Brothers hiking the Appalachian Trail

BY KEVIN WOODRUFF

Two men from Tunkhannock departed on the journey of a lifetime on Mar. 12.

Brothers Joshua Siegel, 20, and Jacob Siegel, 18, are in the midst of hiking the Appalachian Trail, a 2,181 mile public trail system fromGeorgiatoMaine.

According to their father, Gary Siegel, of Tunkhannock, he dropped the pair off at Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia on Mar. 12 to begin their journey.

He hiked the first 40 miles with his sons and then wished them luck as they departed on their life-changing journey.

According to Gary, it will take his sons around five months to complete the hike which they’ve been planning for about a year.

Joshua and Jacob will reach the end of their journey sometime in August at the top of Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park in Maine.

“I’m very excited for them,” Gary said. “But I’m also nervous at the same time.”

Planning the journey was a large undertaking for the two, and included mapping out the hike, scheduling food drops at various post offices along the way and selecting the right equipment.

In addition, Jacob, a senior at Tunkhannock Area, had to work ahead to finish all of his graduation requirements before he was allowed to take the trip.

And Joshua, a student at Ithaca College, took a semester off to complete the journey.

Garysaid his sons began hiking with him when they were in their early teens, traveling sections of theAppalachian TrailinMaine.

He said it was an activity they always did as a family and as the boys got older, their interest in hiking the entire trail continued to grow.

“When they were younger I sometimes had to drag them kicking and screaming to go hiking,” Gary said. “But then all of a sudden they got the idea to through hike theAppalachian Trail.”

Gary also mentioned that his sons’ interest grew after talking with a family friend that section hiked the trail over a number of years.

Todd Bosscher, the dean of students at Tunkhannock Area School District, has been a mentor to Jacob throughout the planning of the journey.

And that’s because Bosscher himself hiked theAppalachian Trailin its entirety in 1991.

Bosscher said that the pair’s journey through theAppalachian Trailis no small undertaking.

“It’s a significant commitment,” Bosscher said. “Jacob had to work very hard ahead of time to complete all of his class requirements.”

Bosscher also noted that Jacob may end up foregoing a traditional graduation ceremony, as he will still be hiking when Tunkhannock Area holds its graduation this spring.

Bosscher said that not only is the hike a test of physical fitness, but it is also an emotionally trying experience.

“I told Jacob, ‘No one has ever quit from running out of food, they give up because they get physically injured or emotionally drained,’” Bosscher said. “That was the key piece of advice I gave him.”

Bosscher said that Jacob has planned food drops months in advance to arrive when he and Joshua will be hiking near drop points.

“It’s a part of the trip you have to plan into your schedule,” Bosscher said. “Because you can only carry about a week’s worth of food on your back at a time.”

For Bosscher, the journey was a life-changing experience in many ways, not only because of the sites he saw, but because he met his future wife on the trip.

Bosscher, who is not originally from Wyoming County, met his wife, Cynthia Lee, now Cynthia Bosscher, on the trip.

It took him 5.5 months to complete the hike, and said that one of the most challenging aspects of it was removing himself from all the creature comforts of everyday life.

“There are very few times in life when everything you own can be simplified down to 45 pounds on your back,” Bosscher said. “You carry all your clothing, shelter and food on your back. And you have to be very self reliant.”

Gary said as of Thursday his sons were in the midst of climbing the Great Smoky Mountains in southern Tennessee.