Anyone hiked the Appalachian Trail

No, nobody. Ever.

No, done (much) shorter trail walks over here - Pennine Way, Hadrians Wall

This is a good read:

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail - Bill Bryson

I'm sure someone else here has done at least part of it.

Pretty tiring. I actually fast hiked it. Took me 2 months and 15 days to those 2175 miles. Approx 30 a day. Lost 30 lbs. Started at 150 and finished at 120.

Bryson is not a hiker.. he was a writer looking for a subject. Most important, he didn't last very long on the trail. If you're looking for a well-written, insightful book about the trail, David Brill's "As Far As The Can See" is a good place to start. He hiked in the 70s around college age

For a more recent one, Robert Rubin's "On the Beaten Path" is a nice read, though he was more middle age. If you're looking to read about college age type kids adventures on the trail,

www.trailjournals.com

has a couple really informative journals.

The first thing you have to do is get you a good trail name. Your trail name gets written in all of the journals at the various shelters and gives you an identity among your fellow hikers. I suggest "4:30miler" as your trail name.

Yes. Let me know if you have any particular questions.

I did it without too much planning. Some people have every mile of every day planned out. That would have ruined it for me.

It's an incredible experience, and if you need a chance to think, you have your chance.

Some people say it gets boring. It never did for me.

Like I said, let me know if you have other questions.

Lots of people do it every year. I've done parts and if you like wood ticks and monotony its fine. The Pacific Crest Trail is far superior in many ways.

I've heard the PC Trail is not as well maintained as the AT. I just visited with a friend who is currently hiking the AT - at the point I met him someone had anonymously left a cooler chest of snacks for hikers. My friend told me this is very common on the AT; in fact, for Easter Sunday there was a woman at a particular shelter that came and fed whatever number of hikers were there an Easter dinner. Also for the complete PC trail, don't you have to leave Canada within a certain short window of time? The weather's a bit more troublesome out west.

Mrs. M wrote:

I've heard the PC Trail is not as well maintained as the AT. I just visited with a friend who is currently hiking the AT - at the point I met him someone had anonymously left a cooler chest of snacks for hikers. My friend told me this is very common on the AT; in fact, for Easter Sunday there was a woman at a particular shelter that came and fed whatever number of hikers were there an Easter dinner. Also for the complete PC trail, don't you have to leave Canada within a certain short window of time? The weather's a bit more troublesome out west.

Pretty much everything you said is an argument to do the PCT

Who wants a wilderness experience marred by old people leaving coolers all over the place wanting a pat on the back?

What do you mean by troublesome weather? If you time it right on the PC, you miss the snow...there's a lot less humidity. Parts of California you will get little rain. Sure, Oregon and Washington are rainy but at least it's not the typical 95 degree day, high humidity, torrential t-storms that the east gets.

Why does hiking a long distance trail need to be a wilderness experience every step of the way?

That is the beauty of the AT. You get to see your share of wilderness, but there are only a few places where this will pose real difficulties for the average through hiker.

I haven't done the whole AT but have done about 25%. If you haven't already, I'd suggest starting with a few shorter hikes (3-5 days) to get a feel for what it's like.

The other bit of advice I would offer is to not skimp when purchasing equipment. In my experience the extra money you spend on a good sleeping bag, tent, stove, etc. is well worth it.

AT_book_expert wrote:

What do you mean by troublesome weather?

I mean the volatility and unpredictability that comes with higher elevations - snow in July is not unheard of in the U.S. Rockies. But if you're looking for a more extreme wilderness experience, i.e. greater chance of encountering grizzlies or mountain lions, colder nighttime temperatures, and the possibility of getting thoroughly lost because the blazes are unclear, then - go for it!

I've never done the AT, but have completed the TRT and hiked some of the PCT on the West Coast. I do, however, know several people who did the AT, and their two biggest complaints were 1) the bugs and 2) the fact that you rarely (if ever) get above tree line. I can speak from experience when I say the PCT definitely has fabulous views, and fewer bugs for the majority of the trail - the worst you really get are misquotes and stinging flies.

Make sure you get the correct gear. Especially shoes. Comfortable shoes are key. And take the proper safety precautions, please. (For example, on the west coast, Bears are a huge thing).

And one last thing: When I was hiking the PCT, a cooler did appear around a random corner of the trail one evening. It was full of liters of soda... and I don't care what kind of solitude you're looking for... it was a piece of heaven.

I don't know if the PCT has this, but it might be worth it to the OP to read www.trailjournals.com, which is where AT hikers (past and present) update their travels and post pics.

My bad - looks like that link in the above post includes western hikers too. Sorry! It should be a good source to compare the east & west coast hiking then.

AT_book_expert wrote:

Bryson is not a hiker.. he was a writer looking for a subject. Most important, he didn't last very long on the trail. If you're looking for a well-written, insightful book about the trail, David Brill's "As Far As The Can See" is a good place to start. He hiked in the 70s around college age

Bryson actually was (or rather had been) a hiker, he just hadn't done so in a long, long time when he hiked the part of the AT he did. He DID last quite a while the trail, just not long enough.

It's a good book to get a perspective on the AT from someone unfamiliar with it. The other books mentioned are excellent as is the trailjournals site.

The best active resource to learn about it is WhiteBlaze

Firstly, I think 5 months is a long time to take off and I think you can fully benefit from this type of sabatical in one month. You will not cover the whole trail, but the length makes it a pretty impractical goal. I guess lining up a huge group of friends or supporters to join you along the way, would make the 5 months a little less challenging from a social perspective. Another idea would be to set out to do a month, and after that if you are still pumped about 4 more mos., go for it.

I have run the entire NY section and walked or run bits of CT, VT and NH. Years ago, I thought running little 8-10 mile sections and eventually completing entirely, could be a good lifetime goal. However, in addition to the climbs and descents, this is a really rugged trail, probably too technical for running if you hope to walk away injury free. I got myself into trouble navigating during a snowstorm too. In short, I have not done much in recent years but might go back to it.

I can only speak to NY and New England, but seems like it would be a great journey and I love figuring out the logistics of these type of trips, but each area is sure to be different. According to Bryson's "Walk in the Woods," which I highly recommend if you are serious about this, the trail quality and the maps, in each State or "conference" can be very different. The southernmost and northernmost sections seem like they would be very isolated at times and you better get going if you are planning this year and calculating 5 months to finish.

Good luck, do your homework with maps and logistics. If you do it, you need to keep us posted.

dancy pants wrote (in part): Firstly, I think 5 months is a long time to take off and I think you can fully benefit from this type of sabatical in one month. You will not cover the whole trail, but the length makes it a pretty impractical goal. I guess lining up a huge group of friends or supporters to join you along the way, would make the 5 months a little less challenging from a social perspective. ...

Taking time off for a long walk should not be governed by the practicality of it--the idea of a long walk is itself impractical--not done by Americans (U.S.). A month seeming like a long time to be out there is another reason to go out there--to find out that our perspective of time changes as daily goals change.

I've not done the AT, have done parts of the PCT and Colorado Trail, and about 600 miles across northern Spain.

Plan as little as needed, let the walk unfold and surprise you each day. Do it as close to solo as you can, make it your walk. The adventure will stay in your mind and heart for all the years to come.

Have a friend doing as we speak. Is thru hiking by himself. website is http://www.gthike.com Interesting stories and pictures

any hot women hiking this thing? do people hook up?