That’s what the hikers call it – the AT (Appalachian Trail).
  This is a seemingly endless path they will spend 6 months hiking.  
  It spans 2,190 miles up the eastern seaboard from Georgia to Maine. 
  I’m talking about the Appalachian Trail. 
  Every year, thousands attempt to traverse the entire AT but only 1 in 4 complete the trail.
  One person who defied those odds was Heyward Douglass. He hiked the entire trail from Springer Mountain in Georgia through 14 states all the way to Mount Katahdin in Maine back in 2011. A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to talk to him about some of his experiences. 
  He began his 6-month hike in March of 2011 at Springer Mountain, just outside Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia. At age 63, he had some concerns about hiking the trail. When he asked, his friends were not at all concerned. Heyward has been a strong hiker since he was a teenager.
  I asked him about a typical day on the trail, He said he started off his day early, before anyone else is up, by packing all his gear. He would throw on his 30 pound backpack and start hiking. 
  A typical day would be filled with around 12 miles of hiking until about an hour before sunset. 
  Hikers have different ways of passing the time on the trail. Heyward’s was to bird watch. 
Around noon he usually took a break to eat, preferably at a cool vista. 
Sometimes he hiked with otherse to pass the time, especially in Maine, when he hiked and camped with two others. 
  The AT has more than 250 communal back country shelters that hikers are encouraged to stay in but some hikers, for different reasons, camp in tents. 
Heyward, who did plenty of both, explained he preferred one over the other in different situations.
  On days the trail is near a town, Heyward would restock on food and other supplies, enjoy a warm shower and bed after days on the trail. He said the worst part is leaving towns with added weight. 
Heyward has been part of the Foothills Trail Conservancy, or FTC, for years now. The FTC manages the Foothills Trail, An incredible 76-mile hiking trail in South Carolina’s Appalachian foothills. The state aims to improve the Foothills Trail, learning from the AT’s shortcomings such as long stretches without water. 
  The FTC is building wells in stream beds near major campsites so even during a drought, there are reliable water sources.
  I hope you can go out and enjoy the Appalachian or the Foothills Trail this holiday season. You don’t have to hike the whole trail, but you can hike a section. If you want to do something closer, visit one of our parks within an hour’s drive of Lexington. They include: Dreher Island, Poinsett, Sesquicenntenial, and Aiken State Parks. To learn more go visit www.southcarolinaparks.com or look up my column from Nov. 29. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.