In the spring of 2012, Kori Feener began her 2,000 mile thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail (AT). She began her journey with the goal of letting go of events and people from her life. As she progressed from a difficult past, she came into contact with individuals she never expected to meet, some of whom changed her life.
Hiking was not always an interest of hers and the dream of hiking the AT was not hers originally, said Feener in a phone interview. She and an ex-boyfriend had planned to do the trip together. With the demise of her relationship, she commandeered the dream and challenged the thru-hike on her own.
“It made me think about life in more present terms, and that includes everything: film making, my career,” Feener said.
She documented the six-month journey in her 2013 film “Hard Way Home,” being shown at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, in Steinman’s Brinser Lecture Hall. Following the screening, a question-and-answer session with the director will be held.
It made me think about life in more present terms.”
On her web biography, Feener expresses a hope that she can teach people to “hike their own hike,” which she translates to live your own life. Since its release, the movie won“Best Feature” at the Chattanooga Film Festival in 2014. She has screened it at seven film festivals and about as many colleges. The colleges where she has shown the documentary all share one characteristic: the Appalachian Trail runs through the area.
The film also is available for rent or purchase on video on demand.
“She is an energetic, young presence and I look forward to her being here on campus,” said Jesse Waters, director of Bowers Writers House, which hosts the event.
“Not only do I find her documentary extremely interesting, in terms of one person’s journey through family trauma and having an experience in nature that is cathartic and rehabilitating,” Waters said. “But she met people along this journey who are all fascinating individuals.”
As a graduate at Emerson College, Feener’s impending thesis prompted the hike. Her original plan, to create a fictional story, was altered when she realized she could combine her dream of hiking the trail and her class work. She began to feel as though she needed to go on the hike for herself, to get a change of pace and scenery, she said.
“I wanted to, very specifically, hold this event to support what I knew the Momentum students were going to experience in nature, with their hiking experience,” Waters said of E-town College program that brings first-generation college students to campus to get them used to this new idea.
Waters hoped that the Momentum students, who had recently been on their own hike, would be able to make connections and learn from her experiences.
“Our mission is to provide an interdisciplinary venue for presentation, performance, expression and study, so we bring in a large variety of presenters, actors, composers, genetic scientists, physicists, historians, accountants, sociologists,” Waters said.
All Bowers events are intended to give students an opportunity to discover areas of interest outside of their academic major, Bowers said, stressing that it is important for students to learn how to be successful, as well as to find “what they want to be happy about.” Empowering students to discover passions is a goal of all Bowers Writers House events.
“I ask [presenters] to leave their academics at the door and bring in their passion and professionalism,” Waters said. Feener was able to combine the two in her documentary. In completing her graduate thesis, she accomplished a personal dream and started the healing process. The story she tells in her film is one of love, loss and lessons learned. When she shares it with college students, she hopes they learn to move on from stress and painful experiences.
“The first day I hiked, it was rainy and gross, and I couldn’t see more than 10 feet in from of me, and I loved it that day,” Feener said. “I think, if you love it in those conditions you are going to love it anyway.”
For more information about the film, contact Bowers Writers House at 717-689-3945 or writershouse@etown.edu.