling, so she took a lot of my weight and carried it for me.” (Robin) They’re already making plans for future adventures.