Connection | Crossing Into Trail World with "Leo the Bear" or Chris "Ranger" Enders

At Amicalola Falls, the trailhead feels like a threshold. Our guest, Leo the Leave No Trace Bear (or Chris "Ranger" Enders), describes an “archway” that separates the real world from the trail world, and that image lands because it names a feeling many hikers have but rarely say out loud. This episode explores connection as both a personal practice and a community ethic: connection to North Georgia land, to other hikers, and to the deeper self that shows up once phones quiet down. Along the Appalachian Trail, even a short walk can become a reset from modern “box to box” living, and the simple act of stepping outside becomes the first move toward a new story.

Connection also shows up through stewardship. Leo explains how hiking can feel like consuming a place unless we understand the volunteer fabric holding it together. Groups like the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club quietly maintain tread, protect resources, welcome newcomers, and keep the experience possible for thru hikers, section hikers, and day hikers alike. That behind the scenes work is a major theme: trail maintenance, community support, and the responsibility to give back to the land that gives us so much. If you want to get into hiking in Georgia, this is a practical starting point because it highlights the easiest on ramp: join a local club, meet people who care, and let shared purpose reduce the friction of going alone.

One of the most memorable moments is the “wishing stone,” a physical landmark that turns intention into ritual. Leo frames it as a transition tool: pause, say a wish or prayer, and begin, or use it at the end to release the trail while keeping the memories. Rituals like this matter for outdoor mental health because they create meaning, and meaning helps us follow through when the miles get hard. For hikers aiming at a thru hike, these symbols also connect the start at Amicalola Falls and Springer Mountain to the long arc that ends at Katahdin. The episode treats the journey like opening and closing chapters, reminding us that adventure is not only distance but also the way we mark change.

Leave No Trace sits at the center of that change. Leo connects bear safety and proper food storage to respect: use a bear canister when needed, store food correctly, and treat campsites as shared spaces. The seven Leave No Trace principles are not a scold; they are a path to a better trail culture where wildlife stays wild and hikers feel welcome. The conversation closes with a direct message for anyone stuck indoors: it takes courage to step outside, but you are not alone. Community makes the leap easier, and documenting your hike through notes, a blog, or audio preserves the transformation and may inspire someone you will never meet.

Transcript

Welcome And Meet Leo Bear

Andrew McEntyre 0:00

Welcome to Deep in the Woods, where we take one word and one walk and let those connect us to the stories that are important to us. I'm here today with a bear. And uh I'll let him introduce himself to you.

Chris Enders 0:12

Sure. So hi everyone. My name's Leo, the Leave No Trace Bear. I'm thrilled to be here at the park today educating folks about bear safety, bear canisters, proper food storage, and just welcoming through hikers, section hikers, day hikers to this amazing place here at Amcolola Falls. In addition to being a bear, my trail name is it was Ranger. I hiked as Ranger in Sticks with my partner back in 2021, and then also in 2005 I threw hiked the trail. And so this is an amazing place to be and happy to be talking to you about this journey.

Crossing Into Trail World

Speaker 0:51

Awesome. Well, thank you for uh walking and talking with me today. Um just to get us started, um, what is it that for you gets you out of that house and out into the trail?

Speaker 2 1:03

So for me, it is about open space, it's about being connected to our community and to our land that we have here in North Georgia. So um for me, like right here, you can see this archway. This is what um, this is almost like a dividing line between the real world and what I call the trail world. And sometimes it's nice to have a memory of transitioning from the world that I'm used to to connecting with the trail world that's made such an impact in my life over the years. And so remembering that sense of connection to the trail, to the trail world is often what gets me out and gets me up to this park. Um and also volunteering to help take care of this trail.

Speaker 1:56

Oh yeah, most definitely. Being a steward to the to the world around us.

Speaker 2 2:00

It's important, you know. And when you when you think about, you know, when I was when I was hiking, when I hike, I'm consuming the trail. And it wasn't until um a few years ago when I started volunteering with the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, when I started helping to manage this space that I understood the the underlying fabric of volunteers and community support that exists, that's all behind the scenes. And it's absolutely incredible and moving to be a part of that to help keep this space alive for so many people.

Speaker 1 2:32

Hello. Hello, how are you? Welcome to the trail. Glad that you're here today. We're doing uh uh a podcast right now.

Speaker 2:42

Yeah. You're part of it, yeah. No, it's all good. Thank you.

Why The Word Connection Matters

Speaker 2:48

So part of this podcast is we picked one word to kind of focus the conversation around. Um, what is your word? Connection. Connection. Connection. Awesome. That's I makes perfect sense, you know, into where we are. Um can you tell me a little more about that? Like why is why do you choose that word?

Speaker 2 3:04

So there's you know, connection, it can mean so many things, right? So internal connection, alignment could perhaps be another word that that that um describes how I feel about the trail. But connecting, connecting within to the natural world around me, connecting to one another, to connecting to the trail itself, material community, um, connecting to uh in some ways a vision of a world that brings people together, that is um uh uh really to bring people that that value the outdoors, that value these spaces together, which was the original intention behind this trail, right? It was to connect um communities to nature um as part of the Back to the Land movement, as the symbol that really um uh was intended to invite people back to the wilderness, back to what really matters in their in our lives. Okay. So it makes a big difference.

Speaker 4:11

Oh yeah, that's that's so awesome. I want to talk a little more about that, but you shared with me a story about this particular spot.

The Wishing Stone And Rituals

Speaker 4:16

Yes. Do you mind sharing that story?

Speaker 2 4:18

Sure. So this stone here, um, I call it the wishing stone. Um, it is now um starting to be included in several of our maps, but it's a it's a way of transitioning from the real world um outside of the arch to the trail world and to say, say a wish, say a prayer, say wish good thoughts for yourself, for others along the way. It's a way to start your journey and it's or end your journey depending on which direction of the trail you're hiking. This is um so the southern terminus is at Springer Mountain, but so many people begin their journey here. Um and if you make it all the way from end to end, if you go up to Katodin, just to the right, there's another um stone or a mound of stones that's also a place where you can make a wish. And so this helps start your journey and that helps to end your journey almost like uh like you're opening and closing a book or a chapter of your life for the through hikers that are that are coming here, or for the section hikers, or for anyone that um that cares about this trail or that cares about um the journey that's that people go through, that you go through personally as a part of this. So I think this is a really important part of of the trail experience. Um, and it can also help um for southbound folks as well that are ending their their hike here to leave the trail behind in some ways, keep the memories, but then enter back into the real world and then hopefully, as time goes on, still remember these places, these landmarks, and do what they can to come back out, support them, give back to the trail community, give back to the land, give back to um to the trail in whatever way is most meaningful to you. So this stone, really important part of the trail in my in my mind.

Speaker 6:27

Yeah. Well, thank you for sharing that story. And I think that leads right in. Do you want to walk for a moment? Yeah, sure.

Thru Hikes As Living Tapestries

Speaker 6:32

Let's walk for a moment. Um, let's let's jump back into that word connection. Yeah, you yourself have walked the trail um and um experienced the entire journey of being a through hiker. Um I want to tell me a little more about that, but in terms of connection, what did that that um that journey, that story that developed over that time, how does that connect to that word?

Speaker 2 6:55

So so a few things, I guess. So connecting the journey of a through hike, um, like it's an in it's an individual journey. You know, you start you start there. I think there's a famous um quote, it says it's not the journey, it's the destination that you go on. You start, it's like you're opening a book, you don't know where that book's going to take you. You don't know where the trail is going to take you. You don't know what you're going to, um, what challenges you're going to be faced with. You don't know what um what what will unfold.

Speaker 1 7:31

Yeah.

Speaker 2 7:32

And so um to be open to that unfolding, yeah, to be open to allowing the trail to present itself to you, your trail. And it it it's it's unique. And to plug in, to connect with the idea that that for me, just walking one step at a time will allow so many more things to kind of come into focus. Like I view it in a way like uh like a quilt or tapestry. Okay. And there's different squares, um, like in an old quilt, and each one has a different image. You're your the trail for me was connecting all of those images into this incredible tapestry. How you weave that together, how you hike the trail, how you um, how you connect to the stories that are unfolding all around you is incredible. Um and it's also quite amazing when you start connecting not just to what's unfolding, but also to uh to to using or to being aware of like the impact that you're making, how to connect in a way that is respectful, that's thoughtful, that is um uh uplifting. I think it really makes a difference. It's what the the you know one of the reasons that I'm dressed as as Leo the Leave No Trace Bear is because those principles um are really about how to be thoughtful, how to be mindful, how to kill, how to care for this space. And by doing so, your attitude, your approach to hiking will will unfold in a way that's perhaps a little different if you're more thoughtful about you know how, you know, how you're caring for your food, how you're interacting with others. Um it's really important. Um, and as you're hiking on the approach trail here, um, we've actually have done a wonderful job of taking these seven principles of leave no trace and uh and and putting them you know on a sign from so you can at least become aware of what they are and perhaps reflect on it a little as as you hike.

The Spiral Back To Daily Life

Speaker 9:56

And one thing for, and I say this with the podcast, and one of my main goals with this is to tell stories, but the biggest story is um when you get out into the woods. So when you get deep into the woods and in nature, um the logo I have actually is a spiral, and it kind of shows it moving from I would say society into nature, but a spiral moves both ways. And so when you pull into the get deep into the woods, the things you learn in nature and the stories that you develop and the connections you make, you could take those back with you. And so when you get back into society and get back into the woods, back into the real world, as you said, we crossed that arch, you know, we're there again. When you're back, then you learn something, you take something back from it, and you become a new person, you have a new story to share, you connect with people and can look at it, as you said, with a different mindset. Um, and how important that is for us to be able to um have those opportunities in nature to be able to learn that, to gain that different perspective, come out of a different person. Sure.

Speaker 2 10:53

I I I think it's really important, you know, that that it is it is like a spiral dance in some ways. Yeah, that um the experiences that you have here transform you, especially um as you take time to immerse yourself more and more in nature. You know, we're so used to um being in in the real world where we go from box to box. We're at home, we get in our cars, we go to the office, um, we do our work, we go home. Um and and and what we see, what like you know, we're we're not often surrounded by the trees by nature, by other individuals that that are are just open to to experiencing the world and immersing themselves. We it's just not a part of our waking reality often for many of us.

Speaker 1 11:45

Yeah.

Speaker 2 11:45

And so it's uh it it really does um spending that time out here, it gives you that opportunity to transform and it does it helps you connect in a way that's really hard to even put into words. Um it's it's it's I would equate it perhaps to you know going to you know through the Peace Corps or going into um you know any sort of maybe perhaps a military for some, or um, you know, for some that go to college, like going into an extended period of time where you're immersed in a particular location and you come out transformed. And that is what a through hike, I feel like does. Yeah. And that's why for those that do go on that journey, um, that's why I feel like um there's a bond that you can't um replicate because unless you have that shared experience with someone else, yeah. Um that connects so that connection, yeah. Um it's an incredible, in some ways, alumni group of folks that are able to and it's really neat to be a part of that. Awesome.

Courage To Start And Share

Speaker 13:04

One last question, and thanks again for being a part and having this walk with me. Um for others who are listening, what was what would be your message for those who were in the house that were like, yeah, I want to go hiking, but I just what get what will get them out that door into the woods? What would be your message to them?

Speaker 2 13:23

Takes courage. Um takes a lot of courage because it's easy to watch others have an adventure on YouTube or um listen to it on podcasts or to read a book. Um but it it if if you can summon the courage to just step outside to um to do that, to to to to meet others um even that are going on that journey, I think is really incredibly powerful. And and um that's why some groups exist, like the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club. Um it's a community of people that care about this trail, um, that can connect you to others, that um may be on the cusp of wanting to take um you know a step on on in the journey and um and that'll are there to support, um, support you and support your life unfolding in this way. It's it's absolutely incredible. You're not alone, and um, and there are people that want to support you and that are caring for this space um to enable you to have these experiences. So go out, do the trail, um, and enjoy your life. Um so I hope I hope everyone gets a chance to to experience in that. And then if they do go on a a through hike um or any life-changing journey, I do hope um, I do hope that that they'll take the time to um to document it in some way. It doesn't have to be a podcast. Um we took uh uh our experiences, we wrote notes every night and we created a blog site that our friends and family and others could follow along on. And it was um it's something that we now look back on over the years. Um it's been now five years since I've through hiked, um, twenty years since I've through hiked the first time. And to have those as a way to um to to just bring back memories is really, really, really wonderful. Um and you never know who you'll inspire by doing that.

Speaker 15:33

So thank you so much again. I really appreciate it.

Speaker 2 15:35

You're welcome. Yeah, thank you.