[at-l] You guys are so wonderful.......

[datto_atl@yahoo.com (Datto)]

> I just decided that this is no longer 
> an idea for me, its something I have to do.

Every single person I know who's thru-hiked the entire
Appalachian Trail has come back with great tales of
adventure, happiness, clarity and new life-long
friendships.

> Where are the best places to diverge 
> from the trail/side trips not to be missed?

The Trail itself offers a wonderful array of
experiences not found back at home. A thru-hiker gets
to enjoy so many new and amazing facets of nature
every single day. Seeing nothing but green for hours
and then coming around a corner of a hillside to
overlook several acres of yellow wildflowers for
instance...

The side excursions are also some of the best things I
experienced during my AT thru-hike in Year 2000 and
hold some of the best memories of the entire
adventure.

Here are 20 places -- "diversions" -- off the top of
my head to consider. There are many more but these are
the ones that came to mind at the moment -- some are
urban and off-trail while some are near trail or
on-trail:

1) Washington, DC if you haven't seen the nation's
capital (I hitched from the Trial over to Lynchburg,
VA and took the train into DC -- drops you off right
there in the middle of the sights, just behind the
Capitol Building). By the way, I ran up the entire
humongeous set of steps to the Capital Building two
steps at a time -- the tourists couldn't believe it.
The Trail gets you in such great shape by that time.
Heck, by that time I could have gone up two steps at a
time while wearing my backpack. Ha.

2) New York City if you haven't seen it -- there's a
train stop right exactly on the Appalachian Trail
(it's called 'The Appalachian Trail Stop') and it's
something like nine dollars one-way to go into NYC --
drops you off at Grand Central Station. Be prepared to
be a little shell-shocked coming out of the woods and
into something like NYC.

3) McAfee's Knob and Tinker Cliffs (these are about a
half-day apart in Central Virginia). McAfee's Knob is
the most photographed spot on the Appalachian Trail
and it'd be worthwhile to laze around at both of these
spots for a half a day or so. Gorgeous.

4) NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) -- A great outdoor
recreation spot right on the AT a few miles north of
the GA/NC border. Inexpensive accommodations, has a
full-service outfitter on-site, restaurants with good
food. Popular with thru-hikers, lots of diversions if
you decide that's what you want to do while there.

5) Hot Springs, NC -- nicest town I visited on the AT
(and there were so many nice towns too). I spent 3
days here because it was such a nice place. I'd at
least plan on spending two days here. The places I
stayed were Elmer's Sunnybank Inn (terrific place) and
the Duckett House (a full-fledged B&B, very nice too).
The outfitter here (Bluff Mountain Outfitters) is one
of the nicest and best on the Trail I thought.

6) Trail Days in Damascus, VA -- since you're thinking
of leaving in April, you'd probably be able to time it
such that you could hike into Damascus, VA if you
chose to (Damascus is right on the Trail -- the AT
goes right down the main drag of town) in time for the
big Trail Days weekend -- the Springtime Appalachian
Trail festival and celebration. As a thru-hiker you'd
also eligible to walk in the hiker parade down the
main street (an experience, Ha -- wear something that
won't matter if it gets wet -- ahh, by the time you'd
reach Damascus you'd have already figured that out for
just the normal day of hiking on the AT).

7) Getttysburg, PA if you haven't already seen it and
have an interest in history (about 15 miles east of
the Trail in Pennsylvania). Also, Antietam National
Battlefield is only about 15 miles west of the Trail
in Maryland.

8) All-You-Can-Eat in Catawba, VA -- I hear this is
the best place to eat on the AT (and there were many
-- I was making up miles the day I passed the spot to
head out to this AYCE and didn't get to the restaurant
in time).

9) South Mountain Inn -- (I think that's the name of
it -- it's in Maryland just north of Dahlgran
Campground) -- some kind of high class, fancy place
right on the AT -- perfect for thru-hikers! Clint
Eastwood, Henry Kissinger, other famous dignitaries
have all been there and had their photos up on the
wall. Interesting to walk in there as a woodsy
smelling thru-hiker with a backpack and sit down for
ice cream or a cup of coffee. The people running the
place seemed to enjoy the oddity of thru-hikers mixed
in with the dignitaries.

10) Standing Indian Mountain (North Carolina I think)
-- great spot to camp overnight if the weather holds
up that night.

11) Lakes of the Clouds Hut -- New Hampshire (just a
mile before the top of Mt. Washington). Gorgeous views
of the White Mountains from this picturesque spot.

12) Franconia Ridge, White Mountains, New Hampshire --
if you could, it'd be nice to time it to come over
this area in good weather -- one of the most scenic
spots on the AT. I came over this in driving sleet
with 50 mph winds. Ha. The next day was clear and I
was able to turn to look back and Franconia Ridge was
still gorgeous looking at it from 10 miles north or
so. Beautiful.

13) The Blueberry Patch, Georgia -- a place with
overnight stay that caters to hikers with the best
value in overnight stay and a breakfast on the Trail
(blueberry pancakes and coffee/juice plus overnight
stay and having my clothes washed for a grand total of
$14 per day). The folks that run it (one is a '92
thru-hiker) are religious and there are prayers before
every meal but that hasn't seem to bother many
thru-hikers (even the thru-hiker atheists).

14) The Approach Trail at Amicalola Falls at the
beginning of the AT in Georgia -- I'm one who thinks
hiking the Approach Trail to get to the top of
Springer Mountain is important. Plus, I guarantee that
you'll remember the Approach Trail if you choose to
hike it at the start of a thru-hike. I started at the
bottom at 2pm one afternoon and got to the top of
Springer Mountain at 6:30pm so it's not an
overwhelming effort to do the Approach Trail (it
seemed steep in a few places but nothing like what was
up ahead on the Trail - Ha!)

15) Epsicopal Church Hostel in Vernon, NJ (if it's
still open to thru-hikers) -- Very nice people,
beautiful facility, brand new, commercial kitchen for
all the thru-hikers, shower, washer/dryer, right near
to food places too.

16) The Palmerton, PA Jail (and the gobs and gobs of
blueberries right on the Trail just before Palmerton).

17) The Doyle. It's a hotel in Duncannon, PA. And an
experience most everyone remembers for the rest of
their life. Ha.

19) Mt. Rogers, Thomas Knob Shelter and Grayson
Highlands -- one of the most picturesque areas on the
Trail. Mt. Rogers is the highest point in Virginia and
Thomas Knob Shelter is right on the Trail about 1/2
mile from the top of Mt. Rogers. Grayson Highlands has
feral (tiny) ponies that walk right up to you. For
northbound thru-hikers the ponies usually have plenty
of kids by the time the northbounders get there.

20) The goats on a mountaintop in Central Virginia
just north of VA 42. These were so funny -- no fear --
they run up to you and start licking the salt off your
skin. Hard to get away from them. Two grabbed the
pocket linings underneath my swimsuit with their teeth
and just about depantsed me on the spot. Hey, just
like that party at the Fraternity House...

> Is it best to stay in shelters 
> or set up camp most nights?

I started out my thru-hike by setting up my tent every
night. After a while it dawned on me that I'd have
less hassle and get out hiking earlier in the morning
if I stayed in a shelter overnight (particularly when
it was raining, which was often). So I ended up
staying in a shelter about 60-70% of the time while on
the Trail. I'd definitely get a lightweight tent to
take along. Mine was a Nomad -- a one person tent, I
could sit up in it -- with the poles and ground cover
weighed 2 lbs. It's made for thru-hikers. Sweats quite
a bit but is so lightweight it's what many northbound
thru-hikers were carrying during Year 2000.

> How much will I spend on gear?

If you were going to go about it the smart way and
didn't currently have much gear, I'd make sure you
spent enough money such that the total combined weight
of your; a) empty backpack, b) tent and c) sleeping
bag was as far under 10 lbs as possible. Mine was
under 8 lbs. These are the expensive items you'll need
to purchase and they don't have much room for weight
savings once you've hit the Trail. Many, many people
sent their initial gear home and bought whole new
lighter weight gear on the Trail once they saw how
physically rigorous the Trail was and how heavy their
full backpack weighed. Since I bought the right stuff
prior to starting the Trail, I didn't have to swap out
for much lighter gear while on the Trail. As far as
backpacks, the most popular backpack on the AT during
Year 2000 was a Gregory Reality (there were way more
Gregory brand of backpacks on the Trail than any other
brand). My backpack, Aretha, is a Mountainsmith
Mountainlight. Worked great for me although the
current models are about 1 lb heavier than mine is
when weighed empty. My sleeping bag is a Feathered
Friends down bag with a dryloft cover (20 degree bag,
weighs 2 lbs). Another popular and well respected
brand for sleeping bags is Western Mountaineering. As
far as tents, the most popular brand of tents on the
AT during Year 2000 was easily Sierra Designs --
particularly the Clip-Flashlight 2 model (weighs about
4 lbs 3 ounces). The Wanderlust Nomad (like mine) was
also popular at 2 lbs.

> Other than good boots, what else is  
> absolutely essential?

Speaking of boots, I went through 5 pairs. They were
Salomon Exit II Lows -- very comfortable but only
lasted between 300-500 miles per pair (thanks Karen
for helping me so much, have I told you that lately?).
It might be important to you to buy boots from a
manufacturer that has a reputation of replacing boots
for thru-hikers currently hiking the AT. This changes
from time to time so you'll need to ask the
thru-hikers from the previous year before your own
hike. Also, your feet may swell when you get on the
Trail from the rigors of thru-hiking and the beating
your feet take. You might consider buying boots that
are 1.5 sizes larger than your street shoes. Before I
started my thru-hike my feet were size 10.5 in street
shoes. The correct size of boot for my feet on the
Trail ended up being size 13 (the model of Salomon
boot I was wearing was, in reality, about 1 full size
smaller than the actual size listed on the boot box,
and my feet swelled up when I was hiking, thus the
size thirteen). Once you get your boots dialed in, you
may want to stay with that boot model and size if
possible when you swap them out for another pair
(otherwise you could end up going through the boot
sizing guessing game again and have to swap out boots
often to get the correct size). 

Other things to consider (beyond sleeping bag,
backpack and tent) -- point-and-shoot water-resistent
camera (Olympus was easily the most popular brand on
the Trail but many had the typical Olympus clamshell
front panel ripped off the face of their camera --
thru-hikers are not known to be gentle with their
gear) -- I bought film in bulk and the film mailers in
bulk too and just used the mailers to mail my film for
processing. I took about 1000 photos during my
thru-hike and wish I'd have taken the time to have
shot more photos. 

Don't bring a single thing made of cotton to the Trail
-- all clothing should always be a man-made material
such as nylon.

> What important questions am I not asking?

What's the reward -- why do people do this?

As someone alluded to in a different email, after the
first thirty days an AT thru-hike is more of a mental
challenge than it is a physical challenge. It's a test
of how well a person can adapt to changing conditions
-- mental conditions such as loneliness or not being
used to being with yourself for so long a period of
time, weather, exhaustion, constant minor physical
injury, being soaking wet for days on end, having bugs
in droves fly into your eyes, being so hot for days on
end the sweat pouring into your eyes overtop of your
headband causes you to be blind for a period of time. 

In some ways it's a test of how a person can live like
our ancestors did at one time -- a very tough but
rewarding life for those who stick it out. Of course,
our ancestors didn't have Pizza Hut a mile or two down
a road crossing.

The reward is...well, it's different for each person
but probably the most common rewards for those who
complete a thru-hike are experiencing first-hand the
wonders and beauty of our land, the satisfaction of
meeting a great challenge, a huge burst of
self-confidence, coming to grips with who you are and
what you're about, the realization of how very tiny
little steps can lead to big gigantic things over a
period of time, seeing how beautiful and fulfilling
life can become when a person strips away all the
superfluious barrage of stimulation from society. 

I don't know what it is about the area of land
surrounding the Appalachian Trail but the nicest
people I've met in my life have lived near the
Appalachian Trail.

One last valuable reward most thru-hikers experience
by the end of their trek -- how to live in the moment.

So...ask if you have more questions. I'm sure you'll
have more and the people on the AT-L mailing list are
great at offering advice and opinion. In the end it'll
be you making your own opinions and choosing your own
direction but it is always so much easier to draw upon
the knowledge of others and use that to make up your
own mind. 

If you're interested, here's a link to my on-line
Trail Journal from my thru-hike in Year 2000 (cut and
paste as necessary):

http://trailplace.com/cgi-bin/miva?index_tp.mv+mode=Index&fileid=952121211

One year ago yesterday a bear walked right up to me
while I was sitting at the front of a shelter in New
Jersey. Scared the daylights out of me. Good thing he
was as scared as I was...I guess I showed him. My
running away sure did make him think twice about
messing with me. It's a self-confidence thing...yeah,
that's the ticket.

Datto



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