I Thru-Hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2013 - Ask me a question

Did you have your food planned and shipped?

which end did you start at north or south and how far did you go?

I bought food along the way in towns. I was NOBO (Northbound) Springer Mtn, GA to Mt. Katahdin, ME.

How many times were you raped by hillbillies.

I was never raped by hillbillies, but almost by a female hiker.. I won't get into that :) Next..

Highpoit ?

Lowpoint ?

Tips you learned on your trip ?

God that must have been such a fun trip.

High/Low.. its not really like that when you're out hiking for 6 months.. it just becomes a lifestyle I guess.

As far as tips.. well I very well can't just start blabbing out my thoughts forever on here. Did you have any particular topic in mind that may require a 'real world' application review?

.. and YES it was an amazing journey ;)

Okay, goin to sleep. I'll check back later.

I have a few questions for you. 1) Did you encounter any bears and if so, did they ever get aggressive? 2) Are there adequate quantities of water sources along that trail, or were you at any time in dire need of water like the lady in the movie "Wild"? 3) Did you just filter your water, or did you also add stuff to kill viruses, etc.? 4) Did you always sleep in a tent, or did you sometimes sleep in the shelters along the trail? 5) Did you ever encounter any poisonous snakes (rattlers or copperheads)? 5)What time of year (month) did you start your journey? 6) How long did the journey take you? 7) Was it a once in a lifetime journey for you, or do you think you might do it again someday? 8) Between the time you started your journey and the time you finished, how much money did you spend (not including everything you"d purchased prior to your first day on the trail. Only the additional money that you ended up spending for food and supplies after you began the hike)? 9) Thanks for your info. Great thread idea.

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Did you witness or hear any 'Missing 411' kind of occurrences while in the woods for so long ?

Did you beat the snow to Maine? Boots last the whole trip?

What interesting stuff was jetisioned by noobs in the 1st couple of miles.

would you do it again?

What's the strangest thing you saw in the woods.

How many Motel-sixes did ya stay in and did they really "leave the light on for ya"

Tent or hammock?

How much chafing was involved?

What equipment did you use? Boots, pack, etc.

What were the absolute essentials and what could you have done without?

Did you see any Bigfoots?

They ain't Bigfoots in Appalachia ....they're called Knobby

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Bump to follow

Have you ever seen a knobby?

Yea, yo mama !

[link to bigfootsasquatch.wordpress.com (secure)]

.

Ooookay! I'll try to answer all/most of those questions in one shot:



Bears - I only saw a couple (black bears) and they are very skiddish. They don't like to be near people any more than people like to be near them. Imagine a giant racoon, that's pretty much how a black bear behaves. The bears in the Smokies and Shenandoah especially are more used to people and not as skiddish.

Water - Yes, there is PLENTY of delicious clean water along the AT. "I" found myself usually filling up and carrying aprox 2 liters even though my bladder and bottles allowed me to carry much more. But why carry all that extra weight when theres another good water 7-10 miles ahead? Or usually much less.

Water filtering/treatment etc - To answer this.. YES. You'll get a feel for how you drink your water in the woods once you actually start doing it. Everyone is different about their water. Some people are fine drinking from most sources and seem to be less prone to getting giardia or other illnesses. Some people start throwing up if there is the slightest contamination in their water. "I" personally was filtering everything early on the trail and then by the end I was using my filter very seldomly. I'd estimate that there is a water source about every 3 miles or so on the AT, but its a looong trail and that varies by state/landscape/weather conditions and some sources are better than others. Choosing you water sources is very important and its something you learn how to do with more experience. I always suggest YES filer or treat everything you drink, do otherwise at your own risk and you can't go wrong. How to choose safe water sources is probably a good topic of research for all of the 'prepper' types out there. Something most of them probably overlook in their 'prepping'

Shelter/Tent - I was a Hammock guy. I prefer my cozy hammock over a tent any day and even over a bed for that matter :) Not everyone likes the hammocks, I guess some body types don't play nice with them. For the AT hammocks are great since there are ALWAYS trees to sling it up on. Hiking a trail like the PCT for example would be wise to use a tent instead, because of the lack of trees in most/many areas. I used shelters along the AT as kind of a social area and eating area. There's often a picnic table and some other hikers hanging out doing the same. I usually set my hammock up away from shelters and stayed clear of any mice looking to knaw a little hole in my food bag and steal my precious calories!

Snakes - Yes there are all kinds of snakes on the trail and I saw/encountered my share. I found that if you hike loudly or heavily, 'heavy footsteps', they will most likely hear you coming and get out of the way before you offend their space. I learned to tap my trekking poles on the rocks in front of me as I hiked through areas where I sensed that snakes were out sunning themselves to give them fair warning I was coming through. That seemed to work and I had no issues with them. Less one time I had to throw rocks at a stubborn copperhead that was standing his ground and I couldnt get around him on a narrow patch of trail.

When did I hike? - I started in early April and finished in late September. 177 days

Boots/shoes - I went through 7 different pairs of boots/shoes along they way. Your mileage may vary.

How much $ did I spend? - WAAAYY too much ;) When people ask how much it costs to hike the AT, its a tough question because that really depends on how much you spend. You pass through/near a town on average every 3 days or so, so there are plenty of opportunities to spend waaay too much $ on food/beer/hotel/gear/etc.. For someone with little to no experience with long-distance hiking, they will most likely spend much more adjusting their gear loadout than someone who already knows what "they" need and like to hike with. I spent about $10k on my hike. If I did it again, I could probably do it on about $2k comfortably.

Would I do it again? - Absolutely! It was the adventure of a lifetime and I met some of the most amazing people I'll ever meet in my life on the trail!

Use creamy desiring. Coats & prevents chafing plus has oxide in it as a smell inhibitor. Can be used as a sunscreen as well.

2014 alumnus. April - Sept. Northbound

Desitin !!

Did you get butt raped by a bear?

Are you an ex marine?

Chafing - I got quite a bit of chafing on the inside of my upper thighs and just below my armpits. A little dab of "bodyglide" worked well for me. Towards the end of the trail I no longer used it because my skin had toughened up in those areas.