Planning to Thru-Hike the Appalachian Trail?

Here are 10 Do’s and Don’ts you should keep in mind:

Do:

1. Get the right gear

Research extensively what accomplished thru-hikers have to say about the gear they used and the gear they wished they had. Try to save up enough so that your gear budget isn’t too restrictive and you an afford a quality setup. See here for my recommendations.

2. Take trekking poles

You can get by without them, but man are they good for taking weight off your knees and feet as well as helping you keep your balance and traverse difficult sections of trail.

3. Hike with your butt

Many people hike with their ankles, especially when going up inclines. Putting this much stress on these parts of your body over months of hiking is an inefficient use of energy and can lead to injury (or some gnarly blisters at the very least). When going up inclines, stick your butt out and let the strongest part of your body do the work. Check out this post to learn more.

4. Eat fruits and vegetables when you’re in town

Your body will be starving for some fiber and natural vitamins and minerals. When you get into town, yes, eat a triple bacon cheeseburger. But eat a salad too. Your body will thank you for it. See here for more info on what food to bring on the Appalachian Trail.

5. Trim your base weight to 15 pounds or less

Take everything in your pack (including the pack) and subtract food, water (except water containers), and fuel. This is your base weight – the weight that is always there regardless of your consumables. Get this weight as low as you can. 15 pounds is entirely doable – many people go with far less.

6. Actually rest on your zero days

It’s not uncommon to spend a zero-mile day in town walking all around from store to store and restaurant to restaurant. If you’re taking a day off from the trail, try to actually rest. Your body needs it.

7. Bring a journal

A small journal to write down your mileage, funny and interesting things, people you met, and anything else will be invaluable to you later on after you have finished your thru-hike and gone on with normal life. It can be hard to get in the habit of writing after a long day of hiking, but it’s worth giving it a try.

8. Frequently reassess what you really need

Look over your gear on a regular basis, and take note of what you really need and what you could go without. It’s not uncommon to be lugging around several items that you don’t ever use or need. Find those suckers out and get them out of your life.

9. Find the balance

Stick to the plan, but be flexible when curve-balls come. Smell the roses, but not all day. It’s easy to swing too far in either direction – being all “Go. Go. Go.” and missing out on some of the sweeter moments of trail life, or being too relaxed and distractible which can jeopardize the completion of your thru-hike. There’s no point in doing this thing if you don’t let yourself enjoy it, but it’s also not a thru-hike if you don’t make it through. Find that balance.

10. “Hike Your Own Hike”

The saying is said far and wide by thru-hikers, and often really means: “I think you’re an idiot, but you do you, man.” At the end of the day though, you need to figure out what works best for you (even if it goes against some of the things on this list). Go at your own pace and don’t worry if others are doing it differently. With that said, be flexible, take advice, and see what works for other hikers. You can learn a lot.

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Don’t:

1. Talk about quitting

Letting yourself entertain thoughts and conversations about quitting the trail is a slippery slope. There will be ups and downs on the trail (no pun intended) and there are too many opportunities to quit if you let yourself go to that headspace too often.

2. Overdo the sugar

When you resupply in town, you will want to get cookies, candy, Pop-Tarts, and chocolate-coated everything. Don’t go overboard with this – it will bite you. Pack plenty of fats, proteins and good carbs in addition to some sweets. See here for more info on what food to bring on the Appalachian Trail.

3. Sleep in too often

You will likely start getting up at sunrise and going to bed around sunset, but some people make a habit of sleeping well into the morning. That lost time and lost miles can quickly get you too far behind schedule.

4. Forget to look at the big picture

Look at your typical day – your habits, how long your breaks are, how often you break, etc. Scale this by ~150 days. Are you wasting an hour every day? Well, that is ~450 miles lost over 5 months. Can you afford that in your schedule? I’m not saying to never relax or smell the roses, but to pay attention to your habits and your use of time. Many people get blindsided when they neglect this and fall far behind or don’t finish their thru-hike.

5. Sleep with your food

Laziness can lead to bad habits, like sleeping with your food bag in your tent rather than hanging it up. Sure, a black bear likely won’t be so bold as to try to enter your tent to get your food, but a mouse definitely will. More than a few people doing this will wake up to find a mouse scurrying around them after it had chewed through the wall of their tent and through their food bag, contaminating everything inside. It’s not work the risk (in my humble opinion).

6. Be too freaked out by black bears

Black bears are way scarier in your imagination than they are in real life. Okay, the red glow of their eyes when reflecting your headlamp can be pretty creepy. But generally, these bears are skittish and fearful of humans. There are some areas with “problem bears,” but these are typically just looking for a way to swipe your food bag if they can find a good moment. With all this said, don’t be too relaxed either. It is a wild animal that is potentially dangerous – just don’t turn it into the boogeyman.

7. Be a slob

Unfortunately, some people think it’s okay to litter (including their own human waste) on the trail, or to trash a shelter or campsite. While these people are the exception, it is still a major bummer for everyone else to live with – humans and animals. Please pack out your trash, go off-trail when nature calls, and leave campsites the way you found them.

8. Rob the trail magic box

Trail magic is, well… magical. There’s nothing like the sweet surprise of coming across a big cooler full of pop, candy, pastries, and other goodies. There’s also nothing quite like the disappointment of getting to one of these treasure chests only to find it empty. Obviously, these run out eventually, even when everyone takes a modest amount. But don’t be greedy – let other thru-hikers get in on the action too.

9. Let rain ruin your day

It is SO difficult to wake up to the loud pitter-pattering of rain on your tent knowing that you now have to get out of your toasty sleeping bag to trudge through water and mud all day. Despite this, it has to be done. Try to embrace it and have fun with it. Commiserating over things like rainy days with other thru-hikers really builds community and fortitude as well.

10. Take it for granted

Believe it or not, but hiking across the country on the Appalachian Trail can get mundane. After a month or so of trail life, it really becomes your new normal. Don’t let that trick you into feeling disenchanted with it all. You will be bored sometimes. You will get frustrated. But push through these moods to experience all the incredible moments the thru-hike has to offer. This may be the only chance you get to do something like this. Savor it.

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Happy hiking!

— Kris