[at-l] Datto's Addt'l Top Ten AT Thru-Hiker Tips for IndependenceDay 2003

[datto_atl2 at yahoo.com (Datto)]

Let's get right down to it.

Note: for you Internet newbees, the links below may wrap
and require that you paste them into your Internet browser.

Number 10 -- Video. Of the best videos made about
thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, the one that may come
the closest to showing you the peaks and the valleys, the
ups and the downs, the joys and disappointments of
thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail is a video by Lynne
Whelden entitled, "Five Million Steps". If you enjoy
watching videos and are thinking of thru-hiking the
Appalachian Trail, buy this video as a present to yourself.
Here's a link to the video:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/shop/media/fivemillionsteps.htm

Number 9 -- Hygiene. One of the things I did that I believe
caused me to be so heathy on my northbound Year 2000
Appalachian Trail thru-hike was to use hand sanitizer
(Purell) liberally. For instance, one of the most popular
activities of thru-hikers is to read "shelter registers".
These are little notebooks people place in the shelter
where hikers can communicate in writing with those behind
them on the Trail as well as produce wit and thought for
others to enjoy or dispute. I believe theY also could be
one of the major tranmitters of cooties between hikers. So,
whatever you do, don't eat while you're leafing through the
shelter registers. And after you browse a register, use
hand sanitizer liberally on your hands -- fronts and backs.
Same thing goes after you shake hands with another
thru-hiker. Now don't get out the hand sanitizeer and lube
yourself with it right in front of the other hiker you just
shook hands with. Wait until you can do it discreetly.
Otherwise, you may end up getting the trailname of 'Mr.
Hughes'.

Number 8 - Protein Supplement. If there is anything I would
have done differently on my thru-hike it would have been to
have thought enough ahead to have taken along a powdered
protein supplement and to use it every night in my hot
chocolate. By milepoint 400 I had lost 13 lbs (two other
guys I'd met about then had lost 70 and 50 lbs
respectively).

One guy I'd started with on Springer was planning to lose
70 lbs by the time he left the north end of the Smoky
Mountains. He'd lost about 40 lbs by that point in his hike
and when I saw him coming down from Katahdin (yeah, strange
that I saw so many people in Baxter State Park that I'd
started with on Springer Mountain more than six months
earlier) he thought he'd lost the 70 lbs. He sure did look
skinny!

In the state of Maine I lost about 10 lbs and I think a
good portion of that loss of weight was due to shivering so
much day and night. In between the 400 mile point and the
state of Maine I'd lost another 17 pounds. In fact, by the
time I'd neared the New Jersey line and went to a wedding
one weekend, I could slip on my suit pants for the wedding
without unbuckling the belt. Ha. Yep, right up over the
knees, over the hips and to my waist without unbuckling the
belt. By the time I summitted Katahdin I weighed less than
I did when I was in high school.

The point is, some of that weight loss by me and others I
believe was due to loss of muscle mass could have avoided
if I'd have thought ahead a little and carried protein
supplement with me. I'd thought enough ahead to have packed
up and sent myself loads of boxes of Pop-Tarts (gag!) but I
hadn't thought much about a protein supplement. 

I saw many thru-hikers between Massachusetts and New
Hampshire who'd just lost their energy and eventually much
of their will. The looked and felt completely worn out.

So, if you have a great mail drop support person like I had
on my thru-hike (have I told you lately Karen how much I
appreciated all your work and support?), have them parcel
out some powdered protein supplement in your mail drops.

If you want to do it yourself along the Trail you can
sometimes buy protein supplement in Wal-mart and grocery
stores. If you want to get some cost-effective protein
supplement in larger quantities, here's a link to the same
stuff that's also sold in Wal-Mart:

http://www.bodybuilding-supplements-for-you.com/eas/simply-protein.htm

Number 7 -- Shoe Size. Most thru-hikers will find their
feet will grow 1.0 to 1.5 sizes above what their shoe size
is for their street shoes prior to their thru-hike. Then,
you may find that some manufacturers of hiking boots have
smaller than normal sizing for their boots (Salomon was
like this for me). So, you might want to consider buying
your hiking boots or trail runners 1.5 sizes larger than
your street shoes in order to avoid blisters.

Prior to my thru-hike I wore a 10.5 street shoe. When I
started preparing for my hike and was hiking quite often, I
realized that for Salomon boots (which were the most
comfortable for me), size 13 was the correct size for me
when I was hiking and is still the size I buy today (my
feet never came back to normal size after my AT thru-hike).
I went through five pairs of those Salomon boots on my
thru-hike and all of them were size 13. I had fewer blister
problems than most and I attribute that to help I received
from a very good friend of mine who coached me on proper
thru-hiker shoe size prior to my thru-hike.

Number 6 -- Replacement Insoles. If you want to comfy your
feet up a bit, try buying and putting in replacement
insoles into your hiking shoes. Two of the most popular
insole makers are Spenco and SuperFeet. I can tell you that
for me, Spenco inserts make a set of hiking shoes
ultra-comfortable.

On my AT thru-hike the Spenco insoles cost about $17 for a
pair of insoles and for me, lasted a maxiumum of about 600
miles (or less depending upon how much it was raining on
that stretch of the Trail). After about 600 miles, the
insoles had gotten crushed so much that they were flat and
useless.

Since I was replacing boots about every 450 miles or so on
the average, whenever I replaced boots I tried to replace
the insoles at the same time.

Just about a month ago I bought a new pair of Vasque
low-end hiking boots from Sierra Trading Post (Size 13 of
course). When I first received the boots and tried them on,
the boots were so uncomfortable (painful would not be
unkind!) I almost returned the boots to STP. As a last
resort I pulled out the Spenco insoles from my old set of
worn hiking boots and put them into the new Vasque boots.
Vye-ola, the boots were all of a sudden very comfortable
and I've worn them confortably every week since. 

Here's a link to Spenco insoles:

http://www.forfeetfirst.com/accessor.htm

Note: don't put the Spenco insoles overtop of the insoles
that came with your boots thinking you'll get more padding
that way. Bad idea. Instead, make sure you yank out the
existing manufacturer's-supplied insoles before putting in
the new replacement insoles. That way there's less cubage
taken up by the replacement insoles and the new insoles
have a better chance to form-fit your feet correctly.

Number 5 -- Blisters. It's highly likely you will get
blisters on your feet to some degree on your AT thru-hike.
Much of that degree will likely be due to three factors; 1)
how well your shoes fit after you've been hiking a while,
2) how rugged the skin on your feet will have become during
your thru-hike and 3) how much it rains on your thru-hike
(the rain swells up the lining inside your boots and the
enlarged lining cuts into your feet as you hike).

In any case, from the outset get yourself some Compeed
Blister Patches made by Johnson & Johnson (the retail
patches are sold at Wal-mart). In my opinion, Compeed is by
far the best treatment for blisters that you can buy. Note
that Compeed Blister Patches are very expensive but you may
be able to find them heavily discounted in Dollar stores
(like Dollar General, Dollar Tree, those kinds of places).

Here's a tip -- the reason why a few people don't have
success with Compeed is they don't allow enough time for
the glue to set up on their skin before putting on their
socks and boots. They put their socks and boots back on and
start hiking prior to the glue setting up so the patch
falls off. You need to have your sock off and the Compeed
blister patch applied to the skin and exposed to the air
for a minimum of five minutes (ten would be better) before
donning your socks and boots and hiking again. And clean
off the blistered area first -- with wet-naps if you have
them -- and let the blistered area dry for at least 5
minutes prior to applying the Compeed patch.

Here's a link to see what a Compeed Blister Patch looks
like:

http://www.drugstore.com/qxp12929_333181_sespider/bandaid/blister_block_regular__for_the_prevention_of_blisters.htm&tab=1

Number 4 -- Friends coming out to meet you on the Trail. It
wouldn't be unusual for some of you friends to get in their
head that they should come out and hike with you for a week
in say, Virginia. Woo boy are there a lot of problems with
that idea for some people. Here's a few of the problems --
Your normal hiking pace will just about kill your friends,
literally. They aren't going to be in trail shape and you
are. And believe me, you are not going to wanna slow your
pace down while you're hiking. Plus, you will have
developed rather close friendships with other thru-hikers
along the way and to be honest, you may wanna be with other
thru-hikers rather than your friends from home.

In addition, except for a few instances, you'll have no
idea where on the Trail you're gonna be a such-and-such a
date. You could be 100 miles ahead or 100 miles behind
where you planned to be when you're sitting in your living
room talking with your friends prior to starting your
thru-hike.

Here's one possible way to handle the situation. Have your
friends come out and meet you at Trail Days in Damascus,
Virginia for one day, maybe two days max.

Trail Days is an annual AT hiking event that culminates the
first weekend after Mother's Day during the month of May --
it's held in the town of Damascus, Virginia which is right
on the AT. Many thru-hikers hitchhike back or jump forward
to Damascus just prior to Trail Days weekend and then
return to their original place on the Trail after the
weekend is over.

You could even meet your friends on a side trip off-trail
to say Washington, DC or New York City rather than on the
Trail although the logistics might be a little more
difficult.

But whatever you do, make the expectation for how much time
you're going to spend with your friends from home a maximum
of 48 hours. For God's sake, don't let them take a week of
vacation to come out and hike with you on the AT. You as a
thru-hiker are just not going to wanna hike 8 mile days
while they are not going to wanna do 20 mile days for 5
days in a row because see, they don't have miles to make!
They're on vacation!

So, just meet them in a town and make it for a maximum of
two days. That'll likely be about the maximum amount of
time you'll wanna be away from the Trail anyhow. You may
even discover that after a few hundred miles, the Trail has
become your true home and towns are seen only as resupply
points.

Number 3 -- Mileage Planning. If you'll be coming right out
of cubicle-land in corporate America and have that usual
layer of surface fat on your body, here's what I think is
realistic for planning purposes while you're sitting in
your living room at home looking at a spreadsheet of your
upcoming northbound AT thru-hike.

At the end of each section listing, I've provided the
average miles per day that I actually had done from
Springer to the end of that particular section. My 2167
mile long northbound AT thru-hike lasted about 195 days
(April 10, 2000 to October 21, 2000). I hiked in very cold
weather in the state of Maine because of the number of days
it took me to get to Maine -- so for you, it might be
better if you planned to move a little faster than I did on
my thru-hike, particularly in the section of Waynesboro to
the CT/Mass state line where the terrain isn't quite so
difficult. 

Note: MPD = Miles per day average you might expect to do
for each of the following sections of Trail, including days
off-trail for resupply and town days. The MPD is adjusted
to take into account your trailshaped-ness as well as the
difficulty of the terrain. Note it is a common
misconception by thru-hikers to believe the Trail all of a
sudden gets easier once you cross into Virginia. In
reality, the terrain is difficult in Virginia for
northbound AT thru-hikers until you reach Waynesboro,
Virginia where Shenandoah starts.

9-11 MPD for the section of the AT from Springer to
Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) (My thru-hike average MPD
from Springer averaged 10.3 MPD to this point)
 
10-12 MPD for the section of the AT from NOC to Waynseboro
(My thru-hike average MPD from Springer averaged 11.1 MPD
to this point)

14-16 MPD for the section of the AT from Waynesboro to the
CT/Mass Line (My thru-hike average MPD from Springer
averaged 11.4 MPD to this point)

13-15 MPD for the section of the AT from CT/Mass Line to
Glencliff, NH (My thru-hike average MPD from Springer
averaged 11.6 MPD to this point)

6-8 MPD for the section of the AT from Glencliff, NH to
Gorham, NH (My thru-hike average MPD from Springer averaged
(My thru-hike average MPD from Springer averaged 11.5 MPD
to this point)

8-10 MPD for the section of the AT from Gorham, NH to
Rangeley, ME (My thru-hike average MPD from Springer
averaged 11.3 MPD to this point)

10-13 MPD for the section of the AT from Rangeley, ME to
Katahdin (My thru-hike average MPD from Springer averaged 
11.1 MPD to this point)

Here's a link to a line chart I made showing data from
several different actual hru-hiker's mileages during their
northbound AT thru-hikes - after I made the chart I lost
the data when a hard drive died so all I have is a picture
of the chart of the data:

http://friends.backcountry.net/datto/pic/HIKES03.jpg

Number 2 -- Post-thru-hike. God you are not going to
believe the changes that will have occurred to you if you
complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Physical,
mental, spiritual changes.

This is something you might want to take into account prior
to starting your thru-hike -- like, don't plan to start
work the very next day after you finish your thru-hike! It
would be best to plan to take a month off between finishing
your thru-hike and your first day of work if possible.
That'll give you some time to come back to the reality of
society and get accustomed to what everyone else thinks is
'daily living'.

Also, be aware that people who know you well prior to you
starting your thru-hike may find a different person
returning from the Trail. Here are a few changes that I
experienced right after my thru-hike -- I think most of
these are pretty common changes experienced by thru-hikers:

a) You are considerably skinnier! Ha. Your facial
appearance may have changed substantially, you may have
grown a beard, your hair may be 6 months longer and it may
be difficult for some to recognize you without having to
stare for a moment or two at you. The first thing people
say to you who weren't aware you went on a thru-hike of the
Appalachian Trail is, "How did you get so skinny!" The next
thing they might say is, "Why are you always hobbling like
you're in pain?"

b) You eat like a horse and don't have any table manners
left. Yeah, little pinkies up didn't seem to be all that
important to you over the course of the last six months.
You'll probably come around to fitting back into
table-manner society though.

c) You see clean water running from a sink spigot that
doesn't have to be treated with iodine as the most amazing
and enjoyable invention of man. For the first few days back
from your thru-hike, you may find you still drink from your
water bottles and fill them up from that amazing colossal
sink spigot.

d) Taking a shower and being clean all the time -- woo boy
this whole side of life is such a joy! And people get to do
this shower thing every day?? With hot water?? Ha, wait
until someone tells you they think it might be a good idea
for you to start considering under-arm deoderant. Big ol'
pitch of the head to the side as if you heard a
high-pitched noise.

e) Cologne and Perfume. You are probably not going to be
able to stand the smell of perfume and cologne. Even today,
three years after my AT thru-hike, it still ags me. Right
off the Trail your sense of smell will likely have become
so acute that even the smallest amount of perfume is
magnified many times over. But your own natural skanky body
odor... yeah, that smell somehow gets filtered out by your
brain.

f) You are going to find out just how noisy life back in
civilization can be -- the noise level that most people
live with every day of their life (and actually think of as
being "quiet"!) is annoying to you when you first return
from your thru-hike.

g) You may find yourself scared to death riding in a car
doing 70mph down the freeway while the driver has their
head turned talking to you rather than watching the road
ahead. Just keep pumping that imaginary brake pedal and
grabbing the dashboard...

h) You may constantly wonder where your backpack is
located. You've carried the thing for over 2000 miles and
it's become a part of you. Knowing where your backpack is
located while your on the Trail had become very important
to you and being without it after your thru-hike is going
to feel so odd.

i) You are going to be way more relaxed than most
non-thru-hiker people you meet right after your thru-hike.
You'll find that most non-thru-hikers don't think anything
about carrying on two, three or four activities at the same
time. It's become the norm to them to maximize the use of
time. They're talking on cell phones while they're typing
on a laptop while their eating. Woo boy is that gonna seem
so strange to see!

j) Sleeping indoors. I know if you're sitting at home right
now contemplating your upcoming thru-hike next year, this
idea of not getting used to sleeping indoors is gonna seem
strange to you. How could you not wanna sleep in a soft bed
with warm covers inside a building? For some thru-hikers
returning after their thru-hike where they tented all the
way the length of the AT, a bed may seem to be too soft and
uncomfortable when compared to sleeping in a tent with a
sleeping bag. After a few days or weeks most thru-hikers
will come around and get used to the idea of sleeping
indoors in a regular bed. However, I have heard of past
thru-hikers who, 30 days after their hike, continued to
sleep outdoors in their sleeping bag on their front porch
at night.

k) Sunrise. You may find that once the sun comes up, you
can't sleep anymore even if you try to go back to sleep.
And all those birds at home that start chirping at sunrise
that you'd never heard before...yeah, you're probably going
to hear them every morning for say, the first month back in
civilization.

l) Fears and worries. Right off the Trail you're probably
not going to have too many worries and you're probably not
going to have fear of much of anything beyond the speed of
cars on the freeway. Fears are things you'll re-acquire to
some extent once your back into civilization on a full-time
basis.

m) Confidence. Ha, right off the Trail you are probably
going to be the most quietly confident person you've ever
met. Nothing of importance is going to seem too big a
challenge. It'll take a while for society to beat a little
of that confidence out of you but in the end, it'll still
be a huge net gain of confidence after society is through
melding and molding you into the way you end up becoming
after your thru-hike.

n) Clothes. Why in the world do people have so many
clothes?? Well see, it's this way. People always want to
look their best because looking good helps them feel better
about themselves and others will remember that you just
wore such-and-such sweater two days ago and...

o) Animals. After my thru-hike I found animals had a great
attraction to me. I can't explain it much except maybe it
was due to animals not sensing fear in me. Or maybe they
were attracted like flies to the smell! Ha. 

p) Reflexes. If you used hiking poles during your thru-hike
you're going to find that your hand reflexes are on the
extreme side of fast. Much of that is probably due to
constantly having to guide hiking poles with a fine touch
without having to think much about the placement of poles
while you hiked.

q) Television. If you were a TV hound before your thru-hike
you may have a great desire to catch up with all the TV
shows you missed while you were on your thru-hike. Then
again, you may end up deciding that television is simply a
means where Corporate America can sell products
interspersed with a little entertainement now and then. In
any case, there will likely be an amazement of some kind
about the power and/or waste of television.

r) Music. I listened to music almost every day of my AT
thru-hike. I'd made it a point to purposely listen to music
that I hadn't really encountered much prior to my
thru-hike. Particularly country music and classical music.
When it rained in Georgia I listened to Chopin because his
music sounded much like rain to me. When I passed through
Tennessee I listened to country music because, well that's
all there was on the radio! Ha. For someone who didn't like
country music at all prior to my thru-hike it's become the
preferred music I listen to on the radio in the car.

s) Trail Talk. Right after you return to civilization all
you are going to talk about, think about and dream about is
life on the Appalachian Trail. Your co-workers, your
spouse, your kids, your parents are probably not going to
want to talk about the Trail *NEAR* as much as you are
gonna want to talk about the Trail. Eventually you'll get
some additional interests and start talking about other
subjects after having been back in society for a while. But
talking about the Appalachian Trail will not likely ever
leave you completely.

Number 1 -- On and Off-Trail Highlights to see during your
AT thru-hike (these are arranged from south to north
orgainzed for northbound AT thru-hikers -- reverse it for
southbounders) -- hopefully all of these still exist on the
AT to some extent:

a) The Approach Trail
Well of course you're gonna hike the Approach Trail to get
to the top of Springer Mountain! It's tradition to do so
and only 8.5 miles long. I started up the Approach Trail at
2:00pm and arrived at the top of Springer Mountain at
6:30pm (for those of you wondering, yes, it was the same
day). So it's no big deal to hike the Approach Trail.
Besides, you'll get an idea of what to expect in the coming
weeks.

b) The top of Springer Mountain
You are going to have such fond memories of your time on
top of Springer. It was an abosolutely gorgeous sunset the
night of my arrival on top of Springer Mountain. We were a
bunch of us newby thru-hikers sitting on the Springer rock
watching the sun go down. Just as the sun barely went under
the horizon, one thru-hiker in the crowd jumped up, pointed
at the disappearing sun and exclaimed, "There! It did it
again!" That's when I knew I'd found my group and this was
going to be an adventure to remember.

c) Goose Creek Cabins
Will you just take a load off and relax?? You don't have to
make it to Katahdin all in one week. Take time and enjoy
and recoup at Goose Creek Cabins which should be about your
third or forth night on the Trail. Believe me, these people
have see it all when it comes to thru-hikers so whatever
you present is not going to seem unusual at all. And it's a
great place to meet and talk with all the thru-hikers who
are in the crowd on the Trail with you. It's likely you'll
meet thru-hikers here that'll later become some of your
closest friends. So relax, take a load off and enjoy some
pizza at Goose Creek Cabins.

d) The Blueberry Patch
Best breakfast I had on the Appalachian Trail. This is an
inexpensive place where thru-hikers stay for a night and
recoup before heading into North Carolina. One of the
friendly owners hiked the AT during the early 1990's so
they've got a clue about thru-hikers and the Trail. A great
place to meet up with other thru-hikers who are in the
crowd of thru-hikers you're starting out with too.

e) The tree at Bly Gap
As I remember, this distinctive landmark (you can't miss it
since it's right in the middle of the AT) is the oldest
tree in North Carolina and may have once been used to spot
the line between Georgia and North Carolina. In any case,
you'll likely have a memory about reaching this point on
the Trail because if you're a northbounder, it'll be the
first of many state lines you'll cross on your way to
Katahdin.

My memories of this tree...I was hiking with a girl and a
guy who were somewhat having a tussle at the time. As I
remember, he and she had met on the AT had quickly decided
to hike with each other but he found out she didn't hike as
fast as he did. Plus, she'd sat in some poison ivy early on
and had it all over her privates and that was slowing her
down even more. He was 18 and she was 23. Woo between the
tree at Bly Gap and Natahala Outdoor Center, they'd
definitely been at odds with each other.

Well they fell in love. By the time we'd all reached
Virginia man, they had it bad. I mean bigtime. They were
inseperable! They finished the Trail together and after the
Trail they got married. Two of the nicest people I met on
the Appalachian Trail. I was so elated to have heard later
that they got hitched.

f) The Cliffs near Muskrat Creek Shelter
Well there's not too much description about this spot in
all the guidebooks and there's usually only a little teeny
piece of cardboard on a tree telling you The Cliffs are
there but...I think this is one of the most quietly
fantastic places on the Appalachian Trail. It's about a 1/2
mile hike from Muscrat Creek Shelter so some will never see
The Cliffs but there, you can hang your feet out over a 200
foot drop and gaze back at the mountains of Georgia you
just crossed and see what an accomplishment it's been to
get to this point in your northbound AT thru-hike. The
sunset here is fantastic!

g) Camping at the top of Standing Indian Mountain -- this
is a short side-trip off-trail. Nice flat tenting spot to
be up in the air (for tents and tarps only -- no shelter is
at the top of the mountain). Good place to camp if you're
close to here at the end of the day's hiking.

h) Nantahala Outdoor Center -- Terrific spot to take a load
off. They're thru-hiker friendly and have an outfitters to
re-gear if you need to. Stay in one of the bunkhouses and
get to know some of your fellow thru-hikers. A couple of
good restaurants here too -- one overlooking the river
where the kayakers try to travel a slalom route on the
river.

i) Camping at the top Cheoah Bald. Coming out of NOC the
top of Cheoah Bald is the natural place to stop and camp.
The shelter between NOC and the top of Cheoah Bald is
likely to be already filled with hikers and the top of
Cheoah Bald has nice flat spots for camping. I did a night
hike to the top in a driving rainstorm -- almost walked off
the cliff on the lee side of the mountaintop trying to get
some cover to setup my tent. Woo boy, watch that first
step. It's a doozie.

j) Camping at the top of Silar Bald (the first Silar Bald,
not the one in the Smoky Mountains) -- As I remember, this
is the first southern Bald near the AT that you'll
encounter on a northbound thru-hike. It's a 1/2 mile side
trail up a hill off the AT (you can see the top from the
AT) but you can see many miles from the top of the Bald.
This is where I got lost and thought the AT crossed the top
of Silar Bald. Eventually I figured it out (I'm embarrassed
how many times I climbed Silar Bald looking for the AT
before I realized I wasn't even on the AT - Duh!). 

k) Fontana Hilton -- it is here,  as I remember at about
milepoint 135 on a northbound thru-hike, that you may start
appreciating the finer points of shelter design as it
relates to thru-hiking. The Fontana Hilton is one of the
best designed shelters along the AT (one of the largest too
-- holds something like 24 hikers) and has nearbyfantastic
views across Fontana Lake to the upcoming Clingman's Dome
(highest point on the AT and you'll cross it three days
later up on the Smoky Mountains).

l) Mountain Mama’s -- God, what a place! Ha! If you've ever
wondered what rural North Carolina is like, you'll get a
huge dose at Mountain Mama's. It's a restaurant,
convenience store and bunkhouse that sells what must be 3/4
of all cigarettes manufactured in North Carolina. Well sure
there's an attitude there and it's 1.25 miles off-trail
down a hill just as you leave the Smoky Mountain National
Park but it certainly is a treasured spot of memories of
your AT thru-hike. Great place to meet up with your fellow
thru-hikers and to resupply before heading on up the Trail
again. Hint: whatever you do, don't stand or put your gear
in front of, or in the way of, getting to cigarettes for
sale on the back wall of the store. Mountain Mama's makes
their living from the cigarettes not from thru-hikers and
they'll come over and give you an earfull if your body or
your stuff gets in the way of paying cigarette customers
making their way to the cigarette wall.

m) Hot Springs. North Carolina
One of my favorite towns on the Trail. A fantastic place
for thru-hikers. I stayed at Elmer's (Sunnyvale Inn as I
remember the official name was) for two nights and one
night at the Duckett House. Both were terrific and
different between themselves. Heck, I spent three nights in
Hot Springs because I was having such a good time. One of
the best trail outfitters is in Hot Springs and there's a
good, fine dining restaurant too (oh yeah, you as a
thru-hiker in a fine dining restaurant -- works for me).
Loads of convenient stores and grocery stores too. And the
Appalachian Trail goes right down the main drag of the
town.

n) View. Wow there is a gorgeous view of the countryside to
the left of the Trail for a northbound thru-hiker to enjoy
after crossing Hump Mountain and about an hour before
reaching Laurel Fork. 

o) Laurel Fork Campsite
This was one of the best hidden campsites I found on the
AT. Just a few miles south of Laurel Creek Lodge the AT
follows a creek through a pine forest area and turns up a
hill to leave the creek. Just down the creek from where the
Trail goes up the hill is a flat tent spot for two tents,
right next to a small waterfall with a flat rock out in the
stream. I wrote my trail journal entry the next morning
while lazing on top of that flat rock, the stream roaring
past me on either side just a few feet away. Man, what a
beautiful spot that was.

p) Laurel Creek Lodge
I've stayed here twice -- once on my AT thru-hike and once
when I came back later on a section hike with a buddy of
mine. Had a good time here both times, food was good, bunk
house was comfortable and they're thru-hiker friendly. Nice
modern place.

q) Damascus, Virginia
Magic Words -- right on the Trail. Trail Days is held here
every May and they're the friendliest town on the Trail. A
terrific outfitter in Damascus as well as a good restaurant
in town that is a tradition for thru-hikers to visit. The
local two-story hiker hostel in town is called The Place
and it's funded by donatations.

r) Sunset at Old Orchard Shelter
One of the best spots to watch the sunset on the
Appalachian Trail. There's a large tent area in front of
the shelter and from the shelter you can look over the flat
tent area to sun going down over the distant mountains.

s) Catholic Church Hostel in Pearisburg
It's a little out of the way and up a sizeable hill (as if
by this time a little ol' hill would stop you) but the
people are very friendly to thru-hikers. Nice view from the
hostel too. Hopefully they're still taking in thru-hikers.

t) Partnership Shelter
One of the best shelters on the Appalachian Trail. Not only
does it have a shower in the shelter (The Ritz!) but you
can order a pizza from a nearby pay phone and have it
delivered! If that isn't thru-hiker paradise I don't know
what is.

u) Side trip to Washington, DC
If you haven't ever been to the Nation's Capital it's a
fantastic side trip. See the Capital Building, the White
House and the Smithsonian all in one day. There's a train
from Harper's Ferry (Harper's Ferry is on the AT) that gets
you to just behind the Capital Building where you can start
your DC excursion.

v) Side trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
If you like American History, the famous Gettysburg
Battlefield is such an interesting place to visit. It's
about a 15 mile hitchhike to the east where the AT crosses
US 30 in Pennsylvania. The battle happened July 1-3 1863 to
give you an idea about the anniversary timetable -- pretty
close to when you might be coming through that area of
Pennsylvania on your thru-hike.

w) 501 Shelter
One of the most memorable shelters on the AT. It used to be
an artists workarea with a big skylight that has been
converted to an indoor AT shelter. You can order food from
near here and have it delivered. 

x) Aqua Green Pond just north of the 501 Shelter -- Has a
swing rope that you can swing out over the water with.
A gorgeous place. I'm told the aqua green in the water is
from the natural minerals of the area.

y) Palmerton, Pennsylvania -- One of the friendliest places
on the Appalachian Trail. Great blueberries up on the hill
just south of Palmerton (they're likely be bears up there
eating them too if you're a northbounder). I mean you can
sit right on the AT treadway, butt in the dirt, and eat
handfulls of blueberries within reach of where you're
sitting. For a thru-hiker this is fantastic! As you come
into Palmerton, take a gander at that hike up the 'hill'
you have awaiting you when you leave Palmerton. Believe it
or not, on my thru-hike at this point I was still saying,
"Well the AT can't go up there. It's too steep." Remember,
as a thru-hiker, when you look in the distance up ahead of
you, find what looks to be the steepest incline and it's
guaranteed that's exactly where the AT goes.

z) Secret Shack
If this is still in existance, it's a little cabin put up
on a farm owned by a past AT thru-hiker. Nice little place
to rest up before you start into the swamps. You may only
hear about this in a shelter register or see a cardboard
sign on a tree.

aa) Episcopal Church Hostel in Vernon, New Jersey
I don't know if this place is still taking in thru-hikers
but in Year 2000 this was one of the best hostels along the
AT. A beautiful basement to an Episcopal Church with a
brand new commercial kitchen, shower, laundry facilities,
carpeted floor and large patio just outside. Burger King
nearby and a grocery store and Dunkin' Donuts just down the
street. As I remember, it's about a 3.5 mile hitchhike east
off the Trail.

bb) Glimpse of New York City from to AT over 40 miles away
I'd been told about this spot ahead of time -- that there
was a very small window to see the World Trade Towers in
Year 2000 from the AT while looking east down a long
distant valley on a clear day.

Well it just so happened that when I arrived at the spot,
about 1/2 mile north of the painted mark on the treadway AT
rocks denoting the NY/NJ state line, it was a gorgeous
clear sunny day and I arrived at the spot at about oh, 2pm
or so. Yep, clear as a bell you could see the World Trade
Center Towers way off on the horizon. If you moved 50 feet
one way or the other down or up the Trail the view to NYC
was blocked by the distant terrain. Today I'd imagine you
can still see tall buildings in Manhatten from the spot.

cc) Graymoor Friary -- An AT thru-hiker tradition!
Hopefully they're still taking in thru-hikers. I camped
down at the ball field because there were nuns in the
Friary buildings attending a conference. Friar Fred has
been the guy who comes and gets the thru-hikers at 5:15pm
for dinner. If you attend dinner, look at the painting of
the Diciples on the wall and see if you can tell what's so
different about the painting. Hint: Elvis has left the
building.

dd) Big John at the RPH shelter
The nicest guy. Hope he's still there. Comes out and meets
thru-hikers and brings them a pizza to the shelter. If, by
this time, you haven't realized how nice people are along
the Appalachian Trail and how lucky you are to have had the
opportunity to become a part of the Trail, you haven't
'gotten it'.

ee) Upper Goose Pond Cabin
It's about 1/2 mile off the Trail and one of the most
restful, scenic spots you'll have the chance to encounter
along the Appalachian Trail. This is a good place to take
the day off and hang out.

ff) Dalton, Massachusetts -- During Year 2000 a guy named
Tom Levardi took in thru-hikers and let them camp on his
lawn. Such a nice guy and a good place to hang out and rest
with your fellow thru-hikers. Laundramat in town too as
well as restaurants. Right on the AT too.

gg) Lakes of the Clouds Hut (just below Mount Washington)
I think this to be one of the most beautiful and memorable
spots on the Appalachian Trail. See if you can arrange your
busy thru-hiker schedule (I am cracking myself up here) to
stay at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. There's The Dungeon in
the basement that can take 4-6 thru-hikers (no civilized
person would choose to stay in The Dungeon) for six dollars
each. During the day you can hang out in the upper floor
dining area for free where the regular people stay. At
night, there won't be any question why the door to The
Dungeon is made of 1/2" plate steel. Woo boy is the wind
loud in The Dungeon. Make sure you have earplugs for The
Dungeon so you can get some sleep.

hh) Gorham, New Hampshire -- The small town of Gorham is
situated right in the middle of the most difficult terrain
on the Appalachian Trail. It's a good spot to take a day or
two off to rest up and recouperate. I think I took four
days off here because I'd become so exhausted and was a
little shell-shocked from trying to cross Mt. Washington in
a storm. It's a good place for resupply and filling up in
local restaurants (fast food places and regular
restaurants). I stayed at the Hiker's Paradise and had a
memorable time there on the third floor.

ii) Mahoosuc Notch & Mahoosuc Arm -- Known as the toughest
mile on the Appalachian Trail. The combination is longer
than a mile -- about 5 miles total. House-sized boulders to
scale for mile or two before reaching Mahousuc Arm, one of
the steepest climbs (maybe the steepest) on the Appalachian
Trail. Musta looked like 70* updale when I arrived
exhausted at the bottom. I'd made a total of 5.1 miles on
the day I came through here in the driving rain -- was
completely wasted that night but was elated to have found a
shelter at the end of the day that didn't show up in the AT
Data Book. Man how the simplist things can make you so
happy on the Appalachian Trail.

jj) Rangeley. Maine
Way off-trail but you'll find pretty much everything in
Maine is way off-trail. A small town good for resupply and
visiting with your fellow thru-hikers.

kk) Saddleback Mountain
It is said from the top of Saddleback Mountain on a clear
day you can get your first long, distant glimpse of
Katahdin. Again, it was an absolutely gorgeous, cold day
when I crossed the top of Saddleback Mountain and I believe
I saw Katahdin on the distant horizon once my eyes had
normalized for looking off into the distance acutely.

ll) Horns Pond Area
One of the most gorgeous spots on the Appalachian Trail. As
I remember the pond sits between two very steeply shaped
horns (mountains) that you cross on the Appalachian Trail.
There's a shelter grouping nearby too with a sidetrail out
to the pond.

mm) Pierce Pond Shelter -- there is something mysterious
about this place. Hallowed or something. I sensed it right
away and don't really know what it is about the place that
makes it so. That plus the fact that it is gorgeously sited
with the shelter right along the shoreline of Pierce Pond.
In the fall this place is absolutely spectacular in color.
The next day you'll likely cross the Kennebeck River in a
canoe livery. After having hiked for so long, to travel and
make headway in a canoe was such a treasured luxury!

nn) Shaw’s at Monson -- I'd heard all the hoopla about
Shaws Boarding House from past thru-hikers and by the time
I'd reached Monson I'd been shivering constantly for days.
Whatever it turned out to be I'd said to myself that I was
going to take a couple days off and get warm again. Well my
cohorts and I walked into Shaws Boarding House at just
after 6pm and dinner was being served. Keith Shaw said,
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Wow, I don't think I've
ever had a better tasting cup of coffee in my life. I could
barely hold the cup my hands were shaking so badly. Then
Keith and his wife brought out serving dishes with the
biggest chicken legs and mashed potato spread I'd ever
seen. One of my hiking buddies that I'd come into Shaw's
with chowed down on that meal so much that he had gravy and
mashed potatos and chicken as a mess all over the beard
he'd grown along the Trail. He couldn't stop -- neither
could I although I didn't have a beard so I looked like I
still had some table manners. Ha. Oh we had a good time
there at Shaws. I took a couple days off and got warmed up
finally on the second day. Found some warmer gloves too and
that sure made a difference up-trail later. 

oo) Baxter State Park -- you can not believe how beautiful
a place is in the world until you are on an Appalachian
Trail thru-hike and reach Baxter State Park. I believe it
to be one of the truly greatest places on earth. Still wild
for the most part too, with Katahdin (the highest spot in
Maine) looming over the entire landscape as a mother
watches over her child. What is so cool is when Katahdin
turns orange and pink in the autumn sunset. Absolutely
stark-raving beautiful.

There you have it. Datto's Top Ten Thru-hiker Tips for
Independence Day 2003. Hope this helps all of you upcoming
thru-hikers planning your adventure for 2004.

Datto



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