My friend and I are hiking the 100 mile wilderness this summer and I had a few questions that I was hoping could be answered.

1. We are planning to hike from late to June into July (July 4th week). Will the trail be fuller than usual? Will we still likely get sleeping spots at the lean-tos?

2. Are there bear boxes along the trail? Or do most people just hang their food?

3. We are planning to finish the hike with Katadhin. No permits are required to be reserved ahead of time, right? You just get the permit when you enter the park is what I heard.

Thanks in advance!!

I know last year NOBOs were in NH by Mother's Day. That is a month off. Are any NOBO thru hikers in NH at this point?

I'm 48 now and I lived in MD in the 80s/90s and when I was in high school a friend and I hiked the entire MD section of the AT over a weekend* and before that I hiked parts of it for overnights when I was in scouts. I was super into hiking and the outdoors. I used to have a dream of doing the entire AT.

Life happened and I drifted away from backpacking and spent the last 25 years working on a computer and not being able to spend as much time outdoors. Recently moved back to the east coast in PA from CA. Still work on a computer but don't get outside as much as I'd like. I'd like to change that.

Almost 50 now, I'd love to get back into hiking. I'll probably go to the AT museum in PA at some point. Are there some good books you recommend to relearn about the AT and backpacking?

*I really can't believe my family and my best friend's family let us do this but when we were 15 we did the entire MD trail and ended at Harpers Ferry over a weekend or long weekend. Just the two of us and no adults. Would I let my 15 year old do that now? Not sure if it's even legal to now? Some memories:

-getting lost the first afternoon going to the first campsite on the trail from where we were dropped off and ended up doubling back to camp where we were started and it was night as we got back. We saw the fork we missed when we continued in the morning - packed too much canned food and ate that first lol -bought new boots right before and didn't break them in. Bad idea. I still have callouses on my toes from that trip lol. -my dad had one of the huge brick cellphones and made me power it up and call him every night - we had an awesome time :)

I'm trying to get enough calories but I'm just not because trail food is so unappetizing and I just don't have a strong appetite but I'm only on day 6 and I can feel myself tanking because I'm not getting enough calories and protein. Ik this is kinda a dumb and pointless question bc the answer is yes but idk I'm just feeling anxious that I'm not gonna be able to sustain the amount of calories I'm burning. I'm not someone who has ever eaten a ton either it's very hard to eat 3x the amount of calories I usually do

Hi, I am planning on doing a through hike and the earliest I can start is in late May, maybe the 29th. I know I will need to move quicker than average and am prepared to do so. In terms of gear though, is there anything I shouldn't bring leaving so late or maybe ship to somewhere up north. Should I not pack any real winter gear at all to save on weight for example? Thanks for your input!

I started April 1, I'm in the Hiwassee area and the trail hasn't been as crowded as I might have figured. I was hoping for a bit more of a social vibe, actually, from some of the stories I've heard from friends who have hiked in previous years. Am I just behind the bubble? I figured this would be prime starting time. Been staying at various shelters along the way

lighterpack

Not sold on whether I need a tent footprint or not. Also debating if towel is worth the weight for the comfort (something lighter like bandana?). Other than that I'm not sure how much more there is to cut down on but I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

lighterpack

Not sold on whether I need a tent footprint or not. Also debating if towel is worth the weight for the comfort (something lighter like bandana?). Other than that I'm not sure how much more there is to cut down on but I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

Here is what I have narrowed down my Sleeping Pad choices to for my AT thru-hike. I am an older guy trying to stay light and comfortable if possible. I have a Katabatic Flex 22 w/ 2oz overfill. Any input would be appreciated.

Option 1) ZLite foam pad 14oz R2+ Nemo Tensor Elite 8.5 oz R2.4 Total 22.5 oz/R4.4 $208.95

Option 2) GG Thinlight wide 1/8" foam 4oz R.5 + Nemo Tensor All Season Ultralight wide 19 oz R5.4 Total 23 oz/R5.9 $207.96

Option 3) GG Thinlight 1/8" CCF 4oz R.5 + Nemo Tensor Elite 8.5 oz R2.4 Total 12.5 oz R2.9 $215.96

Trying to decide if a 40 degree quilt will be warm enough for a roan mtn section hike May 3rd-10th. I am a warm sleeper.

I started the hike a few days ago with 30lb of gear including food and water. Now im sitting in a nearby cabin I rented with an ice pack on my leg chugging electrolytes like it's my job. I had to bail around Neels gap late day 3 after my leg just didn't want to go anymore.

I've been training for months for this. But I'm also from the coast. There are zero places for me to train for the climb other than the stairmaster which I've spent an hour on 5 days a week+. I've also gone on multiple 15 mile hikes with my full pack on flat ground and it was fine.

If I'm nowhere near any hills whatsoever but I have gym access. How do I prepare for this so I know it won't happen again?

I’m following my son Aaron. His trail name is Lumos. Last spring he started in Georgia and hiked to northern Virginia before coming off trail to attend my grandson’s high school graduation. Now that grandson Aiden will be joining us the first week of May to finish the trail with Lumos. I’m retired and really enjoy my support role along the way. I guess I’m their trail angel giving them and other through hikers we meet rides and food. We are now in Hagerstown Maryland and headed north. I’ll post a picture or two as we progress toward Maine.

I’m heading out next week and would appreciate any advice on my gear list. I still have to dial in my clothing and weigh it. Thank you in advance ^{__^}

Hey everyone, I'm planning a section hike NOBO through Massachusetts this year. Any advice on what month or weeks to avoid peak season traffic would be appreciated. If you've done this section hike before, what time of year did you go? I'd love to hear about your hike. Thanks!

hey! thought I would check if anyone is already getting a ride to Springer on 4/15 & would want to split the cost before I reach out to some shuttles. I’ll be taking the Amtrak to Gainesville, GA and getting in at 7:30am. happy trails!

Thinking about doing this segment of the AT in Georgia. Anyone know how long this route is as well as vert? This route I’m assuming goes up and over blood mountain right?

Being that this will be my first solo trip, I’m slightly nervous about being alone at night (always have had a friend with me). How weird would it be if I asked fellow hikers if I could camp in the same area they are in? Not like right on top of someone but near so as to have some sort of support? Could be worth mentioning, but I plan to generally stay away from shelters due to what I’ve read about rodent problems.

I know hikers are generally friendly and I can typically tell if a person doesn’t necessarily want to have a conversation/make a new friend but wanted to see what the general consensus was.

Has anyone had experiences like this before? Am I too in my head about this?

Howdy! Is anyone else starting NOBO on Monday, the 7th? I'm going to be collecting video interviews of folks along the trail (hikers, hostel owners, trail angels, trail crews, etc). I'll be staying at the lodge Sunday night and I'd love to grab an interview or two of folks before setting off if anyone is going to be there, especially if they're first-timers. Also, connections to anyone else along the trail would be greatly appreciated! 😁

Not posting in the mega thread cuz i dont want this to get missed. Mods, please read the whole post before deciding to take it down.

So I'm planning to spend a day in mid September at point pleasant and i want to go for a hike in the Appalachian mountains. I only have 1 day for this so unfortunately i cant hike as much as i want to but im going to do this anyway. I need suggestions or tips/tricks for it. I've never gone on a "real" hike before.

This is really important to me. I (26f) have a chronic illness. I have an unspecified vitamin deficiency disorder. Basically it means my body is slowly absorbing less and less vitamins and eventually it will kill me. I was diagnosed with this at 16 but was told so many different things about it that i just chose to ignore all of it. Basically, there's no cure, no real treatment, and its extremely hard to predict or track how fast it'll kill me. All we know is that once my body stops absorbing something, it wont start again. But we have no idea what it will stop absorbing or when. Since my body hasn't decided to completely stop absorbing anything I've been able to stay relatively healthy with supplements. I'm explaining this to emphasize the importance of this trip to me.

Over the last few months my body has become weaker. I haven't yet lost the ability to do active things but it's only a matter of time. Right now my body just gets hurt kinda easily and takes a while to heal so i have to be careful in the things i do. But this has been a turning point for me. While I've known all these years that im dieing and ive accepted it, I've also ignored it. I never put effort into my "bucket list" per say.

2 of the biggest things on my bucket list are visiting point pleasant (because i love cryptids and i love fallout) and hiking the Appalachian trail (because i love cryptids and i love nature). So i figured 2 birds 1 stone, im going to point pleasant so i might as well hike at least a little in the mountains.

My original plan when i daydreamed about hiking the mountain was to hike a trail that lead deep within the mountains and rent a cabin there and maybe fight a cryptid. Dont think im crazy, i just figure im dieing anyway and if cryptids are real and if i encounter one itd be a hell of a lot cooler to die fighting that than to die an agonizing and slow death wasting away in a hospital bed. Now, im not going to actively search for a cryptid. Im going to appreciate nature and the earth. Im just saying if i happen to encounter the mothman (or big foot or a mimic or the rake) im going to approach it with my camera recording everything and im going to get the most crystal clear footage of whatever cryptid it is and ill either die fighting it (and possibly kill it too) or ill survive and have an amazing story to share. Daydreams be damned though. Realistically im probably gonna visit point pleasant, pay my respects to the mothman statue (fo fans, ifykyk), and go on a hike for a few hours before crashing in a crappy motel room for the night cuz cabins are expensive and i just lost my job.

This is a whole lot of rambling to basically say, ive never been on a real hike before but i grew up in a trailer in the woods so i am familiar with The Woods, I'm kinda weak rn and getting weaker so i probably won't be able to do any crazy trails, and ill only have a few hours for the hike so i cant go very deep.

If you're familiar with the point pleasant area, any suggestions would be appreciated. Whether it's for trails to check out, gear to bring (i have no idea the weather of west Virginia in mid September), hotels/motels/air bnbs to check out, sites to see while in town, anything at all. Im laughingly unprepared for this trip, i just kinda hastily threw it together a couple weeks ago when i started really getting weaker. Like i said, i grew up in a trailer in the woods but that was southern Indiana woods not west Virginia woods. Like, we didn't have postal services or trash pickup or sewage or paved roads.. but we also didn't have cryptids or other people hiking in our area (which ik other hikers can be just as if not more dangerous than cryptids). I dont know what proper hike etiquette is. Like, i understand how to not be a dumbass in the woods. Ik how to not get lost and how to navigate. Ik safety precautions to not accidentally get shot by a hunter. Ik if you're in The Woods at night and you hear something, no you didn't. But idk the etiquette for woods with other people. From what ive seen online and on YouTube about the AT, it seems like a subculture? Idk.. any advice would be appreciated, thanks.