Over the past few months, I have encountered many of the same questions from friends and family curious about various logistics and details of this AT Hike. Below are a few answers if you happen to wonder yourself:
- So, how do you handle your “BUSINESS” on The Appalachian Trail? – Well, let’s just say the VERY old fashioned way. Say goodbye to shiny white porcelain stools 3 feet off the ground with 4 walls of privacy that simply flush all your worries away, and say HELLO to digging a 6 inch cat-hole with your trowel or stick, rolling a log up next to it to sit on for comfort, and providing a 360 degree panorama of your call of duty/doodie for all other hikers around. Aka: You poo in the ground. Oh, did I forget to mention that according to “Leave No Trace” guidelines, you are supposed to pack out your used toilet paper in a plastic zip lock bag, and carry with you until you reach the next trail town? (Hmmm, maybe I’ll just use the local flora/fauna in place of your normal TP. Of course, after I update my knowledge on what poison ivy leaves look like).
- So, how often do you SHOWER on the Appalachian Trail? – Until you run out of alcohol swabs and wet naps. Oh wait, you mean the type of shower with luxurious, clean, clear, Giardia-free sparkling steaming hot water?!? Not as often as you may think. We will be hiking through trail towns offering hostels, motels, hotels etc. every 3-7 days. Considering I shower approximately 1.7 times every single day, this will undoubtedly be a huge adjustment. Especially taking into account that you are hiking an average of 13 miles per day (sometimes more), out in the open woods, with 30 lbs on your back, sometimes during the sweltering hot summer sun with monkey butt. Scrub-a-dub-dub.
3. So, will you be sleeping in your TENT the whole time on the Appalachian Trail? – For the most part, yes… yes I will. We will occasionally stay at a nearby hostel which provides a 2 inch mattress on an actual elevated bed frame (this will be considered a luxury after sleeping on my Thermarest pad on the ground every night). However, there are approximately 270 shelters or “lean-tos” scattered along the AT. Hikers have the option of sleeping in these shelters if there is room. I have chosen the tent option because of the following advice received not too long ago: “If it is not too cold outside at night and you choose to sleep in a shelter, lay down with your head facing the outside opening and not where the back wall and floor connect on the inside. This is where many of the mice, spiders, and all other critters like to run around, and these fearless rodents will run right over your face. Oh yeah… snakes feed on them at night too. So your head will be lying right in the middle of a feeding frenzy.” I.E. - TENT WINS.
- So, how and what do you EAT on the Appalachian Trail? –Considering you will be burning up to 6,000 calories every day, the type of food you eat, and its caloric density, is very important. On average, you’re only 4-5 days away from a trail town, which means, on average, you will be carrying 4-5 days worth of food on your back. It is said you will eat about 1.5 pounds of food per day. You do the math. And thanks to my Mom and Dad (I love you so much!!!), I will be receiving mail drops about every two weeks which will include homemade dehydrated meals (light to carry, dense and fluffy after cooking), tuna packets, instant mashed potatoes, peanut butter, GORP, powdered milk, granola bars, etc etc. These mail drops will be mailed to General Delivery and held for me and Joanna at Post Offices along the AT. We will also load up in trail towns when we run out of food. I will have my mail drop schedule and locations up in the next couple of weeks: feel free to stop by your local alphabet store and send us as many airplane bottles as you would like!!! CHEERS!
- So, how much WATER do you carry on the Appalachian Trail? – The average hiker should be consuming approximately 3 liters of water every day. One liter of water weighs about 2.2 lbs. x 3 liters per day x 5 days = 33 extra lbs. Not happening. In consequence, we will be cultivating our drinking water from streams, rivers, etc and purifying it chemically or by a water filter. After researching this and considering all options… I have decided to purify my water with chlorine tablets. (Guess it will taste kind of like pool water, without the pee).
- So, what about the BEARS on the Appalachian Trail? – Plan A: According to Winnie the Pooh, all they want is some honey. Before you leave for the trail, dehydrate some honey pellets, stash in an easy to reach pack pocket with a sling-shot and launch. Plan B: If honey isn’t what Mr. Bear is after, bust out some Kung-Fu. Plan C: Use common sense. Black bears, unlike Grizzlies, are very shy creatures. Believe me, your boney hiker’s butt won’t look very appetizing to Mr. Bear… he just wants your food. So… don’t sleep with food in your tent and make sure to bear bag it (hang it in between two trees on your nylon cord). Also, run in the opposite direction of you see a baby bear cub: Momma Bear is guaranteed to be nearby with binoculars watching every move your boney arse makes.
- So, are you going to carry a GUN on the Appalachian Trail? – Guns on the AT are highly discouraged. You are more likely to need protection at night (or even the day) in the streets of the city YOU live in. Plus, guns are prohibited in many of the National Parks you hike through. Yes, there have been some accidents reported over the past century regarding crime on the AT, but they are most likely FAR less than the crime statistics of your own town. No, you don’t have a dead-bolt on your tent and no, you don’t have police officers trolling the trails. But you are always surrounded by your hiking buddies, which will be happy to whoop some arse for their fellow man if needed. The thru-hiking community on the AT is a close-knit group. You are, for the most part, never alone, and with people that are more concerned with drinking clean water, singing Kumbaya, and enjoying the raw nature that is part of our hiking objective. Guns are for wimps anyway, wuss.
- So, how much does it COST to hike the Appalachian Trail? – A lot. So send me some money, please J On average, thru-hiking the AT will cost about $2 per mile, and the AT is 2,175 miles long. This amount does not take into account the gear you have to buy before leaving and during weather swaps. To date (2/18/11) I have spent close to $2,500 on gear (I started from scratch). You also have to remember health insurance, cell phone service, rent, mortgages, credit card bills, and any other monthly bills you are leaving behind. Thru-hiking is a major financial commitment and can take a very long time to build up enough cushion. In my personal circumstance, I started saving up for a new SUV back in 2009 and decided to stick with my current car (the little VW Jetta, putt putt) and keep saving for a big adventure, which happens to be the AT in 2011. The past two years of saving up will make for a lifetime of stories to tell!
