Hike The Appalachian Trail

Here's a worthy goal: hike the Appalachian Trail from bottom to top. This is, shall we say, a long trip: the trail runs from Georgia into Maine for 2,175 miles. Not a day trip. Makes for quite a time commitment. Not to mention mental commitment. Still, I cannot think of a better way to see the eastern United States and many of the original 13 colonies: on foot.

The Appalachian Trail website offers a few interesting stats and asks some good questions:

The drop-out rate among thru-hikers is high. Each year, many prospective 2,000-milers start at Springer Mountain in Georgia, only to quit at the first town twenty miles up the Trail. Up to 15 percent quit in the first week, but approximately 20 percent make it the whole way. They give up for all kinds of reasons. Starting too early, heavy rains and snow, a schedule that is too ambitious and leads to injury, unexpectedly rugged terrain, overspending a meager budget, poor physical shape, ill-fitting boots and equipment, or no sense of humor—all contribute to an ill-fated expedition.

Will you endure days of rain, when every item you own becomes soggy, including your tent and sleeping bag? Are you willing to plod up seemingly endless mountains with muscles that ache, only to see another grind still to come? Will you still be inspired after every view starts to look the same and the Trail seems like an endless green tunnel?

Additionally, there are truckloads of industrious mosquitoes along parts of the journey, especially in Maine. The mere presence of these whining blighters kills the rugged romanticism of the trip -- but it increases the Awesome Factor. So it's a good thing romantic inclinations aren't what makes a hike great.

Trickiest is the time commitment, which requires a minimum of 4 months. Also, you must start early enough in the year to allow sufficient time to reach the heart of Maine before the cold comes, but late enough to avoid the early-year chill of Georgia. The coldest and most miserable night I have spent was on the Appalachian Trail in northern Georgia at the beginning of March. It snowed and the wind blew like it was trying to snuff out the sun. The temperature was the coldest recorded of the year to date. So March is probably the earliest reasonable time to start. This allows for a mid-July finish, provided you are clicking along well.

All of this makes for a long summer of grubby hands trying to put in grubby contacts, brushing teeth in iodized creek water, waking up at 2:30am and stumbling out of the tent into darkness and rain to relieve yourself, perpetually matted hair, sopping wet clothes (either from sweat or rain), heaps and heaps of bug bites . . . and divinely beautiful terrain.

It must be done. Hike. Get out and have a scuffle with the earth you came from.