On March 29th, nine of us gathered at Libby's home (Marylib, Sheri, Margie, Paige, Annie, Linda, Maddy, and Joan), spring trying to break through outside, sun streaming in, to discuss Grandma Gatewood's Walk. All of us had been captured by this tough eccentric "novel attempt at greatness" by being the first woman to complete the entire Appalachian trail. Emma Gatewood told her family she was going on a walk and left her small Ohio hometown with a change of clothes, less than $200, and a pair of keds on her feet. In September 1955, having survived snakes, two hurricanes, and a run in with Harlem gangsters, she stood atop the end of the trail, Maine's Mount Katahdin. She proclaimed, "I said I'll do it, and I've done it." And she sang "America the Beautiful." Some say her outcry at some unmarked and difficult sections may have bee the saving of the trail.
In modern day terms she is called an "ultra-light hiking pioneer", and an "extreme hiker". But all of us could describe her as just plain gutsy, persistent, determined, resilient, and of course just plain tough. She had an ambitious goal and her toughness saw her through to the end.
Our group had many opinions as to why she did it. Throughout her difficult life with an abusive husband, 11 children, and back-breaking farm work, she used nature as a kind of solace from pain and hardship. Many in the group said that she was always giving and taking care of others, and maybe this was a way to find her true independent self. Someone said this was proof to herself she could do something for herself.
The author Ben Montgomery had access to Emma's diaries, trail journals, and letters. And he interviewed family members and people she met on the hike. And yet, he was a journalist and he could only "report", which made her voice scanty. Some in the group felt that we didn't hear her voice enough in the book, and, as women, we knew Emma Gatewood had a deep inner self that we never heard. But, too, maybe it was the times, when people kept their inner thoughts to themselves. We could only suppose what she was thinking day after day as she walked.
The two Eagle Scouts that helped her across a torrential stream remembered her "friendly determined nature." So with tattered sneakers, swollen ankles, a sore knee, and sleeping on the ground in leaves or branches wrapped only in a shower curtain, Emma had not an ounce of self-pity and a strong will to propel her to Maine.
As an aside we compared the book "Wild" to "Grandma Gatewood's Walk". We unanimously agreed that Emma Gatewood was the more admirable. Yet, Cheryl Strayed has her own sort of toughness too. The former came from a hard life both physically and emotionally in Applachian Ohio that none of us could fathom today. Cheryl Strayed came from modern comforts, yet psychologically difficult times. Each had their own journeys, each self-affirming and worth it.
My feeling was that from the start Emma Gatewood wanted to immerse herself in the movement of walking and in nature, both of which she had relied on in the past, what better way than to walk a long-distance trail she'd read about years before in National Geographic.
"The Reward of Nature"
If you go with me to the mountains
And sleep on the leaf carpeted floors
And enjoy the bigness of nature
And the beauty of all outdoors,
You'll find your troubles all fading
And feel the creator was not man
That made lovely mountains and forests
Which only a supreme power can.
When we trust in the Power above
And with the realm of nature hold fast,
We will have a jewel of great price
To brighten our lives till the last.
For the love of nature is healing,
If we will only give it a try
And our reward will be forthcoming,
If we go deeper than what meets the eye.
Emma Gatewood
