By Jordan A. Bowman
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
May 26, 2021
One of my favorite memories from my youth was when my father took me on a rain-soaked backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) in the Nantahala National Forest. We slogged for miles through muddy Trail, until we reached our planned campsite on Cheoah Bald. Visibility was low and the downpour drove us into our tents early, raindrops drumming on the stretched nylon.
Yet when I was awoken hours later by the post-rain silence, I emerged from my tent to find a view that remains etched into my memory. Where once there was mist covering the view, now there were endless waves of mountains, painted silver by the moon now freed from cloud cover. When a gentle breeze rolled through, the swaying of hundreds of thousands of trees made it seem like the mountains themselves were breathing. It was a moment that showed me how the Trail was (and is) more than a footpath sprinkled with pretty views. It helped reveal the power and awe the surrounding A.T. landscape provides.