A Hike To Remember

Written By: Deena Bouknight | Issue: April 2024

(standing l to r) Robert Boyle,Darrin Mullett, and Dixie Stewart (sitting) Nola Privett.

Dixie Stewart turned 68 years old on the Appalachian Trail (AT) last year. An avid hiker, she decided to embark on the 2,100-mile iconic east coast hiking challenge after one of her two sons, Tyler, encouraged her.

“You’re going to talk about it and never do it,” he challenged. After that, Stewart and a hiking friend, Nola Privett, began reading and preparing for the Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Katahdin, Maine, northbound adventure.

Both women currently live in Waynesville. Stewart and her husband, Richard, resided in Cashiers for a while, but then moved to the coast and eventually returned to the mountains. To be on the AT for several months, Stewart had to take a leave of absence from her job as a registered nurse at Mission Hospital, while Privett semi-retired from her career as a medical technologist.

Stewart had plenty of miles of hiking experience before setting out on the AT March 19, 2023. “My husband, Richard, and I had hiked a lot, even section hiking from Springer Mountain to Fontana Dam on weekends and days off.”

She read many of the popular AT books prior to hitting the trail, including A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson; Grandma Gatewood’s Walk, by Ben Montgomery; Hiking Through, by Paul Stutzman; The Unlikely Thru-Hiker, by Derick Lugo; and various how-to books. She also watched videos and researched gear.

“You learn from reading that it’s not all romance; it’s hard work.”

The hike was made more challenging by the fact that Stewart has scoliosis. Not far into the hike, she realized her pack was not the right fit for her body, so she had to be fitted at Mountain Crossings in Blairsville, Georgia.

“That was my first major gear change.”

She also had to change shoes every few hundred miles. And, after a tent pole broke, she determined her tent and mattress pad were not large enough.

Stewart and Privett hiked together for most of the journey, took a healthy break for a bit, and then met back up in the White Mountains to continue onto Mount Katahdin.

Despite any difficulties, including Stewart breaking her hand in Maine but continuing to the finish line, bright spots were many. Stewart’s two sons, Tyler and Rich, met her for day hikes, as did various friends and other family members. “What you miss the most on the trail is family and that connection,” said Stewart, who also has two daughters.

“In general, the people I met were the highlight of the trail,” she added. “Whenever you don’t have something, someone will give it to you, and when I broke my hand, Nola and others helped set up my tent, carry my pack across a river …”

As with all hikers, the scenery motivates. Stewart especially enjoyed the North Carolina sections of the AT and seeing Smoky Mountain National Park when wildflowers blossomed.

A favorite “trail town” was Franklin, which she said “does an awesome job as a trail town. I was with a group of young hikers and we really had a fun time.”

When Stewart climbed Mount Katahdin, the highest mountain in the state of Maine, at 5,269 feet, and found the sign indicating the end of her AT hike, she said she “laughed a lot from pure joy. It was a long day but satisfying day.”

Privett, who had less hiking experience than Stewart – other than day hikes – said about finishing the AT: “Getting up every morning, crawling out of that tent, sometimes hiking in the rain … it was tough at times. Doing that day after day after day, eight to 10 hours a day is hard. Getting to Mount Katahdin was nice because I knew I was getting to go home and be with my family afterwards. Also, going back into real life and a regular routine is an adjustment. But it definitely was a bonding experience with other AT hikers, and when I meet AT hikers now, we immediately have a connection.”

This year, Stewart plans to hike on the AT with friends and pass out trail magic – snacks, water, etc. – to hikers. Less than a year from her summit moment, she has had time to reflect and shared: “I learned I had perseverance I didn’t think I had. I’ve done several difficult hikes and challenges, but nothing this long. I’ve done hard things before and knew I had the determination, but when you are four months into it and ready to be home, that’s all you can think about.”

Both women’s family and friends are proud of their accomplishment. Stewart’s son, Tyler, who truly knows what his mother encountered, since he had hiked the AT himself, told her after Mount Katahdin, “I knew you could do it.”

While Stewart plans to tackle some shorter hikes, such as the 310-mile Superior in Minnesota, the 93-mile Wonderland Trail at Mount Ranier, Wash., and the 77-mile Foothills Trail in South Carolina, she desires not to be away from friends and family for longer than a week to a month at a time. Privett feels the same.

But both women are glad they are among the thousands of people who can say that they have, indeed, completed a thru-hike of the AT.