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There were about 20 other hikers at the hostel that first night, all planning to thru-hike the AT (i.e., hike the entire trail within a 12-month period), and all of whom had read multiple books on the AT and spent months, sometimes years, doing meticulous research and preparing their bodies to hike 2,185 miles over rough terrain. I had prepared by reading about half of "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson – a great story, but one essentially about the author failing to thru-hike the AT. On April 16, the Hiker Hostel van dropped us off about one mile below Springer Mountain, the start (or terminus, if hiking south) of the AT. I spent that mile on the phone with the CEO of the company I had just left, disconnecting about 100 yards from the top and starting the trail with no preparation, outdoorsmanship, income or home. But merely making it to the start felt like an accomplishment; I had never felt better. On the first evening, I melted my camping stove, the directions failing to mention that I should avoid placing the stove's detachable plastic plate directly on the isobutene flame. On the sixth evening, I figured out how to pitch my tent, which had collapsed on me during the previous five nights. (If you've never had a tent collapse on you in the middle of the night, you're lucky. It feels like you're being buried alive, at least to this author, who doesn't even like elevators.) After a couple of weeks, I was making edible dinners, sleeping like a baby, and hiking 20 miles each day. I was amazed how fast I got used to living out of my 30-pound pack, and I was lucky to come across very early what was a constant truth during my time on the trail: people on and around the AT want to help. (Many thru-hikers prefer the more mystical version that "the trail provides.") One of the greatest things about the AT is not the trail itself, but the people who work hard to keep it, and the hikers, in working order (they are known as trail angels). There is not enough room here to discuss all of the generosity (trail magic) I came across, but it's safe to say that very few people, myself included, would finish the AT without it. When you're out of food and the nearest town is 20 miles away, you need to come across someone who's willing to pick up a dirty, smelly, bearded hiker from the side of the road and take them into town. 34 the philadelphia lawyer Winter 2015 Probably more than 80 percent of the thru-hikers started alone, and fewer than 20 percent of people who start the AT intending to thru-hike actually complete it.