On the Appalachian Trail, no hiker goes by his or her given name. Everyone acquires a “trail name” that has to do with a specific event or happening.

For 15-year-old Gabby Chapman, who hiked the last 100 miles of the trail this summer, that name was “Sloth.”

“It's ironic, really, because I'm one of the fastest hikers,” Chapman said. “But one day we were camping on the side of a lake and there was the big log on the beach hanging over some water. I was just staring at it, wondering what would happen if I hurdled it (like at a track meet). For 15 minutes I just stared, then I decided to do it and took off running.

“Well ... turns out it was higher off the ground than I thought, it was actually at chest height. I ended up clinging to the log, hanging over the water, like a sloth for a full two minutes before someone was able to help me down.”

Most kids Chapman's age think of summer as a time to rest, relax and take it easy. No schoolwork, save for the assigned summer reading that invariably gets remembered the week before school starts.

For Chapman, summer means it's time to break out the hiking boots and head off to Camp Wavus for Girls in Jefferson.

Chapman is a sophomore at Wiscasset High School, and for the past three years she has attended Camp Wavus and participated in the “Wilderness Tripping Program” there.

Three years ago, Chapman participated in the Allagash Wilderness Waterway Trip, a 12-day canoe trip. Last year she did The Long Voyage, a 17-day canoing and whitewater rafting trip ending in a climb of Mount Katahdin.

This year, Chapman participated in the longest and most demanding trip of all, the Maine Island Trail and Appalachian Trail (100 Mile Wilderness). This trip started with 16 days of sea kayaking, followed by 10 days of hiking the 100-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail that ends on top of Mount Katahdin.

“The whole Appalachian Trail is 2,100 miles long,” Chapman said. “We do the last 100 miles of the trail, which is the longest stretch without seeing civilization.”

The kayaking, according to Chapman, was a “breeze” compared to the hiking. They traversed Muscongus Bay near Friendship and traveled nearby Deer Isle, starting the day's paddle around 9 a.m. and ending a couple hours later. Sometimes they would take day trips out after they made camp since the morning travel was so short.

The hiking, on the other hand, began around 6 a.m. and usually ended at 5 p.m.

“On good days, we might make camp by 4 p.m., and on bad days by 6 p.m.,” Chapman said. “Hiking for me is easy, I do it in my spare time and really enjoy it.”

Chapman said her favorite part of the trip was meeting the people who had hiked the entire trail.

“They often had awesome trail names, like Kamikaze or Renaissance Man or Squirrel,” Chapman said. “They had amazing stories to tell and they were always willing to take the time to share them.”

“The people you meet are inspirational, and being away from civilization like that really opens your mind to new perspectives,” Chapman said.

There are lean-to’s along the trail for shelter. They all contain log books where people can record their thoughts and leave them for future hikers. The log books in the last lean-to along the trail were particularly inspiring to Chapman.

“It was amazing to read these,” she said. “People who had done the entire trail had written in these. They had stories, some had written really cool poetry, they shared their experiences with us because they took the time to write them down and share.”

Chapman said all the Wavus Wilderness Trips have given her a new respect for the state she lives in, especially because of the way the girls from urban areas respond to Maine.

“A lot of the girls at camp are from city areas like Baltimore. It's really cool to have people from cities,e because those of us that live in Maine all the time don't always appreciate the natural beauty all around us.

“They are so grateful to be there and experience what we take for granted,” Chapman said.