r/AppalachianTrail

Hi everyone, I (20F) am about to enter my senior year of college and will be graduating in May 2027. Me and my mom's lifelong dream has been to hike the AT together. However, the only time that we would be able to do it is either if I took a gap year before starting grad school (start in May 2027 after graduating, finish by October and start grad school that next Fall) or if we did the trail after I get my masters (start in may 2029 or spring 2030 if we wanted to start the trail earlier).

I have the time and resources to afford to take a gap year and I'm just thinking the sooner the better. I'm curious if anyone has had experience with taking a post-undergrad gap year to hike the AT and what were the drawbacks, benefits, etc., especially when it comes to starting in May vs earlier in the year. I'd love to know for those who started in May if you did SOBO/NOBO/flip flop etc. and what the weather conditions, timing/pacing, etc were like!! Thanks!!!

I am planning a backpacking trip in Shenandoah and its supposed to be rainy for the entirety of my trip. I refuse to cancel- but I'm looking for pointers on making the most of my trip regardless of the sucky weather conditions. Any and all suggestions are welcome. I have backpacked in the rain before- but only an overnight. This will be my first multi-day trip in the rain and I am annoyed about it but trying to be positive. I am planning to eventually thru-hike the AT- and because of that, I am thinking it will be a good experience for me to "embrace the suck" that can happen on trail. My questions are: will I be able to actually see anything in the park? Since expansive views are likely to be off the table- what other things should I be on the lookout for? Plants? Mushrooms? Flowers? Animals? Unique things that happen because of rainy weather?

My fiancé and I are working on a book about his 2021 Appalachian trail thru-hike, and about my experience supporting him from home. It’s a whole lot more than that, but I don’t want to jinx it by going too much into detail.

The book will have a big focus on my experience being the one that stayed back, keeping things running at home and supporting him, visiting him, etc. and what I was going through mentally/emotionally/spiritually.

Is that something any of you would be interested in? Especially those of you who have supported or are about to support someone who is hiking the trail?

I remember trying to find any books from that perspective when he was planning his hike and I don’t remember finding much. I think there are some out there but it’s not as common as the typical hiking memoir.

For anyone who hiked the AT, or part of it, with a romantic partner: did you have fights or serious disagreements along the way?

Howdy folks. i live in central-ish Maryland, and would love to support thru-hikers anyway i can! Are there certain locations/regions from the Shenandoahs to MD/PA line that could use some magic more than others? Happy to day hike a couple hours and trek in whatever i can.

I enjoy day hiking and camping in national parks, but not much experience with backpacking. Any ways to best support hikers i’m interested in!

My buddies have been planning a SOBO thru hike starting mid June for well over a year now. I rather recently began talking and finding out more details about the trip. It just happens I was planning to leave my job around the time they’re starting so now I’ve been fully invested the last few weeks. A bit petrified since we’re starting with Maine and I have less experience than both my buddies, but years of camp trips and hiking have me confident in my own abilities.

We are hammock camping the entire way. My question is regarding insulation along the trail. I don’t mind investing in quality gear, but I’m not trying to fully break the bank.

1. Does anyone have any SOBO hammocking experience?
2. What sort of insulation do you recommend (I.E. padding, quilts, space blanket) and then what sort of temperature rating would be necessary?

I was looking into a 20 degree under and top quilt but have been struggling to find something for a good price that’s light weight. Lots of reasonable 30 degree top quilts, but I’m not sure if that’ll be warm enough on the trail.

Right now I’m going to be getting an ENO Junglenest hammock, and the Onewind Billow tarp for maximum wind protection.

Any insulation help or advice would be epic!

TLDR: Threw up after drinking water through a Sawyer squeeze. Any tips on usage or thoughts on the reason?

My wife and I went on our first backpacking trip this weekend. Everything went well but I think either my Sawyer squeeze didn't work for me or I did something wrong. I filled a bottle up at the water source near Spaulding Mtn. lean-to on the AT. Screwed my Sawyer squeeze to the bottle and drank straight from that. A few hours later when we went to eat dinner I got sick and threw up (before eating anything) and felt nauseous the rest of the night. I took the water from a moving source. I figured it was supposed to be off the rocks where it was actively flowing. Is that right? Did I do something wrong or just get some bad water? Any advice is appreciated.

Hey y'all. Just finished a 3 day shakedown before I head to montana in June to hit the CDT. We noticed there is almost no water between 501 Shelter and Port Clinton in Pennsylvania. I am local ish and could drive up the Forrest road to where the trail meets it around halfway through that stretch and hang out with a bunch of water.

Anyone know if there are enough hikers in the area to make that worth it? I know trail days just held everyone up but I'm sure there are folks up this way.

Hello! I hope this isn't a stupid question. I've been researching safety tips and emergency precautions. I've seen a lot of good advice on how much water to bring, how to watch for dehydration, water purification, and so on. What I haven't seen is much advice on what to do in case of a water-related emergency.

Obviously in a best case scenario you are well informed about water sources in the area and have packed accordingly. But if you should happen to find you are running low on water and expected sources are unavailable, what should you do?

Thanks for any advice!

I've been trying to find a good route for a weekend trip around the Delaware water gap. Ideally, we would hike for just a few miles on Friday and camp, have a main hiking day on Saturday (10-15 miles ish), and have a few miles on Sunday (Idealy less than 10). Im looking for either a loop, or a route where we could car shuttle- but an out and back is good too. Does anyone have any Ideas? Thanks for any help!

I want to do a one or maybe two night hike with my 14 yr old son, possibly close to a town where my wife can join a bit and then head off to a motel. We’re coming from the Raleigh area. We’re experienced hikers but have never done the AT. Let me know your ideas and recommendations.

Thanks!

Curious if anyone went to Trail Days this weekend.
How was it?