Emma Gatewood: a True Trailblazer

My favorite thing about Emma Gatewood, is that she was just shy of 68 years old when she walked the entire Appalachian Trail. She had a hard life. She was not set up to do this great thing by anyone’s standards. Things were not laid out nor lined up for her neatly. She made what she did of the things that happened to her - many of those things unimaginable for many and horrific to most - and what she made is truly astounding.  She suffered years of abuse at the hand of her husband. She was made to bear 11 of his children, all whilst living in a living Hell. The way she coped and how she escaped was through walking. She’d go to the woods to hide, but really it was to be free. She would take her kids out with her when they were little, they remembered. But the day she set foot on the Appalachian Trail with the intention of hiking it in its entirety, she hadn’t told any of them about it. She didn’t want to be talked out of it. The trail called to her and the adventure excited her. She couldn’t have known of all the dangers ahead. The year was 1955. There was so much to be done with regards to clearing the trail and marking it sufficiently for decades to come. Only 6 people had hiked it thru before then, and all of them were men. Whether there were advancements in hiking and camping gear at that time, she didn’t have access to them. She set out with minimal clothing, tools and supplies. She withstood horrific weather and dangerous waters. She went through more shoes on that hike than most people wear in two years. But she did it. She went from Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia to the summit of mile-high Mount Katahdin in 146 days. She hiked all 2,050 miles of it, and attributed it to the help of living angels along the way. There were people she met on the trail, whom, without their help, she may not have finished it, let alone survived it. And you know what? She did it again. Ben Montgomery, who wrote the inspiring book, Grandma Gatewood’s Walk, noted, “In 1957, she became the first person – man or woman – to walk the world’s longest trail twice.” At 77, she did it again, and became the first person to walk the trail 3 times.

Are you feeling inspired yet? Have you already packed your bags and picked up your map? You should know that she began preparing for the A.T. by walking around her block. She’d walk a little more each day and in six months, she could walk for hours at a time.

So, take your time. You don’t have to do it all in one day. Start slowly. Start with what you can do and build from there. Push a little harder each day. The best way to get stronger – the only way – is to preserve the health and the strength that you already have while you are doing it. You don’t compromise one for the other. It can be harmonious and although you have to make it hard, it can be beautiful and enjoyable. Try to forget what you know about exercise if you’ve had negative experiences. There’s no one way to get stronger, so find something you like and go from there. I know a great Personal Trainer who can help you get started, even. Insert winky smiley here.

In all seriousness, ask yourself what you want to be able to do with your body, with your life even. And then, if you have to, take the smallest step if that’s all you can do, but do take it. A little bit in the direction you want to go each day, even among the setbacks, you’ll get to where you want to be. You’ll meet resistance, but when you do, find a friend to walk with you if you can, or put on some good tunes, and ask yourself, what would Grandma Gatewood do about it?