Southingtonwomanhiked 430 miles in 35 days on the Appalachian Trail to overcome mental hurdle

Jul. 10—"I was really overwhelmed by the thought of hiking for six months," Cerra, 23, said. "I was super prepared for it in every other way — physically, financially, as far as gear goes I had everything I needed — but mentally I just shut down and forgot why I wanted to do it and was really doubting myself."

Thus, Cerra's first attempt ended in failure at the Georgia-North Carolina state line.

"It was really hard because I planned for it for about two years. I obviously spent a lot of money buying gear; I worked three jobs to save a bunch of money to do it, and within a week and a half, it was like my whole dream was shattered," she said.

After returning home to Southington, Cerra swore she would never attempt the Appalachian Trail again. A month later, she was back at it.

She booked a train down to the trail's halfway point in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, but this time with a new mind set.

"I didn't want to put pressure on myself to have to hike a certain amount," Cerra said. "I said I at least wanted to be out there for two weeks and I wanted to try to do at least 100 miles."

The Appalachian Trail spans almost 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine. Hikers conquer the eastern United States trail in several ways, but one of the most popular is called thru-hiking, during which travelers spend five to seven months completing the trail in one go — what Cerra tried to do her first go around.

Sights of the Appalachian Trail. Courtesy of Gabi Cerra.

Her second go at the hike, Cerra decided she would only hike those two weeks to the middle of Pennsylvania. She told herself that if she reached that point and felt like she did back in Georgia on her first attempt, she would call it quits. But, not long after she began, she had a new realization.

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"I was feeling myself getting more physically strong and I was doing more miles everyday," Cerra said. "I was definitely adjusting way better than I did in Georgia, and I think a lot of it had to do with not putting this whole huge goal in my head like, 'Oh my God I'm hiking for six months.' My demeanor got better and it was becoming more obvious that I was capable of going further, so my next goal in my head was, 'I'm going to finish Pennsylvania.'"

Pennsylvania's portion of the Appalachian Trail is about 230 miles long. On that stretch, Cerra experienced rugged terrain and wooded trails that did not reward her with beautiful views like some of the other states did. The monotony of the landscape made it hard to keep pushing forward, she said.

She had to keep watch for poisonous snakes like copperheads and rattlesnakes. Without cell service in some places, she used a special GPS app that directed her towards places to camp and water sources. She also had to learn how to ward off bears from her food sources. While she had established some friends to keep company with on the trail by the time she reached Pennsylvania, it was during these miles that Cerra experienced some of her toughest days, both physically and mentally.

"There were some days where the rocks were never ending, just walking over tiny pointy rocks and you couldn't get your feet around them," Cerra said. "I would just cry as I was hiking down the trail."

Left: Gabi Cerra crossing into New Jersey from Pennsylvania. Right: Gabi Cerra on the New York / New Jersey Border. Courtesy of Gabi Cerra.

But upon finishing Pennsylvania, Cerra decided to make it all the way home to Connecticut. She had hiked the entire portion of the Appalachian Trail in the Nutmeg State before, so she knew that if she could knock out New Jersey and New York, she would have completed a huge chunk of the trail.

Eventually, after about a month of hiking, Cerra came across the "Welcome to Connecticut" sign. After hiking 430 miles across six states, she said she was more than ready to be done.

"When I got to the Connecticut sign, I just slapped it and said, 'Ugh thank goodness,' and then I got picked up," she said.

Cerra was surrounded by support from family and loved ones upon returning home, and said her grandmother was "thanking God she was out of the woods" — literally.

Upon completing her 35-day hike, Cerra said she felt physically good aside from her tired feet. At first, she said that her successful run at 430 miles of the Appalachian Trail made her regret what she felt might have been her biggest opportunity to hike the whole thing. But upon further reflection, Cerra said hiking the trail in chunks was what was best for her in the end.

"Now that I have done the amount of miles that I have done, I would rather finish it in sections, do another 300 miles or another 500 or another 200 and then just keep doing that to finish the whole thing," Cerra said. "I think you put your body through less stress and damage doing it that way, and you enjoy it more mentally because you are not out there for months on end."

Now a quarter of the way done, Cerra hopes to finish all 2,190 miles— one way or another. And she said she would "never put thru-hiking the whole trail off the table," if she wanted to.