AT Questions, Frequently Asked
Photo from Appalachian Trail Conservancy
What is the Appalachian Trail?
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is a 2,190-mile hike that runs through 14 states including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. It gains and loses 464, 500 feet of elevations along its length. The trail was conceived by Benton MacKaye in 1921 and in 1923 the first section of the trail was completed in New York. Myron Avery was the first person to complete a hike of the entire trail in 1936, although he completed it in sections, not as a continuous thru-hike.
How long will you be on the trail?
On average, people complete the trail in about six months. Seth and I hope to complete the trail in five months, which means we have to average fifteen miles per day.
Where will you sleep?
Seth and I have a very spacious three-person tent, which we plan to stay in most evenings. There are also over 250 shelters located at varying intervals along the trail. These are generally three-sided constructions of widely varying quality. Mice and Norovirus are said to like staying in shelters, so Seth and I hope to avoid them as much as we can. However, some locations require hikers to stay in shelters, if there is space, to decrease the impact on the environment. Hostels and hotels are also options, but to manage expenses we want to utilize them sparingly and mainly as morale boosters.
How do you go to the bathroom?
Some shelters provide privies. These are basically outhouses with as much varying quality as the shelters. As with the shelters, it is recommended to utilize a privy, when it’s available, to lessen the impact on the environment. The other option is a hole. Good practices calls for hikers to dig a six-inch hole, so we will be carrying a trowel for this purpose. The key is full commitment to the squat- then you’ll be in the clear ;)
How will you get food?
Seth and I plan to restock food mostly by hitching into towns every few days and shopping in grocery or convenience stores. Some people feed themselves totally by resupply boxes, but we didn’t want to get stuck in a town waiting for a post office to open and not want the food we had sent ourselves three months before. We are also going to send a total of seven packages to ourselves along the trail to restock on protein powder and vitamins. (See mail drop blog for list of addresses).
How much weight will you lose?
We’ve read that men need between 4,500-5,500 calories per day and women need between 3,500-4,500 calories per day. Seth and I have our weight a little higher than it typically would be in anticipation of losing weight on the hike (or at least that’s what we’re saying), so we both have weight we can lose and stay within a healthy weight range. Men tend to lose weight more easily and faster than women while on the trail, but there is a lot of variability between people. Also, it depends on how people are feeding themselves. Seth and I are trying to avoid nutritional deficits by supplementing with protein powder and enhanced electrolyte powder, but it’s inevitable that there’ll be some caloric deficits that lead to weight loss. Some people become emaciated while on the trail, which I can only assume is due to malnutrition, so we’re trying to be intentional about our intake to avoid that.
Are you going to bring a gun? How will you protect yourself?
Firstly, I think someone would have to be crazy to try make us their victim- have you seen Seth? Secondly, the crime on the trail isn’t necessarily higher than it is in your neighborhood, so it’s not like the trail calls for increased protection. Thirdly, concealed carry laws vary from state to state and park to park, so ensuring you’re carrying legally is cumbersome (and if you mess it up, some states have mandatory prison sentences for violations). We will be carrying knives, which will probably mostly be used for for food preparation.
What about bears?
The black bears are the only bears on the east coast and they are generally much less aggressive than the grizzly bears found on the west coast. While people spot bears fairly frequently along the Appalachian trail (as we have encroached on their area more and more), a bear attack is rare. They are interested in campers’ food, so good practices suggests storing food at night, often by hanging your food from a tree out of a bear’s reach. Most of the time, bears just lope off when they see a human. If they don’t do that, you’re supposed to back away slowly, but not turn away from the bear, and it’ll likely do the same. If the bear is eyeing you intensely, you’re supposed to make lots of noise and try to make yourself look bigger, but it’s not likely to come to that.
What are you doing with your dog?
Billie hiking. She's loving it.
My mom is supremely lucky to be watching the best dog there ever was. Billie is not a hiking dog, which she has proven every time it rains, every time the temperature goes above seventy degrees, and on every walk above four miles. Additionally, dogs complicate a thru-hike for any hiker. A dog has many of its own needs, including needing to physically train for the trail and coordinating enough food. Also, there are certain stretches of the trail through state parks that don’t allow dogs, so arrangements have to be made to send them ahead etc. I’m worried enough about getting myself down the trail- I don’t want to have to worry about getting my persnickety dog down the trail too.
What about your work?
We will be taking a break from our respective careers to take this trip. Impact on said careers- TBD.
What about MONEY?
Seth and I have been saving for over a year anticipating this hike. The cost of the trail is relatively cheap compared to living in civilization- we have budgeted roughly $12,000 for six months of hiking. This number includes on-trail and off-trail expenses like food, infrequent hotel stays, car insurances, health insurances, etc. As previously stated, we hope to finish the trail in five months, so hopefully we’ll fall under this amount.
Have you seen that movie…with Reese Witherspoon…Wild?!?
Yes. I have seen the movie and read the book. The trail will be somewhat like that, but the terrain along the Pacific Crest Trail is pretty different than the Appalachian Trail. And I imagine hiking as a couple is going to be very different than hiking solo.
