Monday, October 25, 2010

FAQ

Prompted by a ridiculous questions from Kelsay and Emily, I'm going to do a little FAQ list for those of you who may have questions about the Appalachian Trail and thruhiking.

So, What are you going to do about serial killers on the trail?
- Serial killers really aren't that common on the trail. There have only been a handful of violent incidents on the trail in MANY years, and I'm pretty sure it's ususally been hate crimes and stuff. Hundreds of people thruhike every year without getting massacred.

Are you going to carry a gun?
- No, guns are heavy and I don't need the extra weight in my pack. If I feel uneasy, I'll bring a can of mace.

What happens if you meet a bear?
First of all, you don't throw down your pack and run because that teaches them that if they approach humans, they get rewarded with free food and hiking gear. Bears know to stay away from humans. If I do see a bear (which would be awesome) it will probably be from a safe distance.

What happens if you meet a SKUNK!?!? I guess you're going to smell.
- I guess so. Hopefully if I do meet a skunk, it won't spray me.

Has anyone ever taken a cat? could you take butters?
Yes, I've read about a guy who took his cat with him and it worked out wonderfully - It slept in his pack all day and hunted mice in the shelters at night. Butters, however, would have a miserable time on a thruhike. He's too delicate for that kind of lifestyle.

Are you hiking with someone, or are you going by yourself?
I plan on at least starting the hike with people I know, either from Tech or Whiteblaze.net, but who I end up hiking with depends on when I leave and how fast I hike. There are a lot of people starting in early March, so I'm sure I will never be alone.

How many miles is it? How long is it going to take?
Like 2200 miles. It'll probably take me more or less than 5 months.

How often are you going to shower?
As often as I can, but there may be several days inbetween. I'm not going to smell good, but i think I can live with that.

Are there towns near the trail?
Yes. Every few days I will be within walking distance of a town with real food, grocery stores, etc.

What are you going to miss most about normal life on the trail?
Being warm and dry, seeing friends and family frequently, and perusing the internets.

How do you plan to prepare yourself for catastrophe, ie, floating down a river on a raft and getting attacked by hillbillies? (A lot of these questions are actually Kelsay originals..)
- I don't really know. I'll have a cell phone with me and I'll never be that far from civilization. There will be plenty of people on the trail who will also have cell phones. I feel like it'll be a lot less like Deliverance than Kelsay imagines.

What are you going to eat?
- High calorie, high density foods that give me lots of vitamins and electrolytes, and LOTS of it. I'm going to be burning a whole lot of calories, so you have to eat a lot to keep up with energy demands. Think ramen, mac and cheese, dried fruit, jerky, peanut butter, etc.

You're going to be a giant sodium-whale-asaurus rex.
No way. Sodium is an important part of your metabolism... and most people lost around 15-20 lbs through their hike.

Are you going to take anything to entertain yourself when you're not hiking? No. I may bring an ipod to listen to audio books while I hike, but I plan on adventures and other hikers being plenty entertaining.

How will you charge an ipod?
- solar charger.

Do you think you're going to suffer any mental/emotional trauma from being isolated in the wilderness for so long like the Chilean miners?
- Hopefully not.

Could you ride a horse on the trail?
- No. the AT is restricted to foot travel.

That's lame. It would be faster if you took a horse.
- I'm sure it would be. I don't like horses.

What are the odds of your party getting trapped in a snowstorm and having to eat eachother? Donner party?
- Not likely, though there will be plenty of snow in the mountains in march. You just have to stay warm and dry and watch out for the REALLY bad weather.

How many pairs of shoes are you taking? I'll start out with one and when they wear out I'll buy more. I'll probably go through 2 or 3 pairs.

What's your trail name?
I have a few I'm tossing around in my head, but I may wait to let other people name me when I start hiking if I can't make up my mind before then. Kelsay says "Princess Fiesta" works. I don't think so.

Could you take a dog with you?
- for some parts of the trail you can. Dogs are prohibitied through the Great Smoky Mountains though, so you would have to figure out something to do with them while you're in there.

But what if you need them to protect you from the bears?
- While camping in the smokys you're required to stay in a shelter at night, and shelters are surrounded by high chain-link fences to keep bears out.

What do you do if you get sick on the trail? It depends on how sick you get. Something like a cold is easy enough to hike through. It's important to take care of yourself and keep from getting sick, because if I come off the trail for any extended period of time, i feel like it will be really hard to go back and finish.

Let me know if you have anymore questions and I'll expand the list!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

4 months until Showtime

I've decided that it would be an excellent idea to start this little blog to keep track of my AT thruhike, because I'm going to want to look back and remember all of the fun times, and of course to share the experience with friends and family.

A little about me and my trip: I'm about to graduate from Virginia Tech in December, save money for a while, and start hiking around the beginning or March 2011. I'll start at Springer Mountain in Georgia and hike all the way north to Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park, Maine. I plan for the hike to take about 4.5 to 5 months, depending on how quickly I hike and how many zero days I take.

I'm excited.

I don't have a trail name yet, but I have a few I'm considering, OR I may just wait until I hit the trail and let someone name me. We'll see. If you have any suggestions for a trail name, let me know.

I'll keep updating on my pre-hike preparations and such as March approaches.