I've made a list of ten reasons to hike the AT for those of you that need a little extra coercion into quitting your jobs, leaving your friends and family, and living in the woods for months at a time.
1. The hiker community on the AT is amazing. It's so tight-knit that you'll feel right at home. Hikers look out for each other. When you're on the trail, everybody you pass will say hi and chat with you. It doesn't matter what your age, demographic, or income bracket is in regular life; on the trail, people look at who you are as a person. The people in towns are great too. You might just start chatting with a random person and before you know it, you're at their house and they're cooking you dinner.
2. You get to go on an actual adventure. How often in your daily life do you actually get your blood pumping out of excitement? Walking over 2,000 miles through the woods with the goal of reaching Katahdin sounds like the kind of thing you would read about in a children's fantasy novel. Well, guess what. It's your life now.
3. Simplify your life. No emails, texts, deadlines, clients, professors, or bosses. You don't have to call anyone back. You don't have to fill up your gas tank or shave your beard. Heck, you don't even have to shower if you don't want to. Your biggest concern of the day is where you're going to find water next or where you're going to sleep tonight.
4. Your ass is going to look good in your skinny jeans when you're done. Or you'll lose all that extra weight you've been packing on for the past few years. Even if you don't care about skinny jeans, your muscles will still be rock hard when it's time to go home.
5. (For the ladies) There's tons of guys everywhere. (For men) Women will swoon at your manliness when you get home. OK, so the guys kind of get the short end of the stick when it comes to dating on the trail. These numbers aren't exact, but I've noticed about 1 girl to every 4 guys on the AT. That's right, tons of of rugged, manly men everywhere and hardly any girls at all. But don't worry guys, there will be plenty of women when you get home. You'll be in top physical shape and have an arsenal of stories to woo the ladies with. Just watch out for trail goggles.
6. Do something physically and mentally challenging. Nobody's going to tell you that hiking the AT is easy. You probably will hear that anyone is physically capable of doing it. You're essentially just putting one foot in front of the other. Yes, anyone can do it if they really want to. It's the mental part that will be the hardest. You have to make yourself keep hiking even when it's been raining for two days, the weather is scorching hot, or there's a cloud of bugs following you.
7. You have a chunk of free time in your life. Maybe you just retired, graduated college or high school, came back from Iraq or Afghanistan, or got laid off from your job. Now is a great time to go hiking. Why not have a little adventure before you go back to the real world? I once met a guy in Georgia that told me he quit his job of 8 years to hit the trail. I met a couple that didn't get into the grad school they wanted, so they went hiking instead. Even if you have to quit your stable job, so what? At least you can make your day dreams a reality.
8. See the beautiful mountain scenery. The Appalachian Trail offers some amazing views that are difficult to find elsewhere. While it's true that most of the trail just offers views of trees and dirt, there is something rewarding about hiking to the top of a mountain and being able to see for miles. Some of the largest mountains do have roads that will take tourists to the top, but you get the satisfaction of knowing you walked up. And that makes the mountains you can't drive up even better.
9. Everything you need you can carry in your backpack. There's a sense of freedom that comes with being able to go where you please and only have a responsibility to yourself. Your car, cell phone, iPad, and Facebook just seem like extras when you survive with only a backpack of possessions for months at a time.
10. It's the cheapest 4-6 month long vacation you'll ever go on. Hiking is an extremely inexpensive activity. The initial gear purchases can get pricey, but once you have your gear you don't have to worry about it. As far as the actual hike goes, your main expense will be food. Occasionally you get to stay in a hostel, but those normally only run $10-15 a night. Sometimes you can even do work-for-stay. You can definitely get by on your hike for about $1,500. However, if you have money to spend, you can stay in hotels and have big meals while you're in towns.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Trail Literature
If you're thinking about hiking the Appalachian Trail, it might be helpful to read up on it. There are a lot of books available, but these are the ones I find most helpful and interesting.
Memoirs:
Becoming Odyssa by Jennifer Pharr Davis is an awesome read. A 21-year-old girl tells her story of antics, stalkers, and friendship while she hikes from Georgia to Maine. I liked this book because most trail memoirs are written by older men. This might be the only book out right now by a young, female thru-hiker.
Hiking Through by Paul Stutzman is another good read. It has a more religious tone to it. We follow the author on his journey to Maine, while he recovers from his wife's death to cancer. His message is to live life right now because you never know when your plans are going to fall through.
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson is another interesting memoir. He doesn't actually hike the entire trail and many people will argue that he's not a good hiker. However, this book is really, really funny! You do get an idea of what trail life is like, and it demonstrates the hiker belief to "hike your own hike."
How-To Books:
Allen and Mike's Really Cool Backpackin' Book is an awesome instructional read. It's not geared specifically toward the Appalachian Trail, but it's still incredibly helpful. It's entertaining too. They have tons of illustrations that demonstrate the correct way to do things.
Try How To Hike the A.T. by Michelle Ray for a book that's geared toward the AT and covers probably everything you were ever wondering about thru-hiking.
Data Books:
You want a good data book to bring on your trip with you. They show landmarks, water sources, shelters, towns, elevations, and many other things. Which data book you choose is all about personal preference, but none of them will leave you lost in the middle of the woods. Get a current version because they update them every year.
The Appalachian Trail Data Book is a no frills, basic information guide. It's significantly lighter than other books because it only gives you need to know information. At the same time, it still marks shelters, landmarks, water sources, road crossings to towns and other things. It doesn't map out the actual towns or elevations.
The A.T. Guide will give you everything that's in the Data Book, plus more. It draws out the mountains with elevations and where everything is at in relation. It also has helpful information about the towns, like prices of hostels and where you can find shuttles.
The Thru-Hiker's Companion will give you basically everything that's in the A.T. Guide, minus the drawings of elevations. The elevations are written in.
Memoirs:
Becoming Odyssa by Jennifer Pharr Davis is an awesome read. A 21-year-old girl tells her story of antics, stalkers, and friendship while she hikes from Georgia to Maine. I liked this book because most trail memoirs are written by older men. This might be the only book out right now by a young, female thru-hiker.
Hiking Through by Paul Stutzman is another good read. It has a more religious tone to it. We follow the author on his journey to Maine, while he recovers from his wife's death to cancer. His message is to live life right now because you never know when your plans are going to fall through.
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson is another interesting memoir. He doesn't actually hike the entire trail and many people will argue that he's not a good hiker. However, this book is really, really funny! You do get an idea of what trail life is like, and it demonstrates the hiker belief to "hike your own hike."
How-To Books:
Allen and Mike's Really Cool Backpackin' Book is an awesome instructional read. It's not geared specifically toward the Appalachian Trail, but it's still incredibly helpful. It's entertaining too. They have tons of illustrations that demonstrate the correct way to do things.
Try How To Hike the A.T. by Michelle Ray for a book that's geared toward the AT and covers probably everything you were ever wondering about thru-hiking.
Data Books:
You want a good data book to bring on your trip with you. They show landmarks, water sources, shelters, towns, elevations, and many other things. Which data book you choose is all about personal preference, but none of them will leave you lost in the middle of the woods. Get a current version because they update them every year.
The Appalachian Trail Data Book is a no frills, basic information guide. It's significantly lighter than other books because it only gives you need to know information. At the same time, it still marks shelters, landmarks, water sources, road crossings to towns and other things. It doesn't map out the actual towns or elevations.
The A.T. Guide will give you everything that's in the Data Book, plus more. It draws out the mountains with elevations and where everything is at in relation. It also has helpful information about the towns, like prices of hostels and where you can find shuttles.
The Thru-Hiker's Companion will give you basically everything that's in the A.T. Guide, minus the drawings of elevations. The elevations are written in.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Choosing a Tent
Everyone has different preferences, so here's a few things to keep in mind while shopping for tents:
How easy is it to set up?
How much does it weigh?
How many people are going to be sleeping in it?
How much space does it have?
What's the price?
Is it ventilated well?
Keep those things in mind while you consider all the options for shelter on the Appalachian Trail.
Shelters, Huts, and Lean-Tos:
There are hundreds of shelters, huts, and lean-tos along the trail. They're basically the same thing, but with different names. These are usually placed in areas that have a water sources close by, and there is usually an outhouse too. Even if you're not staying in the shelter, there's always somewhere to tent. Many hikers prefer to get a spot in the shelter, and not set up their tents. However, you can't rely on getting a spot in the shelters every night during the first few hundred miles of the trail. There's too many other people on the trail attempting thru-hikes, but eventually they will start to drop off.
Tarps:
If you can learn to tie a few knots and don't mind laying your sleeping pad on the ground, you can use a tarp as your shelter. You'll be using cord to string the tarp up between trees. Tarps are great because they're extremely light to carry and they don't take up very much valuable pack space. Combine tarp carrying with sleeping in shelters, and you'll lower your pack weight but remain comfortable.
Free-Standing Tents:
Free-standing tents are just tents that stay up by themselves once you put the poles in. You still have to stake them to the ground, so they won't blow away. You can pay a lot of money for super lightweight tents, but in general this is the heaviest option. On the plus side, they're easy to set up and are roomy. You can set them up anywhere; you don't need trees. They're very sturdy too; they don't blow around as much in the wind and harsh weather. I've used a tent that was only partially free-standing, and it would always be caving in by morning and wasn't very sturdy. Tying guy lines will help with this problem, but I really don't like the extra hassle and carrying extra stakes. Some people don't mind though. Prices vary anywhere from $100-$600.
REI is a good place to start looking for a tent. They have a wide variety of brands and types of tents.
Other Types of Tents:
There's a variety of semi-freestanding tents available. You usually have to secure them with guy lines. They weigh less because they require fewer (if any) poles for set up. If you hike with trekking poles, there are tents that are designed to be set up with the trekking poles instead of carrying poles that only function for the tent. Check out Tarptent for lightweight tents that start around $200.
Hammocks are also becoming pretty popular on the trail. They have a rainfly that protects the netted hammock part. You don't have to worry about finding a level area of ground or sleeping on a hard surface. No poles, means less weight. You wouldn't necessarily need a sleeping pad either.
As far as hammocks go, Hennessy Hammock is the way to go. Prices start at $100.
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