Wheeling Hiker Ryan Herron Conquers the Appalachian Trail

WHEELING -- One Wheeling man set out in August with an ambitious goal -- to hike the Appalachian Trail in five months. Not only did Ryan Herron achieve this 2,198-mile mile-feat, but he made it back in time to spend Christmas with his family.

Beginning at Mount Katahdin in Maine, Herron passed through 14 states before reaching his final destination of Springer Mountain in Georgia.

To reach his goal of being home for the holidays, Herron maintained a stringent schedule on the trail. Admitting he "probably should have started a little earlier most days," Herron traveled from sunrise to sunset.

By ensuring he had plenty of daylight on the trail, Herron did not have to push himself too hard.

"I averaged around two miles an hour, so it was not a blistering pace," noted Herron. "I would get kind of tired toward the end of the day."

While walking 16½ miles a day would be intimidating to most, Herron said the journey "wasn't too bad." Monotony was often his biggest obstacle, as days would mostly consist of nothing but walking.

Once fatigue hit and the sun began to set, Herron would pick out a spot to set up his tent for the night. Where he lodged was often "trail dependent," so he sometimes had to push a little harder to reach an established campsite, shelter or lean-to.

Subsisting on what he called "not the world's healthiest diet," meal staples for Herron included peanut butter, ramen and water filtered from ponds and rivers. During stops in towns along the trail, Herron was also able to "eat decently once a week or so."

"There are a lot of established trail towns with a nice network of like hostels," noted Herron. "These were always fun to stop at because you have a good number of hikers there with a lot of great resources."

One of these resources was companionship, with Herron forming "a little bubble of five to ten hikers" he bounced back and forth between during the trip. One hiker accompanied him for 400 miles.

"It's a pretty social trail," he described. "You immerse yourself in the various towns all through the different regions of Appalachia. I got to hike with and get to know people from all over the country."

At the start of his journey, Herron found himself frequently passing by other travelers on the trail. Once he reached Pennsylvania, Herron only encountered one or two people a day because "no one was going north that late in the year."

"I would sometimes go days without seeing people or just maybe one other person," recounted Herron. "At town stops, I made sure to get a couple of podcasts downloaded for those days."

Though the trail could get lonely, the sights he saw on the journey were more than enough to occupy Herron. The "vast majority of Maine" was a highlight for Herron, citing the "gorgeous rivers and ponds" as what drew him to the state.

"It was like no place I'd ever hiked before with its vast wilderness at the start," said Herron on Maine. "The Southern half is quite mountainous, so I got 360 views there too."

Other highlights included the Presidential Mountain Range in New Hampshire and the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.

While Herron was immersed in the sights of the trail, his family back home were confident in his ability to hike the trail. However, they still harbored some worries for his journey.

Herron's father, Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron, explained their biggest concern was the harsh weather his son would encounter.

"He ran into some heavy rain in the New England states this summer," noted Robert Herron. "The biggest part we were worried about was snow and cold in December."

His family's worries did not come to fruition, as the coldest temperatures Herron encountered were in the low teens.

"I was pretty fortunate because I didn't sleep cold a single night," he added. "There was a little bit of snow, but that didn't impact travel."

Herron's own reservation for the journey was the fact that "little problems can turn into big problems" on the Appalachian Trail. He explained that injuries or other problems can "snowball" when one is 15 miles on foot from the nearest road.

"Luckily, nothing ever snowballed, but you just never know when you are limited by foot travel," said Herron. "If you have an injury or whatnot the travel exacerbates the situation."

Reaching Wheeling on Dec. 23 with only a "couple of bruises," Herron returned to his hometown excited to see his family and enjoy a home-cooked meal.

"I had to push towards the end to make it back in time for Christmas," said Herron. "This was the longest stretch I had ever gone without seeing my niece, so it was really nice to get back."

Robert Herron had "complete confidence" in his son's ability to finish the trail, adding that he was sure his son "found out a lot about himself" on the trip.

"The hike is recognized as a major accomplishment to undertake and complete if you're an outdoors person," noted Herron. "He thought it out and then ultimately accomplished it. My wife (Dina) and I are very proud of the fact that he was able to do all that."