A few days ago I listened to a podcast about the Appalachian Trail. It focused on people who do the whole thing. “Through hikers,” they’re called.
I’ve done my share of backpacking, but never more than 4 days. Usually 3, or even just an over-nighter.
It’s a lot of fun, and I’ve considered longer trips, but I have mixed feelings about it.
On the one hand, it appeals to my sense of adventure. It would be nice to be away from the world for a while. I like being out and about, and I don’t mind discomfort.
OTOH, I’m not sure my knees would take it, and who has five months they can afford to be away from work, home, etc.?
If I suddenly came into a couple of million dollars, and if Mrs. C would go with me, I might consider it. (I couldn’t leave her at home all that time.) In the meanwhile, I might have to content myself with a week-long trip. Somewhere. Sometime.
If you haven’t read Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods,” you should. His original plan was to do the whole AP in a few legs, but he chickened out (reasonably) before he got to Maine.
AT not AP of course. That wasn’t even a typo, that was my mind doing I don’t know what.
In my mind, AP means “associated press,” and mostly the style guide.
A&P, where I would sometimes buy groceries long ago.
I hear the book is good, but I saw the movie recently… YUCK! I thought Robert Redford could act?
I would suggest rounding up some copperheads along the way. I understand that they are very much in demand in the churches in them there parts.
Hey, the comment section is back open without a user account… when did that change?
I do a fair amount of backpacking. Of course, being in California the emphasis here is on the PCT, not the AT. I am what they call a “sectioner” and frankly think it is the wiser way to go. The idea is to hike a section at a time, somewhere between 50 and 200 miles on each trip. Some “sectioners” are focused on completing the whole thing, but I instead take the attitude of doing the best parts and skipping the rest. All of these trails have sections that nobody would hike if it weren’t about completing the whole thing. So if one doesn’t feel the need for completion, why do the bad parts?
Although I have to admit, I did one “weak” section of the PCT because I had done 4 sections around it and if I did that last one portion, I’d have a pretty larger chunk completed (Mt. Lassen to Lake Tahoe).
This summer I have permit to hike the John Muir Trail (JMT), which is the original trail around which the PCT was later made. It’s about 220 miles, of which ~180 is also the PCT. That will be by far the longest stretch I’ve ever done. (I think my max before now was 75 miles in 6 days.)