What is the Appalachian Trail?

The Appalachian Trail (AT) is a 2,190 mile hiking path that extends from Springer Mountain, GA to Mount Katahdin, ME through interconnected federal, state, and local park lands. The trail passes through 14 states (GA, NC, TN, VA, WV, MD, PA, NJ, NY, CT, MA, VT, NH, and ME), with a cumulative elevation gain of approximately 464,500 feet (or 16 Mount Everests). Originally completed in 1937, the AT has since been gradually relocated to protected areas by dozens of volunteer trail-keeping organizations. Oversight of the AT on a national level is facilitated by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), whose website contains a wealth of information regarding the AT, for those who are interested in further reading!

What is a thru-hike?

Hiking the full 2,190 miles of the AT (in any direction) within a single year is considered a thru-hike. It is estimated that approximately 12,000 people have completed a thru-hike of the AT since its creation in 1937. Currently, the success rate among thru-hikers is approximately 25%.

When are you hiking?

I will be departing from Springer Mountain in late April, 2017. If successful, I anticipate reaching Katahdin in mid-September.

How are you going to eat?

The AT has relatively frequent road crossings (with the exception of the 100-Mile Wilderness in Maine) and many nearby trail towns, which should enable me to resupply every 3 to 4 days. This makes the AT logistically simpler than other long trails that necessitate the use of mailed food drops, such as the Pacific Crest Trail. The variety of resupply options in many trail towns has increased in recent years, reducing the need for mail drops (except for items such as contact lenses, seasonal gear, etc.). I should only have to carry 6 to 8 lbs of food at a time. The tricky part will be meeting my caloric needs with a 2 lb/day weight limit! Check back for a forthcoming blog post about exactly how much Nutella I’m going to have to eat (and probably also a post from the trail about how much I have grown to hate Nutella)!

What about bears?

I find it funny how often I get asked this question. Yes, the areas surrounding the AT have a large population of the Eastern subspecies of American black bears (Ursus americanus americanus). Eastern black bears weigh 105 (females) or 250 lbs (males) on average and can stand 5 to 6 feet tall. I get it, they are formidable creatures with a well-established terrifying reputation in folklore. However, these opportunistic foragers predominantly consume bugs, with a side of berries, nuts, and plants! Rarely, black bears will eat depredated eggs, fish, and neonatal deer, as well as scavenged carcasses. Hardly a fearsome hunter! Although some hostile encounters between black bears and humans do occur, few end in injury. Often, poor food storage practices are to blame for habituating the bears to interacting with humans. In my experiences with black bears (including a mother with two cubs on the Foothills Trail), they have been extremely skittish and fearful of humans. I am, of course, aware of many stories to the contrary. I will be carrying and using a bear bag (or available food lockers in high bear-activity areas) to store my food throughout the AT. Honestly, I’m really hoping to see some more bears on my hike (from a respectful distance). They are such awesome creatures!

Are you going to carry a gun?

Dude. I cut the handle off my toothbrush to save weight. What do you think? Weight aside, I don’t even want to contemplate the logistical nightmare of carrying a firearm through 14 different states.

OMG UR GONNA DIE!!!

That’s… not a question. Millions of individuals, including thousands of thru-hikers, safely use the AT system each year. Although injury is the leading cause of thru-hikers ending their AT hike, these injuries are rarely life-threatening. Deaths on the AT are exceedingly rare, and are almost always due to pre-existing health conditions or freak accidents. No different than life off the trail. Furthermore, I’m probably lowering my overall risk of death by not driving a car for 5 months, since vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for people my age. Not to mention the health benefits of a non-sedentary lifestyle. Although the risk from other humans is admittedly non-zero, I am much safer, statistically speaking, on the AT than I ever was on the campus where I completed my undergraduate program. General safety precautions for life on a college campus or in a metropolitan area are still applicable for the trail. The best defense is situational awareness.The thru-hiker community is fiercely protective of its own, and hikers often form a trail family (or, tramily, if you will) with those hiking nearest to their pace. Furthermore, thanks to training jiu jitsu, I am confident in my ability to maintain composure and attain control in a close quarters self-defense situation, should it arise. There is no such thing as a risk-free life. I consider myself well-qualified to conduct a thorough risk assessment and make my own choices regarding the acceptable level of risk in any personal endeavor. But thanks, your opinion has been noted (and disregarded).