University of Delaware Office of Public Relations The Messenger Vol. 5, No. 2/1996 ALUMNI PROFILE: Bugs, bears liven 2,000-mile hike It's a feat to beat your feet on the Appalachian Trail. Bears, blisters and bugs were among the challenges awaiting Erin Ebersberger, Delaware '94, of Annapolis, Md., and a companion when they hiked the entire length of the 2,144-mile Appalachian Trail from Georgia's Springer Mountain to the summit of Maine's Mount Katahdin. After Ebersberger graduated in January 1995, she decided to take some time off before hunting for a job. At the same time, the wide-open spaces were attracting Matt Haag of Lancaster, Pa., who worked at Treats bakery and cafe on Main Street in Newark with Ebersberger. The two discovered they shared a love of the outdoors. After test hiking in California and Pennsylvania, they felt they were ready for the big challenge of the Appalachian Trail, which was established in 1968 and is the longest marked foot path in the world. Each year, approximately 2,000 enthusiasts log in at the beginning of the trail with the intention of walking its entire length; about 200 hikers actually make it to the end. On the trail, Ebersberger and Haag met people from all over the world-New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Germany and other European countries, as well as from all parts of the United States-and they stay in touch with many of their fellow adventurers. "We became good friends because we had a major goal in common," Ebersberger says. The great adventure began April 10, 1995, when Haag's parents drove the couple to Georgia. Each carried a backpack-Ebersberger's weighed about 35 pounds and Haag's 45 pounds-containing a tent, sleeping bags, a water filter, camping stove, food and other gear. "Our first day on the trail was beautiful, sunny and 80 degrees, so we got off to a good start before the rain began pouring that night," Ebersberger says. The trail was mountainous through Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. "It was all up and down. As soon as you descended from one mountain, it was up the next, but it was beautiful," she recalls. There were occasional forays into civilization, when they hiked off the trail to a road and hitched their way into a town. There, they would "have a real shower, sleep in a real bed, eat real food" and take their one set of clothes off their backs to the Laundromat while dressed in their rain gear. "One hiker had a poncho she would wear while washing her clothes," Ebersberger says. Eventually, they invested in some new clothes because no amount of washing could clean the old ones. Occasional farmhouses adjoining the trail doubled as hostels for hikers. Along the trail, there also were three-sided shelters holding from two to 20 persons. For the most part, unless it was raining, the two used their tent. The trail brought them close to wildlife. Haag once almost stepped on what he thought was a tree root, which, when it uncoiled and began rattling, he realized was a rattlesnake "big enough to swallow a baby." They also saw copperheads, black snakes and garter snakes, a gray fox and several deer. Although they had been through the Great Smoky Mountains and other areas known for bears, they did not encounter one until they reached northern New Jersey, where they ran into one who "obviously knew her way around campsites," Ebersberger says. "We had tied up our food on a tree limb, but not high enough. The bear just walked over to the food, stood up and grabbed it between her paws. I was banging on pots and pans, but she could have cared less." Finally, the bear ambled off, showing up again the next morning to reach the remaining food, which had been placed higher. "She was trying to gnaw the line to drop it to the ground," Ebersberger says. Even more of a problem were mice and insects. The mice were into everything, Ebersberger recalls, "even when we hung our food." Insect repellents "really weren't that effective," Haag says, "but we discovered that the grungier we got, the less the bugs bothered us. They were more attracted to the clean people who were just starting to hike on the trail." After sweltering heat in Maryland, New Jersey and New York and 21 days of rain in June, the fall coolness of New England was a welcome relief as the couple arrived in Maine for the last 100 miles of their journey. The hiking at the end of the trail was harder-through total wilderness-but the scenery was magnificent as the trees began to change. When the couple climbed Mount Katahdin, even the cold sleet and rain didn't dampen their feelings of exhilaration and accomplishment. Then, it was down the mountain and 30 miles to the nearest town and civilization, where Haag's parents met them the next day to celebrate. Did the hike change them? Ebersberger says, "Absolutely. The experience tested me, and I'm a stronger person because of it. You had to get up every day and keep on going. And, one thing I learned is that you can't hold a grudge; you have to work things out. We were dependent on each other." Haag agrees, adding, "The most important lesson I learned was to compromise, adapt and make changes. We felt the experience would make or break our relationship and it survived. Not everyone's did. One married couple hiked the entire trail and filed for divorce soon afterward." This winter, the two decided to have a weekend vacation before Ebersberger began her new job with a Maryland publisher. They headed-where else?-to the Appalachian Trail, as it crossed through Maryland. "We strapped on snowshoes and it was absolutely beautiful with no one there-only deer tracks in the snow," Ebersberger says. -Sue Swyers Moncure