Two groups of young Boy Scouts struggled into camp at dusk, barely 10 minutes before the thunder and lightning brought a heavy downpour that soaked them as they huddled in the trees and fought to stay dry.

I relaxed in my tent, enjoying the storm as it came and went, and then helped the Scout leaders and their demoralized young hikers get organized and pitch tents and string hammocks for their first night on the Appalachian Trail.

          The trail is a magical place, a storied footpath that stretches 2,185 miles from Georgia to Maine. Thousands of visitors step into the woods each season to follow its white blazes. Some are experienced; too many are unprepared.

This is my fourth season as an Appalachian Trail Ridgerunner, one of three hired to keep tabs on the wilderness shelters and foot traffic along 75 miles of trail in New Jersey. We are trained in wilderness first aid and Leave No Trace, and we educate folks about bears and ticks and snakes.

My job is to protect the trail and forests while helping guests enjoy their visit. The trail is my office, and I am in the woods five days a week.

Our season starts Memorial Day weekend, but I am out early this year and hiker traffic already seems better suited to mid-summer than late spring.

Mike, a 60-ish Brit, was better than 450 miles into what “God willing” will be a thru-hike of the AT. Todd, a 30-ish Pennsylvanian, was five days into a 150-mile hike to New York.

          Eight middle-schoolers and three teachers were on the second night of a three-day 25-mile “graduation” hike.  Working easily in pairs, they pumped and filtered water from a small stream and set up their camp with little instruction.

          A dozen Outward Bound hikers arrived at sunset, packing in their noisy city banter for their first wilderness adventure.  The chatter stopped as they made camp, leaders had them work together in silence, using only non-verbal communication to set their tarps and stow their gear.

          These groups of young people were wildly different, but all were a joy to watch. No one had phones or electronic devices, but all seemed to enjoy simply being with their friends and most appeared to find comfort in the quiet of the woods.

          The chatter dies away as darkness falls. Sleep typically comes easy to those who have carried their packs up a mountain to get here. Night sounds remind us that other creatures share the forest. Perhaps tomorrow we’ll see a bear.

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