For the past 10 years, Jim Jenko has dedicated a significant amount of his time walking sections of the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia.
It was Jenko’s love of the outdoors that inspired him to undergo this incredible feat. Jenko, principal engineer working in the component design and analysis group at Westinghouse’s Waltz Mill site in Madison, Pa., wanted to see what long-distance backpacking was about. At first, he considered walking the Laurel Highlands Trail, which runs between Ohiopyle and Johnstown in Pennsylvania.
“The more I thought about the hike, the more I said to myself, ‘Why not hike the big one—the Appalachian Trail?’” 63-year-old Jenko says. “So in 2007, I started in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., and went north into Pennsylvania.
“I still remember after the second day wondering if I should continue or not. It was tough, and my backpack weighed way too much. However, I kept going and started to realize what the trail had to offer.”
After that first hike in 2007, Jenko decided to do a three-week trip again in 2008. The second-year hike was more enjoyable since he had better and lighter equipment.
Jenko also discovered that the path he was on was a social trail with hikers from all different backgrounds and countries.
“It was a treat to meet more people,” he says. “I have elected to hike my section hikes alone. I have at times met others on the trail and ended up hiking with them for my duration of that particular section. There is a sort of camaraderie with other hikers on this trail.”
After that second year, Jenko says he was hooked on the hike.
The Appalachian Trail officially measures 2,189 miles. But Jenko says that’s a horizontal measurement and does not account for the steepness of the mountains.
Each year there are about 2,500 hikers that start at Springer Mountain in Georgia, with only about 700 successful in walking the entire trail within 12 months. Jenko chose to walk the trail in sections over three-week periods.
“When I was hiking the section of trail starting in Springer Mountain, I began on April 15, and finished this year on Sept. 16,” he says. “During each three-week hike I would cover around 250 miles.”
To prepare for his section walks every year, Jenko ventures out on 10-mile hikes, which help him condition for the three-week hike.
One year, to prepare for the steep climbs in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, he hiked up and down a steep quarter-mile slope in a local park. His goal was to go up and down three times a night, three nights a week for a month before his section hike.
“The preparation does help, but in no way does it totally prepare you for how tough the Appalachian Trail is,” he says. “It is not an easy pathway. My one-word description of the trail is ‘brutal.’”
Jenko started the trail at Harpers Ferry in June 2007 and went in a northern direction. From 2008 to 2011, he hiked north until he reached Caratunk, Maine. In 2012, he started at the Southern Terminus end of the trail at Springer Mountain, traveled north and finished at Harpers Ferry in 2015. His final leg to complete the trail was done this past September after reaching the top of Mount Katahdin on Sept. 16, an Appalachian Trail section hike of 9 years and 3 months duration. On Sept. 16, Jenko completed the final leg of the trail, reaching the top of Mount Katahdin and marking the end of an Appalachian Trail hike that was nine years and three months in the making.
For Jenko, reaching the top of a mountain and seeing the spectacular sights was the most enjoyable part of the trail.
“It was amazing in the White Mountains when I got above the tree line to take in the views,” he says. “I like to quote a song by Jim Stoltz where he says he is a rich man for all the gold he has seen. I truly also believe and agree with that.”
Jenko now joins the ranks of an accomplished group of hikers that has walked every mile of the Appalachian Trail, a goal that Jenko once thought impossible.
“Sometimes a goal seems almost impossible to meet,” he says. “However, if you divide it up into small chunks, such as section hiking, it may become reality. When I look back, this was a challenging task I took on.
“Currently, there are around only 16,000 people that have ever walked the entire trail. I now can claim that I am one of the few.”
