To future thru-hiker hopefuls

imported
#1

after hiking from springer to delaware water gap this summer from may 28 to aug 10 (ran out of time), i’ve compiled a few pointers for future wannabes:
-one change of clothint is enough. they all get toxic, so why carry more than you wear. maybe a base layer to sleep in.
-don’t yellow blaze or slackpack. it ruins the integrity and continuity of your hike. it also forfeits the true “thru hiker” moniker.
-stay out of hostels. $$$. are you going into the woods to hostel hop, or live in the woods. and don’t ask every person you meet if they are going to or did stay in this or that hostel. its annoying and degrading.
-leave the cell phones at home.
-stay out of towns. see above about hostels.
-headlamps are annoying (especially in shelters) and unnecessary. i brought a squeeze led and used it once. did a lot of night hiking without it. you’ll adjust.
-there are a lot of dry counties in the south.
-stay away from fontana village and the doyle.
-gear does NOT make you hike faster, better, or stronger. everyone ends up doing the same miles at about the same speed regardless of packweight or gear. take what you are comfortable with, then send most of it home by NOC. pounds and ounces are only insignificant numbers. just stay comfortable. i went with a light pack for 3 weeks and hated it before switching back to 7 lb. dana with real suspension.
-$1.oo/ mile is excessive. stay away from towns. other hikers don’t want your money, and shelters are free. you’ll live without the extra burger.
-maildrops are the only way to keep a balanced diet. keep them varied and healthy. home dehydrated food is the best (no preservatives to junk up your body).

well i could go on for a while longer, but i’ll spare you. any questions feel free to email.
E-psi
energy, position, momentum

E-psi

#2

a Troll. You never know these days.

Though I agree with some of your points, (gear does not make you hike faster or stronger. We never could find that bottle of brandy to keep us warm in the south) you made some points that worked for you that didn’t work for me. I speant a lot more than $1/mile. I enjoyed being clean and spending time with my wife in hotels. I loved gorging in restuarants. I lived for the extra burger. We did maildrops but I wouldn’t in the future. Too often I arrived at the PO on Sunday or on a holiday. We always hit up the full service groceries after we hit up the PO. We used our cell phone to call the rangers in Maine for a guy who had blown out his knee and couldn’t walk. I’m glad I had it. We had some awesome experiences in hostels that I wouldn’t miss for Million bucks. Lastly, I commend anyone who sets out to hike a portion of the AT. How they get from point A to point B is their perogitive. I’m sure they still had an adventure and found their trip to be just as rewarding. I appreciate your opinions, but they may not work for everyone. Remember, you gotta hike your own hike.

Grimace
ME->GA '01 JMT '03

Grimace

#3

One thing I’m fairly certain of, unless I totally screwed up out there and didn’t truly have the time of my life I thought I had, is that there is no one right way to hike from Point A to Point B, however far that may be. Stay away from hostels? You mean, I would have had a more fulfilling hike if I hadn’t stayed at (ie) The Cabin in Maine and met owners Honey and Bear? And I would have been better off having someone mail boxes of food to me every week rather than resupplying at my leisure, with a diet that included protein (summer sausage, packaged tuna and chicken, beans, nuts, etc.), dried fruits, grain, plenty of fat that a thru … a long-distance hiker needs, and so forth?

I guess the thing that ruffles my ramkitten feathers is the word “should,” explicit or implied, and “don’t.” If someone says, basically, “Hey, this is what I found worked best for me,” then that’s totally cool. MY “advice” to anyone setting out to hike the A.T. in whole or in part – sure, ask questions, find out what worked for people and what didn’t, but when you take that first step from north or south or somewhere in the middle, put everyone else’s opinions out of your head and use your own. Adjust as you go. Spend as much or as little money (and time) as you want or can. Do what your spirit moves you to do (keeping “hiker etiquette” in mind, of course, which is largely based on common courtesy). And try to shrug it off if someone tells you you aren’t doing it right.

ramkitten

#4

Set aside enough money and time to hike your hike.

Papa Smurf

#5

E-psi
your advice is a little strong. What worked for you, certainly does not or may not work for others. No headlamps? I lived by mine. If they annoy you don’t stay in shelters but its a crucial piece of gear IMO. Pack weight does affect how fast people hike etc… Maybe you didn’t realize it, but if you hiked for another 2-3 months to Katahdin, you mighta realized that hauling a huge load over the Whites and Maine coulda/mighta killed ya.
AND dont ever tell people not to stay at the DOYLE. Let them decide for themselves. That was one of my favorite nights on the Trail (and it had little to do with drinking). I think Duncannon is a great little hiker town.
A-Train GA-ME 03

A-Train

#6

I agree with some of what you say. Especially the part about carrying your pack. But staying at Hostels and even in town, to me, makes more of a hike. Its not just the woods but the people you meet and hang with also.

White Blaze/Pack on Back

Virginian

#7

I had a great time in some of the towns we stayed in. Gave us a chance to catch up with family via phone and e-mail, and to take a shower and do laundry without being rushed. It was great relaxing with fellow hikers in restaurants, having someone else do all the cooking and cleaning for a change. Also, I was craving calcium-rich foods on the trail, and was glad to be able to eat pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, and ice cream. Next time I’ll take calcium pills, but I know I’ll still want the real thing.
It’s also nice to stay in a hotel, hostel, or cabin for a night when your gear is wet and needs to dry out.

Rachel Bearbait

#8

I think what E-psi is talking about is a more “traditional” thru-hike. These days, it does get to be a bit of a roving party. I’m not criticizing that type of hike. Its just a fact.

I stayed in a number of hostels and motels along the way. I enjoyed myself immensely at a few of them. If I was to change anything for another thru-hike of the AT, it would be to stay in my tent more, and stay less in town.

Of course, the weather could probably change my mind real fast.

Little Bear

#9

The AT has been degraded from its original vision. it is becoming less and less of an escape from congested western society and is just being integrated into it. commercialism is running rampant and it ruins the experience. when i come to a road crossing or shelter i don’t want to see signs about how “miss janet is in trouble” or business cards strewn all over every shelter for hostels, or menus, etc… these places are businesses and are not in the spirit of the AT, whether you enjoyed these places or not. if we can separate church and state, why not capitalism and the AT? as grandma gatewood said, “Most people are panywaists.”
E-psi
energy, position, momentum

E-psi

#10

Never take advise from someone who abandoned a thruhike because they “ran out of time” in August.

Blue Jay

#11

I THINK I escaped the hell out of some dirt path somewhere. Yeah, I distinctly remember being all dirty, getting frost bite and eating way to much. Nooo?..that was Raindog sleeping in a dumpster in Gatlinburg. It was the other dirt path I was on with the smelly green thing on my back for days followed by hottubs.

Bushwhack

#12

Maybe E-psi had to go back to school or what is that other thing called, oh yeah, work.

ZipDrive

#13

Have you ever read Benton Mackaye’s original vision of the AT? I think you’ll find that it was originally planned as much more of a social and commercial venue than it is now. Lucky for us that it’s not any worse than it is.

-Howie

Hungry Howie

#14

social, definitely. commercial, no. a few quotes from the article: “The trail must be well guarded – against the yegg-man and against the profiteer.”, “Would the development of the outdoor community life - as an offset and relief from the various shackles of commercial civilization - be practicable and worth while?”, and “camp community is a sanctuary and a refuge from the scramble of every-day worldly commercial life.” …and I have to start grad school. i’ll never “work” in the conventional sense.
E-psi energy, position, momentum

E-psi

#15

E-psi seems make a few interesting points. First he tells everyone HOW they should hike the AT, but then contradicts himself with the church and state remark. Wasnt ‘church and state’ so one wouldnt govern the other?.. which is what youre doing with these asinine antics of yours. And commercialism is everywhere… strepped to your back with a 7 mofo lbs. dana pack, supporting corporate america. And your future supports the epitemy of commercialism. I cant think of a more greedy place than a university bookstore… revising (ie. switching the chapters around so even if you try to use it you wont be on the same page as the professor) the books every third semester to suck more money from people… or selling a cola for a $1.50. Stop quoting Grandma and let people hike their own god damn hike. The AT was never pure… and never will be… its an experience to each who travels it. To some, its staying in hostels, trail towns and eating cheeseburgers… to others its smelling like crap and preaching about trail purity. No one is telling you to eat cheeseburgers and hang out in trail towns… so stop telling others what to do.

guru

#16

As a New Englander, borned in a snow baynk, I do miss the “local” charm, here in O-hee-o, that was probably a daily scene when Earl hiked. Back east you can still knock on a stranger’s door and ten out of ten you’ll probably stay for dinner. Earl stopped by farms and picked up some eggs, chatted about the weather and moved on. We got propostioned by guys in blacked out Caddys. On trail we had many many times met good folks that took us into thier homes and fed us full. Depends on what you’re looking for when searching for the forest thru the trees. It is a little hard with Kid Rock blarring in the next camp site, but nobody can touch a hiker’s groove when he’s in it. I can smell the roses thru the manure. 'Bout you?..boy, this does ramble.:cheers

Bushwhack

#17

academia, and i mean true academia not the college bookstore as you speak of, the epitome of commercialism? methinks not. i don’t buy books…libraries are free. and if i were trying to govern peoples’ hikes, guru would be an insubordinate and imprisoned. i merely stated a few opinions and pointers thereby absolving myself from any authority position. take them or leave them. i never preach, i just state the obvious. i know commercialism is everywhere. that’s my contention. i’m not trying to make a profit off of my dana mofo pack. that’s the difference. many people are trying to make a profit off the trail and are ruining the AT in the process.
E-psi energy, position, momentum

E-psi

#18

One of the most difficult adjustments after my thru-hike was re-entering the consumer culture we exist in. I was overwhelmed when visiting my daughter who worked in a Mall. I would become depressed, even angry when shopping or “competing” on the highway to commute to work.

The AT should be a respite from these cultural trappings. Comparatively speaking, it is. Compared to the AT of the early 70’s, it isn’t. (I grew up in the shadow of the AT in Greenwood Lake, NY)

E-psi, I understand & appreciate your posting for what it was. Thank you.

Did people really post “Miss Janet is in trouble” posters at road crossings?

Little Bear

#19

Little Bear,
Apparently some memos regarding miss janets and the situation in Erwin were spread around the Trail. Somehow a memo was in the Hall Mtn Lean-to in Maine when i was there mid-july. The letter was written by her good friend Baltimore Jack. I don’t know who was circulating them, but not jack who was hundreds of miles south on the AT. Whether this was a good idea or not, i dont know. But its purpous was to help our dear friend Janet, not to cause problems or spread commercialism yadda yadda.
A-Train GA-ME 03

A-Train

#20

well epsi, we never got to meet up on the Trail as we’d hoped to. i must say that as i followed you along on the Trail some of your register entries were… enlightening. especially the final one at leroy a. smith shelter. it’s interesting to think that what i write in those registers is a lasting record for others to read and glean an impression of the person i am. judging by your entries and the dogmatism (as i perceive it) with which you suggest the way for others to hike, i have wondered if perhaps you weren’t 100% satisfied with your own experience. i’m sad if that is the case.

i may be remembering wrong, but wasn’t there a southern section you missed, like somewhere in virginia up to the shenandoahs?

hephzibah