Appalachian Trail

My Appalachian Trail Hike

I hiked on the Appalachian Trail from August 13 to August 17, 2014.
I took 285,706 steps to travel about 125 miles.
Due to an injury and hard deadline, I was unable to take a few days rest and continue, so I had to end this hike early.
Journal   Photos   Map  

I did a 2nd section hike on the Appalachian Trail from August 20 to September 7, 2015.
I took 775477 steps to travel about 315 miles.

Journal   Photos   Map   Gear   Food   Expenses   Supporters   Stats

My Gear

Item	Oz	$$	Notes
G4 backpack	16	$0	made myself from pattern. Comfortable, light, and plenty of room for all my gear. I'm using my new green version and it's holding up great.
Sleeping
shelter	28	$0	silnylon shelter I made, including stakes, lines, and groundsheet. I treated it with silicone spray, added a bug screen edge and floor, and it works just fine. I plan to stay in shelters most nights.
sleeping quilt	40	$0	I made this quilt from a pattern for my AZT hike. I will start with my lighter green version and have this warmer one shipped when it starts getting cooler.
Exped Synmat 7 UL Pad	16.2	$0	comfortable, warm, light mattress for restful nights.
Exped Schnozzel Pumpbag	2.0	$0	Fills pad quickly with dry cold air instead of hot moist breath. Serves as food bag at night and storage for clothes in pack during day.
Exped pillow	2.7	$0	xmas present. Really helps me sleep and is worth the extra bit of weight.
Cooking
			I've chosen to not cook on this trek, at least at the start. I'll get warm food in trail towns occasionally. I save gear weight, but food will be a bit heavier. When it cools off, I may have my alcohol stove sent to me.
food	2-11 lbs.	$0	I will carry 7 days of food at the most.
Water
water filter	4.2	$0	Sawyer Squeeze filter continues to work wonderfully.
water bottles	1.2	$0	two .6L throw-out bottles - cheap, easy, light.
water bag	1.8	$0	2 1L Platypus roll-up bags, for some of the high, long, dry ridge walks.
water	2-6lb.		water is plentiful, so no need to carry much. 2.2lb/L
Clothes
BSA hat	3.5		baseball style
BSA stocking hat	3		Maybe mailed later, for end of trek.
BSA wicking t-shirt	11.2	$0	light, synthetic
long sleeve nylon shirt	12	$0
BSA zip-off pants	17.2		light and sturdy
BSA socks	5.7		3pr. hiking socks.
underwear	4.2		3pr.
bug suit	6.0	$0	Super protection from blood suckers. Very light, no bug spray, easy on and off, no slime on my skin.
shoes	32.5	$20	el cheapo from WalMart. Got them for practice hiking and they fit nice, so I'm going with them. Have 2 extra pair to be shipped since they'll wear out quickly.
long underwear	12.4		maybe mailed later, top & bottom
bandanna	1.0	$1	too many uses to list here.
down coat	21	$0	Mailed to me later in the hike, when it gets cold.
Electronics
cellphone	4.4		for daily blogs and pics. I now have a Samsung Galaxy Light. This will be my watch, alarm, phone, camera, gps.
tracker	4.2		pings to satellite with my location. Batteries last about 10-14 days when on for 12 hours/day.
headlamp	.5	$0	Awesome photon light. One set of batteries lasts about 10 days.
batteries	7.0	$15	I bought 3 extra cellphone batteries and a simple charger off eBay. It's a much lighter solution than a solar charger or battery pack. I just recharge a battery in my phone and one in the charger at the same time in a town. 12 AAA lithiums for tracker, and 12 CR2016 coin batteries for headlamp - purchased online for pennies. I'll have more mailed later, if needed.
Other
pedometer	.6	$0	track my steps, just for fun. The great folks at GeoPalz gave me a replacement for the one I lost in the wilds of Wisconsin last year.
rain poncho	3.4	$4	cheap disposable to cover me and pack from rain - taking 2.
guide	5	$16	Awol Miller's "The A.T. Guide". Taking the southern half of the book so it gets lighter as I go. I will probably purchase a map for the first section from the AT Conservancy headquarters in Harper's Ferry when I start.
1st aid kit	3		basic personal items - bandaids, pain relief, tape, liquid skin, CPR mask, gauze pads, allergy meds, ...
pad repair kit	.4
compass	1.1
knife	1.1		tiny, single blade.
toothbrush	1.3		includes paste
ear plugs	0		I'm taking a bunch to hand out to others in the shelter, in case I snore.
50ft. core	1.5		hanging food to protect from animals
toilet kit	2.8		TP, Purell
misc.	12		2 garbage bags, whistle, clippers, thermometer, and other small items
stickers	5		Taking 100 Hiking Dude stickers to hand out to folks I meet.
Total	~18 lbs 4lbs worn, not in pack 14lb pack weight 4 to 11 lbs food & water 23 to 30 lbs - total weight

My Food

2014: A fellow in Boiling Springs, PA gave me a cantalope! Since I was on the trail such a short time and well after that main mass of northbound hikers, I saw no other trail magic. I did find it easy to get food in two towns along the trail. My menu was:

• Breakfast: 2 poptarts - 400 calories. I'm rarely hungry before starting my morning hike.
• Lunch: peanut butter and honey mixed, on ritz crackers - 650 calories.
• Snacks: Snickers, trail mix, sunflower kernels, peanut M&Ms, raisins, Austin crackers.
• Dinner: I did not cook, so dinner was protein powder after hiking and tuna, chicken, or salmon on crackers.
• Drink: just water.
• Daily vitamin

2015: I had pretty much the same menu.

My Expenses

2014

• travel to trailhead from home - $200 - fly to Dulles, train to Harper's Ferry.
• travel from trailend to home - $251 - shuttle from Duncannon, PA to Harrisburg, PA. Then, greyhound to Minnesota.
• gear - $22 for shoes - the rest is good to go from last year.
• guide and maps - $16
• food - $28
• lodging - $58 - Teahorse Hostel in Harper's Ferry, WV and the Doyle hotel in Duncannon, PA.
• Total - $559 - about $4.50/mile! It's expensive to get to the trail and back, especially when you don't hike many miles in between.

2015

• $130 - pair of shoes
• $ 18 - Guthook's AT App (great investment!)
• $ 94 - food
• $115 - lodging - Stanimal's hostel in Waynesboro 2 nights, plus a dinner. HoJo's in Daleville.
• $150 - train from Minnesota to Harper's Ferry
• $530 - plane from Roanoke to Minnesota
• Total - $1037 - about $3.30/mile

Appalachian Trail Statistics

States	Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine
Distance	2180 miles - trail reroutes happen so this is an estimate of the trail length.
Total Elevation	From hiking up and down over hills, mountains, gullies, and ravines, it is estimated that about 550,000 feet of elevation is covered.
Terminus	South: Springer Mountain, GA North: Mt. Katahdin, ME
Highest Point	Clingman's Dome, 6643ft
Lowest Point	Hudson River, 124ft
Map	< - -   North         to         South   - - > Click for Large Maps
Terrain	The majority of the trail is densely wooded forest, giving it the nickname of the green tunnel. Sub-alpine and occasional alpine areas are traversed on the northern portion of the trail, the most notable being the Presidential Range. The trail is well-marked with white blazes and highly trafficked its entire length with an estimate of 4 million people visiting some part of the AT each year. There are over 250 permanent shelters available for hikers. I found the trail easy to follow, but extremely rough and rocky. It wasn't as claustrophobic with trees as I had expected - Wisconsin is much worse since it is all flat. The shelters I used were wonderful - dry, clean, and easy to use.
History	conceived by Benton MacKaye in 1921. First trail section opened in 1923. Earl Shaffer completed first documented thru-hike in 1948. Designated as a National Scenic Trail in 1968. Permanent route completed in 1971, but minor reroutes continue to occur for many reasons.
Challenges	Lyme disease from ticks is a fairly common problem along the trail. Poison ivy is common along the trail, particularly in the south. Venomous snakes, heat, humidity, and insects can also cause trouble. The AT is a very social trail and many encounters with other people should be expected. This can be frustrating if you are looking for solitude, and there is the slim chance of meeting a bad character. The AT has many steep grades, referred to as PUDs (Pointless Ups and Downs), which wear on body and mind.
Time Window	February to October northbound. Mt. Katahdin weather will stop you if you arrive too late. Most thru-hikers go late March through mid September, northbound.
Time to Hike	Typically takes 5 to 7 months. Speed record set in 2011 is 46 days.
Permits	There are no fees or permits required to hike the Appalachian Trail. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Baxter State Park (Maine) require permits to camp. There are some campsites in the Green Mountain National Forest and White Mountain National Forest which have fees, but you can open camp for free.
Thru-hiker Tally	Over 10,000. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy gives the name 2000 Miler to anyone who completes the entire trail.

Trail Links

Land Managers and Partners of the Appalachian Trail