Megan Maxwell - The Appalachian Trail Girls Guide

Copyright 2014 by Megan Maxwell

All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, without prior written permission.

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The Appalachian Trail Girls Guide/ Megan Maxwell. 2nd ed.

ISBN: 978-1539803508

Why Hike? 1

Telling the World 7

What Gear to Bring: The Big Three 14

What Gear to Bring: Footwear 27

What Gear to Bring: Cookware 34

What Gear to Bring: Other Essentials 41

What Gear to Bring: Clothes 50

Trail Cooking and Snacks 54

Budgeting for Your Hike 61

Hygiene, Periods, Pooping, and Peeing 68

Trail Skills 77

Georgia 85

Southern North Carolina and the Smokey Mountains95

Northern North Carolina and Tennessee 103

Southern Virginia 109

Northern Virginia 116

West Virginia and Maryland 126

Pennsylvania 132

New Jersey and New York 144

Connecticut and Massachusetts 157

Vermont 171

New Hampshire 184

Maine 201

Post-Trail Life 220

Gear Checklist 228

CHAPTER ONE

Why Hike?

In the summer of 2009, I was going to Maine with myparents for our family vacation. I had just finished my freshmanyear of college in my home state of Ohio. While I had a great timeduring my first year hanging out with my roommates, exploring thecity of Columbus, and maintaining an A- GPA, I still had nodirection as to what I wanted to do with my life.

While driving across the Massachusetts turnpike, Isaw an overpass with a brown sign that read Appalachian Trail.Ive always enjoyed hiking, but up to that point in my life, I hadnever hiked more than five miles in one day. From the back seat, Ihappily announced to my parents, Im going to hike the AppalachianTrail.

And that is how my thru-hiking obsession began.

My sophomore year of college was only slightly lessfun than my freshman year. In addition to taking extra classesduring my attempt at a double major, I was also working two jobsand throwing house parties with my roommates every other weekend. Iworked at the campus admissions office call center as well as acalzone delivery restaurant, so I had a lot of downtime at work topour over trail books.

I read as many trail memoirs, how-to guides, anddata books as I could get my hands on. I decided to do a sectionhike the following summer. I recruited a friend to go with me, andI started planning a three-week long trip. My friend backed out amonth in advance, after I had already bought all of my gear.

Despite my mother forbidding me from going hikingalone, my dad decided that they should drive me to Massachusettsand drop me off at the trail head. During the nine-hour driveto Great Barrington, I could practically feel the waves of anxietyemanating off of my mother. She was certain that these were thelast hours she would ever get to spend with me. We stayed in ahotel overnight, then headed to the trail first thing in themorning. Before driving away, my mom insisted on taking a photo ofme, So I can identify the clothes youre wearing to the police ifI need to.

Sometime during the first quarter mile of my hike, Ihad a What did I get myself into? moment. My pack hurt myshoulders and my boots rubbed my feet. The mountains, whichwouldnt have been too bad with just a day pack, were almosttorturous with the forty pounds of weight I was carrying.

In short, my first three-week backpacking trip was alogistical disaster. The best way to learn about backpacking,however, is to go backpacking. Despite the difficulty of the trail,I had a great time meeting new people and experiencing themountains. After that first section hike, I was certain that I mustthru-hike the Appalachian Trail one day.

By junior year of college, I dissatisfied with theroutine of being a student. I thought that it would be best if Ihurried up and got a degree before I ended up with even morestudent loan debt. I dropped my photography major, keeping it as aminor, and focused on English. I didnt know what I would do withan English degree. I just knew that it came naturally to me, andtaking an extra class every quarter wasnt too challenging.

I sweet talked a few friends into coming along for asection hike in Georgia over spring break. To my surprise, Imanaged to convince two more friends to hike the ShenandoahMountains with me during the summer. With two more section hikescomplete, I felt prepared and mentally ready to start mythru-hike.

I powered through summer classes, and graduated atthe end of my junior year. With my degree in hand and no jobprospects in front of me, I headed back to my parents house tospend the long winter planning my thru-hike.

Why does anyone thru-hike?

While there are different crowds of thru-hikers, themajority of them fall into the white and middle-class demographic.Im not sure exactly what percentage of hikers are men, but I wouldroughly estimate that the year I hiked only one out of five hikerswere women. In recent years, and possibly due to the popularity ofCheryl Strayeds book Wild , the ratioshave become more balanced.

These categories arent exhaustive or exclusive, butit will give you an idea of the type of people you might encounteron the trail.

Recent college grads or twenty-somethings:This group of hikers might not be sure where their lives areheaded. Many, like me, hope that a thru-hike might give them agreater sense of direction.

Ex-military guys and girls: After spendingthe better chunk of their twenties in the military, they do athru-hike to transition back into life State-side. A formermilitary man once told me that after a few tours of Iraq, hikingthe Appalachian Trail restored his faith in humanity.

One-big-hurrah-before-I-settle-downers: Thesefolks may be traveling with their significant other. They arealmost ready to settle down, have a family, and hold a steady job.They just want to go on one more, crazy adventure before divinginto the responsibilities of careers and children.

The retirees: Some of these people have beenplanning their hikes for decades. They dont have to work anymore,so they decided to go for it. The oldest hiker Ive ever met on thetrail was eighty-one.

The mid-life crisis-ers: These folks normallyfall into two categories. The first group likes to party hard. Theyrun up seventy-dollar bar tabs in town and try to pick up ladies.They take three zero days in a row making the Motel 8their temporary home. The second group are serious hikers. Theystart hiking before the sun comes up, and they log in as many milesas they can every day. They treat the trail like its their jobaway from their real job. I should also note that many of theretirees fall into the latter category, as well.

While I originally wanted to thru-hike because I waslooking for an adventure and hoped to find a sense of direction inmy life, my reasons behind continuing to long distance hike in thepresent day have shifted. I have direction now, and I dont need towalk 2,000 miles to maintain it.

Nowadays, I hike because I am the happiest I haveever been when Im on a long trail and occasionally the mostmiserable I have ever been. It offers me a wide range of mental andphysical challenges, and allows me to grow as a person. Longdistance hiking continues to shift my perspective on the world andmy place in it.

CHAPTER TWO

Telling the World

Most of my friends and family have always known thatI can be a bit impulsive. Its one of my more redeeming qualities.I dont think anyone was very surprised when I announced that Iwould be hiking the entire Appalachian Trail. After all, my lovedones already knew I liked backpacking based on my frequent escapesto the mountains. Living in the woods for six months isnt exactlythe type of thing that appears out of character for me.