Deb “Mona Lisa” Coleman

It’s not only the particulars of pursuing Leave No Trace training and education, promoting flip flop thru-hikes, and attempting outside-the-box approaches that help conserve the Trail and sustain communities that make Deb such an exemplary Appalachian Trail Conservancy volunteer. It’s her willingness and eagerness to try new things, from doing Trail maintenance, to joining a local rescue group, to trying corridor boundary maintenance. “If just one in 100 hikers did half of what Deb does,” says the ATC’s information services manager Laurie Potteiger, “we’d be on our way to cultivating our next generation of leaders.”

ATJ: How did you decide to do a flip flop thru-hike, and how did that work out?

D.C.: I’m so happy that I chose a flip flop for my Appalachian Trail thru-hike. In addition to wanting to lessen my impact on the Trail and avoid overcrowded conditions, I had a long-planned family vacation in late April, so a flip flop seemed like a great option. I didn’t realize until later that just by making that choice, I was setting myself up for success. I started my flip flop in Harpers Ferry (Harpers Ferry to Maine; Harpers Ferry to Georgia), on a relatively “easy” part of the Trail. As I hiked, the Trail grew more difficult and gave me experience with rocks, boulders, increasingly large elevation changes, roots, and wet feet. By the time I reached New Hampshire (what I considered the most difficult part of the Trail), I was ready for it – the Trail had trained me – and I was physically at my strongest. I hadn’t yet been on the Trail so long that I was feeling run down.

Some northbounders (NOBOs) that I met in New Hampshire said that they were tired and felt that they were getting weaker, not stronger. That happened to me too, when I was about three quarters of the way through my hike, but by that time I had already done the toughest parts of the Trail. When I first thought about doing a flip flop, I thought that I might be disappointed by summiting Katahdin midway through my hike instead of at the end. I couldn’t have been more wrong about that. Katahdin was still a huge goal, but once I summited it, that goal became an accomplishment. Throughout the rest of my hike, I felt unstoppable; whenever I came to a difficult section, I told myself that I had already done the hardest parts of the Trail and that I could do the rest. There were lots of other great things about a flip flop. I only once arrived at a full shelter. In the early days of my hike when I was refining what I was carrying and how I did things, there were experienced NOBOs around to learn from. And I seemed to avoid most of the weather extremes and the worst of the bugs. If I’m lucky enough to have the opportunity to thru-hike the AT for a second time, there’s no question – I will definitely choose a flip flop.

ATJ: Why is Leave No Trace training important to you?

D.C.: I’m excited about Leave No Trace (LNT) training because it’s exponential in nature. It’s not just training those who take the classes, but training those people to spread the word – and because everyone can make a difference. You don’t need to have formal training in LNT to make a difference. Several hundred miles into my A.T. hike, I met a hiker with the Trail name “Chainsaw.” He was new to backpacking (his first night on the Trail was the first time he had set up a tent or filtered water), and he knew nothing about LNT. We came across some trail magic at a road crossing – a pickup truck with a bag of tangerines hanging out the back and a sign for hikers to help themselves. Chainsaw was thrilled and took a couple of tangerines. When I didn’t take any, Chainsaw asked why I hadn’t. I said that I loved tangerines but didn’t want to have to pack out the peels. Chainsaw looked at me like I was completely bonkers and said “Mona Lisa, tangerines are natural. The peels are biodegradable. Just throw them in the woods.” I tried not to look horrified as I said that I couldn’t do that. Chainsaw asked why, and we ended up having a great conversation about LNT. Afterwards Chainsaw decided that he was going to eat the tangerines like apples, peel and all. He was so proud of his solution to the tangerine peel dilemma and made a big production of eating his tangerines with the peel. Chainsaw is a great story teller, and he told this story to every hiker that we met. He became a true LNT ambassador.

ATJ: What peaked your interest in volunteer Trail work?

D.C.: I got involved with Trail maintenance through the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club before my thru-hike. When I finished my hike, I went through the typical post-hike blues, and getting back on the Trail doing maintenance with other people who care about the Trail definitely helped to keep me feeling connected. Plus, who doesn’t want to be able to say they have serviced a moldering privy – it gives you instant Trail cred!

ATJ: All that, and you are also a Wilderness First Responder?

D.C.: Yes. I took a 50-day Outward Bound course and received a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification as part of that course. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the WFR training, so when I returned home, I joined Shenandoah Mountain Rescue Group, a volunteer wilderness search and rescue group. I think it’s great for backpackers to have some wilderness first aid knowledge. It’s empowering to know that you have some tools to call on in case of an emergency when you’re miles and hours away from medical help, and you never know when you may need that knowledge to help yourself or someone else.

When I was hiking the Appalachian Trail, I came across a runner in the White Mountains in New Hampshire. It was late in the afternoon, and we were in the middle of a drenching rain and thunderstorm. The runner was lost, out of food and water, and his legs were seizing up. He told me that he was hypoglycemic. We were seven miles from the trailhead where help was waiting for him. I told him that I had some first aid training and asked if I could help him. I gave him food, sugar, water, and electrolytes and loaned him my trekking poles. We slowly made our way to the trailhead, stopping often as his legs seized up. I didn’t do anything extraordinary for the runner, but that’s often what wilderness first aid is about – using what you have in a remote location to keep someone safe until you can get them to definitive medical care.

ATJ: How did you get such a great Trail name?

D.C.: I was given my Trail name by a hiker named “Cleansweep” (a great guy who works for REI and picked up trash along the A.T. and packed it out throughout his hike). I was so excited to actually be hiking the Appalachian Trail that I walked around constantly with this big goofy smile on my face, which led to the trail name “Mona Lisa.” After I fnished my hike, I got braces, so the name is sort of ironic now.