Each person experiences life differently, and that’s what makes it beautiful. The trail is no different. Many people have walked this path, but you will need to figure it out on your own. Here is a popular expression you’ll hear on trail.
“Hike your own hike”
If you remember nothing else from this, remember that this. This is your own personal adventure so do what you want and take the advice that fits and ignore the advice that doesn’t serve you.
Now with that being said, there are our own personal thoughts on how to thru-hike the Appalachian trail.
When to start:
I think everybody should start as early and finish as late as they can. Everyone has different constraints but even if you are on a time schedule try to soak it in. Walk slow and enjoy it. If only for a few steps a day. We started our thru-hike on a brisk February day. Amicalola Falls was frozen. We started as winter broke in North Georgia and we finished as winter made its first appearance in Maine. And yet, I still wish I could have spent more time on that trail. Beginning in early February might have been bold, but we survived and have the stories to tell for it.
Finding the right gear
Everybody is different. We come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and each of us has a different budget. There is a lot of talk about gear on the trail. You don’t have to buy thousands of dollars worth of gear to hike the AT, though salesmen and people on the internet might try and convince you otherwise.
If you don’t start in the dead of winter in a remote area the risk is low and it’s okay to learn and figure it out. If you start northbound in the beginning you can never be too far from a town or post office.
Learn as you go.
There is preparing, and then there is over preparing. What you really should be preparing is your wallet. Sure there are people that hike the approach trail every day for two months before starting their thru hike, and sure that will allow you to hike more miles at the start, but for us, part of the magic that was hiking the trail was learning, growing, and getting stronger with every passing day. And to be honest, for us, there was too much talk around how many miles a day each person was hiking.
Remember…
“It is about the smiles, not the miles”
You carry your fears and remember you can always pick things up as you go. Ask yourself hard questions and do pack dumps often. (Emptying everything out of your pack and reviewing it) Odds are you don’t need to be carrying it.
(Insert therapeutic metaphor for emotional baggage here.)
Have Fun and Enjoy It
The AT is a social trail full of community and life. Stop at as many places as you can go. Go to trail days, stay the extra day in town, go to the all-you-can-eat buffet. In fact, go to all of them. You remember the memories, not the miles you made that day.
With this being said, it’s a long trail and as you get further north, the trail towns become more sparse and everything seemed to get more expensive. Keep that in mind before spending all your money at places like the station@19e. Yes, it is an awesome bar/hostel and yes we spent way too much money there. And yes, you just might too.
Listen to your body and take care of yourself
It’s a long game. What you put into your body matters. Give yourself the right nutrients and drink as much water as you think you can and then try to drink more. We found that electrolytes were pretty necessary for staying hydrated. While backpacking, your body is utilizing everything you put into it, so eating right and staying healthy pays dividends during the later days on the trail. That being said, there is plenty of room for junk food and sweets, or at least we found plenty of room for those.
The quicker you learn to start working with the weather the better
The quicker you become comfortable with hiking in the rain the easier finishing the trail will be. The journey taught us a lot about the power of attitude and perspective. The only reason why hiking in the rain is miserable is because you tell yourself that hiking in the rain is miserable. I believe that everybody has the power to change their lives by choosing what perspective to take in any given moment. If you choose to believe that you are a badass and can hike the Appalachian Trail then you will.
The first step is scary, but most awesome things are. Do it anyway.
From the otherside,
Lizzy and Daniel
from the other side 