Quick Takes: Speed Hiker pays tribute

Over the summer, those of us who enjoy hiking in our southern Appalachian mountains have been following the exploits of Jen Pharr Davis. She's a local woman who recently set the record for a woman to hike the Appalachian Trail. She hiked the entire 2175 miles in 57 days, 8 hours and 35 minutes. That is an average of 38 miles per day. If you have ever been hiking along the AT, you'll know that this is a feat of strength and endurance that revivals Michael Phelps Olympic record.

Why did she do it? 

Her speedy “thru-hike” was a tribute to honor fellow, fallen hiker-heroes who were killed on trails she had hiked many times.

“My hike was to honor the hikers killed by Gary Michael Hilton: John and Irene Bryant, and especially Meredith Emerson,” Davis said. “Meredith was a 24-year-old female, hiking alone. I was a female, hiking alone. I had been out on the same trails where they were murdered. It could have easily been me. If I had been an artist, I would have painted something for Meredith. But I’m a hiker. I took a hike for her.”

This hike was the culmination of several years of hiking alone beginning with the AT in 2005, and then trails in Australia, Africa and South America.

The idea to hike one of the country’s longest trails ... started as a teenager’s dream.

Davis, raised in Hendersonville, grew up playing tennis competitively, hiking, camping and living an outdoors lifestyle. She set herself a goal to “thru-hike,” or backpack the entire trail alone. She hurried to finish her degree at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., in 3 1/2 years, so she could hit the trail in the spring to take advantage of the best weather conditions for the hike.

“It seemed a good way to combine my interests of being an athlete and loving the outdoors,” Davis said. “It seemed like a good challenge that would allow me to make decisions concerning my future.”

In March 2005, the slender, 6-foot-tall hiker set off solo on a 4 1/2 month odyssey. She grew up quickly.

“I started off fearless and naïve,” Davis said. “Along the way, I ran into challenges and dangerous situations that made me question whether I should be out there on my own.”

Davis encountered naked men in the woods, met up with vicious, unleashed dogs and, in her worst moment, while hiking on the trail in New Jersey, she was the first upon the scene of a suicide.

After she was safely home in Asheville, Davis said she felt that it was a wonderful experience, but one she thought she never wanted to do again.

“But two months later, I wanted to go again,” she said. “I had learned so much about myself. I enjoyed being in nature and being active. I was eager to hike on other continents and see what they had to offer.”

I have a deep respect for Jen Davis. Her quest to honor her fellow hikers; her desire to set the AT speed record for women; her desire to know herself as she exists in the natural world are all attributes worthy of our respect.

We live in a time where extreme sports are celebrated for being extreme. And I must say watching skateboarders and bmx bikers get "big air" is amazing. But those sports, like virtual reality computer games, are all conducted within the safety of rules and shelter. Jen's quest led her into a natural world where there are no negotiations about the rules, and shelter is what you carry on your back. Our hyper technological world makes it difficult to have the experience that Jen did, and to learn what she has learned about herself and what it means to commit yourself to honoring someone with your life.

Here's a print ready copy of the article from the Asheville Citizen-Times.