Captain Tara Fernadez – Adventures on the Appalachian Trail

Captain Tara’s Off Season Adventures on the Appalachian Trail

Ahoy! Here at Stormy Pirates we’re all about adventure, so when Tara Fernandez, one of our Captain’s asked for a six-month leave of absence to pursue her own adventure of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail (AT), we responded with a resounding, “YES!.” We recently caught up with her as she was ready to cross into New Hampshire and trek the nearly 450 remaining miles to the northern terminus of Katahdin, Maine. (Although three to four thousand people attempt to hike the entire trail each year, only 25% ever finish!)

Welcome aboard this edition of Pirates Tales and read on to hear more about Captain Tara and her experiences on the AT! 

Adventurous But Not Outdoorsy!

Upbeat, optimistic and hard-working are a few descriptors that fit Tara perfectly, and although she admits she’s adventurous, she laughs when I ask if she’s always been an outdoor enthusiast.

“Until now I would not have described myself as a hiker or even athletic,” she confesses. “I never wanted to go run 20 miles and if I went on a hike, it usually was a climb of a couple of miles and maybe some wine at the top!” 

She also stutters a bit when asked about how she trained for such an arduous hike.

“I didn’t,” she says. “I watched every YouTube video known to man about the trail, but mostly I worked as many hours as I could and even took an extra job at Night Kayak Tour St. Thomas to make a little extra money because I was going to be unemployed for six months – and to live in the woods like a homeless person is more expensive than you would think!”

What made Tara decide to hike the Appalachian Trail?

“My brother, Evan, passed away in June of 2022,” she responds. “He was an outdoors guy with all kinds of hiking gear, and when we went through some of his things, I found journals talking about times he was on the AT. Before I knew it, I was like – ‘I’m going to do this!’ It became my grief walkabout.”

But thinking and doing can be vastly different. After setting out on April 24th loaded with an ample supply of freeze-dried food, water, layers of clothing and a hoard of camping supplies crammed into her backpack, she quickly realized the magnitude of the challenge before her, adding, “I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that the first mile and a half made me question every decision I had made up to that point. It was so hard! You read all these blogs and watch all these videos but until you’re actually there, none of it means anything.”  

Thankfully, Tara’s mother and sister, who drove her to the trailhead leading to the start of the AT and walked that first mile and a half with her, provided moral support. As the three women had dinner together that first night at a small lodge near the starting point, Tara made some decisions. Yes, she was going to continue, but she needed to lighten her load. After completely emptying her backpack, she handed her mother all the clothes that were too warm for hiking in the Georgia sun and any unnecessary supplies, making her backpack at least five pounds lighter. Throughout the journey, she’d resupply at rest stops off the trail.

Onward, Upward & Inward

Over the course of the next week, she encountered a plethora of wildlife, saw amazing scenery and developed more blisters than she could count.

“I had blisters on my blisters,” she sighs. “It was a big, wide-open awakening. I’m a real positive person by nature, so when it comes to dealing with grief and hard things in my life, I tend to put up walls. I was looking at this hike as a way of pushing myself to struggle with all the feelings inside and tear down some of those walls. There’s no hiding when you’re out here and you’re on day seven without a shower or only eating dehydrated rice and beans everyday. You just break down whether you want to or not.”

By the time she stopped to buy a new pair of shoes, her foot size had changed. Normally a Woman’s 9 to 9 ½, her next pair of shoes jumped to a 10. By the following stop, she needed a Men’s 10, and her latest pair of footwear jumped to a Women’s 11.

The reward in all those agonizing miles? Feeling her brother’s presence.

“The hardest part of this hike so far has been the Smoky Mountains as it was raining every single day I was up there and my feet were mush. On my last day in those mountains, it was Evan’s birthday and as woo-woo as it sounds, I felt like I was in the clouds, in heaven with him, because the fog was so thick,” she recounts. “As I came off the mountain and walked to the hostel, I met another hiker who congratulated me for finishing the Smoky Mountains. When he said, ‘Hi! I’m Bug,’ I just lost it and started crying because my brother’s nickname was Bug, not to mention he looked very much like my brother. It was a release of so many emotions – of finishing something really hard and feeling my brother’s presence. I could cry thinking about it now because it was so special.”

Two other encounters with young men who looked and had an air about them like her brother followed in other sections of the trail. One even bore the name Evan, while the other shared the same last name as hers. “Very, very coincidental,” she says, “but signs for me that he’s here and saying ‘hello’ as I continue hiking.”

Trail Life And Lingo

Just about everyone who hikes the AT acquires a “trail name,” and although Tara thought she’d come up with a clever name of her own, a fellow hiker by the nickname Shipwreck, bestowed one upon her that stuck.

“It was my first week on the trail and at the end of the day at camp, I was surrounded by other hikers setting up their tents and cooking. I walked up to a group of guys, probably in their late 60s, and Shipwreck was talking about how he got his name because he was a sailor in the Caribbean. I told him that I was from the Virgin Islands and that I worked on boats,” she says. “The next day I saw him and he shouted, ‘Oh, there’s Island Girl!’ Word gets passed because it’s like a small community out here, so when I’d roll up into another camp, people would say, ‘Oh, you’re Island Girl.’ There was no hiding anymore.”

Trail Angels are something Tara talks a lot about. It’s a term referring to people who do kind, helpful things like offering a ride to town or handing an apple to someone who looks hungry. Many trail angels are strangers like the woman who offered Tara and a few other hikers packages of Honey Buns.

“This woman had no idea of the magnitude of what she was doing that day,” Tara recalls. “I was part of a group of hikers and we were sitting on the side of the road feeling a bit exhausted and defeated when she got out of her car and offered us these Honey Buns which were warm from sitting in her car. One of my friends actually cried while eating it.”

Kindness from the community seems to be commonplace. She adds, “These are some of the most generous people I’ve ever come across. They’re so encouraging and always asking, ‘How can I help you?’ It’s unbelievable.”

Tara has also had a slew of support from her Caribbean community as well as from family and friends from her community in upstate New York where she’s originally from. There was a going-away party in St. Thomas and a fundraiser at Pier 53, where she used to work in New York. And lots of friends who shared some of her hiking adventures.

“Throughout the hike, I’ve interacted with more people from the Virgin Islands than anywhere else,” she exclaims, “which is crazy to me. My first visitor was back in Hot Springs, NC. Savannah, who I worked with at Night Kayak, came in to see me. We went to the hot springs and had a great day.”

Then another friend came and hiked with her for four days, as well as a neighbor from St. Thomas. When I interviewed her, Tara was taking a few days off from the trail and staying in a cabin that belonged to patrons of Stormy Pirates Charters that she had gotten to know. Another friend who lived with Tara last winter will meet her at the finish line. All of their company and moral encouragement has been a gift.

“I’m so grateful for all my people and friends,” she says. “I see a lot of folks out here who don’t have a support system and the struggle is so different for them. If I’m having a bad day, I know I have someone in my corner which makes a world of difference.”

Tara’s Dad was an angel as well as he diligently made freeze-dried meals for her to use on her hike with beef stroganoff being one of her absolute favorites. 

“It feels like I’m eating every 30 minutes,” Tara says. “I eat granola bars, tuna packets and a lot of tortillas throughout the day in addition to those dehydrated meals. Then when I get to town, having a cheeseburger and a beer is the best. I’m forever saying, ‘These are the best fries or the best sandwich,’ but I think I’m just starving!”

Other benefits of getting off the trail for a bit include hot showers and doing laundry.

“I probably only have six pieces of clothing with me, so I need to wash all of it when I stop. In the Southern states, they really cater to the hikers and I really appreciated that they often had a closet full of loaner clothes to wear while I did my laundry. It was always fun to look at the selection and ask myself, ‘Who am I going to be today?’ Otherwise, I was stuck wearing my raincoat while I did my laundry.”

Each state had its challenges and rewards.

“The rocks were real in Pennsylvania,” she declares, “but my dad and step-mother, Patty, came from New York and brought their camper for four days which provided a lot of support for me. Each night Dad would pick me up after 20 miles and then I’d have a home-cooked meal which lightened the load. New Jersey was absolutely the easiest. I got through it in three days and there was this gorgeous boardwalk that was almost an entire day with lots of cattails, long grass and dragonflies. But the second you step into New York, it’s a boulder field.”

Surprises Abound! 

When asked about what has surprised her the most on the hike, Tara doesn’t hesitate to answer.

“I have the ability to do so much more than I ever imagined,” she starts. “I’ve always thought of myself as a confident person and pretty capable, but going into this I had so much doubt and nervousness about my physical ability. Each time I’ve felt absolutely physically spent, my ability to mentally tell myself to keep going got me through it. Whether it’s my body or my mind that’s ready to give in, the other takes over and pushes me through.”

Admitting that she turned 40 while hiking the trail, she also exclaims that she’s never felt healthier.

“I think I’ve been under-appreciating my body for years,” she laughs, adding, “It blows my mind and shocks me that I’m capable of doing 25 miles in a day!”

“Surprised” and “shocked” are also the words she uses to tell me about coming upon five adult wild boars, known for being really aggressive, who were running around chasing three baby piglets one day which forced her to hide behind a tree for 20 minutes until they wandered away. 

She also spied a bobcat while in New Jersey and had to sidestep more than a few snakes, including rattlesnakes which are quite adept at blending in with their surroundings.

“They’re so scary and intimidating,” she admits, adding that the first time she heard them, she mistook them for cicadas. “They don’t move, so you just have to wait them out or go around them if you can.”

Thoughts About The Journey And Returning To St. Thomas

When asked about her thoughts as she nears the end of her adventure, Tara sums it up by describing the roller coaster of emotions she’s been feeling.

“I’ve been crying more than I ever have,” she begins. “It’s a weird feeling. I’ve cried so many happy tears – so grateful for all the things that people have helped me with. I’m crying because it’s going to be over, because I’m proud of myself. And I’m crying because I’m nervous about going into the Whites (White Mts). It’s been such a great experience, but I can’t imagine doing it again. The sense of solitude and peace of mind that I’ve achieved out here have given me time to reflect about changes I want to make when I get back – like being more purposeful, being less complacent and making time for myself.”

What’s Next?

Besides the logistics of arranging travel from Maine to the Virgin Islands, Tara has been giving a lot of thought about what those first few days will be like back on St Thomas.

“I want to hug all my people,” she cries gleefully, “because the feeling of gratefulness is the top feeling I have from being out here. I’m so grateful for the contacts and the community I’ve built, and I think I’ve taken my friendships for granted a bit as we all do over time. I want to hug everyone and tell them how much I care for them and I want to hug my apartment, too – thanking it for the walls, and the roof! There are so many things we take for granted, but I’m looking forward to feeling that sense of home and community again.” 

And the crew at Stormy Pirates is eager to welcome her back into their lives, not to mention there will be more than a few conversations about her adventures. If you’ve ever thought about hiking the Appalachian Trail yourself, here are some interesting facts to consider:

• The Appalachian Trail passes through six National Parks, eight National forests, and two wildlife refuges.
• The AT is 2,198.4 miles long in 2024 (Due to footpath relocations the distance can change slightly year to year).
• The AT passes through 14 states.
• The AT is the longest hiking-only footpath in the world.
• 3 million people visit the AT each year.
• The AT is part of the National Parks System
• The total elevation gain of hiking the entire trail is equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest 16 times!
• Hikers on the AT can burn up to 6000 calories a day.
• The Southern end of the AT is Springer Mt., Georgia and the Northern terminus is Katahdin, Maine.

End Notes: We hope to update you in the future when Tara completes the trail and returns to St. Thomas. If you’d like to hear more about her journey, book a boat day with Stormy Pirates Charters and ask to meet her in person! As always, we promise to put the gang plank down and escort you in style.