[at-l] Fw: Apalachin Trail Questions For A Project

[goinggoinggone@webtv.net (goinggoinggone@webtv.net)]

Hi Emily,
    Yes, you may be stranded on the AT, but only if you run out of
money, friends, and family, all at the same time. Even if that unlikely
convergence of misfortune occurs, there are still lots of friendly
people who live near the Trail that help stranded hikers, or so I have
been told. I was once stranded and hurt on the AT, and a family of
friendly people picked me up and took me to a doctor and then helped me
get well at their house ( for a week ) and then took me back to where
they had picked me up. And this was 29 years ago, so I bet with the
increase in population, there are many, many more friendly people who
help stranded/sick hikers. I think that there are some people that are
called "Trail Angels" who regularly go to great lengths to help hikers,
and although I met lots of really nice people when I did my backwards
hike, I only met one angel, and he wasn't a person anymore. But there
were lot's of really nice people, and even though I was stranded that
once, it was for such a short period of time that I didn't recognize it
as being stranded. I was hurting too much to see straight anyway. 
     You asked where the AT starts: it starts for you wherever you
decide to step on it and start following those little white blazes on
the trees (or rocks). There are many excellent places on the Web to
start learning about the AT, one of which is at
http://www.fred.net/kathy/at.html
also at www.atconf.org and also at www.aldha.org
And you asked how long it would take (to hike the whole Trail?) Most
people take about six months, but if you start at the Southern end you
have to be sure and get to Baxter State Park by the first week in
October, but if you start from the Northern end, you can take as long as
you want....of course some people do different sections of trail over
many years time and some people do something called a flip-flop, and a
very few people do yo-yo hikes, but I don't know about those. I had
quite enough to keep me occupied going in the wrong direction everyday
for six-months and seven days.....

Alejandro Gomez
GA->ME '72

" When I was a boy, I was told that anyone could become President; I'm
beginning to believe it." - Clarence Darrow