I have a question for the thruhikers. What happened on your hike that you did not expect? We all try to anticipate every detail, but inevitably something is overlooked, or something happens that could not be foreseen. Incredible swarms of bugs? Ascents/descents from Hades? Health problems from nowhere? I guess I’m thinking of negative events, but it could be positive surprises, too.
Jonna
I was pleasantly suprised how dynamic and powerful the eastern mountains are. Hiking across Colorado last summer only made me crave more those blue hills of the southern AT.
THA WOOKIE
I don’t know if I was SURPRISED about this, but it was nice to find that things just worked out. I didn’t do much planning, no maildrops, no prior reservations anywhere. I didn’t stress too much about gear. And despite some rough weather, aches and pains, mud, bugs, gear issues, everything went fine. I learned and adjusted as I went. This is coming from a normally anal planner. Planning is a good thing, but even if you don’t do much, I think everything will work out as you go.
Ramkitten
ramkitten
Two things. Hikers become a close family!! it is awesome. Second, the first 100 miles of Maine is tough!! They keep it primitive on purpose. Very little if any trail maintenance. It is a beautiful state, so you don’t mind the roots and climbs.
Papa Smurf
Before I thru-hiked, I had done several hundred miles of AT on the installment basis. A few days here, a few days there. I never realized the tremendous people connection until I did a long distance hike. And I think that most people will agree that people were the best part of their thru-hike experienc.e
Peaks
It was a lot STEEPER that I thought it would be. According to Wingfoot, there are about 91 vertical MILES of climbing and descents on the AT. I’m sure it’s that much, at least! 91 vertical miles of climbing is 480,480 vertical feet. If you finish your hike in 5 months, or lets call it 150 days, that’s 3,203 feet of climbing and descent EVERY day. The trail was so steep and slippery in some places in New England that it was hard for me to believe that it was the AT. Of course, there were hundreds of miles of mellow trail too, and it doesn’t take a mountain climber to do the AT.
Woodticks were a bigger factor than I expected. I grew up around woodticks without suffering any ill consequences, but during the summer of 2001 I TWICE had to take antibiotics to fight woodtick infections. I talked to several folks who had contracted Lyme disease, that summer or before.
It was easier to get food and supplies than I thought. Seldom did I have to carry more than four days worth of food.
There were a lot fewer single ladies on the AT than I expected. This was a favorite topic of my buddy Metro!
People were so friendly. I had no problems with locals. Usually it was easy to hitch to and from town, and many times trail angels left cold drinks and food at trail crossings.
Virginia is not flat, contrary to what you might hear.
I rarely slept in shelters. For me, shelters tended to be mousy, buggy, loud and had hard floors. I think what appeals to people most is the social aspect of the shelter, and the avoidance of putting up and taking down their tents/tarps, especially when it’s rainy. With the right folks, shelters were great, but I usually prefered tarping out, often in the company of friends. :eek:
I quoted this off my website, which I shamelessly plug here:http://www.bucktrack.com/Thru-hiking_the_Appalachian_Trail.html
Colter
I was coming down wawayanda mt in NJ, and Ivan Lendl (tennis star) came out of the brush with an autographed poster for me…it was strange cuz he knew my name, and I’ve always been a Jimmy Conners fan…:oh
spittinpigeon
I was and still am amazed at how addicting long distance hiking can be. Before my AT hike I’d heard of “Springer Fever” but I couldn’t have imagined how much I would long to return to the trail each spring (summer, fall & winter too). The hardships and pain you seem forget but the best parts of the hikes become more vivid with time.
celt
Hear, hear, Celt. I’d thru-hike again in a minute and think about it all the time. It helps living in view of the AT as well.
duckxing
I would also say the addictive aspects of the trail were a surprise but really I guess it wasn’t such a surprise to me since I traveled for a living for sixteen years or so some six years ago. The travel was a live style I have had a hard time adjusting to not doing anymore. I still only buy a week of groceries at a time. But yes I have Springer Fever. I know that Pappa Smurf mentioned the people above and I would say that surprised me the most. It just surprised me what we would do for each other having not really known each other. Sometimes you helped a hiker you had never seen. The people who helped us along the trail were even more of a surprise. I mean us long distance hikers had a common goal. Those people just wanted to help. They are the heroes of our hikes, the people that gave so unselfishly to us. That shouldn’t have been such a surprise, but it was. What angered me was hikers that tended to expect what people would do. Thru-hiking should be a humbling experience.
Two Scoops
Duckxing: did I mention I live in North Woodstock NH and daily I gaze up longingly at Moosilauke, The Franconias and all the others. If my job ticks me off too many more times I might just head south…
Celt
Being in PA it’s not gazing ‘up’ longingly; more like ‘looking over at’ longingly…with the same result. I guess I get to decide whether to run north or south when the day comes. cheers.
duckXing