Appalachian Trail Introduction

March 1, 2007 is our target start date for the Appalachian Trail. Here are a few pieces of introductory information for those of you not familiar with our endeavor.

The Appalachian Trail is approximately 2,165 miles long and runs from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin, Maine.

We are attempting a thru-hike, which means we intend to walk the entire length of the trail in one season. It will take us between 6 and 7 months.

Several thousand people usually start thru-hiking every spring, but only a few hundred make it. (One website estimates a 12% success rate.) In addition to the thru-hikers, many other people visit the trail each year for day hikes and section hikes.

We will each carry backpacks that contain everything we need to eat, sleep, stay clean (relatively), and stay dry and warm (again...relatively), in the outdoors. We will carry about 5-7 days of food at a time, and restock by hiking off the trail, into nearby towns. I want to keep my pack weight around 25 pounds and M may just slightly more.

At the beginning of our hike, we plan to walk about 10 miles a day. After a few weeks, we will walk between 15 and 20 miles a day.

I am doing a fair amount of reading, both about the logistics of a thru-hike, as well as the folklore, flora and fauna of the regions we will be passing through. My next post will include some recommended reading.