Let’s Take Back Our Trails!

Let’s all pray for Meredith Emerson, the 24-year-old hiker who apparently lost her life due to a depraved and senseless act of psychopathic violence.

We’ve gazed sadly at her smiling photographic image, seen the headlines and read the stories about how she was kidnapped near Blood Mountain. I’ve seen good friends – trail experts, all – quoted in the paper detailing common sense methods to stay as safe as possible in the woods.

As I walk in predawn darkness each morning on a North Fulton walking path, I notice lately that many women walk in groups accompanied by enormous dogs. Is it my imagination, or is there a pervasive sense of dread across the state brought on by the loss of a young woman who was guilty of nothing worse than having a little fun tramping on the flanks of Blood Mountain with her pet retriever?

I once walked from Maine to Georgia on the Appalachian Trail and have hiked thousands of miles, nationally and internationally, on gorgeous wilderness footpaths. While I was on my AT thru-hike, a close hiking friend drowned in Vermont’s Mill River. I know there is danger out there.

My son, Dan, thru-hiked the AT, as did my daughter, Laura. Imagine the sick feeling my wife and I felt on recent evenings as we considered what happened to Meredith and remembered the five months Laura spent hiking from Maine to Georgia in 2004. Try as we might, we cannot get away from the sad fact that wilderness trails can be deadly.

My abject hatred and disgust for the miserable creature who carried out this crime ultimately gives way to a sense of despair in knowing that whatever guided his hand was irrational and insane. Although we feel relief that he will likely never inhale another free breath, we know there will always be others out there.

Despite this angst, hikers must realize that the most dangerous part of their trip is driving to and from the trailhead.

If you visit Atlanta’s Five Points at noon, you are in more danger from a deranged vagrant or a speeding delivery van than if you are standing on top of Blood Mountain in North Georgia.

Several million people a year hike on the Appalachian Trail, yet violent crimes on the AT only occur on an average of every four years. Statistics supporting hiking safety should encourage anyone who is thinking about a walk in the woods to go right ahead and take it.

How do you make yourself as safe as possible out there?
• The experts will tell you not to hike alone – a big “do as I say, not as I do.”
• Let someone know where you are hiking, when you will start and where you will finish. Sign trail registers with times and dates. This could be critical intelligence to a search and rescue team.
• Don’t camp or relax near roads. Troublemakers rarely stray far from vehicles and beer coolers.
• Trust your gut instinct. If you encounter shady strangers, use the woods to disappear. Also, don’t hesitate to tell them you are with a large group who will come around the corner at any minute. Sometimes fibs are OK.
• Carry a gun if you wish, but remember they are illegal in some parks and heavy in your backpack. If you are not expert in the use of a firearm and do not have the will to use it, it could ultimately be used against you. Use your wits first.

Helpful tips are wonderful, but we know that safety is never guaranteed. If you canoe, climb, hike or do anything else outdoors, you accept the risk that you can get lost, suffer from exposure, pick up parasites from drinking water, get attacked by wild animals, and yes, be murdered by soulless perverts. However, if you stay home and hide under the bed, you may get killed by a tornado or slowly die from radon gas. Life is terminal.

Don’t let Meredith’s unthinkably horrible fate scare you away from enjoying our North Georgia wilderness. Get out there, take back the trails and rivers, revel in the views and take that one-in-millions risk that you will be attacked or assaulted. Let native wisdom be your guide and think kind thoughts about that sweet young woman and her grieving family as you enjoy your wilderness outing on her behalf. Something tells me Meredith would insist on it.

Editor’s Note:
The Johns Creek Post is proud that Richard Judy and others on our small staff are AT Thru Hikers, an honor not many can boast.

The sad news of Meredith Emerson’s death rang close to home for many of us. Last summer, this editor, and Mr. Judy, hiked one of the trails in the Amicalola Falls Park where Meredith’s body was found. More recently, I spent my winter vacation hiking with my dogs - alone.

Mr. Judy, the president of the Len Foote Hike Inn, intends to contribute the payment for this article to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Meredith Emerson's memory. To find out more about hiking and the trail visit http://www.appalachiantrail.org or http://hike-inn.com.