Appalachian Trail Thread

bump for interest

>>1240882
There's usually a couple anons over on /out/ that have done it.

>>1240882
I did the Georgia-to-North Carolina section. It's 80-something miles and beautiful, but the whole trail is pretty similar. A thru-hike would take over a year probably, a lot of people section hike. Start off at the pre-trail at Amicalola Falls, pretty sure those are the highest falls in GA. Walk up the stairs, hike to ste start at Springer Mountain, then to the youth hostel at Blood Mtn. From there you hike to Bly Gap for a few days.

Really do recommend section hiking if you aren't experienced, it's not like you'll die out there but it's discouraging. There's a tree out in front of the hostel at Blood Mountain (only building the trail runs through) with boots thrown over every branch. Like 1/2 of all people who set out to through-hike quit here, and it's a tradition to throw your boots into the Quitter Tree.

>>1241062
>over a year

Average is 5-6 months.

>>1241062
>I did the Georgia-to-North Carolina section. It's 80-something miles and beautiful
and how long does this take?

>>1241062

this is 50% crap.

walked about 1260 miles last year in 4 months. can confirm theres often posts on /out/. most friends i made finished sub 6 months.

im tasmanian and honestly the nicest part between georgia and harpers ferry is that one day over McAfees Knob. i never knew before walking it pretty much the entire east coast has been clearfelled at some point in the last 300 years. new hampshire was gorgeous, southbounders i met said maine is gorgeous too. south bounders i met south of harpers ferry were pretty disappointed with the scenery and just wanted to finish.

as a trip in a foreign country though it was pretty unforgettable, so many friendly people and country communities, and time with my gf. every part of an emotional rollercoaster as you go though it.

we did a steady pace between 12-20 miles per day with a few zeros. when some people first start there are huts in georgia about 8 miles apart and even more campsites.

File: P1010776.jpg (3MB, 4608x3456px) Image search: [Google]

3MB, 4608x3456px

>>1241151
forgot pic.

>>1241151

I've been seriously interested in hiking this thing all the way through for the past few months.

What's your opinion on generally out of shape people hiking? I wouldn't say I'm obese or even overweight but I'm definitely "played too much vidya and smoked a lot" body type.

I'm still confused about the sleeping. Are these huts and campsites expensive. When there's no campsites and your ready to end your hiking for the day, do you just pitch a tent and sleep out there like a wild man?

I'm not opposed to sleeping alone in a tent in the middle of the woods, in fact, I could see it as something sort of cathartic. I just fucking hate bears. Fuck bears.

>>1241062
I'm from the UK so a section hike doesn't really suit considering flight costs

>>1241151
>as a trip in a foreign country though it was pretty unforgettable, so many friendly people and country communities

I was kind of worried about this, I've never been to the US but I've heard meth is a big problem in the southern most states. Do you come across many meth'd/crack'd out communities along the trail?

>>1241244
>I just fucking hate bears. Fuck bears.

This.

I've never seen a bear. Terrified of that part.... and mountain lions/wolves.
I've listened to a lot of the meat eater podcast though and they make it out that bears are less abundant on the west coast + they've never been attacked in 20+ years hunting.

/out/ consistently has a through-hiking thread up for people interested in long-distance trails like this. As long as they're not /pol/ing it up they generally give good advice.

>>1241151
Tasmanian anon here is correct.

>>1241244
Depending on how out of shape you are, doing it in sections might be better. As a through-hike there's a chance your body could toughen up and get in shape while doing it, but there's an equal chance that the typical pace will grind you down.

Camping is free the majority of the length of the trail. Established campsites and shelters are all spaced about a one-day hike apart (depending on your speed). If you're not near a campsite there shouldn't be an issue with camping off-trail.

>pitch a tent and sleep out there like a wild man?
Not sure what you mean by this. The campsites are out in the woods. Some of the shelters have amenities (Fontana Dam, the AMC shelters in New Hampshire, others).

Black bears are not a major issue. Just use common sense and you should be fine. Mice, squirrels, and raccoons are always a bigger issue. They're way more common and will also try to get into your food. All shelters have a place to hang up your food and items with strong scents. Other places have trees, so if you have a rope you can still hang things up.

>>1241350
>bears
On the AT you MIGHT run into a black bear (there are zero brown bears in that part of the country) and their more interested in your food than you. They're not particularly aggressive and generally avoid people unless sneaking into camp to get your granola bars. Avoiding a bear attack is 99% awareness. Hang your food, keep a clean camp and make a little noise on the trail. Hikers are always passing along info about bear activity. Bear attacks (which are mostly in the western states and Alaska) are rare and fatalities are even more rare.

>Wolves/cougars
There are no wolves in Appalachia. US Fish & Wildlife tried to reintroduce a population in the Great Smokey Mountains but the project was a flop. The Eastern Cougar was officially declared extinct in 2011. Occasionally western cougars have wandered into the area but confirmed sightings are very rare and attacks are pretty much non-existent.

>Meth heads.

Meth use is indeed a growing problem in Appalachia and in rural America as a whole. However it's not as if the entire population of towns are mush-teethed tweekers. It's more of a "dirty secret" kind of problem and the majority of crimes surrounding it are petty theft and property damage. Violent crime against AT hikers is, like animal attacks, very rare. You're also unlikely to accidentally walk into a meth lab unless you go way, way off the trail. There's simply too much foot traffic on the AT for cookers to set up shop where John and Suzy Thru-Hiker might see them or the Rangers/Cops.

Getting lost or injured is way more of a problem than getting mauled by a bear or stabbed by a tweekers.

>>1241110
Tbh I only spoke with a couple dudes who did it as they were on the final stretch. One of them took 3 years but I'm sure he was really taking his sweet time.

>>1241132
For me, I did 15-20 miles a day, but I met some special forces vets who told me they averaged 40 miles a day and left me in the dust. If you're new and want to section hike I'd give yourself a week to enjoy it. I'm not experienced at all. I can say bring moleskin, extra socks, and a well worn pair of tennishoes. I threw my good boots over a tree. They took up a lot of weight and would give me blisters. Of course if you have a nicely worn pair of boots those could be good, I could hike in my ABU boots probably.

>>1241151
Any trail magic? We got plenty of that, mostly from preachers who were more interested in giving us free shit than preaching to us, one guy told me about his travels to Mongolia as a preacher and gave me a red knitted hat I still wear when I'm /out/, I plan to do some hiking in Mongolia one day. And yeah I did about the same pace, I just suck at judging time because I only consider the GA section. New hiker so I was beat by the end of it.

File: P1010960.jpg (3MB, 4608x3456px) Image search: [Google]

3MB, 4608x3456px

>>1241244
many people are out of shape or old or never even camped over night before starting the AT. motivation and mental constitution are bigger factors than fitness. plus listening to your body and taking ibuprofen. if you're into 420 people say it helps relax muscles. i've been >100kg before starting the camino and the AT.

huts are 3 walled and free, usually near water and have a privy. camp sites i mean clear level ground.

>>1241350

the AT is way too high profile for you to see meth problems. the towns are a little backcountry but people are really nice. so many offers of lifts (when we werent trying to hitch), people bought us strawberries in the market just cause they could see we were hikers. you try to avoid camping near the cross roads that are all over the AT though, we had some fool blasting a shotgun like 100m from our tent on dusk.

we saw 8 bears, 7 in Shanandoah NP. 4 were a mumma and 3 cubs. they're basically giant raccoons. always hang your food, in a couple spots (which you'll hear about on approach) camping is banned due to problem bears - always do a long day past these sections cause hungry bears will travel.

if you're going over from the UK i would suggest starting NOBO and flipflop if you get sick of the south. you can get your trail legs on the easy graded southern sections before skipping to the prettier New Hampshire & Maine when the weather warms up. Hike Your Own Hike.

File: P1010459.jpg (4MB, 4608x3456px) Image search: [Google]

4MB, 4608x3456px

>>1241437

so much trail magic! snacks and sodas at road junctions, little debbies for days! people stopping at super markets offering us lifts where ever we're going. one guy gave us $10 cause he wished he could join us but he got old and missed his change.
the funniest one was probably this old fella in Erwin Tenessee. we had to go into town unexpectedly and got an easy hitch in. trying to get out back to the trail we were struggling, we walked at least half a mile up the side road with no luck then this 80yo guy in his yard shouts something in a southern drawl so thick i turn to my gf and say 'i cant understand him but im going over'. he invites us into his shed and pulls chilled water and crisps out. we get chatting and he tells us how theres no 'niggers' in Erwin cause in the 60's one was accused of raping a white girl so he got tarred and feathered (apparently in the south tarred and feathered includes getting set on fire). then he proceeded to give us a lift in the bed of his truck up to the trail, and pulled some cans of food out to give to another hiker walking past.

there was also a bloke near moose mt in NH who was cooking eggs and bacon and pancakes for breakfast for people. the maple syrup factory gives a dry place to sleep and fresh syrup pancakes come morning.

pic is old mates shed.

>>1241605
I had never considered starting on the NOBO and then flip flopping.

I've been thinking about this for 6 months and have envisaged ending at Katahdin so many times I kinda wanna make it come true. I've got a year to think about a different ending though I suppose

>>1241608
>one guy gave us $10 cause he wished he could join us but he got old and missed his change.
So many feels. I honestly want to buy a comfy little home in the mountains somewhere in there for a decade or so and be a trail magic guy, the hikers passing through sound like amazing people. You meet some real characters in the deep south, even normal southerners don't encounter that very often.

I remember a guy who waited till he got to that quitters tree to get hiking boots lol. Hiked to there in vans then climbed the tree, took a pair that fit and kept going.