Interview with Guitar

Guitar (Alex) is a 25-year-old engineering student at the University of Michigan. He is hiking the Appalachian during his summer break and plans to return to school to finish his degree after his hike. Guitar was hiking with a six-person tramily. The interview was conducted at Partnership Shelter on the AT in Virginia. 

Guitar poses after winning bowling

What was your motivation for hiking the AT?

I didn’t really have a ton of outdoor experience before I came out to the trail, but I've

wanted to do it for a couple of years now, and this is the first chunk of time that I could have done something like this. So this is the time to do it. But I guess what brought me out here is I was just really interested in the whole Appalachian Trail experience and what it all entails. All the people and towns and shelters and all that beyond the hiking. That's ultimately what brought me out here. 

What is the story behind your trail name?

Mine's pretty self-explanatory, since I’m sitting here with a guitar. I just thought it would be pretty cool and unique to bring the guitar. Actually, the first day, I met Fancy Man [one of his eventual hiking companions], and he didn’t even talk to me. I think he was thinking, like, “Who is this guy? What kind of crazy guy brings a guitar out here?” But it worked out in the end.