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| Randy pulls the water carrier through snow in Utah.
(Courtesy of the family) |
By Robin Brinkley
The Virginian-Pilot
Theremust be easier ways to escape the monotony of a 9-to-5 job than hikingacross America.
Less torturous methods of testingone's soul than tugging 80 pounds of bottled water through six inchesof mud.
Simpler approaches to education than filing field reports byflashlight on a pocket PC every night for eight months.
But for newlyweds Randy and Sheri Propster, last year's253-day transit of the American Discovery Trail was the perfecthoneymoon.
The Propsters, both 32, met in 1993 at Old DominionUniversity, where he played soccer and she played field hockey. It wasa promising start.
Then one day Sheri asked Randy what he wanted to do with hislife. Faced with the twin perils of career and commitment, he deftlyavoided the question's intent with an answer straight out of thebachelor's handbook.
He wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail.
"It intrigued her enough not to ask what else I wanted to do,"he said.
Randy grew up in Kempsville with a love of the outdoors.
"The adventuresome spirit of starting in one place andfinishing in another" was ingrained in him at an early age.
Vacations often meant camping. Some of Randy's best memoriesare of following his father, Bob, up the coast when he competed in theWorrell 1000 catamaran race.
Sheri, in contrast, never slept outdoors while growing up inWestville, N.J. When Randy said he wanted to hike the AppalachianTrail, she said, "What's that?"
She soon found out - and her competitive instincts took over.They completed the 2,160-mile trek from Georgia to Maine in 222 days in1999.
"It was more competing against myself, to get body and mind tolive outdoors that long," she said.
It was also a warm-up for the biggest challenge either islikely to endure: the American Discovery Trail, or ADT.
"Coast to coast was definitely Randy's idea," Sheri said.
The ADT stretches more than 4,000 miles from Delaware toCalifornia. It provides a continuous, nonmotorized route linking"mountains and deserts, high plains and deep canyons, small towns andcity greenways," according t o Web site www.discoverytrail.org.
The trail, which splits into northern and southernroutes for a while in the Midwest, is a work in progress. Markers areoften hidden or nonexistent.
Legislation was introduced for the fifth time in January tohave the ADT added to the National Trails System. Its passage hasbecome a crusade for the Propsters, who became only the third couple tohike the trail's entire length.
"Many people, including early pioneers, have made the trekacross country," Randy said, "but we feel proud to bring attention tothe need for a nationally recognized, east-west walking route fromocean to ocean."
One thing the Propsters had that pioneers lacked was a pocketcomputer. Randy and Scott Steele, a ninth-grade Earth science teacherin Fishersville, built the Web site treckusa.com for the hike.
Randy downloaded information each night, and Steele shared itthe next day with his classes. The Web site was meant to beinspirationa l and informational.
"A form of compensation for all of our hard work," Randy said.
Preparing for the challenge
It took the Propsters six years to mount the effort. Theyspent most of that time living frugally and working - he as a barmanager and snowboard instructor, she as a retail manager andrestaurant manager - in Wintergreen.
"We knew it would take finances and putting our lives in orderto do it," Randy said.
As the time to leave approached, Randy and Sheri married, soldtheir house and put what few belongings they would need later in astorage shed.
They left Cape Henlopen, Del., on March 7, 2006, with about 70pounds of equipment in two backpacks.
They carried a tent, two sleeping bags, a cook stove, one potand two spoons.
"We ate out of the pot," he said.
They each took two sets of clothes, one for hiking and one forwearing around camp. They also carried a water purifying system. On theAppalachian Trail, Randy swallowed a water-born parasite and lost 12pounds in three days.
Bob Propster and his wife, Bonnie, managed their other needs -Randy and Sheri each went through nine pairs of shoes - from VirginiaBeach.
"They didn't ask for much, but we went for it with gusto," Bobsaid.
Randy's and Sheri's goal was to average 20 miles a day. Theirsingle-longest hike was 35.8 miles in Utah.
"We promised ourselves a cheap motel and a shower at the endof the day," Sheri said.
They ended up averaging a little over 16 miles per day,dragged down by about 50 "zero-mile days" when they didn't walk becauseof injuries or other factors.
They were both sidelined for three days in Maryland with astomach virus.
A cyst burst in Randy's left knee in Indiana.
"He limped over 60 miles to see if he could walk it off,"Sheri said.
They ended up camping for two weeks in a state forest,spending most of the time with Randy's leg in a brace.
"That was a real test, mentally and physically, but I don'tthink we came close to quitting," he said.
They were sidelined for two more weeks in Kansas, when amuscle casing ruptured in Randy's right leg. He wore a compression wrapfrom ankle to knee and took anti-inflammatory drugs the rest of the way.
Also in Kansas, Sheri was bedridden for a day with heartpalpitations caused by heat exhaustion.
Surviving the elements was a major theme. Temperatures rangedfrom 114 degrees in Missouri to 8 degrees in Nevada.
"It was over 100 degrees every day in August," Sheri said. "Atnight, we'd lay in a pool of sweat."
They trudged through snow in the Appalachians - eight inchesin West Virginia - and the Rockies - more than a foot in Colorado andUtah.
They dodged golf-ball-sized hail in eastern Colorado, andsurvived a "100-year" thunderstorm near Hanksville, Utah. The stormswept homes from their foundations and trapped children on a school bus.
"We woke up that morning and our tent was full of water,"Randy said. "We didn't realize until we opened the door that the wholetown was flooded."
Making memories
Some of the most memorable hiking occurred near the end. Theirfamilies met them in San Francisco and accompanied them across theGolden Gate Bridge.
The last 40 miles paralleled the Pacific Coast.
"We could see whales. It was just amazing," Randy said.
They talked for days about how they would feel when it wasover.
"We asked each other how we would explain it, because we knewpeople would ask," Randy said.
They met up again with family two miles from the finish, andon Nov. 15 strolled into the Pacific at Point Reyes, Calif.
"It felt empowering," Randy said. "It gave us confidence wecan face any challenge. But we also felt really fragile. A twistedankle, some loose rock, can take you right out."
Instead, they're about to become celebrities. The Propstersleave next month on a nationwide tour as brand ambassadors forBackpacker Magazine.
"They are universally appealing," said Charina Lumley,marketing director for Backpacker. "They inspire you to be more fit,more healthy and to enjoy time outdoors."
The Propsters will preach the physical and mental benefits ofhiking to schools, outfitters, Sc outs and clubs.
"We'll be gone a lot," Sheri said. "But this time we won't bewalking."
Robin Brinkley, 222-5142
robin.brinkley@pilotonline.com
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