Toward the end of the trip, Bennett Fisher woke up one morning to find he had made a new friend.

It was a mouse. On his face.

Of all the natural wonders he and his father, Henry, experienced or discovered in America’s eastern wilderness last year, mice were Bennett’s least favorite. In shelters, they finagled their way into his sleeping bag, left presents in his trail mate’s water cup and chewed through most of the protective containers for their food.

He hates them now. But that hate is merely a side effect of something much bigger and drastically more important that he – and not that many others – accomplish in their lives.

Through hiking all 2,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail.

In June 2015, Pell City residents Henry Fisher, who recently retired, and his son Bennett Fisher, who recently graduated from Pell City High School, set off from Mt. Katahdin in Maine with a plan to keep walking south, every day, until they reached Georgia.

It would take them half a year to complete, averaging about 15 miles per day fueled by peanut butter crackers and candy bars, anxiously waiting for the next town to appear so they could grab a shower and sleep under a roof.

Along the Trail, they’s meet dozens of new faces and assembled a bevy of long-term friendships. They also learned how supportive their local community can be, not only of both the two men but also the cause they had taken on.

Because the hike, for them and many others, had a real and very important purpose.

Making plans

The idea to through-hike the Trail came about during the summer before Bennett’s senior year.

Sitting on the beach with his father, Bennett watched a group of people surf in the distance.

“I wish I had cool parents who would take me surfing,” he joked to his dad.

“Would it be cool to hike the Appalachian Trail instead?” Henry said back.

“Yeah,” Bennett said. “Let’s do it.”

Henry, of course, didn’t believe Bennett was serious. Hiking the trail was something Henry had always wanted to do. There wouldn’t be a better time, and being a “cool parent,” he wanted Bennett to come. But it wasn’t until Henry was scrolling through a social media feed a few weeks later that he found out his son was committed.

“He posted on Instagram that we were going,” Henry said. “I thought, ‘Well, I guess it’s really happening.’”

Around the same time, Henry had been having conversations with a former coworker, David Carroll, about the struggles Carroll’s family was facing. His daughter, Julie Grace, had been diagnosed with Rett Syndrome, a unique developmental disorder caused by a rare gene mutation.

“I was talking to a mutual friend of ours and said I wished I could do something,” Henry said. “He mentioned that at a few cents a mile, we could raise some money, do some good and really get the word out.”

Carroll loved the idea, and Hike for Julie was born.

Getting started

On the Appalachian Trail, everyone gets a new name. Bennett earned the name “Jolly” because he was credited as being the most positive person in the woods. Henry was “Powerslide” because the earth often moved him in directions he wasn’t planning to go.

“I’d usually stick the landing, though” Henry said.

Most of the Appalachian Trail through Northeast states – Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey – is terribly rocky and sloped. There were days Henry fell. He injured his knee at one point and had to walk three more days before he made it to a town where he could buy a brace.

The difficult terrain wasn’t the worst thing to get over those first few weeks, though. Henry said the routine of waking up in a bag in a tent and walking 12 hours – just to do it again – became a gruesome task. But it was easier to do because of the mission.

“People asked us if we ever felt like quitting,” Henry said. “And there are days we definitely wanted to go home. But we had a good incentive not to stop.”

While Henry and Bennett hiked, they blogged. And the more they posted, the more people attached themselves to the cause. Hike for Julie supported Julie’s Army of Hope, the Carroll’s nonprofit that raises funds for research for cures for Rett Syndrome. Every mile meant more hope for families across the nation, as the Fishers’ hike had gained widespread support in the Rett Syndrome community.

“Julie Grace and her family – and those young ladies with Rett – were motivation for me more than anything else,” Henry said. “During those days we crossed Wildcat Mountain in New Hampshire, it rained the whole time. It was windy, in the 40s. I fell four times it was so slippery, and I laid on a rock and thought, ‘I’m done.’

“But I decided if those girls can keep going, so can I.”

Timeshare Tuesday

After that, things got easier. The days got shorter and the terrain leveled out as the months ran on. Henry and Bennett were joined on the Trail by people from the community, including Henry’s wife and Bennett’s mother, Vickie, and Adam Stocks, owner of 94.1 the River, and his family.

In Tennessee, the Carroll family had rented two condominiums for the Fishers in the Smokey Mountains, and David drove up to pick up the tired hikers and take them to town.

This spiraled into the infamous “Timeshare Tuesday.”

The weekend before was a mess. Temperatures were in the 40s and the Fishers had been hiding out in shelters – small, crude lean-to structures along the Trail – near Gatlinburg avoiding the constant rain. They weren’t the only ones.

“The night before David came to pick us up, there were 13 people in the shelter,” Henry said. “We had five clotheslines strung over our heads and we finally got a fire going. We smelled horrible.”

One thing about the Trail, Henry said, is that it’s easy to bond with the people around you. Hikers in front will leave “Trail Magic” for the people behind – typically food and supplies. You share everything without a second thought. And that includes condos.

When David Carroll arrived to pick up Henry and Bennett, he found 13 more people with them, all who wanted a ride into town. Smelling like wet smoke, they piled into a van and made their way into town, where they all found a corner of a condo to occupy.

That night, they washed and dried their clothes and everyone got a shower. David slept on the love seat, making sure to accommodate both the men hiking for his daughter and everyone they had connected with in the Tennessee hills.

The next trail

Together, Henry and Bennett Fisher and those who supported them raised nearly $22,000 with Hike for Julie, averaging about $10 per mile. Carroll said the entirety of that was funneled directly to research for Rett Syndrome through two prominent organizations, Suki Foundation for Rett Syndrome and Girl Power 2 Cure.

“Without Henry and Bennett, this It wouldn’t have gotten done,” David Carroll said. “I couldn’t take the time the do it, and physically I don’t think I could. They’re it.”

That’s why this year the Carroll family is nominating the Fishers and Hike for Julie for the 2016 Debbie Gipner Shining Star Award, which will be presented by the Southeastern Rett Syndrome Alliance in August. it’s given annually to to an individual “that has exhibited devoted and consistent service to improve the quality of life for those with Rett syndrome regardless of the obstacles faced.”

And 2,200 miles is a heck of an obstacle.

Carroll said he and the Fishers have also been in discussions about continuing Hike for Julie on other trails and exploring ways to involve more people from the area. More announcements could be coming soon about upcoming efforts led by Julie’s Army.

For more or to donate, visit juliesarmyofhope.org or find them on Facebook. You can also revisit the Fishers’ Hike For Julie at 2189milesforjulie.wordpress.com and maine2georgia4julie.wordpress.com.