WRITTEN BY RON AND KELLY GAULDEN I N T R O D U C T I O N B Y T H E B A C K R O A D P O R T F O L I O S TA F F PHOTOS PROVIDED BY THE GAULDENS UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED
In 2005, Kelly Gaulden was teaching middle school. Her husband, Ron, was working for a print publication. Both graduates of Appalachian State University, the Gauldens enjoyed life in Charlotte, North Carolina, but weekend hikes along the Appalachian Trail inspired them to take their adventures a step further, literally. “One evening while talking over dinner, we decided that if we didn’t set a date for a thru-hike, we’d never commit to it. So, we decided on March of 2007, which was about two years out,” Kelly said. “That gave us time to research, plan, save money, acquire new gear, and make it come to fruition.” Over the course of those two years, they studied gear reviews and tested their purchases during practice hikes. “Our first overnight hike together on the AT was near Roan Mountain by Grassy Ridge Bald and Little Hump and Big Hump mountain in Tennessee. There were about two feet of snow on the trail, so it really tested our gear and our resilience,” Kelly said. During another hike, some thru-hikers “flew by us,” Kelly said, “before we met up with them by a road crossing. They were out there for so long, but their packs were smaller than ours. Since it was our last day out and we were hiking back to our parked car, we offered them our leftover food. The way they ravenously accepted it with such appreciation really amazed me.” On March 25, 2007, the Gauldens stepped onto the 8.5-mile Approach Trail at Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia—their packs heavy with dreams and gear. Five and a half months later, on September 5, they stood atop Katahdin in Maine’s Baxter State Park, having covered roughly 2,175 miles northbound through snowstorms, rhododendron tunnels, and bear encounters. Camping companions and experiences helped create their trail names: “GG” (Gentle Giant) for Ron and “Rhodo” for Kelly, thanks to her love of the Appalachian Trail’s rhododendron tunnels and “the fact that I would curl up tight in my sleeping bag, just like rhodo leaves curl up in the cold temperatures,” she said. Here, in their own words, Ron and Kelly share how their experience of hiking the Appalachian Trail—nineteen years later, and now residents of Greenville, South Carolina—still echoes through their lives.
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