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TAKE A HIKE: 6 months, 2,175 miles

Tega Cay woman, boyfriend walk from Georgia to Maine

By Jenny Overman

(Published August 19, 2008)

Jessica Fadness and Drew Cameron take a breather at Mount Katahdin in Maine, the northern end of the Appalachian Trail.

Jessica Fadness, 27, and Drew Cameron, 24, had been walking eight to 20 miles per day for over a month, through 10 degree weather, snow and ice.

As they settled down to sleep in their two-person tent on the Appalachian Trail, Cameron began to wonder what the couple had gotten themselves into. But, he said, there was no looking back.
"We knew we had to finish," Cameron said.
"Hell or high water," added Fadness. "Which we got. Hell and high water."
From mid-January to August, Fadness and Cameron hiked the 2,175-mile Appalachian Trail. For Fadness, a Tega Cay resident who makes her living taking tourists on trips across America, hiking the trail was her dream. Cameron, a London native who met Fadness as a tourist on one of her group tours, had never heard of the trail. He had money from an inheritance put aside, intending to take a big trip. A nearly six-month hike on the Appalachian Trail fit the bill.
The Appalachian Trail is a system of trails that runs 2,175 miles from Georgia to Maine. Of the thousands of people who hike parts of the trail, only about 500 complete the full trail each year, according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Web site, www.appalach-iantrail.org.
Fadness and Cameron started at the trail's southern end in Georgia with a two-person tent and a backpack full of food, water-purification drops and a digital video and music player. At first, they hiked slowly, finishing about 8 miles each day. But as their strength grew, they increased their distance.
The monotony was difficult, Fadness said.
"It was hike, eat, hike, eat, hike, eat, sleep," Fadness said. "But I always thought it was better than the real world."
At night, the couple would hang their food in a tree to keep it safe from bears. They would set up the tent, build a fire and boil water to make rice or pasta. When they settled into their tent, they watched episodes of "The Office" or listened to National Public Radio.
They heard about high fuel prices and a bad economy, and were thankful that they were removed from it all.
In the mornings, it was back to the trail, where they encountered bears, snakes, moose and other wildlife. Each day also brought new geography to conquer, from crossing streams that were waist-high to climbing mountains in freezing temperatures. Toward the end of their trip, temperatures reached 100 degrees each day.
Once a week, the couple would hike, and sometimes hitchhike, to a small town near the trail. There, they would wash their two sets of clothes, find a pay phone to call home, and try to find a library where they could check their e-mail.
In the early months, they planned to be in town to watch Fadness' favorite TV show, 'The Biggest Loser," or for Cameron to catch some of the basketball playoff games. More important, they'd enjoy a night in a real bed and food that wasn't made over a campfire.
Food became monotonous on the trail. Fadness and Cameron packed things to eat that were light enough to carry on the grueling trail but high enough in calories to keep up their energy. Pop Tarts, cereal bars, bagels and peanut butter became daily staples. But in town each week, they would gorge on McDonald's or food from local cafés.
Even with the fast food, Fadness lost 20 pounds on the trek and Cameron lost 30 pounds.	"That's what I loved," Fadness said. "You can eat what you want and still lose weight."
Now back in Tega Cay and with Cameron scheduled to fly home to London next week, the two are proud of what they accomplished.
They spent approximately $5,000 each on the trip, mostly on food and accommodations in their weekly trips into towns along the trail. There were days when stinging rain, pelting hail, and intense solitude were almost unbearable. But there were also moments of joy, Cameron said, recalling sitting at the rock protrusion on Charlie's Bunyon in Georgia, a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains, overlooking the mountain valley.
It looked like a Christmas card, he said.
"I'm not a spiritual person, but there's something out there that gets in your blood," Cameron said.