The number of northbounders keeps declining:
2005 Northbounders as of October 24:
Springer Mtn., Ga. – 1,392
Neels Gap, Ga. (30 miles) – 1,156
Fontana Dam, N.C. (160 miles) – 1,123
Harpers Ferry, W.Va. (1,000 miles) – 680
Katahdin, Maine (2,175 miles) – 260
Virginia keeps eating hikers for lunch! 
Interesting stats
If those two actors make a movie ala Bryson, those numbers will quadruple or quintuple instantly and there won’t be a tree to hide behind for solitude.
Observer
wow,the numbers are really eye opening.I’m going for it in 06 Ga-Me.I can only hope and pray that I will be one of the few,the proud,An AT THRU HIKER!!!:eek:
old school
Well, if VA is having hikers for lunch, the above figures can also be read to show NC and TN (Fontana north to Damascus, anyway) are having some hikers for breakfast. Or as an appetizer?
Skyline
Back around 2000 the number of thru-hikers finishing began to go down. 2005 looks to continue the trend. If I remember right, even the number of hikers starting has also been dropping since 2000. I wonder why that is?
JAWS
I think even if a movie is made and a mass exodus of wannabe thru-hikers inspired by cinema jams Springer Mountain, I believe it will last only for a little while. The future of the trail will be like its past. It will go through periods when it is immensely popular and other times when it fades from the collective public thought. I don’t think either is bad, simply because fewer thru-hikers means less destructive impact but the risk of losing monetary support and volunteers. More hikers means increased attention in the media, which can spread the message and opportunities to learn how to hike the A.T. safely. Call me optimistic, but I shrug my shoulders and believe the trail will endure one way or the other.
Suvid
The bad thing is a movie encouraged thru-hiker is less likely to have the hiker ideals essential for the AT. The thing that concerns me is that stuff like the Leave-No-Trace policy wont be used and that these movie inspired hikers will destroy the landscape.
Hopefully any movie made will contain information about the Leave-No-Trace policy and encourage potential hikers to clean up after themselves, and not go carving their names into the trees.
bryan
There are always cycles, depending on publicity and other factors. In 1987 there was a tremendous amount of publicity for the trail, celebrating the 50th anniversary. Every magazine had an article on hiking the AT. In 1988, a lot of folks were out on the trail as a result (including me.) In 1991, the publicity about Bill Irwin encouraged a lot of folks to get out and try it - “If a blind guy can hike it, so can I.” Around 1999-2000 there were a lot of people who wanted to be Millenium Hikers. As far back as '92 people were talking about coming back to hike in 2000 so they could be part of the Millenium group. Bill Bryson had an effect. If they make this movie, it will also have an effect, but only for a couple of years. For a lot of people, hiking the AT seems like something strange and exotic for really hard core outdoor people. When they see ‘ordinary’ folks doing it, they start thinking that maybe they can do it too. A movie may have less effect than the other publicity tools, because it is less about ‘real’ people than Bill Irwin and all the folks in the newspapers/magazines that get written up.
Ginny
At least as far as Katahdin is concerned. When we summitted on Sept 28th we received our “thru-hiker” form to send in and we were also numbered by the ranger there.
I was thruhiker 370. A week later, at the Gathering some people that summitted after we did said they were up in the low 400’s
Not as many people started this year but I think the percentage of completions will be higher than in the past.
THe reason the stat may be off is that not everyone sends in their paperwork right away or the rangers have not updated the ATC with the most up to date info.
I also know that the number from Harper’s Ferry is off. There were quite a few people I knew who did not sign in at Harper’s. Plus there is that group that do the 4 state challenge and blow right on thru Harper’s Ferry.
Just my two cents worth 
Cuppa Joe
Cuppa Joe
I don’t have t.v. so this forum is the first place I’ve heard talk of a movie which I assume is based on A Walk in the Woods. If they do make one, does anyone know when it might come to theatres? I’m planning an ‘06 thru hike, and it would be nice to do my hike before tons of avid movie goers come to the trail quoting lines from Stephen Katz’ character and so forth.
Josh
Why would they even make a movie based on Bryson’s novel?? They didn’t even finish the hike.
Base it on somebody’s more inspriring trail journal instead.
miffed
Most of the wanna be’s will drop off the trail by Franklin or Fontana. The trail will chew them up and spit them out! Don’t worry about it, numbers will rise and then will drop as the American Public turns their eye onto some new fad! Hey it might be the year to do a SOBO, that way you don’t have to worry about running into the overweight, potato chip eating, “I can do it, too!” fad hiker. We’ll be able to coin a new term for that year…“Fadpacker”, definition: someone who tries to thru hike because the guys in the movie made it look cool, and, no I have never ever put on a pack before or walked on a trail for more than an hour on a sunny afternoon.
I can see it now…all of us hiker trash commenting on the group of Fadpackers who just came through.
Almost There
In the summer of '92, while we were on the trail, Backpacker did an article on the Hundred Mile Wilderness. They called it “a dream trail”. Lots of people read that and assumed that meant it was easy and decided to hike the AT out of Monson for their vacation that year. We ran into a couple of guys with no experience backpacking who had read the article and came out to play. Were they in for a surprise! They went home after three days.
Ginny
Dont assume that all hikers that havent thru-hiked the AT are “fadpackers” though. I havent thru-hiked the whole thing yet, and Im certainly no fashion/hipster oriented hiker. I cant afford to take six months off for a thru-hike. Ive been section hiking the AT in small sections for a while now. Ive almost completeted GA. Even the other trails, like the Benton McKaye, Coosa Backcountry, and Bear Hair Gap trails. Normally I can only take off for a weekend, and I can get about 25 miles clocked off at a time if Im lucky. Im a slow hiker. I like to take every thing in, vs trying for miles in minutes. I would be one of those thru-hikers that would be first to leave and last to arrive taking 7-8months or something, just because I would want to stop and look at everything.
I cant afford $300 marmot 24oz sleeping bags, Lowa boots and such, so I end up having to use alot of dept store stuff, and making my own equipment from scratch to save money.
I love hiking. Ever since I did my first long distance hike…the 21 mile Jackson Trail in Blackwater River State Forest in Florida for my 16th birthday…been hiking ever since, every chance I get.
It amazes me when I read about a hiker doing a 30 mile day on the AT. Im like who are these people…Superman or something. 30 MILES. 30 miles on the AT is like doing the tour de france on a skateboard. 12 miles in one day, and Im done…toast…ready for a good nights sleep.
I dont think new hikers really realize what the AT is like. While its an amazing, fun, inspiring, beautiful,life-changing experience, its also one of the hardest,most challenging things you can do. It seems like new hikers think they can just grab a water bottle, strap on a pack with some gear and go hike the AT. They dont realize that there are miles upon miles where there is no water, no way out, no cell signals, no roads, and then top all that off with some of the most insane terrain imaginable. 50+ degree inclines going over a mountain for miles…and thats after you’ve already been hiking for 8 miles. It will test everything in your body to the max. You will find out what your made of. And most likely you will find out your made of ****.
I got to hand it to you thru-hikers. Yall got something I hope I will get one day. I couldnt keep up with you guys for a day, much less six months. We could leave at the same time, and you guys would be summiting the “K” and be getting post cards from me from Virginia.
Me and my friends joke around about getting T-shirts that say “I got my @** handed to me by the AT”
Happy Trails…
Bryan
bryan
…unless they’re independently wealthy or something. most who thru, simply modify their lifestyle accordingly & throw caution to the wind in regards to their finances :cheers
the goat
I have to hand it to you … you hit it on the head. It is not a picnic to get out there and hike the trail. However, I will tell you something I told a lot of section hikers I met last year. I admire them! Reason being is, the section hiker has a short time to hike. They get on, they hike and get off. Jus as they are getting off they are probably in “thru-hiking” shape, as far as physical shape goes. We, on the other hand, get in shape in 4 to 6 weeks and from there it is the mental/injury game we play.
As far as the expenses you talk about … You do NOT ned to spend a lot of money in gear to hike the AT! Don’t buy into the “I gotta have this game”. It is not necessary! Hike with make you comfortable. If you do you will probably make it farther than those that spends hundreds … Believe me, I saw it!
Cuppa
Cuppa Joe
I admit part of me ias really interested in this movie. I doubt that it will be made as it seems to have disappeared from the IMDB projects listing.
Lots of movies ideas get circulated that don’t make it to screen. Judging by the garbage hollywood puts out, I’d hate to see the stuff they rejected!
jalan
personally, i resent the tone of voice expressed by ‘almost there’ towards so-called “fadpackers”. all it is is good ol’ thru-hiker elitism. I want to ask you, guys and gals, wasn’t there a time when you were inexperienced too? when you made mistakes that would seem laughable to you now? I know i sure did. When i arrived at Springer in the spring of 2004, i had never hiked a single mile or spent a night out in the woods. And yeah, i was over-weight too. that did not stop me from thru-hiking that year. The trail changed my life in many profound ways, among them inspiring in me a love for the outdoors and the love of freedom on the trail, physical and emotional confidence, and even brought me together with my fiancee, a thru-hiker too. i’ve since gone on to thru-hike the PCT and to plan a CDT thru-hike for next summer. I also currently work for an enviornmental organization, whose mission is much more vital and immediate to me since my hikes.
Yeah, there are a lot of people out there that are only out for a short time, or as a “fad”. But who are we to judge? just because you’re a thru-hiker doesn’t make you a perfect judge of human-Character, or a sooth-sayer, for that matter. we thru-hikers tend to forget more often than others, it seems, in our pride…
no-one’s trail experience is less valid or valuble than yours, or any thru-hikers; there is no need to sneer at anyone with contempt, just because they are in a position you used to be in…
Phew… got that off my chest. Now, does anyone have a beer?
Cheers! :cheers
Remy
Alot of the “elitism” or ego I think comes from the commercialization of hiking/camping in general. It used to be that the long distance hiker had to search through existing brands for lightweight stuff, or high durability stuff, mixing and matching items to get the best performance. Now there are companies specifically catering to the long distance hiker.
Any time that a hobby gains enough attention to garner name brand products solely designed for that hobby…instantaneously you get so-called “elites” popping up.
It becomes the “in” thing to have Marmot bags, Osprey packs, Lowa shoes, etc. The more you pay for them, the more elite you supposedly are. The more name-brand tags you have applied to your gear, the more elite you supposedly are.
Phooey on all that stuff. You wanna be “elite”…forget the name-brand stuff. Put one foot in front of the other, walk the walk, and then you wont need a companies logo to tell others who you are.
There is a old saying…“Actions speak louder than words” perhaps they should change it to say “Actions speak louder than your logos”
Last trip to the AT, We passed boyscouts with their standard kelty external frame packs, and overstuffed 8lb sleeping bags, and we also passed two hikers that looked like they just spent 4G’s at the REI down the road. I stopped to talk to them for a while, while my companions continued on. I heard glorious stories about how great their new leki poles were, and how I should swap over to them from my current dept store pole. After discussing equipment for a while, I said good bye and ran to catch up with my friends. When we got to the hawk mtn shelter…the boyscouts werent far behind…never saw the elite REI guys with the fancy poles again and they said they were headed to gooch gap, so they would have had to have passed us to get there.
Kinda sad, dont know what happened to them, but all that faith they put in that fancy equipment was misplaced. Its whats inside your gut that will get you to the finish line.
Poles break, tents rip, sleeping bags get wet, clothes wear out, shoes fall apart…if you ain’t got it in your gut.
You ain’t got it.
Im not elite, dont wanna be. Just want to hike my little heart out.
I get more satisfaction out of building my own equipment then using the store bought stuff. It’s kinda fun seeing what you can get to work. Some of the home-built stuff works better anyway…case in point…pepsi can stoves. I just recently found out about these, built a couple, and they sure beat anything Ive used up to this point. The best part is…no logos.
bryan