Basic Questions about AT

“I am just getting into camping and hiking (sparked by Army basic training, I guess) and was wondering a few things about the Appalachain trail...

(1) Are you allowed to camp off the trail or do you have to be in their shelters? If you are allowed, are you allowed to build cooking fires?

(2) When they say "trail" does that mean a beaten, well-marked path or is it more rugged... and would I need a map. (Either way is fine, but personally I prefer finding my own way)

(3) How far apart do they have facilities to resupply?

Thanks in advance, I am doing internet searches at the same times I am posting these questions... but I would like to hear from people who've been there, done that.”

“There are a lot of knowledgable AT hikers here, but for researching a trip on the AT, Whiteblaze is a lot better place. Also, for a good idea of what you're getting yourself into, read some trail journals at Trail Journals

1) Where you can and cannot camp depends a lot on where you are. As you pass through National Parks, Wilderness Areas, National Forests, etc., the rules changes. Generally, you do not have to stay in shelters. The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is one place you do. As far as fires go, that changes too, depending on fire conditions and your location. Instead of cooking over a fire, you'll probably want a backpacking stove of some kind.

2) The AT is a beaten, well marked path. So well-beaten and well-marked, a blind guy thru-hiked a few years ago. No kidding. But you'll want maps anyway, just in case.

3) "They" do not have resupply facilities, if you mean "they" to mean some organization. However, resupply facilities do exist at random points along the trail.

Hop on over to Whiteblaze and do some searches over there. There is more than you ever wanted to know about hiking the AT at Whiteblaze.”

“(1) Are you allowed to camp off the trail or do you have to be in their shelters? If you are allowed, are you allowed to build cooking fires?

with few exceptions, you can camp almost anywhere. bit did a wonderful job answering the camping question. as far as fires go, the answer is pretty much the same (blood mt wilderness in ga is one place you cant), but please take a cook-stove. over-use has caused much denuding of the forest floor and so is better on the environment if you dont make a fire

2) When they say "trail" does that mean a beaten, well-marked path or is it more rugged... and would I need a map. (Either way is fine, but personally I prefer finding my own way)

for the most part, its well-marked. just follow the white blazes. new england is extremely rugged, but still mostly well-marked

(3) How far apart do they have facilities to resupply?

there are towns every few days. your best resource is "the thru-hikers handbook" by dan "wingfoot" bruce. it tells you exactly where everything is”

“well C!B! I think that the resupply advice over on whiteblaze (ex. Baltimore Jack's resupply advice is equal to or better than Wingfoot's advice.”

“i dunno, i find a book easier to carry on the trail than a website”

“buy wingfoot (or the data book) for the raw data, and read bj's advice. theyre both useful”

“LibertyUnites - I got into hiking probably for a similar reason - our unit did a lot of hiking (we were a scouting unit). My advice would be to check out the sources listed above by bit and cb, but before you go on an overnighter, do some of the AT in sections. Especially living in PA (if you hike the mid to northern part, it's very rocky). Nothing beats just getting out there. You can learn a lot about the camping rules and resupply points from the web and books, but really doing section hikes is best after you get a basic feel of what to expect.

Same thing with the map thing. The toughest thing for me was (and still is) adapting to hiking with a civian mapping system. I got a lot of map training in the military, but - In the army you have point "A" and point "B" and you can basically get there however you want. On civilian trails though, you have to get to point "B" via a certain route which can be more confusing than you'd think.

Just my 2 cents from somebody who also transitioned ...

Oh, one more thing - Combat boots suck for the PA AT. They have very little girth to the soles and are very slippery (especially on wet rocks). They are comfortable but suck for AT hiking.
last edited: 4/25/05 7:18:57 AM”

“LU

what kind of section you planning on doing?

my trailjournal is www.trailjournals.com/crashbang”

“A couple of other links -

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/

http://www.aldha.org/comp_pdf.htm”

“If you're planning on staying in or close to PA., you can have a fire in most areas (much of the trail is in state game lands) but there are a few watershed areas and one observatory that restrict fires. No fires in NJ or NY. I like the trail guides and maps the Appalachian Trail Conference publishes because they give you rules for each section. They do vary considerably - some areas are shelter only, some areas require you to stay within a certain distance of the trail, etc.”

“I'm confused? You just got finished with basic training? And when will you have 3-4 months to hike? Aren't you supposed to go kill people now?”

“If you read my profile you'd see I'm a reservist (although that is in the process of changing) and if you meant some kind of disrespect with that statement then that's fine... I noticed this forum conviently has an 'Ignore' feature.

I am planning on staying in PA mostly. Me and my friends were going to do several small sections and then the entire PA portion one day. Thank you for the websites, they pretty much answered all of my questions!”

“Do not doodoo on the trale!
Ever buddy will give you yell ats!

My goodys. Me and my daddy and my hubsand Gissmaeioux sleep ever wher. At Joerga and Norf Carol Liner and Grene Mowtins and The Ginia and Nu Hamster we sleeped in ower tent some times and some times we sleept in them leetel howses.”

“If you want something less well traveled, Pennsylvania has a lot of good trails to try out. Go to the Keystone Trails Assn. website for a map of the longer PA trails. The AT is good, but there are many places where you can have the trail to yoursefl.”

“>if you meant some kind of disrespect with that statement then that's fine... I noticed this forum conviently has an 'Ignore' feature.

well said LU and thanks.

Someone already mentioned combat boots sucking for this kind of hike. They're great for a day or 2, but otherwise you'll want something else.

Big time DITTO on the ALICE pack...heavy, bulky and not well suited the AT. Looks cool and I love mine for day hikes and hunting, but not a good choice for anything more than a few days.”