Along the way, the Rockwood woman made numerous new friends, had a close encounter with a bear and her cub, dodged traffic on the Palisades Parkway in New Jersey and overcame bouts of fatigue and sore feet.

Nevertheless, AT hikers are a special, hardy breed; and over the years an entire network of families from Georgia to Maine has sprung up to feed them, give them shelter and even do their laundry. "We call it ŒTrail Magic' and it's almost something you have to experience to understand," said Searles, a 1995 graduate of Greenville High School.

Searles and three friends she met along the AT talked about their experience as they wound down at her parents' home in Rockwood last week. As per tradition, hikers take on "trail names" and Searles was known as Serendipity. Her companions were Karen "Pingo" Hills of Fairbanks, Alaska; Jay "Walking Wounded" Delbridge of Durham, N.C. and Lisa "Weeper" McLaughlin of State College, Penna. Another fellow hiker, Jeff "Disco" Swenerton of San Francisco, had to leave before the interview took place.

Searles, a wilderness instructor, took a leave of absence from her job at New Horizons in the eastern Maine village of Springfield to hike the AT. "It's something I wanted to do since I was 14 or 15," she explained.

She started the hike alone, met Swenerton eight miles into the route and hooked up with McLaughlin as they crossed the North Carolina border.

McLaughlin joined with the pair near the Maryland-Pennsylvania border and Delbridge came aboard in Massachusetts. "I'm only halfway there," said Delbridge with a grin. "I started halfway up the trail so I've got the second part to finish."

About 3,000 to 4,000 hikers begin the AT on an average year but only about 300 finish the trek which covers a variety of terrain and weather on the Eastern Seaboard. "It rained for the first eight days then it became unseasonably warm," said Searles.

But there were few, if any, scary moments. "Meeting the bear was more funny than anything," recalled McLaughlin. A cub paid them a visit as they were breaking camp in Pennsylvania; and a short time later, "Mama Bear" arrived. "We banged pots and pans and yelled. She wouldn't budge. So we started singing the Counting Crows song ŒHanging Around' as loud as we could. And they left!" said Searles with a laugh.

Among the variety of friends they made on the trail was a chiropractor who gave Searles an adjustment for her aching back on a picnic table.

One of their best experiences, however, was in the town of Andover, not far from Rumford. A hostel owned by Earl and Margie Towne "was the nicest spot on the trail. They really treated us like family," said Delbridge.

So did they have any advice for folks who plan to take the hike? "Pack lightly. Remember, whatever you have, you'll be carrying," advised Delbridge.

"Enjoy the moment. Don't think of Mt. Katahdin and the distance from where you are," said Hills.

McLaughlin agreed. "Take it one day at a time. Remember that you're doing it for fun," she said.

Searles had some philosophical and practical advice. "Go to the scenic lookouts along the way. Enjoy yourself. But remember to soak your feet and drink plenty of hot coffee."