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.
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