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Photos courtesy of Conley Knott.
After her first experience hiking part of the Appalachian Trail in 2015, Lily Knott says she hopes to return and hike the entire trail.
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Photo courtesy of Conley Knott.
Lily Knott on the Nantahala Headwaters loop in North Carolina.
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Photos courtesy of Conley Knott.
Crestline father and daughter Conley and Lily Knott hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail last year.
The Appalachian Trail is a 2,200-mile, mountainous path stretching from Georgia to Maine. Only about a quarter of hikers who attempt the entire trail actually complete it. Lily Knott, a 13-year-old Crestline resident, plans to be one of them.
Lily, a student at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, said she always has enjoyed camping and the outdoors, but she first heard about the Appalachian Trail in elementary school. When her father, Conley Knott, explained the trail to her, she said she got very excited about the possibility of taking on the trail and “living as you go.”
“I never knew there was such a long path that you could walk continuously,” Lily said.
She got her first taste of life on the trail last summer. Lily and her father spent a weekend hiking the Nantahala Headwaters loop in North Carolina’s section of the trail. They had to leave Mountain Brook at 3 a.m. to begin hiking by 10 a.m., and said her initial energy quickly faded.
“I got so tired so quickly. It was a lot harder than I expected,” she said.
Over three days, Lily and Conley Knott hiked more than 20 miles, eating rehydrated food and drinking from streams that fed into the Nantahala River. Lily said the water, once purified, tasted better than anything she’d ever had out of a bottle or tap. They saw few animals, but met several hikers on their way through the entire trail.
“A lot of it was a lot harder than I expected, but you kind of settle into it,” Conley Knott said.
Lily can pull out a map and trace the path they took, which led them across ridges, over streams and through an exhausting climb up Albert Mountain, where the weight of her backpack made her feel like she was about to fall over. On their second night, the Knotts camped atop Standing Indian, a bald mountain. The lack of trees made it perfect for watching the sunset, Lily said, and large patches of flowers brought hundreds of bees.
Though they were only on the trail for a weekend, returning home had some sweet comforts.
“The first shower was pretty good,” she said. “I think I just slept a lot and ate a big dinner.”
Both father and daughter learned a little about reducing how much they carry, such as having a lighter sleeping bag and fewer clothes that could make it easier next time.
“I read [about] somebody that said something that I agreed with afterward: that all you need is a change of underwear and a change of socks, and that’s it,” Conley Knott said.
And there will be a next time. The three-day excursion whetted Lily’s appetite to continue long-distance hiking. This summer and through high school, she wants to hike in Alabama and on more segments of the Appalachian Trail. She also has been reading about the Pacific Crest Trail, Maine’s Hundred-Mile Wilderness and hiking trips across Australia. Lily said she wants to learn more about survival skills to attempt those trips one day.
“I know how to figure out which way’s north on a compass, but I don’t really know how to find my way to a place with a compass,” Lily said.
But she said she’s definitely determined to hike the entire Appalachian Trail either during or after college and be one of the few who completes the roughly six-month journey.
“I’m going to hike the whole thing,” Lily said.
