Tag Archives: Appalachian Trail

The Big Three on the AT

When backpacking, whether it be one night or one hundred, the Big Three can make or break your trip. The big three entails a hiker’s tent, sleep system (sleeping bag and pad), and their backpack.

Here is a brief rundown of the Big Three for my 2022 Southbound (SOBO) thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail:

Tent:

I’m carrying Big Agnes’ Fly Creek HV1. Fully packed, this tent weighs about 21 oz. While it may not be the most spacious tent, my plan is to use this tent sparingly and take advantage of shelters along the trail. My tent will be a backup if the shelters are filled up when I arrive at camp or if I want to spread out from the crowds.

Sleep System:

Quilt: For this hike I am using Enlightened Equipment’s Enigma 20 degree quilt. This weighs 21 oz as well. I went with a warmer quilt because summer nights up north can still get pretty chilly and I will be going through the southernmost states in the late fall/early winter. I can use this quilt the entire duration of the AT without having to switch it out for something else.

Sleeping Pad: My sleeping pad of choice is the classic Nemo Tensor Insulated, which I am sure many of you are familiar with. This weighs in at 17oz. I do not have much to say about the Tensor that has not been said before. It is a great sleeping pad and widely used among backpackers. As with my quilt, the insulated model of the Tensor allows me to use it the entire time I am on the trail without getting too cold…. Hopefully.

Backpack:

Picking my backpack was probably one of the toughest gear choices I had to make during my preparation. I was curious to explore hiking with an ultralight pack, but I like the versatility and weight capacity of internal frame packs. I have always backpacked with Osprey packs and really liked them, so when I saw the updated Osprey Exos it was a no-brainer. They say you pack your fears, and for some odd reason my fear is running out of room. I went with the 58 liter option for more space; it weighs in at 2.6 lbs.

Check back later in my hike to see how my choices hold up after a few thousand miles of walking. Did I make the right decisions, or will I be wishing I had saved a few ounces?

by: Dalton Spurlin

The Appalachian Trail teaches many lessons which are applicable well beyond the trail.

From Goatman to Fathermule: 5 Lessons from the Appalachian Trail for (New) Dads

Imagine: you’re so tired that your brain has gone from autopilot to system crash, then back to the semi-normal waking dream of reality. You haven’t had a sit-down meal in a week. You only shower when necessary for social decorum. Sleep comes in fits: was that a noise? What noise was it, and what does it want? That can’t be the sun already, can it? I wonder what day it is?

Welcome to the Appalachian Trail. Or, alternatively, welcome to fatherhood! A few years before I became a new father, I was Goatman, AT LASHer (Long-Ass Section Hiker) and editor of this very blog.

Join me as we explore how my experiences on long distance hikes have prepared me for the journey of fatherhood.

The journey of fatherhood, like hiking, comes with challenges.

1. Hike Your Own Hike

It is a trail cliché, but like most over-used terms, it’s overuse stems from its basis in truth. When you begin your journey on the Appalachian Trail, you will be getting a lot of advice, told a lot of tales, and asked to process a lot of new information. The same is true when you announce your impending fatherhood. Take it all in. Now, step back and breathe. This is your journey, new dad. Though other feet have tread on this dirt and other people have blazed this path before, now it is your turn. No one has ever been you, so make it your own.

2. Your Mind is your Most Important Piece of Gear. Take care of it.

Humans have been raising children for way longer than the Appalachian Trail has existed, obviously, but both endeavors have changed in our modern world due to the technology available to help along the way. While good gear is important and gadgets are fun, keep in mind: Grandma Gatewood did not have the latest trail runners and your grandma did not have warm baby wipe dispensers. What they did have was a human mind capable of flexibility, endurance, patience, and kindness. Just as most hikers can’t push marathon miles every day, remember, new dad, to take time for yourself. While “zero days” may be a thing of the past, a good “near-o day” does a world of good. No technological fix will ever take the place of good mental health practices.

3. Plan. And Plan to have Plans Change.

Loki. Coyote. Eris. There’s a reason the gods of trickery are ubiquitous across human culture. Planning is an integral part of both parenthood and long distance hiking. Not being prepared can lead to terrible situations, of course. Quick grocery run sans diaper bag? Poopy diaper apocalypse in aisle 23. Cut weight from your pack by bounce-boxing your puffy and base layer? Mountain top snowstorm in June. These things will happen, but you cannot let them ruin the experience. Be flexible. Ride the waves of chaos and they may just lead you somewhere great. In the end, no plan will ever survive reality, so learn to improvise. They don’t call it Murphy’s Hypothesis for a reason.

At times, the journey of fatherhood merges with that of hiking.

4. One Foot in Front of the Other, One Mile at a Time.

There will be tough times. Boy, will there be tough times. Whether you are summiting your third peak of the day on wobbly legs or holding your screaming child for the third time that night on wobbly brain, you will reach a wall. This wall is not the wall that you cannot scale. You may have to stare at it for a while until the holds appear, but they will appear. Slow down. You were built for this. Sleep will come, Virginia will end. Perhaps not tomorrow or the next day, but keep your feet moving, and look, here it comes. Just around the bend.

5. The Hardest Days are the Best Days. Later.

Tired. Filthy. Hungry. Time starts to crawl away from the edges of your vision and all goes on forever. And then something happens and it breaks. Breaks into smiles, laughter, cuddles, a good night of sleep, a well cooked meal with family and friends all around. You look back and say, “What a ride!” This is what it’s all about- life, raw and unfiltered. Every blister a story, every spit-up-ruined shirt a fond memory. And it doesn’t stop here, dad, oh no. The trail never really ends. Enjoy the journey.

by: Craig Buckley

Photos courtesy of Katherine Buckley

My Idea to Thru-Hike the Appalachian Trail

The idea to establish the Appalachian Trail was formulated in 1921. My idea to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail was in 2018, a brief 97 years later.

The Appalachian Trail, often referred to as the “AT,” is a nearly 2,200 mile (2,194 miles as of 2022) footpath stretching from Springer Mountain in Georgia all the way north to Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park, Maine. A trail this long sees many visitors. There have been more than three million hikers setting foot on this trail in a single year, yet only around 3,000 of them attempt a thru-hike. Out of those 3,000 thru-hikers, about 1 in 4 are successful.

One of my first backpacking trips was in the Roan Highlands, hiking along the AT. It was early November 2018 and the higher elevations of the balds led to many cold, sleety drizzles. It was a tough hike for me. The weather was bad, my boots were frozen, and the mileage was more than I was used to. On the second night of the trip, while sitting in a shelter with my friends, a very tired backpacker strolled into camp. I was surprised because he did not seem to be carrying much at all. In fact, with the weather, he seemed to be carrying an unsafely little amount of stuff. He was heading south, with just under 400 miles until he was done with his five-month-long journey.

Being new to the hiking/backpacking/outdoor community, the idea of thru-hiking was incredibly foreign to me. I thought this man was insane. However, my friend Ben seemed to know what was going on. He offered the hiker a beer and chatted with him for the evening. In the morning the hiker was gone. The following day while summiting various balds along the trail we ran into several more thru-hikers. By the end of this four-day trip, my mind was pretty much made up. I was going to hike the AT one day.

When I set off for the AT this summer I will be heading south. I will start at the northern terminus at Katahdin mid-July and plan to get to Georgia in mid- to late-November. Ideally, I will finish just before Thanksgiving. Starting in the North with notoriously more difficult terrain, I suspect it will take longer to get my trail legs and I will move slower with less miles per day.

Learning and planning for any long trail poses many challenges, such as food, water, and shelter. Luckily, the AT simplifies the shelter situation with over 250 three-walled shelters between Georgia and Maine. There is also an abundance of water throughout the trail. Theoretically, I may never have to carry more than two liters of water at once, but that can always change.

For food on the trail, I will be resupplying in towns rather than having food boxes shipped out to me. I figure this gives me more flexibility with how much food I have to carry, and if I do not like a meal I can swap it for something else at the next town I resupply in.

I think the biggest challenge I will personally face on the AT is not a physical one but a mental one. This will be my first ever solo backpacking trip, and while the AT is a popular hiking destination, I will do all the decision-making myself. This will be tricky as I have always had someone hiking with me to bounce ideas off of.

As I near my departure date, I am filled with excitement to set out on this grand adventure. I look forward to being able to push myself mentally and physically each and every day.

by: Dalton Spurlin

Follow along for more updates and information as Dalton’s start date approaches! Look for additional blog content, interviews, and social media updates.

Readers Review: On Trails

On Trails by Robert Moor, A Fresh Take on Paths, Trails, Passes, Roads and Beyond

A blog by: Louie “Crawdad Yankee Doodle” Knolle

When I’m not able to embark on my own treks and travels, one of my favorite ways to take a mental escape is to read about the amazing real life adventures of others. After working in the shop at RRT for two years surrounded by thru-hikers, both accomplished and aspiring, I always found myself drawn to books recounting someone’s trip along the AT, PCT, or one of the myriad of other long trails out there. That being said, On Trails is not your average adventure story, it goes well above and transcends to an exploration of the history and into the multitudinous varieties of trails that are used by all living things. While Moor is in fact a proud member of the Appalachian Trail class of 2009, I appreciated the selection of memories he shares from the trail when he deemed necessary, but his work quickly divulges from the now laundry list of AT memoirs.

He chose to divide the book into 6 main chapters:

• World’s Oldest Fossil Trails (Precambrian)

• Insects’ use of trails to create a sense of collective intelligence in the colony

• Movements of ungulates and other mammals creating their own paths

• Delving into the first human walkers of this continent, he travels with Native Americans learning how they once traversed this continent

• With his own personal stories from the trail, he speaks of the AT and other modern long trails

• The effort to extend the AT into Canada and across to the United Kingdom into the International Appalachian Trail

Through all of these thoughts and explorations, we begin to see the duality that exists along these seemingly simple trails. Despite the sense of freedom we experience on them, trails still have a designated path with boundaries usually existing between two (or more) points. Scientific discovery, animal and faint tracks of early people, the desire to find one’s own sense of freedom in the wilderness, and modernity all intersect in this one book in such a rich way. By the end of the book, Moor reflects after a once purely secular view of nature, that perhaps there is room for civilization in the midst of it all. He cites a great Gary Snyder quote towards the end that reads, “A person with a clear heart and open mind can experience the wilderness anywhere on earth. The planet is a wild place and always will be.”

If you’re interested in some natural history, select tales from the AT, a scoop of entomology, a dash of Darwin and Thoreau, all blended together with provocation of how you travel through the wilds and your place in it, then this is definitely not the book for you. (Only kidding!)

Reflection on a Thru-hike

One Year Reflection

by: William Babb, aka Leap Frog

I keep my eyes on the calendar, watching the days move by and watching October 11 creep closer and closer. A day that is inscribed in my memory just as much as any birthday or holiday, an occasion I can’t forget. When the calendar reaches October 11 this year, It will have been one year since I completed my northbound Appalachian Trail thru hike.

I’m not sure what emotion to feel as I think about my one year trailversary approaching. A part of me is excited to celebrate that one year mark, but more than that I’m feeling the post trail depression that I had fought so hard in those first few months after the hike creep back into my life. I’m reluctant to admit that I am one year separated from the trail, that I haven’t hitchhiked into town, eaten an absurd amount of Honey Buns, or slept in a mouse infested shelter for a full year.

Lately the trail has been on my mind more than usual, scrolling through the pictures I took a year ago and reminiscing on those genuine experiences. Not a day has gone by since I finished that I haven’t thought about the AT, the mountains I climbed, people I met, experiences I had that have shaped who I am and who I will be. But I’ve been spending more time than usual thinking about the trail as October 11 approaches. I miss the trail, I miss my trail family, I miss everything about the experience, but I’m also realizing that I can’t dwell in the past forever. At some point I need to look to the future. The trail will always be a part of my life, but I need to make it part of my future and not my past.

My first year off trail was a year of remembering, but I’m going to make my second a year of learning. The trail changed me in more ways than I realize yet, and in this second year off trail I’m going to learn how the trail has changed me and how I can utilize the lessons I learned in those 5 months for the rest of my life.

Any thru hiker will tell you that the hike changed them, but ask them how and it becomes difficult to pinpoint exactly. I know that I came off the trail more mature, more independent, more responsible. The trail deepened my appreciation for nature and instilled a whole new set of passions in me. Because of my experiences on the AT, I’ve become an obsessive backpacker, developed growing interests in climbing and kayaking, and landed every hiker’s dream job as a part time worker and full time gear junkie at RRT. Beyond that, I know that the trail changed my personality, impacted my beliefs, influenced my perceptions on the world, but I can’t put into words how it did.

I look back on the trail and think about where I was one year ago. One year ago today, the day I’m writing this, I was crossing Moxie Bald Mountain in Maine, camping beside the Piscataquis River and staring at the reflections of colorful trees in the water. I think about who I was then, and who I am now. One year ago, I never would’ve imagined where I would be today. I knew that I would be a first year student at Ohio State, but I couldn’t have known the friendships I would make or the experiences I would have here. And there is no way to know what experiences I will have in the future. But I can look to the future, and know that the AT will be part of my future, the lessons I learned on my hike will be used in college and beyond.

I’d be lying if I said thinking about the AT doesn’t bring tears to my eyes sometimes, that writing this didn’t bring tears to my eyes. I miss spending my days climbing up and down mountains with Archer and Snakebait and No Way, spending evening playing cards with Love and Ditto. I can never go back to those times, but when I start to get stir crazy from being in a city too long, I can always take a quick weekend trip down to the mountains or plan another thru hike. I know that in a year or two I might be on the John Muir Trail, and maybe a few years after that hiking from Mexico to Canada along the Pacific Crest Trail. There is always another trail to hike, and with each new trail, as with the AT, there are lessons to be learned and things to experience that will change your life.

That is the essence of a thru hike. It is a journey, a long one, that leads to self discovery. A journey that doesn’t end on top of Mt. Katahdin or on a wooded summit in Georgia. Many people hike the trail simply to learn about themselves, to rethink their lives and become a new person. Whatever your reasons for a thru hike, you will come away different, no matter how far you make it. And if you are thinking about hiking the AT, or any other long trail, I can’t recommend it enough. It is an experience that will test you in every way possible, but it is an experience that you will love and will not regret, an experience you will learn so much from. The trail is unbelievably difficult, both mentally and physically, but the journey is enjoyable every step of the way.

If you are thinking about doing something, especially a thru hike, don’t only ask yourself if the end justifies the means. If that is all you ask, the answer will be no. Also ask yourself if the means justifies the end. And for that, the answer should be yes. For it is the journey that is the reward, the final destination merely a byproduct of that journey. If you cannot enjoy the means of achieving your goal, is the goal really worth striving for?

Return of the SLOBO: Fear is the Mind Killer

In less than a week, yours truly, Goatman, will step back onto the Appalachian Trail to finish the last 969 miles of a thru-hike that began in 2013 with a 1200+ mile trek. The time for planning, prepping, training, and ruminating is over. And good riddance.

I know this may come as no surprise to many of you that know me, but you may as well stamp “Type B Personality” on my forehead. Making lists upon lists, worrying about details, lusting after improvement: not my style. Luckily for me, the AT isn’t an expedition. Nor is it a race, or a chore, or a job. And that’s what makes it so great. The AT is an adventure. Look that up in the dictionary.

Having read the other installments of the Return of the SLOBO series, you may think I really have everything together. Surely, a man conceited enough to presume to tell you how go on a very personal, very emotional adventure should himself be a shining example of the Fully Prepared Backpacker. Welcome to reality: I have no idea what is coming. Having hiked long-distance before, I know only one thing to be true: the trail teaches what needs knowing and nothing but putting feet to dirt is going to help you in the end.

Disconcerting? For some, I suppose. We are raised with the idea in mind that knowledge is inherently important to a task. I would argue that wisdom trumps knowledge a majority of the time. Knowing that you have 17.8 miles until you camp for the night and that water is 5.2 into the hike tells you very little about how your day is going to go. The elevation charts in the guide books are convenient fantasies and often misleading. It never rains for days on paper.

Am I saying to throw the guidebook off a cliff, sell your bag to a bear, and head off into the Great Unknown with only your cunning and sturdy stick to keep you safe? Or course not (okay, sometimes I get in a mood and say exactly that, but don’t listen to me all of the time. It’s bad for you.) I still stand by everything I said in the early articles concerning physical and mental training, buying gear that keeps your safe, happy, and moving, etc. All good ideas. Unfortunately, they are only that. Ideas. So you read the articles with good intentions in your heart, but now it’s go time and you didn’t hike as much as you wanted before setting out, your legs aren’t in the best shape they could be, you took some last minute things and now your pack is heavier than you wanted, and your mind is scattered and racing worrying about all of the “What Ifs”. Now what? Do you cancel your plans? Do you say, “Maybe next year”? Do you justify an existence in which your dreams are not manifested into reality?

Hell no.

You hit the trail. And you hike. And you get stronger and smarter and more wise everyday. Suddenly, you’re hiking the AT and you’ve done a week and you’re still scared, more tired than you’ve ever been, and still not so sure you’re ready for all of this. And then you hike for another week and realize that you are as strong as you want to be, that exhaustion is uplifting if related to a purpose, and that no one is ready for this! And then you hike for another week.

Excuses make terrible hiking partners.

In the end, trails are for hiking, not analyzing. I cannot wait to shut my silly mouth, strap up, and go. The next time you hear from me, I’ll have some good stories for you, I’m sure, and I’ll be sharing some here if I can.

See you out there.

-Goatman

Previous More Return of the SLOBO?

Return of the SLOBO: Rocketship Underpants

Read the first article in the Return of the SLOBO series, 799 Zero Days Later

“You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don’t help.”

―from Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

Oh! The dreaded gear installment!

One would think that, after hiking thousands of miles, working at an outfitter, and keeping up with innovations in the backpacking industry, old Goatman would just be waiting to tell you everything he knows about the gear you should take on a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. The problem is this: I am not you. I’m not packing for you, I’m not resupplying with you, I’m not throwing your bag on my back, and I’m not hiking a single mile of the trail for you.

The gear I use is simply that: it’s what I use while on the trail. I could type up a spreadsheet with weight and cost and every other variable listed out, post it here, and be done with this article, but all you would know is what I take on a hike and not what you, dear reader, should take on a hike. Again, I am not you. I don’t have your feet, I don’t worry about your fears, and I happen to be as strong as one donkey and one mule combined in man form, thus rendering the weight concerns of your average human meaningless to me.

You may be asking yourself: “Well, Goatman, what exactly are you going to talk about in this article besides being a mutant-hybrid pack creature?” Good question. Let’s get to the meat of it. Despite current fashion or gear trends, the gear you take on the AT should do the following things for you: keep you safe, keep you happy, and keep you moving.

Gear Should Keep You Safe

Seems pretty simple. I don’t wear a rain shell when the skies are blue just to look cool. I wear it when it is raining to keep dry and warm. I might wear it above treeline to keep the sun and wind off, but otherwise, it is sitting in my pack, waiting for the weather to turn nasty. I don’t put it in a bounce box just because it looks like a nice couple of days ahead. It is not useless weight just because I carry it as much as I wear it; it is still serving its function as a piece of bad weather gear when tucked away.

Try and check the weather predictions along the entire AT for a six month period. Nonsense, right? You don’t pack for the perfect days. You pack with the hard days in mind and you pack to lessen the effect that hard days will have on you, whenever they come.

This can be extended to almost anything in your bag: a headlamp is only useful in the dark, but get caught without one on an overcast night when you get stuck out late on the bogs and see if you don’t wish you had one.

Before leaving something at home, ask yourself, “Am I sacrificing safety by not having this with me?” If you are fine with the risk imposed, then by all means, get it out of your pack. There are things that work as a safety blanket more than they work as functional gear. You will learn the difference on the trail if not before.

Something we tend to emphasize that bears repeating: do not set foot on your thru-hike with gear that you have never hiked with before. Think you need a 7 inch bear hunting knife for safety? Well, take it out on a weekend trip and see how many times you actually need it. Guess what? People have hiked the AT with less useful things and made it every step of the way. Were they being stubborn? Undoubtedly. Could they have lightened their load? Of course. Did it matter in the end? Not one bit. No one is standing at the terminus, counting all of the calories you wasted carrying extra stuff. There’s no thru-hiker report card being filled out. Either you make it or you don’t. If the things in your bag helped you make it, then they were useful whatever they were.

Let’s step back for a moment: What do I mean by safety? Safety on a thru-hike for me means successfully hiking from town to town and eventually reaching the terminus without grievous injury to yourself or anyone around you. This does not entail carting around a 3 lb. first aid kit that you don’t even know how to utilize to its full extent. This does not mean bringing a gun. This does mean, however, choosing socks and footwear that do not cause blistering, loss of toenails, or nerve damage to your feet. It means having appropriate layers of clothing to deal with the rapidly changing temperatures on a long distance hike. It means having shelter from the elements when you get caught out in them. It means having a sleep system that allows you to truly rest at night and regain your strength for the next day. It means carrying enough calories to see you through to the next resupply and/or buffet. And it means having water purification so you don’t poop yourself off the trail.

Gear Should Keep You Happy

I realize that happiness is relative. I’m not worried about whether or not you define yourself as happy every step of the AT. You won’t. You will experience the entire gamut of emotions on the trail, including simultaneous emotional combinations that you didn’t even know that you had in you (i.e. “I’m sad that I’m out of peanut butter, which I hate as of now, but I’m hungry, which makes me angry, but my pack is a pound lighter and that makes me happy.”)

The point I want to make is that if you’re not going to be happy at times, it shouldn’t be because of your gear.

If you’re going to be sad, angry, or frustrated, it should be because of some existential longing within your soul or some jerk you met, not because your pack doesn’t fit correctly (because you bought it off the internet without thought to torso size or load capacity.) I’m not a psychoanalyst, but I can fit a pack to your back with precision. There are few problems with gear that can’t be fixed. Remember that hike you’re going to do with all of your gear before you head out on the AT? That would be the time to figure out what hurts and why. And to fix it.

Happiness isn’t just decided by physical means, however. Everything can fit great, your pack can be light and comfortable, and your head can still be a mess. Sometimes, you just need your lucky rocketship underwear. What I mean by this is: don’t skimp on your luxury item, whatever that may be. I hiked the length of Maine with a 600+ page copy of my favorite book. It probably weighed upwards of a pound (I don’t want to know.)

Why? Well, the short answer is that I’m an avid reader and collector of books. It is part of who I am and, without this aspect of my life, I feel less connected to myself and what I’m doing on this Earth. I don’t like reading; I love reading. My vision of hell is a waiting room with nothing to read. And my vision of heaven? To be in the woods, miles away from civilization, with a book in my hand as the sun goes down. It is as simple as that. I made the decision to carry the extra weight so that, in the rare moments that I wasn’t hiking, eating, or sleeping, I could wind down and do a bit of what makes me happy no matter where I am. And I brought this particular favorite book as a symbolic boon for my hike.

There are lighter, more weather resistant, more practical items that I could have brought to keep me busy when not moving, but that was not the point. Carrying this book made me happy, so I carried it. Don’t let other people dictate what keeps you smiling. That doesn’t work. You won’t look at any AT pack list that includes Giant Pretentious Modernist Novel, but that doesn’t mean you can’t bring one.

Gear Should Keep You Moving

Being safe and happy isn’t what hiking is all about. If these were your only goals, you might as well stay at home. Hiking isn’t always safe. Being in the woods can be dangerous and there are certainly a lot of things you can do to minimize the risk, but at the end of the day a bit of the Fear is part of the experience of hiking. As for happiness, I don’t think I need to repeat that this is a conditional state that you will move in and out of on the trail just as you do at home or any other place that you happen to be.

What hiking is all about is movement.

There is a saying on the trail: “It’s not about the miles, it’s about the smiles.”

However, in the paraphrased words of SLOBO extraordinaire the Bartender (’13): “That’s bull, man. If it were all about the smiles, I’d be back in Monson, drinking beer and hanging out. It’s gotta be about the miles if you want to finish.”

You’re not a hiker when you’re sitting around town. You’re not a hiker before or after your trip. You are only a hiker when you’re on the trail, making miles, and putting another footstep towards your goal. The gear you take with you should help with your progress, not hinder it.

This is where your pack weight comes in. It’s trendy these days to try to go as “ultralight” as possible. There’s good reason for this: the less weight in your pack, the less strain on your body, the more miles you can potentially do on the same amount of calories. Makes sense, right? Yes, it does, unless you are going so “ultralight” that you are sacrificing your safety or your happiness (see above.) There is a balance to be met, just as in all things.

So the point is to keep moving. No one knows what keeps you moving better than yourself, but there are a few universals. If you are injured, you will have to stop and rest. Your gear should not be the cause of injury (once again: shakedown hike! Please, for the love of all that is good in this world, shakedown hike!) If you don’t have the gear to move through and survive inclement weather, you will have to hole up in town. If you underestimate the amount of calories to pack out, you will find yourself tired, grumpy, and disoriented on the trail. A light pack isn’t going to help with any of these. So, yes, please, think about the weight of your pack and make sure that it isn’t weighing you down unnecessarily, but cutting weight just to cut weight is foolish if you are sacrificing your safety or happiness.

This is also the point where the longevity of your gear comes into play. Going into town is both fun and necessary at times, but going into a town you weren’t planning on going into in order to find a replacement for malfunctioning gear is a huge waste of time and energy. I realize that hikers are all about frugality, but there comes a point when it is more cost-effective to buy quality than to settle for something less that you will have to replace (possibly multiple times.) Case in point: I thought paying over $10 for a titanium long spoon was crazy when I could buy a cheap plastic spork that weighed less for a couple of bucks. And then I broke my plastic spork eating noodles. And then I broke my second plastic spork eating mashed potatoes and now I’m eating my dinner with filthy, burnt fingers for days before I can replace it with the spoon I originally snubbed as being too expensive.

There are definitely things that you can go cheap on, but when it comes to gear that is keeping you on the trail, you’ll find that spending the extra dough to get gear that is proven to last and warrantied against damage will save you a lot of time, effort, and money in the long run. The spork is a silly example in that I didn’t need it to keep moving. Had I skimped on my footwear and socks, however, I would have been limping back into town. Had I skimped on my backpack, I could have found myself at war with what should have been my dearest asset, whether that meant the straps rubbing me raw or the pack becoming nonfunctional.

Again, the goal is to keep moving. Keep this in mind when gathering your gear. Keep an eye on weight. Too heavy and you’ll be huffing and puffing every step. Too light and you might be sacrificing safety and happiness.

No one can pack for you. There are hundreds of example pack lists available on the internet. Look at them, learn from them, but in the end, you will come up with your own system that works for you. In all of my years of hiking, I have never come upon another hiker that is carrying the exact set up as I am. Why is that? Am I wrong? Is she wrong? How about that guy over there?

Find what works for you. Test it. Make sure it does what you need it to and that it will last. If you need advice, we at RRT are always here to help. In the end, no one else is going to hoist your pack and hit the trail for you.

(Shakedown hike!)

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Appalachian Trail Conservancy

If you’ve met us you probably already know: we are all AT obsessed! The AT is part of the origin story at RRT, but is also what continues to make us who we are. We have been fortunate to continually have a staff that shares our passion for the trail and have completed portions or the trail in entirety. This is the quintessential match made in heaven. RRT owners have supported the ATC with personal memberships since 2007. RRT has been a supporting partner as a retailer since opening in 2010, contributing through the sales of ATC merchandise.

Indirect to the ATC, our biggest contribution has been our assistance, education, and passion that we have passed on for others to both enjoy and appreciate the trail. Spreading the word and growing the trail community to both use the trail and give back to it has been a surrounding message. Every year, RRT is able to help people chase their dreams on the AT. Through presentations and events, we help grow the imagination and confidence of the next generation of AT hikers.

In 2015, RRT wanted to bring as many of those people together, so they hosted their first ATC fundraiser. With giveaways, games, a photo booth, and local favorite 50 West Brewery, RRT raised an additional $500 to contribute to the ATC. We hope to continue to grow the AT community, and although we are in Milford, Ohio, we will continue our work as AT trail angels from afar.

For more information on the ATC please visit the link below:

Appalachian Trail Conservancy

Back to Community Involvement Page

Return of the SLOBO: You are the Mountain

Read the first article in the Return of the SLOBO series, 799 Zero Days Later

“Whatcha wanna do today? Go on a hike? I know this great trail.”

We would joke like this in the morning as I filtered water from a stream and Jubilee broke down our tent.

And sometimes it was funny. Sometimes it was a painful reminder that there was nothing else to do, that we had no choice but to hike. We lived on the Appalachian Trail. Hiking was not only our sole mode of transportation, but also our entertainment, our defining sense of purpose, and the task at hand. You either hike or you go home. This is what makes long distance hiking so difficult. Not the sore feet, empty belly, cold rain, or looks of derision while stinking up a laundry mat. It remains true to my experience that the easiest way to lose the joy in something is day in, day out repetition of said thing. Anything can be exciting when new.

It is a hard lesson to learn: perseverance and happiness do not walk hand in hand. You don’t wake up and hike another 20 miles because it makes you happy that day. You wake up and hike because that is what you set out to do and there is happiness in following through with your dreams. Thinking that thru-hiking is months of endless fun is like thinking that working at an amusement park is fun. Trust me: it’s not. You get to see a lot of people having fun, yes, but you are there after the rides close, dealing with the reality behind the illusion.

A heavy start to a blog, I must admit, and not usually my style, but the time has come to get down to it. Mental preparation for the Appalachian Trail is anything but frivolous and it begins the second you decide to take on the trail. In the spirit of the thing, we’ll start heavy and lighten the load as we go. So let’s look at what you can do to strengthen your resolve before you even put shoe to dirt.

Verbally Commit

So you’re going to hike over 2,000 miles on foot through the oldest mountains on Earth, experience iconic towns, beautiful mountain summits, rivers and lakes galore, live with everything you need on your back, and make lasting relationships with people from across the world. Excited? Oh yeah, you’re excited! You are going to do it and its going to be the trip of a lifetime. So tell people! Tell your friends and family, tell your co-workers, tell people on the street. Tell them when you’re going and why you’re going. Talk it up. Make people associate you with your hike.

You’re not just talking because you’re excited and love talking about backpacking; you are turning on the social pressure machine. Thinking about going home after a couple of hard days on the trail? It will happen, but are you ready to explain to everyone back home that you are a quitter and that your will is weak? Sounds like a lot of fun, right?

We are social animals, for better or worse. Many people spend their entire lives worrying about what society thinks of their actions and appearance. For some of us, this is a nuisance of which we would gladly be rid. In this case, however, the best thing to do is to make sure to use it to your advantage. Don’t want your older sister making fun of you for quitting the AT? Then don’t go hiking with quitting on your mind. I believe that we are what we do, not what we plan to do or have done in the past, and the only one that can act in the present is you, now.

But boy can people gossiping about your business put a fire under you. It’s up to you whether you let the fire burn you up or you turn it into rocket boots.

Physical Training is Mental Training

So you’ve told people that you’re going on the trail and you’re hitting the local parks with a pack on your back to strengthen up your legs for the mountains. What can you be doing mentally to train while you are training physically? The good news is that you’re already doing it. Your mind and your body do not work as separate entities. If you got out of bed early to put in some miles before work or spent your Saturday with your pack on, outside and moving, you are participating in mental training. Every time you could be sitting at home, staring at a screen and giggling as you eat cheese-o’s, and decide instead to hit the trail with a pack on to put in some miles, you are winning the mental challenge game.

Now we start to combine methods: Your friend invites you to a BBQ in the afternoon. You tell him that you’re going to be hiking to prep for the AT. He sends you a picture of steaks, cold beer, and an empty hammock. You send him a picture of Katahdin. Then you skip the BBQ and hike even farther than you were planning originally. So now your friend knows what you are doing, sees that you are serious enough to skip out a good time, and talks about why you aren’t there with others. Meanwhile, you put in the miles that you need to put in, pushing yourself both physically and mentally.

The toughest day on the AT for many people comes when leaving town and going back into the hills after a relaxing zero day, back away from all-you-can-eat buffets, air conditioning, and clean beds. Practice choosing the trail over convenient distractions. You’re going to be doing it a lot and you might as well practice.

You are the Mountain

Your friends all know about your trip, your family is excited and anxious for you, you’re as fit as you’re going to get and the date of your departure is coming up fast. You even think you know the first few shelters you’re going to stay at and your gear is all laid out, ready to go.

Now sit down and shut up.

You’ve been busy. Now is the time to learn to be un-busy. Some would even called it bored. It’s an uneasy truth, but true nonetheless. Hiking everyday can be boring. You are going to be alone a lot. I say this having hiked with a partner. Yes, there’s conversation and camaraderie at times during the day, but not all of the day. Not even most of the day. Most of the day, you are staring at your ever moving feet, completely in your own head.

There are modern “cures” for this: You can listen to music. You can listen to audio books, podcasts, or recordings of cats falling off of things and meowing. You can do all of this and still be bored. Call me a Luddite, but I believe that entertainment technology is but a band-aid on a wound that will never close if you keep messing with it.

Music can take you out of your head, yes. It is good at that. But isn’t it better to be comfortable where your mind dwells without the need for distraction?

Spend time in your mind before leaving for the AT. The best way I know of is meditation. You don’t need incense and chimes. You don’t need an esoteric mantra or expensive cushion. You don’t need to prescribe to anything in particular at all. All you need to do is sit down for 20 or 30 minutes with a straight spine, breath slowly and methodically, and let your mind settle. And don’t move, no matter what you do. Boredom is what we call the transitional phase between activity and non-activity. If you’re interacting with outside stimuli all day and suddenly give your mind nothing to grab onto, it will panic and tell you that you are bored, that you need something other than what you have. Meditating is a good way to let your mind know that it doesn’t need anything outside of itself.

Everyone is different and I don’t mean to speak for anyone but myself. Meditation works for me, but there are other ways to slow down and let your mind get comfortable being alone for a while. Only you know what works for you and what doesn’t. But whatever method you find, make sure to stick with it, especially when it becomes inconvenient and difficult. The more inconvenient and difficult the better, to tell you the truth.

Are you ready to be ready?

Overwhelmed? Sorry about that. Talking about mental preparation for a thru-hike isn’t the most light hearted topic and I refuse to sugar coat things. You’re going to be tired, hungry, and ready to go home. What you do next is what will decide how your hike goes. I want to disabuse you of the notion that the AT involves months of skipping through the woods with a flower in your hand, singing Kumbaya, and smiling every step.

You only do that on Tuesdays.

Seriously though, there are days when your spirits are higher than the mountains and love is the law of the land. These are the days that will keep you going. And they are more numerous than I can emphasize. But no one needs to prepare for being happy and free. That will come naturally.

However, if you get good at navigating in the darkness, you won’t miss the light so much. So be tough on yourself, but be hopeful. Be optimistic while practicing your bad days and you’ll realize that the difference between a bad day and a good day has little to do with everything else and a lot to do with you, yourself, here and now.

I could tell you to look for the silver lining around every storm cloud, but cliches are of little help when the rain starts falling so instead I’ll leave you with this thought:

The only clouds inside your mind are the ones you put there.

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Return of the SLOBO: Really Good at Walking

Read the first article in the Return of the SLOBO series, 799 Zero Days Later

“I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits unless I spend four hours a day at least…sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields absolutely free from all worldy engagements.” – Henry David Thoreau, Walking

When people ask me “What was it like hiking the Appalachian Trail?”, I normally space out for a few minutes, stare into the ever-deepening hole of my memory and watch as fleeting images pass of those free days in the hills, drinking fresh spring water, laughing with new friends around a rustic shelter at night, and sitting on a mountain summit, spirit emboldened, knowing that the day would bring only more beauty.

And then my brain kicks sentiment out on its butt and I recall the reality of chronically sore knees, swollen feet, cracked toenails, ravenous hunger, blood, sweat, mud, rain, rain, rain, and waking up in my own filth once again, knowing that the day would bring only more pain.

When I come out of my trance, if the person is still there, I answer with a smile and something like, “Well, I got really good at walking.”

It sounds snarky, but it’s true. When you start out to do a long distance hike, no matter what trail you are setting out on or how much past experience you have, your mind cannot help but to romanticize the prospect of spending all day, everyday trekking through the woods. It just sounds so peaceful, doesn’t it? As if blue birds should be greeting you every morning upon waking with a song and a pancake breakfast. On the other hand, when you are deep into it, caught up in making miles and pushing yourself to your limit, you might forget to stop and take in the view or to appreciate a gang of frogs burping out a back country symphony as you’re trying to sleep. There is, as in all things, a balance to be struck and despite hardship and despite joy, at the end of every day, there is one thing that is always true on a hike: You get really good at walking.

Walking all day, over rocks and roots, up and down mountains, through streams and over fields, is not a simple as it sounds. Unless you already live in a rugged area, most of us don’t spend our days staring at our feet, watching every step, and varying our gait to match the lay of the land, avoiding slippery roots and sharp rock edges. Most of us walk on nice even floors, convenient sidewalks, and maybe even nicely groomed trails in the local park and never have to think about where our feet are going to land. You can count your steps-per-day in the city, but this will not translate to steps on the AT. Not really. Not without a pack on your back, sweat in your eyes, sore feet, exhausted muscles, and no prospect of a clean bed for days.

I learned this the hard way. In late 2012, knowing that I was to leave for the trail in 6 months, I began to train (without actually researching what training I should be doing.) So I started trail-running, climbing steps, doing squats and push-ups, and tried to walk everywhere I went. I went on shake-down hikes and made sure that my bag fit properly and that I had everything I needed (and more, it turned out.) When the time came to fly to Maine, I was feeling better than I had in years. I had lost some weight, gained some muscle, and saw my endurance more than double. When people noticed, I always told them, with pride in my voice, that I was training for the AT.

Skip to June and see me at Thoreau Springs, just having climbed to the tableland of Mt. Katahdin, only a short 4 miles in, with over a mile left to the summit and 5 more back to camp after that, sitting on a rock, waiting for my legs to start working again, hoping that they would come around before the lightning storms rolled in. As a south-bounder, you don’t technically start the AT until you reach the summit of Katahdin. I was beat and I was still on the approach hike.

Had I not trained hard enough? No doubt that I hadn’t. Did I know what I was getting myself into? Of course not. Was my body ready for the test of climbing mountains everyday? No. Not yet. Then came the most important moment on the trail for me: I snacked, I rested, I hydrated, and I got to my feet and I walked (slowly) the last mile to the summit. My lovely partner, Jubilee, was there waiting for me, having passed me up at some point. We took our customary summit photos, looked off into the wilderness below that was to be our new home, and started hiking back to camp before the weather turned. This would be the first of many of these moments – moments where I felt drained, out of my element, and daunted by the task ahead. Call it stubbornness or call it willpower, but there is something inside that does not listen to the aching of our bodies and ignores the cries of our emotions. This is what we must train, I have decided.

You’ll hear this “secret” spoken of in any reliable AT prep article, but it bears repeating: there is no true way to prepare for hiking everyday except for hiking everyday. For most of us, this is not easy to accomplish in our modern lives. However, the truth of the statement stands. This time around, I’m taking this advice to heart. And it won’t be easy, but neither is hiking the AT.

As I write this, I once again have 6 months until I leave for the trail to complete the final leg that I failed to hike the first time around: Shenandoah Nat’l Park, VA to Springer Mountain, GA. The time has come once again to get these bones ready for a long ramble. And I’m going to do it by hiking. I believe that one cannot truly learn by any method but doing, especially in the realm of the physical. This past weekend, I strapped on my pack, loaded in more weight than I will be carrying on the AT, headed out into the snow and frigid winds, and climbed some ridges at Red River Gorge. Not many, but it was a start. I felt the old, familiar pains and groans and with it came a sense of peace. It was like my body welcomed back the burden of the pack and my legs started to strengthen just bit at the mere hint of going back out on the trail.

So as I finish the last 900 odd miles of the AT, my goal is to hike 100 miles a week after the first few reconditioning weeks. For now, at home, I will start even slower to build up to this goal. I will hike, with my pack at or above trail weight, 30 miles per week, whether it be over a couple of long days or a series of short hikes, on top of the squats and exercises that are my routine. When this becomes easy, I will add miles. And so on. At some point this summer, I will take 5 days and head off into the mountains to see the state of my legs.

From here on out, when I have the opportunity and the time, instead of settling for anything less, I will have my pack on and I will be moving. Let this be a warning to my friends: if you want to see me on my days off for the next few months, you might want to check out the local trails.

The time has come to get really good at walking again.

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Roads Rivers and Trails

Tag Archives: Appalachian Trail

The Big Three on the AT

Tent:

Sleep System:

Backpack:

From Goatman to Fathermule: 5 Lessons from the Appalachian Trail for (New) Dads

1. Hike Your Own Hike

2. Your Mind is your Most Important Piece of Gear. Take care of it.

3. Plan. And Plan to have Plans Change.

4. One Foot in Front of the Other, One Mile at a Time.

5. The Hardest Days are the Best Days. Later.

My Idea to Thru-Hike the Appalachian Trail

Readers Review: On Trails

Reflection on a Thru-hike

Return of the SLOBO: Fear is the Mind Killer

Return of the SLOBO: Rocketship Underpants

Appalachian Trail Conservancy

Return of the SLOBO: You are the Mountain

Return of the SLOBO: Really Good at Walking

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