Homer, Therese, Taylor and Bennett Witcher celebrate their ascent of Mount Katahdin and the completion of their 2002 thru-hike.
(The Associated Press)
A family hikes the Appalachian Trail
By Elizabeth Kastor
The Washington Post
Oct. 14, 2002
Taylor Witcher was sure they wouldn’t make it.
Hike the 2,168-mile Appalachian Trail with her mom, dad and little brother? Nope, the fifth grader figured they’d drop out somewhere between the beginning in Georgia and the end in Maine.
But they didn’t. On Sept. 21 -- two days ahead of schedule -- the Witchers reached the 5,287-foot summit of Maine’s Mount Katahdin, completing the hike they began on March 23.
The trip took the Witchers through 14 states, freezing cold, miserable heat, chilling rain. They struggled up and down the steep mountains of Maine and New Hampshire. They got stung by yellow jackets.
But they had luck, too: No one was injured, and the day Taylor, 11, sat down next to a rattlesnake, her dad, Homer, heard and saw the creature before it decided to say hello to Taylor.
“I just said, ‘Move!’” he remembered. “She knew from the tone of my voice to move quickly. But you’re more likely to get killed in a traffic accident than bitten by a rattlesnake on the trail.”
Rattlesnake bites may be rare on the trail, but so are people who make it the whole way -- especially kids. Usually, fewer than 15 percent of the people who try complete the trail. (This year, about 2,400 people made the attempt.)
Taylor, who lives in a suburb of Roanoke, Va., said the trip was hard but fun. “Sometimes, in the beginning, we’d complain a little bit,” she said. “But after a while we got used to it.”
She and her brother, Bennett, 8, spent a lot of time singing together, playing in streams, talking to people they met along the way (Taylor loves talking to adults) and sharing imaginary stories.
They walked at least 10 miles a day and sometimes as many as 19. Most nights they camped in their big family tent, but when the trail passed a town, they stayed at a motel and enjoyed some TV watching and restaurant meals.
The family had taken hiking trips before, although none longer than a few days. Homer and Therese Witcher thought walking the trail would be a great way to spend time with their kids without the usual distractions of computer games, after-school activities and everyday chores.
The kids’ teachers thought it was a fine idea, as long as the kids were ready for school when they returned (they now have started third and sixth grade). Taylor worked on her state capitals and multiplication and division of fractions while she walked. Bennett learned to do long division in his head.
And their dad thinks the adventure taught them something important they might not have learned in school.
“They learned that with adversity you can overcome it,” he said. “You just have to keep slugging away.”
Both of the kids missed their friends and their home. Taylor is glad to get back to SpongeBob Squarepants and Rocket Power.
But now, she misses the trail, too. She’s already begun to think about the other long hikes she’d like to tackle.
Therese Witcher helps her daughter, Taylor, 11, right, put on her backpack as Bennett, 8, hoists his onto his shoulders as they prepare to load them into the van at their Daleville, Va., home on March 22, for their trip to Georgia, the starting point for the family’s 2,168-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail. Homer Witcher sits in the kitchen in the background. (The Roanoke Times)
Thru-hike a family affair
By Joanne Poindexter
The Roanoke Times
March 2002
DALEVILLE, Va. — Bon voyage calls kept the telephone busy most of Thursday night and again early Friday. Then came the knocks on the door from Taylor Witcher’s friends, who dropped by to tell the 11-year-old they would miss her.
The unexpected ado gave Bennett, Taylor’s 8-year-old brother, time to watch TV cartoons he’ll see rarely over the next six months. Bennett, Taylor and their parents, Homer and Therese Witcher, will begin a through hike of the Appalachian Trail today.
The Botetourt County family has spent more than a year planning the 2,100-mile adventure. They left town Friday and will launch their trek at Springer Mountain, Ga., the southern end of the trail .
It is there that Taylor will take on her trail nickname, “Sunset.” Bennett will become known as “Bluejay.” And Homer and Therese Witcher will adopt the moniker “The Odd Couple.”
Friday morning, Taylor and Bennett were somewhat restless, anticipating the day long drive to Georgia. By 9 a.m., their van was packed with four backpacks, with sleeping gear attached .
Homer Witcher’s son from a previous marriage, Kevin, will drive the van back to Daleville and house sit until the family returns in mid-May to replenish their supplies.
Therese, 40, seemed confident. But Homer, 60, confessed to feeling like a worrywart. He thinks the trip has generated too much publicity; he wanted to take a hike and not be missed.
“We’ll be comfortable once we get going,” Homer said. “Our lives are going to slow down the next few months.”
Between phones calls Friday morning, the Witchers talked about e-mails, letters and phone calls they’ve received since a story on their planned hike appeared in The Roanoke Times in early February.
They’ve heard from well-wishers, including some former co-workers they hadn’t seen in as many as 15 years. Their church, St. Mark’s United Methodist, threw a surprise party Sunday night. Bennett’s classmates gave him a going-away party. Co-workers and family have taken them out to dinner.
Homer’s former co-workers at Alleghany Regional Hospital also are tracking the family on a Web site and church members want to hold a wiener roast on the trail in May when the family gets near Daleville.
Avid hikers, Therese and Homer are prepared for just about anything that can happen. They’ve made many shorter family treks before and are anticipating the challenge of walking from Georgia to Maine. Therese packed 11 boxes of supplies that friends will mail to drop points along the trail for them. The first box should be in Blairsville, Ga., Tuesday. By then, the family will have logged 31 miles on the trail.
Despite their preparedness, the couple are concerned they’re putting too much pressure on their children. They have promised to quit if the kids get miserable. Church members and friends have volunteered to “rescue” the children so Homer and Therese can complete the trail.
Taylor said she’s prepared as long as her dad learns to cook on the trail. Bennett eagerly awaits exploring. Along the way, they’ll have school assignments that include keeping journals, working on multiplication tables and learning flower names and marine ecology systems.
Teachers and classmates also gave strict orders for them to write letters frequently, describing the trail and their experiences. The sister and brother also expect mail at various stops along the trail, giving them the latest school and Scouting news.
But, said Homer, the children first must learn to play bridge. He and Therese will be missing their weekly bridge games with her parents, and Homer doesn’t want to lose his edge on the game.
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