A good walk: USI grad completes
Appalachian Trail
Nick Doerter ‘06, a
USI graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in
advertising and public relations, finished a five-month
eleven-day trek up the east coast in September. Doerter
hiked the 2,175-mile Appalachian National Scenic Trail,
a 250,000-acre greenway extending from Maine to Georgia.
The son of Pam Doerter, coordinator of
internships and co-op education in Career Services, had
planned the trip since he was in middle school. He
graduated in December and set out on the AT the
following April. |
Nick
Doerter ‘06 atop Maine’s Mount Katahdin, the northern
terminus of the Appalachian Trail. |
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Doerter hiked alone or with
groups he met along the way through every type of
weather from single-digit temperatures and snow to
lightning, rain, heat, and humidity.
He started off with his winter gear and had his parents
mail him his warm-weather things as spring turned into
summer. When he got to New England, he had them mail his
winter gear back.
Adding to his load was three to seven days worth of
food, depending on how far he was from a town. The
longest period without civilization was the last 113
miles of the trip, known to hikers as the “100 mile
wilderness.”
“I stocked up because you had to have plenty of food for
that many days. That was a heavy food bag,” he said.
A hunter since childhood, he said he killed two
rattlesnakes, frogs, and a grouse for protein. “We
wanted meat,” he said. “We were stuck eating rice all
the time. That was a nice piece of meat there that could
feed four or five people.”
The only weapon he had with him was a pocketknife. “I
was never concerned about safety,” he said. “I saw
several bears, but never felt threatened by them either.
I think they were more nervous of me than I was of them.
From Georgia to New Jersey, I saw a bunch. The closest
one I got to was about 20 yards away. That day, we saw a
porcupine, some deer, another rattlesnake, and then a
bear right on the trail. That was a good wildlife day in
New Jersey.”
The only time he said he felt “a little nervous” was
after he summited Mount Katahdin in Maine. He decided to
descend on Knife’s Edge, a two-foot-wide trail with a
hundred-foot drop. The mountain was boxed in and
visibility was low. “We were in the clouds, it was
raining, and the wind was blowing about 25 miles an
hour,” he said. “It’s a mile long and took me two hours
to do it.”
He said the experience changed him. “It made me realize
the simplicity of life,” he said. “You don’t need a
whole lot to get by. Hell, I got by with whatever I had
on my back. It opened my eyes up to how much is out
there. It wasn’t an easy task. It was tough. But it made
me mentally strong. I can accomplish anything if I put
my mind to it.”
And he learned something about other people, too.
“There are a lot of cool people out there in the world
still. I met a lot of people who would bend over
backward to do whatever they can for you.”
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