From left are Jasper, Grayson, Darrell, Baxter and Joni.
(Here’s an account of a family of Gwinnett residents on an adventure. Joni Skogman is a graduate of Parkview High, then Clemson for her BS, and the University of North Georgia for her M. Ed. Darrell Skogman went to West Hall High School, then to the University of North Georgia for his BS and M.Ed. Joni’s parents, Susan and Jordan Shenefield live in Lilburn, and in retirement, have worked out west during the summers at various national parks.—eeb)
By Jordan Shenefield
LILBURN, Ga. | After three years of planning, the Skogman family of Dahlonega began their flip-flop hike of the Appalachian Trail (AT) on May 31. My wife and I drove our daughter Joni, her husband, Darrell, and their three sons (Jasper, 15; Baxter, 13; and Grayson, 11) to their jumping off point, High Point State Park, N.J. Their grand adventure began at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarters in Harpers Ferry, to get their AT hangtags. (This is an outdoors family. Note the boy’s names: Grayson from Grayson Highlands State Park, Va; Jasper from Jasper National Park, Canada; and Baxter from Baxter State Park, Me.)
Shenefield
Discovering that there was bear activity along the AT between Delaware Water Gap (their original starting spot) and High Point State Park, we drove further north into the “deli states” (food near the trail) to avoid the bears.
To hone their trail legs, Joni and Darrell initially planned shorter hiking days (7 to 10 miles) with lots of distractions: swimming holes, reasonably flat hikes and easy food. At one shelter, they ordered Chinese food…delivered to the shelter! One unexpected surprise was going to a drive-in movie theater in Warwick, N.Y., just off the AT and saw Top Gun Maverick. The theater owner supplies sound-track radios to AT hikers, so the family set up their tents, tuned in the radio, and watched.
The hiking got longer (12-15 miles) but the entertainment never stopped. Darrell is a math teacher in the Hall County School System and Joni home schools the boys. So they are using the AT as their school room for six months, practicing writing in their journals, learning about people they meet, and biology is everywhere! (The boys have counted over 100 red efts, an Eastern newt.) On their cell phones, they use the app to identify plants and birds. They’ve been dive bombed by blue jays, as they got too close to that nest? Everyday is a new and different learning experience, whether it’s the logistics of food, packing up their gear, and getting to the trailhead on a shuttle; hiking between the rocks of the lemon squeezer or Moosilauke; or swimming in the lakes and rivers they come across.
Unfortunately, Joni developed shin splints about four weeks into their hike, so they had to slow their pace, taking “nero days” followed by four zero days in Williamstown, Mass. Can you imagine hiking 2,194 miles without an injury? Now multiply that by five. The Skogmans had built-in days for situations like this. When they passed the 100-mile mark, Jasper said, “One down, 21 to go.”
They’re now over 400 miles and headed to Katahdin Mountain and the end of the trail. Grampa and Grandie (Darrell’s parents) have been a huge help. They drove their RV from Gainesville to Rutland, Vt. and have been meeting the family at road crossings with resupplies and other trail magic. This has allowed the hikers to lighten their loads (which really helped Joni’s injury) and make some bigger mile days. The hikers got shuttled to Hanover, N.H., so they could stay a little ahead of “the bubble.” Eventually, they’ll come back to get the 60 miles they missed between Rutland and Hanover.
If you’d like to follow where the Skogman Family is in real time and read Darrell’s journal, they have set up a Linktree account. https://linktr.ee/skogmanfamily To get to the map, the password is “threeamigos.” On a previous trip to Maine, they summited Katahdin. They’ll do it again…get a shuttle back to High Point State Park…and start walking back home to Dahlonega.
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