Ten Reasons to Hike the Appalachian Trail

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.

To Hike Alone or with a Partner

Deciding whether you would rather hike alone or with a partner is a huge decision.  There are upsides and downsides to both options.

If you're planning on thru-hiking, chances are you won't be able to convince any of your friends to quit their jobs and come hiking with you.  But who knows, you might get lucky.  Having a hiking partner is great because you're never lonely, you have someone to help you with tasks, and you're family and friends at home don't have to worry about your safety so much.  You guys can split the weight of gear, such as the tent, cooking stove, and data books.  It saves time too; one person can fill up the water bottles while the other person sets up the tent.  If you're thinking about hiking Southbound, the trail can get pretty lonely because most hikers choose to go Northbound.  Having a partner will still give you the sense of solitude in the wilderness, but you'll still have a bit of company.

Solo hiking is a great experience too.  You get to hike at your own pace, do as many or as few miles as you want, and you don't have to consult with anyone if you want to make a detour.  You'll still meet awesome people on a daily basis because the trail is such a tight-knit community.  It's also easier to plan your hike financially if you're hiking alone.  If you have some extra money to spend, you can seek out the comforts of hostels and motels regularly.  Or if you're on a tight budget, you don't have to feel guilty because your partner is missing out on that hot shower and nice meal that they wanted.  Hiking solo also gives you a huge sense of independence and self-reliance.  Not everybody has the will-power to go into the wilderness alone and do something as challenging as a thru-hike.

Even if you start a hike solo but really want a partner, the opportunity is still there.  During the first few hundred miles, other individuals are also seeking companionship.  This is a great time to find someone that shares your hiking style.  But be careful not to jump into something permanent just because you're lonely.  You don't want to end up with a hiking partner that annoys you.  Hold out, and you can definitely find a hiking partner that you love having around.

The last, and in my opinion best, option is to have friends meet you on the trail for short periods of time.  It's always a good time to get a taste of home.  After hearing of your plans for a thru-hike, many of your friends will probably be curious about what it's like to spend some time on the trail.  Maybe you can even convince your parents to join you for awhile.  Not to mention, you friends will go home and tell stories of how awesome you are at building fires and locating water sources.

Regardless of if you decide to hike solo or with a partner, you'll find a feeling of camaraderie and a sense of kinship among fellow hikers.  There's a saying on the AT:  Instant family.  Just add trail.

Trail Lingo

Appalachian Trail hikers use lots of words that only have significance on the trail.  Here's a list of the most commonly used lingo and what it means:

trail name- every hiker adopts a nickname.  Sometimes you pick it yourself, and sometimes someone else names you.  You might get your name because of your favorite food, a weird habit, or something silly you do.  Examples of names are Monk, Rainbow Monkey, Moonshine, Blue Eyes.

AT- Appalachian Trail

thru-hiker- a person who is hiking the entire trail in one calendar year

section-hiker- a person who is hiking the trail sections at a time

day-hiker- a person who is only out for a day.  Can be recognized by clean smell.

NOBO or Northbounder- a person who is hiking North.

SOBO or Southbounder- a person who is hiking South.

white blaze- a 2 inch by 6 inch swatch of white paint on trees and rocks that marks the trail.

blue blazer- a person who takes the blue-blazed (usually easier) side paths

yellow-blazer- a person who gets a ride further ahead on the trail.  Named for the yellow lines on roads.

pink-blazer- a guy who is making it a point to follow a female hiker.

flip-flip or flip-flopper- a person who hikes in one direction then returns to the starting point and hikes the other direction

PUDS- pointless ups and downs

switchback- when the trail goes in a zig-zag pattern up or down a very steep mountain 

register- a notebook that is kept at shelters and other places for hikers to sign their name and write something

hiker box- a place where hikers can ditch unwanted gear or food, and other hikers can take what they want

slack-pack- hiking without a full pack, which is sent ahead to be picked-up later

purist- a person who hikes past every single white blaze with a full pack.

trail angel- a person who does nice favors for hikers such as giving them food, drinks, or rides

trail magic- when something unexpected and good happens, normally in the form of free food and drinks

Yogi-ing- trying to get free food from others

cairn- a pile of rocks that marks the trail in treeless areas

zero day- hiking zero miles in one day

nero day- hiking a little more than zero miles in a day, like 2 or 3

A History of the Appalachian Trail

I thought for my first post, I would cover a bit of trail history.

The trail is currently 2,179 miles.  That number fluctuates due to rerouting.  It covers 14 states, stretching from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine.  The trail snakes through the mountains of Georgia,  North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and finally Maine.

The idea for the trail was first proposed by Benton MacKaye in 1921.  He wanted there to be a place where people could escape the congestion of cities all along the East Coast.  Myron Avery later joined the project, and he aggressively led it to completion in 1937.  In 1968, Congress passed the National Trails System Act, officially making the AT a National Scenic Trail.

                                                Earl Shaffer, first thru-hiker

The AT wasn't originally intended to be hiked all at once.  The idea was that people could get spend a day in nature.  The first person to thru-hike the trail was Earl Shaffer, a war veteran.  He completed his hike in 1948 and became known as "the Crazy One."  However, thru-hiking didn't really gain popularity until the 1970's.  Another beloved hiker was known as Emma "Grandma Gatewood."  She hiked the trail in 1955 at the age of 67.

There is roughly 2,000 people that attempt a thru-hike every year.  Generally, only about 1 in 4 actually finish.  You'll find all sorts of people on the trail: recent high school and college grads, career burn-outs, mid-life crisisees, retired folks, and kids with their parents.  The oldest person to complete a thru-hike was 81 and the youngest was 6.