Appalachain Trail
 

Has anyone ever hiked the Appalachian trail?? I know it takes a long time but I think I might do it with a few buddies.

Anybody?

Drink plenty of antifreeze for hydration

Before you go, you should read this book:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...SH20_OU01_.jpg

It's a very funny and entertaining read about hiking the Appalachian Trail.

no, but that would be a great hike. You should watch Deliverance before the hike though. Drew: Goddamn, you play a mean banjo.

Only a small section. It would be the experience of a lifetime, though, Mr. Pushead2 ... to hike the entire tract, I mean. It you go, take some bug spray and a flare or two.

FAX

Not the Appalachain, but I did do the Oregon Trail once.

It was a pretty awful experience, actually. My friend, Jebediah, got dyphtheria. His wife, Mary got bit by a snake. My oxen got loose. We tried to ford a river and failed miserably.

The hunting was sweet, though. Totally made it worth it.

Keep your eyes open for Big foot

2179 miles? **** that.

You died of dysentery.
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Haven't done it. Want to do it.


It's amazing how many things the above two sentences can be applied to.

I'd invest in the most badass pair of hiking boots made.

I prefer the Oregon Trail. But you gotta be careful, mother****ers be getting snakebit all the time.

http://www.caffeinenebula.com/quizze.../snakebite.gif

*edit - GDI Dante

This is one of those things that would be an incredible experience but that I don't think I'll ever get around to doing. I mean, everyone can just hop on and off a short trek and I might do that someday, but hiking the whole thing requires some sacrifices. Basically leaving Maine at about late March and finally staggering into Georgia at the end of the summer. Going 10-15 miles every day, mostly cut off from the world, limited entertainment, sleeping in a very spartan camp every night, starting out clean-shaven with short hair and ending with a decent beard and long hair, etc.

It sounds cool, but I'll probably find other life experiences to go for.

It's okay - he only beat you by about 50 minutes. Did you actually have to play the game to generate the graphic or what?

LOL

My attention was divided when I scanned through the thread of an OT reference. Completely missed Dante's post.

I've researched it a bit. If you leave from Maine, you probably wait until June to start. Most hike from GA to Maine and leave around mid March. Either way it takes about 5 to 6 months.

One of my students who graduated in May through hiked over the summer/fall. He said it was an experience of a lifetime.

Basically you walk and sleep for 6 months.

It's on my maybe list, but it will have to wait until I'm retired. We'll see how my health is holding up then. If I didn't have to carry all my stuff, it would be a lot more attractive.

That book ticked me off because he started out planning to do a through hike, and ended up just hiking parts of the trail. I fee like he cheated since he didn't hike the whole trail, yet still wrote the book.

I friend of mine did it in his late fifties. Took four months, and he dropped 30 lbs. He was just over regulation when he started. Don't bring a razor.

I live about 5 miles from the at and have read this book. It is a hilarious book but he skipped just about all of the good parts and didnt give the trail justice. Section hiking is the way to start out tho

Yeah, I might try a couple of multi-day section hikes in the next few years. That might scratch that itch enough that I don't have to do the whole thing.

Plan on trail days. 3rd weekend of may its a trail wide celebration in the town i live in (pop 1000) but during the week 25000+ come celebrate its a good time

It would be the food that would turn me off. If you cant hunt, trap, and fish off the land its not worth it imo.

A buddy of mine (best friend in college) has done the Continental Divide, the Pacific Crest Trail, and some trail that's similar in Spain.

He used to work at EDS as a Cobol Programmer, then he just snapped one day, dropped out of society and became a ski and surf bum (ski here in winter, move to South America to surf in the summer). Eventually he decided to make a career out of it. Now he is a NOLs instructor and dating an Aussie. Working NOLs courses in New Zealand at the moment. He and his girlfriend came and stayed a couple of nights with me over Christmas Break.

I'm a little jealous, but I just keep telling myself that his life is ultimately empty and unfulfilling without the joys of children. :rolleyes:

Never ****ed a Colombian chick, if that's what you're asking.

Too soon to let THAT meme fade.

I really think I want to do this......I have two buddies that are down to do it we might just do a May til August type of thing & see where it ends up.

This guy is an expert on the Appalachian Trail. You might wanna ask him.

http://slice.superhappykittymeow.com...rd-283x300.jpg

Too late and not as witty.

LMAO

Your reply was better, BL.

Just go left when you see the sign "Colombia, Turn Right." ;)


(How's THAT, BL?)

http://www.topnews.in/files/colombia_1.gif

Not

http://images.statemaster.com/images...ia_mo_1920.jpg

That's what I said. Colombia. Read my post again, dude.

I'm assuming that the most expensive part of it is the equipment needed.

You edited it later, read my post again.

Or more likely, the lost income pursuing it.

If you can afford to do it, you should do it. I've read that people will retrospectively question the wisdom of money spent on goods, but seldom will question the wisdom of money spent on experiences.

I've hiked it for about 50 miles through the PA trail. If you're going to do it do it during the spring or fall without question. There's some absolutely breath taking areas that will just look prettier during those seasons and the heat, bugs and humidity will kill you in the summer no matter how tough you think you are. It's going to be enough like work after the first couple days without having to deal with those problems as well.

A couple tips off the top of my head besides above:

- be prepared, you will be isolated from any help at times, for days actually. if someone is allergic to bee stings make sure they have whatever that stuff is that stops them from swelling up and dying. same with allergies or prescriptions and all the above. 911 doesn't work most of the time and even if it does it will most likely take them hours to find you.

- make sure the people you bring are in decent shape. they don't have to be iron men but endurance is a huge factor if you want to make decent time.

- when you come across the small towns and you want to sit down in the local dinner for something to eat for the love of God, get some water and soap and scrub your ass, balls and pits. you're going to have no idea how bad you stink.

- whether it be alcohol, pot or both bring something along for around the campfire at night to break the tension. you will get on each others nerves, it's a loooong hike.

Anything specific?

I definitely can afford to do it, especially with the break-up I just had, THAT was the one thing holding me back the most. Not anymore.

How many days were y'all out for 50 miles?

I have four or 5 people that willing to do it including two that have masters degrees in Environmental Education so we have some people that know a good deal about it as well.

I'm looking to do a month or two out on the trail. Any other tips or advice?

There was a documentary a couple of years ago on PBS about it. The thing people were saying is to have good shoes, and even then people's shoes were wearing out. I remember there was a part where there's this little store in the trail, kind of isolated, and the thing people do there is try and eat an entire box of ice cream (I don't know, is that a half gallon or a gallon?) A few people went as a group, but the group ended up splitting up because some people quit.

We were out Saturday to Saturday for 50 miles but we stopped looking for caves we located through GPS units, did some fly fishing in little creeks, woke up at noon after sipping whiskey all night. In other words we weren't looking to set record time, just have fun.

The only way I'd hike the whole trail is if somebody paid me to do it or if I found a really light and rugged mountain bike that would easily halve the time and be able to carry when I needed to but spending almost a whole year sleeping in a tent and walking isn't for me. I like to go out and have fun for the day then come back and enjoy a big glass of wine and a steak.

Anyway, as mentioned above. Shoes, Shoes, Shoes! I've always like Merrell Boots but there's a lot out there up for the job and there's actually a couple stores along the trail that will sell them to you if you need to replace the pair you brought. There's tons of blogs out there about experiences and what people forgot and advice and pictures. Just do some searches, really cool stuff.

Only other piece of advice I don't see mentioned much is that if you've never hiked with the group you're going with before take a couple mini overnight hikes in your local area and get a feel for each others pace, what equipment each other has so you're not overlapping unneeded equipment and not bringing the best option. It's just a really, really good idea before jumping into the big haul.

From what I've read, aside from the obvious like making damned sure you have very good footwear that has been broken-in (dont buy brand-new boots then start hiking for weeks the next day), the real tough trick is trying to pack as light as possible. If you try to carry 100 pounds for over 2,000 miles, you'll be miserable, and apparently a lot of people who start out heavy start to realize this and begin leaving stuff they didn't really need behind. Aside from the occasional relief in towns you run across, some basic hygiene we take for granted today you might have to do without.

So no, not really expensive, aside from the cost of getting there and the lost time. (though thats a matter of perspective, some might say you lost 4-5 months of your life, but I'd see it as an investment to buy the memories of an experience of a lifetime)

Just sell your tickets and watch it on TV.

Tip #327: Be sure to frequently ask your fellow hikers, "Are we there yet?"

Everyman's Guide to Surviving Appalachia
 

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:LOL:

And keep going, "This sucks."

I think it would have been a great thing to do when I was young and had no responsibilities. I lived in Northern Virginia for a couple of years and hiked the section from Harper's Ferry down through Shenandoah National Park a little at a time. But I never had the time or money to take 6 months off to hike the whole thing.

I think it would be great to be young and have no responsibilities, so I want to hike the trail.

Good point. :thumb:

I'm 49, with a bad knee, a bad shoulder, a wife and a mortgage. Spending 6 months hiking just isn't something I'll ever be able to do now.

I did a lot of hiking and backpacking in the Sierras, the Cascades, the coastal mountains of northern California, and the Appalachian Trail through the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia when I was in my 20s and early 30s (lived in NoCal for 6 years and VA for 2). I would have loved hiking the whole Appalachian Trail, but I was already married by then.

I've done the lower three states and plan to hike it beginning to end when I retire. This summer I plan to do a 120 mile loop that takes me through Joyce Kilmer national park, which is one of two remaining virgin forests in the eastern US.

Invest in the trail book and plan. It tells what is at each stop, where the water is and how to resupply while on the trail.

Also, invest in the best water pump and take at least 4 1 quart collapseable bottles. Pay attention to pack weight. Only take cloths that are appropriate for the season and have cloths mailed to strategic points at specific times. The trail planning book gives the information you need to plan and even pre-box what you want sent.

If you like to read take a Kindle, don't carry books. Krocs make great camp shoes and don't add weight, and you will want camp shoes to air your feet. Stove, small pot, cup and spoon is all you need for a kit. After 5 days you will stop caring about anything other than water, hiking, eating and sleeping so don't worry about entertainment.

Keep a daily journal, you will have feelings and thoughts worth recording and are unique to the experience. Going back later and reading the journal brings the memories back so you can relive it with others.

At first tents sound exciting, but after 5 days you will not want to bother with setup and will prefer the shelters. I recommend a light hammock tent because there will be times you want to be alone. There are plenty of other hikers on the trail so there is plenty of social time and trail stories. There are story boards on the trail that through hikers use to pass messages so take a pencil.

Have fun.

An excerpt from my journal.
Day 53: been raining for six days. Bobbys broken law looks to have gangrene. Very little food, meager sustenance provided by the inner bark of the beachwoods.
Day 54: too weak to write much today.
Day 57: feeling better today, but we were forced to eat Bobby. Disposed of his leg in the valley.
Day 59: suffering horrible diarrhea. All hope is lost. Give my chiefs tickets to Phobia.

LMAO