I hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2020 during Covid (2,200 Miles). Ask me anything

Submitted by 5btg t3_1218wp6 in IAmA

Hey everyone, I started hiking the Appalachian Trail (in Georgia) in Feb of 2020 just before Covid started. I went by myself but made tons of friends along the way, including my current girlfriend who I met on the trail in TN. We made it to Maine in September. Many people got off the trail because of the uncertainty, but we decided the woods were a safe place to be. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Ask me anything!

Feel free to write questions, but I will also be hanging out on Channel 42 for the next couple hours if anyone wants to chat by voice.

Proof: https://imgur.com/a/SfRhR7u (I am on right)

Channel 42 link: https://channel42.io/cb/OZkQ7M (note: you will be automatically connected by mic when you click the room link)

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CrewMemberNumber6 t1_jdkxut8 wrote

Very cool, how much did the whole thing cost you and what was your favorite spot if you had to pick?

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5btg OP t1_jdkyauf wrote

the whole thing cost me around 7-8 grand. you can definitely do it for less, but my group was the kind that liked to hitchhike into town for beers and wings whenever we could (about once every 7-10 days usually).

It was a 6 month trip so cheap compared to living somewhere (with rent and all) but generally people think it will be cheaper. Food adds up when you are eating ~5k calories a day!

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5btg OP t1_jdkytku wrote

Its hard for me to identify a favorite spot. In terms of visual beauty probably new hampshire and maine take the cake. The views out there are just out of this world. Example: https://imgur.com/a/eyAGamT

But in terms of enjoyment each place has its own personality and at each point along the trip you are in a different place physically and mentally, so they are all quite different and unique. For example: the first couple weeks are unbeleivably fun because you cant believe you are actually doing this, even though there wasnt the best weather and not many great views. The middle (PA) is ROCKY and HOT in june/july, but it is dead flat. Virgina goes on foreverrrrrrr. New England is a treat at the end. by that point you are like a machine in terms of hiking. Hell, by Virginia you are a machine. Hard to identify a favorite spot

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ex_banker t1_jdkzdtk wrote

What was the most scary/dangerous/unpleasant experience you had? And also had you read Bill Bryson or other accounts of the trail prior to heading out? What woukd be next on your hiking bucket list? (Sorry thats 3 questions)

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5btg OP t1_jdl081b wrote

Ask away!

Sketchiest experience was getting picked up by a drunk guy when we were hitch hiking in PA. Not only was he drunk, he was acting squirrely and sketchy as hell. Weirdly, immediately made a joke like "hey so dont worry im not going to kill you and leave you in a ditch haha"...

Like dude, what? Why would you bring that up right now? We definitely weren't thinking that but now we kind of are. Then he wanted to take a detour to his house b/c he "forgot his wallet". My hiking partner and I both felt something was off immediately.

Yes I read Bryson's book a couple times! I love it! Such a great window into trail culture and trail life! I had also watched some youtube videos and read blogs.

Next on my hiking bucketlist is just some small weekend trips to Shenandoah. It is only a couple hours from me and is such a lovely place to hike for a night or two. No more super long trails for me in the forseeable future

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checkinginagain t1_jdl2gns wrote

Please finish the story. How did you "get away"?

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5btg OP t1_jdl4g4i wrote

Well he took us to where we were trying to go. Which was a grocery/beer store. But the plan from the get-go was that he was going there himself, and he would drop us off where he had picked us up on his way home. This guy had a nice car (new 4 runner) and nice cloths and a beautiful english setter in the front seat.

So when we got out of the car we went into the store. He waited in the car. We immedatley were like "yo, what the FUCKKKKK" "were you feeling what i was feeling?" "YES! That dude is sketchy as hell"

"Well what should we do?" We talked it over. We were like 15 miles from the trail (and our friends, campsite, etc) and it did not seem like a place that we could easily hitch back to (many roads around, so not like a lot of people would be going to that random state park 15 miles away)

We decided that despite the fact that he was sketchy and weird as hell, he technically hadnt done anything: I mean, he did what he said he was going to do, he brought us to this store. My friend (a woman) said that she was cool with riding back but we should be alert.

So we decided to ride back with him. I bought him a 6 pack of beer as a "thank you" for the ride. It was tense. I was in the back seat right in the middle, sitting very much forward with my back upright, not touching the back of the seat. Almost leaning up forward into the front section of the car so that my head was pretty much right behind/next to his. Elbows on the two front seats type of thing if that makes sense. The entire time I was just completely fixated on his hands. If he had reached down or made any sketchy movement I was ready to reach up and grab that wheel and yank us into a crash. I made sure that he went back the exact way we had come, if he had turned onto any or we started going down any sketchy dirt road I was ready to crash the car. Again, now, typing this it seems bizzare and insane, but that is what was going through my head at the time. It felt like a survival situation. Plus, he was drunk, so I felt that I could easily take him if it came to that.

The ride back was less sketchy relatively, but was still very off. He seemed supperrrr nervous. He told us about the trees that were native to the area. My friend and I tried to keep the conversation flowing and light. He dropped us back at the state park. The tension easied up as we got closer to the park, but it was just a weird vibe overall. Intuition is valuable though, and I know that there was some weird shit going on there. I think that if I had not been totally proactive and right on top of his shoulder watching him it could have gone bad. On paper he did nothing but do us a favor, but my gut was screaming RED FLAG, and I acted accordingly - alert. Was it the best decision to go back with him? Probably not. But thankfully nothing ended up happening.

edit: changed a couple words after proof reading

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wallerc15 t1_jdl2bu8 wrote

Did you guys carry anything to defend yourselves in case of a dangerous situation?

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5btg OP t1_jdl2xuf wrote

No. Not even a knife! I had a knife when I first started the trail but I left it in a "free supplies" box for someone else because I hadnt used it in 30+ days. Many women carried pepper spray

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hdawnj t1_jdl6cd6 wrote

I'm a 62 year old woman and plan to do the west coast trail with my daughter in the summer of 2024. I know it's a small trail compared to the Appalachian but as a person who has never even done back country camping (I plan to do some this summer) it's a big deal.

What would you consider to be an invaluable piece of equipment while hiking? Besides the knife, what else did you bring that was just dead weight?

Thanks

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5btg OP t1_jdl7hud wrote

First of all, congratulations! I know backpacking can be intimidating (and expensive) at first, but it can be immensely rewarding in many ways, so its great that you have decided to take the plunge.

For me, I ditched my whole rain "outfit" pretty early on. I had armed myself with a rain jacket and rain pants. But if I tried to walk even a mile in that stuff I would sweat so much that any dryness was negated. I instead used an umbrella and a rain skirt, which I found gave me the same amount of rain protection (which, no matter what you wear, you are probably going to get wet if it rains enough) without any of the uncomfortable heat and sweating. I found this set up to be superior in almost every way. Here is a picture of my (silly by highly functional) outfit: https://imgur.com/a/86NkaW9. I would say the umbrella was more valuable than the skirt. The umbrella was also GREAT in Pennsylvania farm country in July, where it served as a shade-provider for days on end.

In terms of invaluables: Water filter has to be number one. I love the Sawyer filter (can get at any walmart). My luxury item that I would recommend to anyone starting out is an inflatable pillow. It is probably not necessary but I really enjoy it and it is small and light weight. Obviously tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping mat are must-haves as well.

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hdawnj t1_jdl8t3d wrote

Thanks for the heads up about the rain suit as I was going to get one seeing as we are hiking through a rain forest. Love the orange skirt btw. Very fashionable.

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5btg OP t1_jdl98zb wrote

Thank you!

Another great thing about the skirt is that I didn't have to take off my shoes to put it on (unlike the pants!)

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FlattopMaker t1_jdl7f5b wrote

Did you get out to Mount Desert Island or Cumberland Island?

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5btg OP t1_jdl7mfs wrote

It doesn't ring a bell!

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daredevil82 t1_je2qq4v wrote

MDI is where Acadia National Park is. It’s about an hour east of Bangor when you’re heading southeast from Baxter.

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MethCurryFlurry23 t1_jdql38e wrote

Any fucking take place with anyone? Both in your group or otherwise?

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5btg OP t1_jdtbq5h wrote

It happens but the trail is by no means an orgy

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gokoreaboy t1_jdl2k4k wrote

What kind of exercise or workout did you do to prepare for this journey?

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5btg OP t1_jdl4lnu wrote

None! I did whats called "couch to trail" which means that I came out fat and out of shape! Basically, the first 2-3 weeks were my training, and I took that seriously by limiting myself significantly during that time. Once I was strong, it was off to the races.

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FlattopMaker t1_jdl5s1k wrote

What equipment or possessions did you consider to be highly useful as your trip progressed and you remained in the woods? How did you re-supply or did you forage?

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5btg OP t1_jdl6ka0 wrote

Every single thing that I carried was highly useful, except one fun item, which was a slingshot that I got at walmart (wrist rocket).

Tent, sleeping bag, backpack, stove, water filter, etc.

We resupplied by hitchhiking to grocery stores (or sometimes walking by them, the trail goes directly though a number of towns). Because it was Covid, I always tried to thumb down pickup trucks, so that we could stay in the bed, and I found that they picked us up more (probably for the same reason)

There is an opportunity to purchase food at least about once a week. We would get as many cheap calories as we could (candy, peanut butter, pepperoni, etc). I could do a whole presentation on trail foods.

No foraging except for spring onions as a garnish for fun

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FlattopMaker t1_jdl7knj wrote

How did you keep track of time/days that passed? Did you keep any electronics charged?

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5btg OP t1_jdl88r8 wrote

Yes I had a cellphone with me that I used to write a blog most nights in my tent before bed. The east coast is actually very densely populated, and the AT is just a thin ribbon of wilderness, so I had service (at least at some point) pretty much every day. I carried an external battery pack that I would charge at hostels or anywhere I could. Generally the phone stayed on airplane mode. It also had my primary map on it as a PDF

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C4bl3Fl4m3 t1_jds0qti wrote

I grew up about a mile from the trail outside of Boiling Springs PA. While I have mobility problems that would keep me from thru-hiking myself these days, when I inherit my parents house & acreage when they pass on I plan to move back home & I'd love to get involved with the AT community, participate in trail magic instead. I'd especially like to let people camp in the backyard and maybe even rent out a spare room or 2, give people rides into town, let people use the w/d, showers, etc. Can you share with us more about trail magic? How does one get started with this sort of thing? Anything else I should know?

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5btg OP t1_jdtbngu wrote

That would be epic!!! There are definitely people who do things like this along the trail and obviously hikers always love it. if you would like to chat in more detail about this I would love to help you think about what you want to do and what it might look like.

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PlasticGirl t1_je9dg86 wrote

What shoes did you use and did your feet get bigger as you went?

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FlattopMaker t1_jdl738l wrote

I love Roan Mountain, but don't think I could stay out there longer than 3 days. At any point did you have health, medical or dental concerns? How did you handle those?

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5btg OP t1_jdl82yc wrote

Yes Roan Mountain is beautiful! We had a wonderful time there.

Funny story about that: while we were in that area we heard rumors about "the best breakfast on the AT". We were 17 miles away and it was to be a full moon that evening, so we layed down around 1PM and slept.

Our plan, which we executed flawlessly, was to wake up at midnight and depart. Our calculations told us that we would arrive at the hostel right as breakfast was being served, something like 7:30 in the morning if I remember correctly. We called ahead and let them know that we would be arriving in the AM, and they skeptically said "okay".

Well, it worked. We woke up at midnight and packed up. Someone played "River of dreams" by Billy Joel on their phone. Morale was through the roof. We hiked mostly under the glow of the full moon, and it was a cool windy night. Those mountains looked magical under the moonlight. We were like zombies when we showed up at breakfast in the morning soon after the sun had come up, and it absolutely was the best breakfast I have ever had in my life. After breakfast we went over to hostel's the bunk house and passed out

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FlattopMaker t1_jdl9c0d wrote

Great story - you made it! That is an awesome part of being able to set an independent schedule on the safe AT compared to some other trails in the world. The Via Francigena is the same in that respect. I always appreciate the freedoms we have!

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thunder_struck85 t1_jdlbxut wrote

So how much of it is hiking, really .... and how much of it is just walking flat, easy, groomed trails?

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5btg OP t1_jdle055 wrote

I would say about 10-15 percent is flat. That would be my guess, around 220-330 flat miles. Not all flat miles are easy (could be very rocky, for example). Depends what you mean by groomed, but most of the trail is recognizable as trail, so I would say its groomed in some sense.

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OrdinaryJazzlike853 t1_jdowpb1 wrote

Any creepy encounters?

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5btg OP t1_jdtbx0r wrote

Yeah I wrote in detail about on one this thread check it out above. But for the most part people couldn't have been nicer and I really left with a wonderful opinion of humanity. Generosity and kindness from strangers 🙏

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Ok-Feedback5604 t1_jdxd9kq wrote

What difficulties did both of you face in this hacking?explain in detail

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I-Fuck-Chickens-241 t1_jdmv0y5 wrote

Obviously you have done hiking in the past so have you ever found weed growing wildly or even found someone's grow and did they have traps set up or did you just get outta there?

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