Thru-Hike the Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian Trail is known to a lot of people. Many people go there for a day hike because they live in the area, but some people undertake the adventure of a lifetime: the 2175 mile thru-hike. This beautiful hike passes along six national parks, eight national forests, and touches 14 states on the eastern side of the United. Some of the states that this trail touches are Georgia, your starting point, and Maine, your finale at Mt Katahdin. Few people have successfully made the thru-hike, but many have tried. It is said that out of about 1200 thru-hikers beginning at Springer Mountain, GA that only about 300 made it to Mt Katahdin, Maine. Hiking the trail is no easy feat. It takes willpower and determination to walk those several million steps to make it through the trail and one must endure walking through snow and rain and mud and all the elements that the Mother Nature is going to offer. But once you make it up Katahdin, it will feel like it was all well worth it.

In order to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, you are going to need the basic essentials: backpack, tent, sleeping bag, stove, clothes, hiking boots, hiking poles, food, water purifier, rain gear, warm weather gear, and much much more. I personally would recommend Black Diamond gear for anything. I have a Black Diamond Guiding Light tent which is spectacular! It is very lightweight which is very important on these kinds of trips. As for the backpack, I also have a Black Diamond Sphinx. It's comfortable and durable. In fact, my hiking poles are even Black Diamond! I guess you can tell I like their equipment, huh? Anyways, as for the water purifier and the stove, I would suggest MSR. MSR is a great company and makes high quality products. Most MSR equipment (as well as Black Diamond) makes it into the backpacker's magazines awards for best this and best that! Just remember to pack light and get high quality equipment.

The next things is choosing the route in which you will go. I have only mentioned from Springer to Katahdin because that is the most popular way to go. But in fact, there are few other ways people like to do things, such as going from Katahdin to Springer as well flip-flopping. People who attempt to hike southbound from Katahdin to Springer can leave later in the year than people doing the northbound hike. Northbound hikers normally leave around February - March and it takes about 6 months ending around September. Hikers heading southbound usually end up starting more around May and ending their hike in October or so because it's not as cold in the south so it doesn't matter if they end later. Hikers heading north must complete their journey before October or November or they will have to turn back because the park closes at Mt Katahdin because of the snows and the cold. Flip-floppers are quite interesting, but something I would never do. They go from Harpers Ferry, W. VA to Mt Katahdin and then go back to Harper's Ferry and start heading towards Springer mountain or vice versa. For me, I just like the straight thru-hike all the way from Georgia to Maine. It feels more right to me. But to each his own and one must hike their own hike. Whether or not you love to hike or have never been, going on the Appalachian Trail will be a surefire way to get your interested in hiking!