ELWOOD — Each year, about 2,500 people start out to hike the 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail. Only about 250 people complete it.

“I think I wanted to prove to myself that I do something entirely on my own,” said Elwood resident LeAnn Linsmeyer, 50, about her hike along the entire trail in 2002.

The Appalachian Trail, which stretches along the ridge of the mountain range from Georgia to Maine, had called to her for many years. Well marked and mapped, it is supplied with campsites, shelters and water sites for through hikers.

The trail first interested LeAnn because her father had longed to hike it. She planned the trek for several years and began preparing physically six months ahead by hiking daily around Elwood wearing hiking boots and a full backpack. She and her husband Greg, who always supported her goal, hiked the hills of southern Indiana on weekends.

On March 25, 2002, she parted from Greg at the trailhead at Springer Mountain, Ga. Greg would mail supplies so she could pick them up along the way and planned to visit her once a month. Her backpack contained dried foods, clothing, a tent, a one-burner stove, a trail map and a journal and camera to document her journey.

Like most through hikers, LeAnn planned to stay in a town every seventh day, where she could shower, do laundry and pick up mail. She averaged 5,000 to 6,000 calories a day on the trip, but since they can’t carry that much food, hikers hit the pizza buffets on their days off the trail.

LeAnn was happy to connect with some other hikers immediately. “I was as prepared as I could be, but I was new to backpacking,” she says. Hikers walk together for a while, then lose contact when one stops off or pushes ahead, then may meet by chance further up the trail.

LeAnn enjoyed the challenge and the companionship of the trail, but met some physical shocks immediately. First, it was the constant up and down incline of the trail.

She was happy to make six to eight miles a day at first, but by the end of her trip was comfortable hiking 10 to 15 miles a day.

On day two, rain poured all day. Soaked through, she trudged on, knowing that hikers who stop for rain don’t make it to the next shelter or supply store at the right time. Through hikers must make it to the trail’s end on Mount Katahdin in Maine before Oct. 15, when it closes for the winter.

A third problem was the weight of her backpack. Instead of the planned 35 pounds, her pack weighed 50 pounds at the ranger station in Georgia. She sent home a few items, but didn’t reduce the load fully until she reached a camp store on day four. The outfitter advised her as she removed things, exchanged metal tools for plastic and packed food to send ahead to the next mail drop.

That day, she bought the lightweight yellow clogs she wore around camp with a yellow shirt, which earned her the trail name of “Tweety.”

LeAnn hiked alone through most of Virginia, where serious homesickness hit for the first time, a plight so common that hikers call it “The Virginia Blues.” Her daughter Cara and husband Chris Swinefurth had driven out to spend a night with her.

On June 10, in the middle of a 95-degree day, Cara dropped her off at the trail. “I was hot, I was worried about finding my next water source, and I wanted to visit longer.”