As you know, I’m gearing up to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail starting this May. Soon, I’ll be sharing posts about my preparations and planning process. But first, I’m taking time to reflect on my past thru-hikes and look over my old trail journals and photos. Last week, I shared a summary of my 2016 Colorado Trail thru-hike. This week, I’m sharing a recap of my 2014 Appalachian Trail thru-hike.
The Appalachian Trail (AT) was my first thru-hike. As a teenager, I was obsessed with all things Appalachian Trail! I thru-hiked during my gap year between high school and college. The AT was a fantastic trail for a first thru-hike for several reasons:
- Well-marked trail
- Three-walled shelters roughly every 5-10 miles
- Wonderful trail towns
- Ease of resupply; towns were usually close to if not on the trail
- Typically can resupply every 3-4 days (with a few exceptions)
- Relative abundance of water, compared to the western US
- A wealth of information and advice about hiking the AT is available online and in books
In this post, I’ll share info about my gear and resupply strategy, as well as reflections and key takeaways from my thru-hike, 10 years later. Before diving in, here’s a little background info about the Appalachian Trail and thru-hiking…
What is the Appalachian Trail?
The Appalachian Trail is a ~2,200-mile footpath in the eastern United States. The AT goes through 14 different US States: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. It follows the Appalachian Mountain Range through multiple National Forests, National Parks, and Wilderness Areas. The Appalachian Trail is popular with both backpackers and day-hikers.
What is thru-hiking?
Each year, many hikers set out to walk the Appalachian Trail from end to end. Thru-hiking means walking an entire long trail such as the Pacific Crest Trail or Appalachian Trail in its entirety in one big backpacking trip. Thru-hikers carry camping gear, food, and water on their backs. We stop in towns along the trail to resupply food, do laundry, and shower. We filter water from creeks and ponds for drinking, cooking, and cleaning.
My AT Thru-Hike: The Quick Details
- Trail Length: ~2,180 miles
- Direction: northbound (Georgia → Maine)
- Start date: March 11
- End date: August 9
- Total # of days: 152 days
- Wildlife seen: black bears, deer, black snakes, copperhead snakes, moose, birds of prey, rodents, ticks
- Favorite Parts: Roan Highlands, Shenandoah National Park, Southern Maine
- Least Favorite Parts: Northern Pennsylvania
- Proudest moments: encountering my first bear in Shenandoah National Park, hiking the distance of a “marathon” for the first time, learning how to keep myself comfortable and safe, even when traveling in some pretty rough weather conditions, overcoming challenges I hadn’t expected to face to finish the trail
- Biggest challenges: freezing rain and snow in the south in spring, severe hip belt chafe from a poorly-fitting pack in the Mid-Atlantic, cold and self-doubt in the White Mountains, lethargy in Maine
- Number of times I was rained on: too many to count
- Pairs of shoes: 4
- Number of blisters: 5 (one per month on average!)
- Number of candy bars eaten: too many!
Gear
Though the Appalachian Trail was not my first backpacking trip, it was my first thru-hike, so I learned a lot about gear along the way. I swapped out a few items as I went (noted below) as the weather changed and as I learned what did and didn’t work for me.
Here’s what I carried on the Appalachian Trail:
Big 4:
- Pack: Osprey Ariel 65 L
- Shelter: Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 1
- Sleeping Bag: The North Face Blue Kazoo 15-degree bag
- I also had a sleeping bag liner when I started the trail for added warmth, which I sent home shortly after the Smokies.
- In summer, I swapped out my 15-degree bag for a 30-degree rectangular synthetic bag. In hindsight, I wish I’d swapped back into the 15-degree bag for the White Mountains – it got cold at night, even in July!
- Sleeping Pad: short Therm-a-Rest Z lite sol
- I started the trail with a Therma-a-Rest self-inflating half-length pad for added insulation on top of my other pad. This also got sent home after the Smokies.
Other Stuff:
- Cooking: 1-liter titanium pot, MSR Pocket Rocket Stove, spoon, cloth sac lined with a trash bag for waterproofing (for bear hangs), and 50 feet of paracord
- Water: two 1-liter disposable plastic bottles, 2-liter Platypus bag, Sawyer Squeeze filter, and cleaning syringe
- I started the trail using Aquamira drops as water treatment but purchased a Sawyer Squeeze in Hot Springs, NC to save money.
- Electronics: smartphone, charging cord, headlamp, extra AAA batteries, and a digital camera
- Navigation: AWOL’s AT Databook, cut into 4 sections which I mailed to myself along the trail
- Clothes (worn): quick dry shirt, lined running shorts, wool socks, sports bra, underwear, digital wristwatch, and a buff headband
- For the cold weather at the start, I used zip-off hiking pants instead of shorts.
- For the warmer parts of the trail in the middle I added sunglasses, a baseball hat, and a bug head net.
- I also replaced my main hiking socks, t-shirt, and shorts several times along the way as they wore out or got unbearably smelly. I switched to using Darn Tough hiking socks partway through the AT and never looked back!
- Shoes (worn): I started with La Sportiva hiking boots for the first ~700 miles. Boots were great for snow and cold, but I switched to a cheap pair of The North Face Trail runners that I fished out of a discount bin at the running shoe store in Troutville, VA. That first pair of trail runners lasted me another 700 miles. I ordered the same model online two additional times to finish the trail.
- Clothes (in my pack): Old Navy plastic flip flops, quarter-zip fleece pullover, extra socks, extra underwear, extra shirt, long johns
- For the colder weather at the start/end, I also added a hooded down puffy jacket, a synthetic base layer top, gloves, and a beanie.
- Rain Gear: rain jacket, rain pants, and a trash bag pack liner
- Hygiene: toothbrush, toothpaste, concentrated camp soap, baby wipes, other toiletries, and a bandanna
- Misc.: homemade first-aid kit, Ziploc bags, stuff sack for my sleeping bag, trekking poles, a pen, a small journal, and off-brand MicroSpikes (sent home after the Smokies; only used a handful of times)
Training
My physical Appalachian Trail training was pretty simplistic and didn’t follow any organized program. My training consisted of two main components:
Strength training: while running on the cross country team as a teenager, I traumatically injured one of my knees, dislocating my patella and tearing cartilage. In the lead-up to my thru-hike, I still had lingering pain and weakness on the injured side. To compensate, my pre-hike training focused on strengthening my quadriceps and other leg muscles to protect my knees. Basically, I did a bunch of lunges and squat jumps in my living room. 😉
Cardio: cardio was a challenge because I lived in Wisconsin the winter before my thru-hike. Even so, I got outside and did some snowy weekend hikes and even a few overnight backpacking trips (brrr!). When it was too snowy and cold or when I was too busy to hike, I sometimes jogged indoors on a treadmill. I also sometimes swam laps after work since I was a lifeguard at an indoor pool at the time.
What I Ate
On the Appalachian Trail, I ate pretty standard thru-hiker fare. The foods I ate became less healthy the longer I was on trail (e.g., swapping out granola bars for cookies). I tried to get a big serving of fruit and veggies while in town resupplying to compensate for my nutrient-poor meals on trail. My food bag was usually filled with:
- Breakfast: Honeybuns, PopTarts, oatmeal packets, and dried fruit
- Lunch: tortillas, bagel thins, or pita bread with cheese & summer sausage, granola, peanut butter
- Dinner: Ramen, instant potatoes, and Knorr sides, often with cheese and summer sausage mixed in for added protein
- Snacks: crackers, chips, and granola bars
- Desserts: various cookies and candy
My Appalachian Trail Resupply Strategy
Below, I’m sharing info about all the towns where I resupplied (to the best of my memory). Please note that I thru-hiked back in 2014. So anyone reading this and planning a thru-hike should probably cross-reference with a more updated source.
For the Appalachian Trail, I decided to do only six mail drops. In hindsight, it’s possible to hike the Appalachian Trail without preparing any mail drops in advance, due to its proximity to civilization. However, I found that occasional mail drops were handy for swapping in/out seasonal gear (e.g., clothes, sleeping bags).
Without further ado, I’ll go over each town where I resupplied during my 2014 Appalachian Trail thru-hike.
- Hiawassee, GA
- Mile 53
- Distance from trail: 12 miles east of Unicoi Gap on GA 75
- How I got there: by car
- Resupply: ~5 days of food from the supermarket
- Where I stayed: motel
- Nantahala Outdoor Center, GA
- mile 137
- Distance from trail: on trail
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: ~3 days of food from the small shop at the outdoor center
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Fontana Village, NC
- mile 165
- Distance from trail: 2 miles west on NC 28
- How I got there: resort shuttle
- Resupply: resupply package with ~6 days of food
- Where I stayed: resort hotel
- Standing Bear Hostel, NC
- mile 241
- Distance from trail: 0.1 miles west on Green Corner Rd
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: ~3 days of food from the hostel’s tiny resupply store
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Hot Springs, NC
- mile 274
- Distance from trail: on trail
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: ~4 days of food from the supermarket
- Where I stayed: The Sunnybank Inn
- Erwin, TN
- mile 341
- Distance from trail: 3.8 miles west
- How I got there: paid a trail angel for a private shuttle
- Resupply: ~4 days of food at the dollar store
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Hampton, TN (Dennis Cove Road)
- mile 417
- Distance from trail: ~4 miles west on Dennis Cove Rd
- How I got there: Kincora Hiker Hostel’s town shuttle
- Resupply: ~4 days of food at Browns Supermarket
- Where I stayed: Kincora Hiker Hostel (my first zero day of the trail)
- Damascus, VA
- mile 467
- Distance from trail: 0 miles (on trail)
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: ~4 days of food at Food City Supermarket
- Where I stayed: church hostel
- Atkins, VA
- mile 543
- Distance from trail: ~5 miles to the dollar store via US 11
- How I got there: hitched (my first hitch of the trail!)
- Resupply: ~3 days of food at the dollar store
- Where I stayed: motel by where the AT crosses the highway
- Trent’s Grocery
- mile 606
- Distance from trail: 0.5 miles west on VA 606
- How I got there: walked on the road
- Resupply: ~2 days of food at the small grocery store
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Pearisburg, VA
- mile 631
- Distance from trail: ~1 mile east
- How I got there: walked on the road
- Resupply: ~4 days of food at Walmart
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Catawba, VA
- mile 704
- Distance from trail: 1 mile west (minimal services)
- How I got there: ride with a trail angel
- Resupply: ~1 day of food at a supermarket (in Roanoke, VA)
- Where I stayed: at a trail angel’s house
- Daleville/Troutville, VA
- mile 725
- Distance from trail: on trail
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: ~4 days of food from the supermarket
- Where I stayed: with trail angels
- Buena Vista, VA
- mile 803
- Distance from trail: ~10 miles west via US 60
- How I got there: hostel shuttle
- Resupply: ~3 days of food from the Food Lion supermarket
- Where I stayed: Blue Dog Art Cafe Hostel
- Waynesboro, VA
- mile 858
- Distance from trail: ~5 miles west
- How I got there: I was offered a ride to town by a passing driver the second I reached the road crossing for this hiker-friendly trail town (I wasn’t technically hitching, since I didn’t stick my thumb out – I had planned to call a trail angel for a ride)
- Resupply: ~2-3 days of food from the supermarket (Important Note: in this next section, through the Shannandoahs, there were lots of restaurants and little stores at the lodges in the park, so I was able to make my 2-3 days of food last the entire 6 days it took me to get to Front Royal!)
- Where I stayed: free camping in the pavilion at a park in town
- Front Royal, VA
- mile 966
- Distance from trail: 4 miles west on US 522
- How I got there: by car
- Resupply: resupply package with ~3 days of food
- Where I stayed: with a friend of a friend near town
- Harper’s Ferry, WV
- mile 1,020
- Distance from trail: on trail (ATC 0.6 miles west of trail)
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: I sent myself a resupply package at the ATC with an insane amount of food (really not sure what I was thinking; it probably could have lasted me well over a week, when I only needed about 5 days of food to get to my next town stop)
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Mt Holy Springs, PA
- mile 1,109
- Distance from trail: 2.5 miles west on PA 94
- How I got there: the inn’s shuttle service
- Resupply: ~1 day of food/snacks (dollar store, I think)
- Where I stayed: The Holly Inn
- Boiling Springs, PA
- mile 1,117
- Distance from trail: on trail
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: snacks/restaurant food (not much further to Duncannon!)
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Duncannon, PA
- mile 1,142
- Distance from trail: on trail
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: ~4 days of food (I think from a small convenience store at a gas station)
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Port Clinton, PA
- mile 1,214
- Distance from trail: on trail
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: resupply package at the post office with ~4 days of food
- Where I stayed: free camping at a pavilion in town
- Delaware Water Gap, PA
- mile 1,290
- Distance from trail: on trail
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: ~3 days of food at a small grocery store
- Where I stayed: Pocono Inn
- Unionville, NY
- mile 1,342
- Distance from trail: ~0.5 mile
- How I got there: walked on the road.
- Resupply: ~3 days groceries (light resupply, since the following section included a few opportunities to purchase additional snacks/restaurant meals)
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Appalachian Market
- mile 1,405
- Distance from trail: on trail
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: ~1 day of food at the small store
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Stormville, NY
- mile 1,430
- Distance from trail: 2 miles west
- How I got there: car (I was picked up by my grandma and mom nearby)
- Resupply: ~3 days of groceries
- Where I stayed: NA
- Kent, CT
- mile 1,463
- Distance from trail: 0.8 miles east
- How I got there: car (I was picked up by my grandma again)
- Resupply: ~3 days of food
- Where I stayed: NA
- South Egremont, MA
- mile 1,513
- Distance from trail: 1.2 miles on MA 41
- How I got there: walked on the road
- Resupply: ~3 days of groceries
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Dalton, MA
- mile 1,565
- Distance from trail: on trail
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: snacks only (Cheshire was only 10 miles further)
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Cheshire, MA
- mile 1,575
- Distance from trail: on trail
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: snacks only (only 13 miles further to Williamstown, MA
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Williamstown, MA
- mile 1,589
- Distance from trail: 2.6 miles west on MA 2
- How I got there: hitched
- Resupply: ~3 days of groceries at the Stop ‘n Shop
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Manchester Center, VT
- mile 1,647
- Distance from trail: ~6 miles west on VT 11 & 30
- How I got there: hitched
- Resupply: ~3 days of food at the small grocery store
- Where I stayed: Green Mountain House Hostel
- Gifford Woods State Park, VT
- mile 1,700
- Distance from trail: on trail
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: ~2 days of food from the gas station a short walk from the state park
- Where I stayed: Gifford Woods State Park Campground
- Hanover, NH
- mile 1,743
- Distance from trail: on trail
- How I got there: walked
- Resupply: ~4 days of food from the fancy Co-Op Foodstore
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- North Woodstock, NH
- mile 1,812
- Distance from trail: ~5 miles south of Franconia Notch on Rte 3
- How I got there: attempted to hitch, and ended up getting offered a “courtesy ride” with a police officer (I definitely thought I was getting arrested for hitchhiking at first!)
- Resupply: ~4 days of food at a medium-sized grocery store
- Where I stayed: NA (in & out resupply)
- Gorham, NH
- mile 1,866
- Distance from trail: 11 miles west of Pinkham Notch on US 2
- How I got there: hitched
- Resupply: ~4 days of groceries
- Where I stayed: Hiker’s Paradise Hostel
- Andover, ME
- mile 1,928
- Distance from trail: 8 miles east on East B Hill Rd
- How I got there: private shuttle
- Resupply: ~3 days of food from the general store
- Where I stayed: Pine Ellis Hostel
- Rangeley, ME
- mile 1,965
- Distance from trail: 9 miles west on ME 4
- How I got there: hitched
- Resupply: ~2 days of food from the IGA Supermarket
- Where I stayed: The Gray Beast Hostel
- Stratton, ME
- mile 1,997
- Distance from trail: 5 miles west via ME 27
- How I got there: hitched
- Resupply: ~3 days of groceries
- Where I stayed: Stratton Motel & Hostel
- Caratunk, ME
- mile 2,034
- Distance from trail: 0.3 miles east
- How I got there: car (my dad met me on trail here)
- Resupply: resupply package with ~2 days of food
- Where I stayed: Sterling Inn (1 mile further off trail)
- Monson, ME
- mile 2,071
- Distance from trail: 3.6 miles east via ME 15
- How I got there: car (my dad drove again)
- Resupply: resupply package with ~7 days of food
- Where I stayed: Shaw’s Lodging
- Abol Bridge/Golden Rd
- mile 2,170
- Distance from trail: there is a campground and store very near the trail – I opted to go into Millinocket, ME instead (~20 miles by car)
- How I got there: I walked to the campground store, where my dad met me and drove me to Millinocket
- Resupply: ~2 days of groceries
- Where I stayed: In Millinocket, I stayed at the Appalachian Trail Lodge for the second to last night of my thru-hike. I stayed at The Birches Campsite the night after that before climbing Katahdin.
Key Lessons Learned
Here are a few I learned on the Appalachian Trail that I took with me when I hiked the Colorado Trail, and hope to remember as I set off on the Pacific Crest Trail this spring:
- Listen to what my body needs: tiring myself out and pushing through small issues will ultimately backfire – taking neros and zeros to rest from time to time is key!
- I can figure things out as I go: not everything needs to be planned in advance! All those mileage and campsite spreadsheets I made in advance went straight out the window as soon as I started hiking. It was so much easier to live in the moment and use the Databook to make plans for the next few days or so at most.
- I’m capable of more than I think: before hitting the trail, I had no concept of the mileage I would be capable of once my legs acclimatized. Consequently, I WAY underestimated my daily mileage (and consequently way OVERestimated my food in resupply boxes). For example, when packing resupply boxes, I assumed that I’d need 5 days of food for a 60-mile section at 12 miles per day. But hiking 20 miles a day, the section would only end up taking about 3 days – leaving me with 2 days of excess food to carry or discard in a hiker box.
- Learn from others, but also learn what works for me: as a very young, first-time thru-hiker, it was sometimes upsetting to me to be frequently told I was doing x, y, or z the wrong way. It took many miles for me to stop taking these sorts of comments personally and learn to sift out useful advice from unhelpful negativity.
- Ditch what isn’t serving me: this of course applies to what one carries on their back, but also goes beyond that. An ill-fitting hiking partner chafes just as badly as an ill-fitting pack. I spent too much of the AT stubbornly holding on to things I thought I wanted that were ultimately hurting me.
- Embrace the trail community: before my hike, I most looked forward to spending time in nature and challenging myself. Even so, some of my favorite moments on trail were with the other thru-hikers that I met along the way and trail angels in town.
- Take pictures and keep a journal: there was a time (right after finishing the AT) that I could easily recall any day on the trail – where I slept, how I felt, and what I saw. That is no longer the case. 10 years later, looking through my old trail journal, I’m amazed by how much I’d forgotten. I’m glad that I jotted down some notes each day, but wish I’d written even more! That’s one of the main reasons I started this blog – so that I can write about my next thru-hike!
Join the Conversation: have you hiked on the Appalachian Trail? If so, what’s your favorite part? What was most challenging? Or, if you are planning a thru-hike of the AT, what questions do you have? What are you most concerned about or most looking forward to? Let me know in the comments section below!
Adventures with Val 
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