“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” -John Muir

Eleven hundred miles is a long way to walk. That’s roughly 2,475,000 steps, but who’s counting? I could do a lot of deep thinking over that many miles, and I would certainly be happy to reach my destination.

However, for the Georgia hiking duo known as The Wandering Dames, 1,100 miles (and some change) is only the halfway point of their Appalachian Trail thru-hike from Springer Mountain in Georgia to the summit of Mount Katahdin in Maine.

When I last talked with the Dames, whose real names are Cindy Aurin and Suzanne Holland, they had just begun their trek and had made it into Tennessee. We agreed that we would reconnect when they made it to the halfway point.

During that time, G and I have stayed up to date by watching Suzanne’s “Wandering Dames” YouTube channel and reading Cindy’s “Trail Journals” diary (trailjournals.com/Wanderingdamestake2).

One of the first things that I noticed while watching and reading was the Dames’ keen understanding of the importance of taking the time to “stop and smell the roses.” According to Cindy, “I think a lot of people, especially the ones that are pounding out miles, are not really stopping for the blue blazes or ‘side trails.’”

There is a wealth of history on and around the AT. That history has proven to be one of the highlights for Suzanne. “I don’t think that I realized how much history we would be walking right by on the Appalachian Trail: Harper’s Ferry, John Brown and Antietam,” Holland said, adding, “It’s an honor to experience. We’re on this journey, and we’re blessed to go through all this rich history.”

The hikers have also had to deal with adversity along the way. When they came off trail to visit family, Cindy got an upper respiratory infection that eventually necessitated a trip to the doctor. Then, after completing the Shenandoah Mountains, it was Suzanne’s turn to take a spin on the wheel of hiker maladies.

They had finished their hike out of the Shenandoahs with an 18-mile day and came off the trail to spend the night in a hotel for a hot shower and some much needed rest and recovery. The next morning, Suzanne awoke to a back ailment.

“I didn’t do anything traumatic to it,” Suzanne said. “I just bent the wrong way, and then I could barely walk.”

She recently celebrated her 51st birthday on the trail and, having just hit that milestone myself, I completely understand what it’s like to deal with back issues at this age. However, I’m not walking double-digit miles day in and day out over the tops of mountains with a large pack on my back. (As a side note, the Dames are averaging an impressive 15 miles per day.)

Going into the trip, the two had made a pact that if someone went down, the other would continue on until they could rejoin each other at some point down the trail. They took a couple of days off trail in Front Royal, Virginia, in hopes that Suzanne could recover. However, as the time ticked by, they realized that her injury would take a little time to heal.

“We realized that Cindy needed to go on ahead and then I would shuttle forward to Harper’s Ferry,” Suzanne explained.

“Backs take time to heal and we decided that I would hike on,” Cindy said. “The decision rattled all our family and friends, but we also knew that we were trying to keep pace to make Katahdin before Oct. 15.”

After they reunited, the two were able to “slack pack” for seven days. Slack-packing, which consists of day hiking sections along the trail, allowed Suzanne to hike without the weight of her full pack to aid her recovery.

When I caught up with the duo last Friday, they had made it to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and Thursday had been Holland’s first day hiking with a full pack. They were in good health and good spirits and looking forward to the next half of their trek.

I asked the couple for some trail wisdom to pass along to others out there that aspire to thru-hike the AT.

“I’m a very regimented person, a purist,” Suzanne told me, adding, “part of the whole trail is relaxing and letting the trail come to you. I was confronted with a situation where I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t hike. I had to let the trail come to me and not try to force it.”

What great advice, and what a great reminder of the fact that while we are not in control of our circumstances (especially in the great outdoors), we are in control of our attitude and our response. Like the Dames, we should chose to make the most of each day that we are given.

We will catch up again with these two inspirational hikers after they finish their peregrination and summit Katahdin this fall. Until next time, get out and hit the trail, and I look forward to seeing you out there in our great outdoors.

Email outdoors columnist Brad Dye at braddye@comcast.net.