Transformative journey: Appalachian Trail thru-hiker reconsiders his life path

CALL ME HARLEY: After selling his house, most of his possessions and quitting his job, 58-year-old Henry Wasserman, under trail-name Harley, began his Appalachian journey on March 19. All photos courtesy of Wasserman.

Editor’s note: On Feb. 18, Xpress published “Tales from the trail: Hiking Appalachia from Georgia to Maine,” detailing the experiences of Appalachian Trail thru-hiker Gary Sizer. In the story, we met Henry Wasserman, a self-described “conservative, Republican, Bible-thumping NRA member” who — after 30 years of substance addiction, 19 years of sobriety, four failed marriages and an unfulfilling career — was seeking a transformative experience on the A.T. The only problem: He’d never been backpacking in his life.

But on March 19, at the base of Springer Mountain, Wasserman strapped on his 32-pound pack and began his monthslong trek north, trudging mile after mile through red Georgia clay. While making his eye-opening journey over rolling hills and contending with unpredictable elements, he’s been reflecting on his troubled past and identifying the changes needed for his future.

“Hey, Hayley; It’s Henry,” Wasserman says excitedly as I answer the phone. “I’m looking out over this beautiful, absolutely stunning view of a valley going up into the various levels of the Smokies — just an amazing view. I’ll have to send you a picture when we’re done.”

Wasserman calls every Tuesday, provided he has good cell reception. He talks and talks and chuckles at his own jokes — updating me on his experiences and lessons from the trail over the past week. He’s always in a great mood, it seems — enthusiastic about the miles to come, even when experiencing setbacks, minor injuries and dreary weather.

A few hikers stomp up the path behind him, crunching the dried leaves and snapping fallen twigs. I can hear their packs creaking, clinking, shuffling as they pass.

“Hi, Mom,” one shouts.

Wasserman laughs. It’s not the first time a fellow hiker has joked about his phone calls. “Everyone thinks I’m talking to my mom,” he explains.

I first reconnected with Wasserman on A.T. day four, 30 miles in. As a 58-year-old inexperienced hiker, Wasserman said he’s pacing himself. “I tried to tell myself that I’d keep it under 10 miles the first week,” he explained. “I don’t want to hurt myself, but my body is doing way better than I thought it would.”

After completing the optional 8-mile approach from Amicalola Falls to the Springer Mountain summit on day zero, Wasserman was exhausted. “I camped right there by the parking lot,” he explains. “That approach trail is no joke, but I recommend it. It’s a good wake-up call for what’s in front of you.”

henry1By day 10, Wasserman says he shed 10 pounds. Since then, he suspects he’s lost even more — or maybe gained a few back in muscle. But in the middle of the Nantahala National Forest, it’s hard to find a scale for proof, he jokes.

March in Georgia was cold and wet, with single-digit temperatures in the higher elevations.

“I am getting stronger,” Wasserman reported on March 31, stopped just south of the North Carolina border. “And I’m a little more sure-footed on the trail. But [camping] when it was 20 degrees was miserable. My fingers were so sore I couldn’t tie my shoes. I lived in Buffalo 28 years ago, but I don’t go back to the cold on purpose,” he said, laughing.

Up until now, Wasserman has lived in flat places with warm climates, mostly Florida and California — but now, his only address is along the trail.

“They say that Georgia is like a four in difficulty, and North Carolina is like a six. So I anticipate harder climbs, but also I expect to get stronger and faster. I’m hoping to get up to 12 miles a day in the next couple of weeks, and I actually should start hitting 12-15 miles a day” in order to finish before winter hits.

Little by little, he’s getting to that point, having hiked 11 miles the day before our third chat on April 8. But by our next talk, Wasserman said he realized he shouldn’t push himself too hard: “I’ve given myself seven months to do what some people do in four or five. And when I asked Gary [Sizer], ‘If you could do it over, what would you do different?’ He said, ‘I’d give myself more time to enjoy and take in the experience.’”

Even with a slower pace, Wasserman’s already ahead of schedule. In fact, his original intended start-date was April 15. “And here it is April 15, and I’m already at 160 miles,” he said. “When I put my house up for sale, everything went so fast. I was able to get on the trail three weeks sooner.”

A spiritual detour

anticlimactic
Anticlimactic: The Georgia-North Carolina state line, as seen by Wasserman on the Appalachian Trail in the fog.

“Hey, Hayley; I’m sitting on another one of those amazing mountaintops,” says Wasserman, snacking on a handful of M&M’s. A hiker he recognizes walks by, and they tease each other. “He’s taking my picture because I’m always on the phone,” Wasserman explains.

By this point, he had just hiked into North Carolina, an experience he called “anticlimactic,” one of his few negative remarks thus far. “Well, it’s a difficult climb, and it’s just a signpost on the trail — not even in a wide spot — with a little bit of water running behind it.”

It was cold and foggy, and Wasserman was suffering from a bad pair of boots. They were too tight in some places — too loose in others, and after running out of bandages, he covered a blister in duct tape just to continue walking. As he approached the state line, his “feet were on fire, I was tired, it was near the end of the day,” Wasserman explains. “I looked on my guide for the North Carolina border, and it said ‘nearby.’ I looked up, saw the sign and said, ‘You’re kidding.’ I just wanted it to be more exciting.”

His optimism still shines through his disappointment. “But now Georgia’s behind me,” he continues. “And when I hit 100 miles, I realized I only have to do this 21 more times.”

Because he’s a born-again Christian, Wasserman made plans to catch a ride to the nearest town for an Easter morning sermon. “I mean, like you said, I’m a self-professed Bible thumper,” he noted, laughing. “Easter is important to me.”

On Saturday, April 4, he mapped out a destination known to thru-hikers as a good spot to catch rides into town. But in the meantime, he was quickly developing what he believed to be plantar fasciitis, which painfully gnawed at the arches of his feet with every step. “I was afraid I wasn’t going any further and that I wouldn’t get to church for Easter. I was a little disappointed, but I believe God intervenes.”

Later that day, Wasserman walked up to a ridge and saw some young hikers anxiously pacing around. “I asked them, ‘What’s going on?’ And one of them said, ‘Oh, his dad’s picking him up and taking him home [to Franklin] for Easter. We’re hoping to catch a ride.’ So all six of us — with our packs — crammed in the back of an F-150, playing Tetris with our legs, and headed into town.”

In Franklin, Wasserman ran into some familiar faces from Springer Mountain. “I had fallen behind so many people that I was surprised to see them again,” he says. The hikers explained that they were having issues with their feet, and after hearing Wasserman’s similar issue, they recommended he stop by Outdoor 76. “There’s a guy there who’s a magician at fitting hiking boots,” they explained.

pickup

Wasserman made an appointment with the outfitter, and, in the morning, he hitched a ride with a retired couple to Biltmore Baptist in Franklin, where he watched the church’s Arden Easter service projected on a big screen.

On Monday, he picked up some properly fitted boots and was back on the trail — at the same point he’d left it. For his personal journey, Wasserman’s decided not to skip any miles, which many hikers do to avoid backtracking after a refuel. “My intention is to see every white blaze on the trail,” he says. “Maybe [later on], if I’m tired, I’ll let myself slack off. But right now my goal is to be able to say that I thru-hiked the entire Appalachian Trail.”

Introspection

“Really, it’s better than I could’ve expected,” he continues. “All day long, I’m hiking alone. I can go three to four hours without seeing another human being, and in the evenings, you tend to congregate with other people. Only twice have I camped by myself — every other night it’s six to 16 people sitting around the fire, using the same table in the shelter trying to cook.”

In fact, one of the biggest things Wasserman says he’s learned about himself so far “is that I’m totally OK alone. I travel six or seven hours a day by myself and then, at the end, there’s always people at the campsites. I’m not always social, especially if it’s a group of kids sitting around the fire with wine or beer. That makes me a little uncomfortable [due to his personal history]. But it’s amazing how I can walk seven hours alone and be completely at peace.”

While walking, he thinks about his past, his present and his future. Selling his home, most of his belongings and quitting his job, Wasserman is determined to start a new life post-trail — altering his perceptions of his past along the way.

“I’ve been reflecting on so much these past weeks,” he explains. “And, well, there’s no shame in my game — I’m examining the different times in my life as a way of getting in touch with my current self.”

campInstead of letting issues from the past drag him down, he explains, “I’m bringing them up through meditation and writing — using exercises to detraumatize some of those things. I spent some time this morning meditating, thinking about the kid in the trailer park playground, the kid that felt like an outcast in junior high — getting into weed and trying to be a surfer, even though I wasn’t good at it. The kid who hitchhiked across the country. I’m trying to put all that together while I’m out here to see things in myself that I still don’t like — and also I’m seeing things that I’m really proud of.”

On any given day, he says, “I’m running back and forth through all my various relationships. I accept that I’m the common denominator, but I still think maybe it wasn’t always my fault. I’m more at peace with that, and I accept the fact that I don’t always fit well with certain people.”

Wasserman’s introspective mind has kept him so busy that, even though he brought an iPod along for the trip, he’s yet to use it on the trail.

On April 14, Wasserman marked a milestone he set for himself at the beginning of the hike: reaching Fontana Dam. Two food packages awaited him there, and he figured if he made it that far, he would put together a solid plan for the next 200 miles — breaking the journey up into 10 percent chunks.

“I’ve probably lost 14-15 pounds, and my body’s not as much of a problem anymore,” he says. “It’s a big deal for me to get here.”

Wasserman says he’s learned so much from the trail in these last four weeks. He has the strength to keep walking, and he now knows how much he can carry. But even with new boots, his feet are still hurting — though not like before. “I’m disappointed that my toes hurt,” he says, after taking a zero to see a doctor. “It takes up a good percentage of my attention. But the nurse gave me ibuprofen, and it’s probably just something I’ll have to deal with: walking through the pain.”

And in between thinking about his feet, his past and his future, Wasserman’s appreciating all that nature has to offer.

“I’ve spent a lot of time thanking God that I’m out here,” he says. “I’m watching the trees bud, the sun poking from behind the leaves — grass, caterpillars, moss, the vines, the ferns — just watching the different shoots coming up out of the brown leaves. That’s something that I’ve been divorced from the last couple of decades: watching this awakening of spring. Every day it’s like you’re walking a different trail. I’m in awe of it all day long.”

And though he still has a long way to go, both physically and mentally, “Right now,” he says, “I’m comfortable with the path that I’m on.”

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Hayley Benton
Current freelance journalist and artist. Former culture/entertainment reporter at the Asheville Citizen-Times and former news reporter at Mountain Xpress. Also a coffee drinker, bad photographer, teller of stupid jokes and maker-upper of words. I can be reached at hayleyebenton [at] gmail.com. Follow me @HayleyTweeet

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

25 thoughts on “Transformative journey: Appalachian Trail thru-hiker reconsiders his life path

  1. Bill Burt

    I admire this fella, but its better him rather than me. I applaud his will and energy for this trip. Once I had those things, but somewhere along the way, they went away. Go for it sir. I wish you good miles and the answers you seek.

    We all seek for Eldorado somewhere , somehow in our lives.

  2. zach millsap

    great day today! because i just read about mr wasserman’s great adventure. best of every thing to you fella. you’re like a hero guy to me. keep chugging. like you, we’re doing the AT in sections-last year on July 22 (arbitrarily picked) we (motley crew of 7) set out from amicola falls and 12 days later took out at standing indian, NC completing the ‘walk thru Georgia’. now July 22, 2015 we pick back up there and continue to lake fontana dam where we’re getting wet and eating fish.

  3. Awesome story thank you very much – you are a great writer. I went to high school with Henry and it is an inspiration to hear about this journey on the A.T. I recently located Henry on facebook about 6 months ago. We both share 19 yrs of sobriety and a strong faith in God.

  4. Rhoda Bottiggi MacMaster

    I found the article very interesting and hope you continue to follow Henry adventures. It was great.

  5. Laurel J.B Dube

    Love following Henry “Harleys” trek. I admire the courage it took to leave a good job , a home and attack 2000+ miles interesting read .

  6. Vance Bunardzya

    I am a friend of Henry. I live in Pennsylvania and thoroughly enjoyed your article chronicling his journey. Looking forward to your next installment as he makes his way along the AT.

  7. Stacy Felts

    I have enjoyed following Henry’s journey. Your journal of his experience and the insight you give on the reasons for his journey are inspiring. I can wait to see how the rest of his journey unfolds.

  8. Cynthia Murphy (Asheville)

    Hi Henry~~ What a great life choice you have made! It takes courage to do what you are doing and it is wonderful that you realize the significant lessons you are learning. I hope we get to hear about your decision regarding a new destination and home after you finish your hike. Wishing you much joy. You should be very proud of yourself.

  9. Keep following Henry for some of us who are finding inspiration! Working toward a 2017 thru hike myself…..thanks, and be safe Henry!

  10. Mary

    Great article Hayley! Thanks for taking the time in sharing your insights on a thru hiker, you’ve picked an interesting “character” to write about. Looking forward to following “Harley’s” inspirational journey along the AT through more stories from you. Keep ’em coming!

  11. toni cohan

    Henry I’m so proud of u following your heart this way. Not to mention carrying Wilson the entire trip & not leaving him out ever. I miss you my friend, keep on keeping on … much love & respect. Toni C.

  12. Amy

    love reading about this adventure. Please continue with updates, you may have a great book heree

  13. Carol Guzik

    Way to go Henry. Loved the story. I can’t wait to read about the people you meet on the trail.

  14. Donna Cole

    Henry is a friend of ours from SoFlo. This is such a great read of his adventure & keeps us up-to-date on how/where he is and all his sites he is taken in. We are so proud of him to have had such courage to take on the AT. Can’t wait for next episode of his adventure!!!

  15. Tim Thompson

    Henry, what your doing is Awesome, Thank you so much for keeping us other old timers updated, what we wish we had the health and courage to do, keep the pictures coming, and story’s,

  16. Barbara Farthing

    This is a great story! I want to hike a part of the trail and am living vicariously through his story.

  17. Ellen Macioce

    Wow… I am so proud of Henry. What an accomplishment already. Hayley your literary skills are awesome and have inspired me and many others tracking Henry’s journey. Henry has been a huge part of my life for many years. We had a conversation about this hike/journey. He was considering it at the time. I am not mom but I am one if the lucky people that gets a phone call occasionally. I believe in my heart you will get your answers you are looking for. If anything this journey will turn a great man into a greater man. Can’t wait to hear and read more. Thank you Hayley for tracking his journey. As one of the replies said, could make a good book!

  18. carl shelton

    I met Harley on the At last week. It was our first hike and Harley helped us out alot. We didn’t know what we was doing. Harley was always first one on the trail and was very happy and joking about everyone will catch up with him before he geT to camp. Look out Maine here Harley comes. Good luck on your hike and keep us posted .
    “The four”

  19. Juli

    Met Harley on the trail this week. Remember the two southbounders Harley? Did you notice the pink lady slippers? Enjoy your hike and that big lobster at the end!

  20. Dave Wasserman

    Great job on following my brother’s progress and transformation. You are a great writer and very insightful. Thanks for keeping us informed.
    Dave Wasserman

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.