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For Logan and Georganna Seamon, hiking the Appalachian Trail led to a life-changing business opportunity.
After graduating from Appalachian State University in 2009, Georganna and Logan Seamon sold most of their possessions and thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. It was the era of the Great Recession and, when compared to the industrious failures of so many of their peers, spending the better part of a year in the woods seemed more prudent than butting heads with a jobless economy.
While many thought the move reckless, in hindsight, the couple says they couldn’t have made a better decision.
“We didn’t know it at the time, but the thru-hike was paving the way for everything we’ve done since,” says Georganna. “For us, it was a doorway into both a career and a way of life.”
On the one hand, there was the experience—2,190 miles of summits, forests, valleys, campfires, starlit nights and trail magic.
But perhaps more importantly, setting out northbound from Georgia’s Springer Mountain, the couple passed through the Mountain Crossings store and hostel, where they met then-owner Winton Porter.
Located just steps off the trail below Blood Mountain at Neel Gap, some 31 miles from the AT’s southern terminus, the store was opened in a renovated 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps dormitory in 1984. Of the 2,000 or so thru-hikers setting out northbound on the AT each year, nearly all of them pass through its doors.
“By the time you get to Mountain Crossings, you’ve spent enough time on the trail to realize a couple of things,” says Georganna.
First, you’ve probably overpacked. And second, your setup likely needs some tweaking.
With its staff of seasoned thru-hikers, Mountain Crossings specializes in a service they call the “shakedown”—that is, suggesting alternative gear and sifting through packs to cut weight.
From late-March through the end of May, the crew overhauls more than 500 backpacks, helping hikers discard around 9,000 pounds of excess baggage.
“When Logan and I were hiking, I remember thinking it was a really cool place and liking Winton well enough, but that was about it,” recalls Georganna. “We stayed at Mountain Crossings for a night, moved on, and didn’t think much more of it.”
That is, until their hike ended. While on the trail, the Seamons were preoccupied with the task at hand: How many miles to the next water source? Where should we setup camp? Shall we catch a shuttle into town?
However, after summiting Katahdin, the return to workaday reality loomed heavy.
“We didn’t know what to do with ourselves,” explains Georganna. “We knew we had to go home and get jobs and all of that, but our time on the trail was just so special, we didn’t want it to end. There was real conflict there.”
Returning to South Carolina, with the couple’s cash flow depleted, Georganna opted to work a trade show with her father, who was a career sales rep for outdoor retailers. While there, she ran into, of all people, Winton Porter.
