i hiked the AT last year (yes the whole thing) AMA

>btw I did the longest trail possible
Appalachian Trail = clout trail
there's thousands of more interesting trails on the East Coast

>>2830145 (OP)
What did you not expect to find that you did find?

>>2830150
Rapists

>>2830145 (OP)
How long did it take you?
How was it?
Got any cool photos?

>>2830145 (OP)
Actually I'm wanting to set up a shop back home at a trail crossing that used to have more hiker support before the pandemic, what items did you find you needed to buy reliably? Back when I worked at the store, most thru hikers were getting new boots and sawyers. Also how much did you end up spending during the trip and how long did you expect to be gone? Has it been hard to get employment afterwards with that big of a gap in your history?

What is your trail name?

>>2830145 (OP)
what did you eat and how did you cook it?

>>2830146
>there's
its there are, not there is

>>2830192
>its there are, not there is
It's, not "its"

>>2830146
partly agreed.

>>2830152
there was a guy named "mage" i think he's on YT. he was gooning in the bunk room of a hostel at the start, got caught and was all "i payed to be here" he was a fucking cocksucker, i suspect hes from here. he always had a pipe on him.

>>2830180
one day shy of 6 months.
i have a few, the pic in OP i took at Abol Bridge

>>2830185
not gonna DOX myself brah :)

>>2830192
a lot of instant coffee, chow mein + canned chicken. trail mix, halo oranges, cheetoes, twix, potato chips beef jerkey and peanut m&ms.
i was putting a lot more effort into finding good food at the begining. gave up on that shit about mid way when i was in virgina and couldent find real grocery stores.
oh and every time i stopped in town i would drink multiple gallons of milk.
at one point in NJ / NY my BO smelled reallly badly of ammonia, which i later learned was a sign of starvation.

>>2830150
Friends

>>2830236
Your trail name is now Mage Watcher

I was one of the pussies who quit at Neel gap. The shame of the hostel shuttle dropping me off at the train station where other hikers were being picked up was too humiliating. Fuck the at. Spent 4k on gear for nothing, it's not fun like videos make it out to be

>>2830146
I think a lot of people hike or blueblaze the AT just because it's there. I think a lot of them fail like >>2830245 but still tell everyone they did it.

>>2830236
>he always had a pipe on him
I kept a pipe on me the whole time I was on the AT too because I've heard weird things about it. I got my concealed when I lived in TN and used that for the entire stretch of the AT, reciprocity be damned. I kept it concealed, holster and all, the entire time especially when I went down into Gatlinburg for a couple nights.

Why did he delete his comment?

>>2830145 (OP)
How much does it cost to hike the trail in total? How do you get food?

>>2830145 (OP)
Did you stay at Standing Bear Hostel or the Yellow Deli Hostel?

I stayed at Standing Bear on the off-season and the place was a mess. Portapoties over flowing, a privy that hadn’t been rotated in way too long, lots of really expired food, terrible selection for resupply (canned foods, no Knorr sides, etc.), overall dirty, and the staff were drugged out hippies. Not the cool kind of hippies; the meth kind. The entire place had a seriously bad vibe.

I read reviews after the fact and found a lot of people who had the same experience. Not so much a bad experience, just a terrible vibe and a place that’s more a small hippy gathering drug party than an actual hiking hostel.

They can be terrible though, because of their location. They’re right outside of the Smokies and walking distance from the trail (maybe 1/4 mile, if that).
>>2830249
Probably because Neels Gap is only like 30 miles in.

>>2830276
>overall dirty, and the staff were drugged out hippies. Not the cool kind of hippies; the meth kind
That's the AT.

>>2830145 (OP)
Was it crowded when you did the AT?
I had another trainhopping friend who couldn't do it, I hear it's comparatively easy just long, so what would you say is the most difficult thing about the AT?
I did the CT last year and it was cool apart from all the tourist bullshit. Met a guy who said he did the AT without filtering water.
I'm working on a lighter set up then the one I did the CT with, how would you say access to organic/natural food is? Any farmers markers, or locally sourced food? I really hate hiker meals, so my system depends a lot on my ability to find produce, forage, and fish.
What was your budget?
I'm training to average 40 mile days, so I don't know how much cash I need to afford the trail.

>>2830242
Trail names are kinda gay, idk who started this trend but it I hate/love being the one guy who introduces himself with his real name when everyone around me is calling themselves "Sparkles" and "Shoestring" etc.

>>2830249
Damn, 4k on gear he was probably carrying mad weight. UL is superior.

>>2830248
look its fine to smoke your pipe. but there is a way to do it and not look like a fkn tool.

>>2830266
i spent roughly 10k. you can do it for less of course. i didnt. i bought some expensive new gear on trail and stayed in hotels where i didnt really need to; that added about a G where it otherwise didnt need to be done. i
when researching, dont listen to anything written pre-pandemic. you cannot feasibly do it for less than 5k anymore.

>>2830276
yes, similar experiance, the dudes there were disgusting and need to be in labor camps.
i think the woman who runs it is a widow and when her husband (who built it) passed she lost all motivation to keep it running properly. it think it got wiped out in the huricanes last year too...

>>2830280
>Was it crowded when you did the AT?
at the start, yes. there were ALOT of people. i started in mid march, so all the college kids who were fast passed me in northern virginia and PA.
most of the folks at the beggining were over 50s and it was sad watching them realize that they hadnt taken good enough care of their body and needing to bow out.

>Met a guy who said he did the AT without filtering water.

i would say that thats probably fine for 60% of it, i WOULD NOT try this in PA-MASS
NJ was particullarly disgusting and i was filtering from roadside ditches one or two times.
it was also really dry in 2024 so maybe my water sources were just limited.


>Damn, 4k on gear he was probably carrying mad weight. UL is superior.
idk who he was, i wouldent say hes a pussy, people are so insulated in modern life, and REAL adventure means SUFFERING. more on that in my next post

>>2830236
>O smelled reallly badly of ammonia, which i later learned was a sign of starvation.
That sounded like you didn't pack enough food.

>>2830300
>>2830280
>Trail names are kinda gay
>more in next post

Still, I think trail names are like an unconscious ritual. They let you leave behind your everyday self and slip into the raw, unfiltered person you become on the trail.

I believe thru-hiking, especially on the Appalachian Trail, is a modern version of an ancient transformation ritual. You have to let go of control and tap into your primal instincts, or you won't make it. Modern life hides that we're just animals at heart, giving us only brief moments to feel truly alive. But the trail forces you to live in that raw, wild energy for months, breaking you down and rebuilding you through the struggle.
>40mile days

idk how fit you are, but i would say, without support from a team i dont see this being possible.
the most athletic guys i saw were doing an average of MAYBE 30 a day. and im talking like ex-special forces guys and obvious athletes.

>>2830304
yea, i was trying to save on weight.
apparenly ammonia is a by product of muscle catabolization.
i started eating more and this went away

>>2830279
I think this opinion is primarily from Standing Bear. That hostel isn’t an example of that stereotype, it’s the source. I’m not joking.

It’s had that reputation for a long time. I thought it was overblown until I saw it myself. The people there are lowlifes (or carry a lowlife aura or whatever).

I stated that the facility can be terrible because of their location. What I meant was that their location is so ideal there’s no incentive to change. A LOT of people stop there out of necessity.

From Fontana Damn (the SW entrance to GSMNP), it’s ~75 miles to Standing Bear (at the far NE entrance). That stretch of trail through the park is an insanely popular section hike. The logistics work in favor of Standing Bear; people stay there and shuttle to the other side of the park, and hike across its entire length along the AT. It’s a fun 6 night hike.

For thruhikers, there’s a resupply at Fontana Village (not ideal; it’s a mail drop and only open until noon), or they can hitchhike to Gatlinburg from the center of the park (which is illegal and enforced in Gatlinburg, so again, not ideal). It’s still early and most people aren’t doing 30 mile days (you have to stay in shelters there, and it’s ~15 miles between each one). If they skip Standing Bear, it’s another 25 miles to the next hostel and resupply (Mountain Harbor).

So 100 miles from a mail drop that you might be a day late getting because they close super early, hitchhike into a town that’s an hour away (illegal, very expensive hotels because tourist city, need a shuttle back), or stay at the hostel that’s right there.

Also, because it’s early, a lot of the party crowd hasn’t dropped out yet. So you get a lot of these people congregating in one place.

>>2830266
The Trek has an article on this, including a survey. The average is just under $7,500.
Quadzilla, a calendar year triple crown hiker, tried to do it for $1,000 (including gear) but ended up spending double that. And that was doing 30 miles to Mountain days (fewer trips to town, fewer hotels, fewer restaurants, etc.).

>>2830192
Esl spotted. Yes, you are correct grammatically, but every native speaker would say there's there.

>>2830471
theirs *

Has anyone here hiked any FUN TRAILS in the eastern US that are NOT the Appalachian trail recently?

>>2830300
>there were ALOT of people
Same thing on the CT, a lot of people on the start of both ends but the center of the trail is more sparse. I will say, I met this one old geezer hiking the CDT who was in his 70's, that man is an inspiration. Lot of people could probably do it, even despite age, but they just aren't used to having to push themselves passed the hard point.

>>2830306
I can see the whole liminoid/ritualistic passage thing being true, but that can be said about a lot of things, and like a lot of things people end up constructing all these weird gatekeeping or egosyntonic appendages around it to differentiate themselves from others. Sort of like, after they've passed the ritual, where as you mentioned so many people fail, they have to justify that experience to themselves. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, but those types of behaviors are what I seek to get away from in hiking, all the materialistic crap of the modern world, but it seems, pass or fail, people bring that mentality with them wherever they go; guess that's human nature.

>without support from a team i dont see this being possible.
I actually met a couple people who pushed over 40 mile days. But they were seasoned veterans, people that have been doing this for a long ass time. Learned a lot talking to them. Basically you start before dawn, hike for 14-16 hours, and try to average a 3MPH pace. They were all very light weight, though some were heavier builds and managed more weight, and they didn't stop to fill water too often because the extra weight would slow them down.
On my best day I did 28.5 Miles, and that was with 10Lbs of useless weight in my bag, and hiking with a partner who wanted to go a little slower.
Members of the American Tribe have a similar premise, where way back when they would travel light weight and cover long distances.

>>2830628
i wont say it isnt possible. but im telling you, you will have a VERY hard time doing 40s anywhere on the AT.

again, i dont want to assume your ability or experiance. but the trails on the east coats, especially the north east, are nowhere near as easy as the west.

i know it sounds funny and cute when they call it rocksylvannia. but you litterally will be walking on this shit for 180 out of the 230 miles of PA
>pic related.

just saying to temper your expectations so you dont end up like the dude with 4k in gear and quit at neel gap.

>>2830479
the long trail looks really cool and i want to go back to VT just for that.


also, to the guy who asked if i stayed at the yellow deli, yes i did. it was fine, they arent weird. the kitchen was under renovation sadly so they didnt do a great breakfast for me. but ive heard they do do a really good one when the kitchen is up.
also the bunks are seperated by gender, the womens bunk house was really nice while the mens were meh.
would reccomend.

>>2830180
ill put it in my next post. my favorite. i took it at kahtahdin stream as the sun was rising. thought it was glorious.

>>2830867
>just saying to temper your expectations so you dont end up like the dude with 4k in gear and quit at neel gap.
That's fair, I did the CT fairly well with all the incline, but I didn't have to do big rocks for that much of the trail. Just something I'll need to consider in training.

>>2830867
>but the trails on the east coats, especially the north east, are nowhere near as easy as the west.
oops I meant the other way around*