I would like to thank Mr. John Wasileski for his generous support through the John Wasileski Arts Externship Awards. The funding enabled me to work with the International Appalachian Trail (IAT) as their History Intern in Portland, Maine over the summer. This is not just for the generous funding, but also for creating a supportive environment in the housing he kindly provided. I am going into my third year at McGill, primarily studying history which has been an interest of mine since I could conceptualize that the past could be studied. I have always had a passion for the outdoors, and this was a major motivator for me to apply for the IAT internship, especially since it meant being close to my family this summer. I was excited by the opportunity to marry my love of history and the outdoors, with the hope of learning more about archival research and the day-to-day work of a historian.
I worked with the Maine Chapter of the IAT, exploring their archives in order to find stories to share with the public. Trail creation and maintenance in the Maine section of the International Appalachian Trail, a long-distance hiking trail following the ancient Appalachian Ridge, is a cornerstone of their work. They have the slogan “Nature Knows No Boundaries,” and the mission has always been to unite people across the world through their love of the outdoors. I spent three days a week in the Brown Research Library, a part of the Maine Historical Society, combining document cases to find interesting leads and engaging plot lines. I created 18 social media posts shouting out important players and major milestones in the IAT’s history. I also wrote an article for their website, tackling the question of why there is so much road walking on the Maine section of the IAT. I went on a three-day trail maintenance trip in Katahdin Woods and Waters and wrote a report on this trip as well. I also recorded my experience attempting to hike 50 miles of the trail in Maine.
This was also a self-guided internship which came with its own set of challenges. I was told to find things that caught my attention and run with them. This freedom to decide my research topics forced me to spend a lot of time simply learning about the collection, which at first felt frustrating and overwhelming. But I learned to set limits on the research I could accomplish and learned to identify the amount of detail I needed from each document. I set my deadlines which meant skillful time management but also accurately gauging how long certain projects would take. Though challenging at first, this became easier as the internship progressed, and I fell into a natural rhythm.
