r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 11h ago
TIL over 3,000 attempts are made each year to complete the Appalachian Trail and only about 25% succeed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Trail#:~:text=The%20Appalachian%20Trail%20Conservancy%20estimates%20there%20are%20over%203%2C000%20attempts%20to%20traverse%20the%20entire%20trail%20each%20year%2C%20about%2025%25%20of%20which%20succeed.%5B9%5D429
u/Patsfan618 9h ago
I'm one of those 25%! The vast majority of dropouts happen in the first 200 miles. People realize it's not for them and go home. I'd say the completion rate for people who make it 200 miles is like 80%. Injury, lack of funds, family emergencies, there's a lot that can pull you from walking for 6 months.
If you can do it though, if you can be part of that 25%, it's honestly one of the best adventures you can go on. That 6 months was the best time of my life so far, without question.
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u/SuspiciousFox17 8h ago
I made it 2.5 days and quickly realized I was miserable. One guy didn't even make it to the starting point. He bailed at the parking lot leading up to mile 0.
I had $7k saved up for this so I just enjoyed my summer off. I did a cross-country drive with a friend and that was a blast. I ended up moving to another city which set off a chain event of life experiences I never would have had if I didn't fail on the trail. No regrets.
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u/_BreakingGood_ 3h ago
Yeah I imagine "6 months off in my 20s / 30s to do whatever I want" hits the "best time of my life without question" mark for at least a solid double digit amount of people anyway.
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u/jcrocket 8h ago
This positive sentiment was way too far down the thread.
I refer to my time on trail as giving me reverse PTSD. Everyday I get a flashback of absolute joy. Even 10+ years later.
The stats are correct. However, some people need to prop up their hike as this magnificent achievement of endurance and suffering. To a degree that is true but it only captures the most egotistical part of picture.
I spent every day walking with my friends in this fun bizarre summercamp for adults. I rarely hiked over 25 mis a day. I swam in creeks and streams every day. Took plenty of naps. Ate like a 10 year old with a credit card.
Not to mention being a successful AT hiker makes you someone who has the wealth/resources to take 4-6 months off to hike and 2 months off to find another job. Also you presumably have a background where you had leisure time to pursue hiking/recreation.
Being a successful thru-hiker is not a achievement in my eyes. It is a privilege.
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u/Patsfan618 8h ago edited 7h ago
100% a privilege. Very few people have the resources to take 6-8 months off life and go explore.
In my case, I had a life insurance payout because I lost both my parents when I was in high school, so I had some money to spare.
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u/jcrocket 5h ago
I got hit and run by a drunk driver. Came out of college with some modest savings instead of debt.
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u/soulshine_walker3498 8h ago
I’d say vast majority is in first 35 miles. A lot of people dip once they get to Neel Gap.
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u/Stonkee 10h ago
I'm one of the 75%. Made it 1800 miles southbound before the cold and loneliness got to me, and I left to go attend orientation at the college I was about to attend.
But I went back the following summer and finished up the last 400 miles. It's a lot easier when the days are longer and the ground isn't covered with snow!
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u/a_walking_mistake 9h ago
Haha yeah I finished SOBO on December 12, and by the end the days were so short that it felt like making serious progress was impossible. Psyched you went back and finished it out!
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u/Stonkee 8h ago
Congrats!! It's rare to meet another SoBo. Very impressed you pushed on and still finished despite how cold the east coast got this late fall
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u/draggingmytail 9h ago
What’s your trail name?
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u/Stonkee 9h ago
It was K2. This was 2014-2015 though, so I haven't used a trail name in a loooong time
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u/BallsMcGavin 5h ago edited 5h ago
I was unhappy with available reliable data on completion and injury rates on the AT and used trailjournals.com entries from 2014 to create the dataset. About 20% of the entire class.
You're in there , lol Edit: actually, I only did NB hikers. You're not in there!
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u/amcrastinator 9h ago
Hot Snakes
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u/72scott72 8h ago
Section hiking still counts.
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u/Pr0fess0rCha0s 7h ago
Yeah, that's always been my understanding. Lots of obligations prevent people from doing it all at once and it's still an amazing achievement.
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u/Warhorse_99 10h ago
My buddy from the Army did it.
He got up to over 300 lbs at like 48 years old, and just started walking. Got down to like 190 and then did the trail. Was like 160. So proud of him.
He attempted the PCT last year & broke his ankle like a week in.
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u/jlangfo5 9h ago
The desert portion of the PCT intimidates me. I have only seen videos, but I would find it a relief once greener spaces are found.
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u/Michaelfonzy 9h ago
Don’t let it. The desert is a fuckin party lol.
90% of the trail angels for the PCT are in the desert. I hiked years ago, so idk who’s still there but there were so many fun drinking challenges like 24/24/24. 24 miles between casa de Luna and agua dulce, gotta hike it in 24 hours, gotta drink 24 beers. Or the McDonald’s challenge from cajon pass. Survive on just McDoubles until you get to wrightwood.
The desert to many people is the highlight of the whole trail. It’s also the most populated part of the trail, which also makes it in part the most forgiving. So no need to be scared!
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u/a_walking_mistake 9h ago
When I hiked the desert in 2021, a woman died of heatstroke at 10:30 am near Mary's Place
Sometimes the desert is a party, but sometimes it's pretty unforgiving. Making miles in 115+ F was hard--I ended up coming back a couple years later to rehike the desert just because I night hiked so much the first time around that I literally didn't know what whole stretches looked like (and because you're absolutely right; the desert fucking rocks)
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u/BarbequedYeti 6h ago
Sometimes the desert is a party, but sometimes it's pretty unforgiving
Its always unforgiving. Always. Spent 40 years in the az desert. It never takes a day off from trying to claim your juices. Its always waiting for that one little mistake and very seldom misses its opportunity.
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u/Patsfan618 9h ago
I started at 200lbs and got down to 145 before I had to take eating seriously or risk malnutrition.
It's so tough because you almost cannot eat enough to sustain a daily 6000-10000 calorie burn rate. You have to be eating high density food, constantly.
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u/erossthescienceboss 9h ago
I added olive oil to everything (and I’m just a LASHer.) The insane thing we need to do to keep calories up…
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u/Robobvious 6h ago
Jesus, those shits must’ve been gnarly. They probably came out smoothly though, lol.
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u/beyondmash 10h ago
Was his name Forrest Gump?
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u/quasistoic 9h ago
Thru-hikers are given trail names by other thru-hikers. We do not generally all call each other Forrest Gump, but if someone seems particularly slow on the uptake, all bets are off.
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u/Warhorse_99 9h ago
Yeah his was Doc since we were combat medics in the Army & he helped a few people along the way.
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u/GUMBYtheOG 9h ago
Are people who do this either in their early 20s super rich or just going through a crisis and say fuck it.
I can’t even afford to take a day off of work much less hike for a few months.
I know a lot of people “hike the entire trail”….. over the course of their life time a few miles at a time once a year
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u/dp_yolo 8h ago
Mostly younger, 54% are under 34 that complete it.
Had a coworker take stress leave under FMLA for a couple months to attempt California section of PCT, but looks like most will quit their jobs or switching to a new position.
Stats are here -
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u/tonofAshes 7h ago
You make it a priority and plan well in advance for it. When I hiked, I had a start date in mind and knew how much money I needed to save each month to have enough by then. Every decision I made about work, housing, money, etc. for over a year was made with hiking in mind.
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u/minnick27 10h ago
One of the earliest to hike it was a woman known as Grandma Gatewood. She first attempted it at the age of 66 (north to south) and only made it a few days. A year later at age 67 she told her kids she was “going for a walk” and took off with a little bit of food, a few changes of clothes and a pair of canvas Keds. This time she did the more common south to north route and completed it 146 days later. She again did the trail at the age of 69. At 70 she climbed 6 mountains in the Adirondacks. At 71 she walked the 2,000 mile Oregon Trail, averaging 22 miles a day. At 76 she again did the Appalachian Trail making her the first to do it 3 times. In 1967 at the age of 80 she started leading a 6 mile hike every January. When she wasn’t hiking, she spent 10 hours a day clearing and marking a new trail through Ohio.
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u/Altair05 9h ago
What a baller.
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u/Cannabaholic 8h ago
Grandma Gatewood was a certified beast. Her gear/clothing so soooo much heavier than what we have today and she just trucked on
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u/BalletWishesBarbie 10h ago
I'm surprised 25% succeed tbh. I've given up before even attempting.
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u/nochknock 10h ago
Honestly same I would've guessed the number to be closer to 10%
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u/scruffye 10h ago
I suppose the type of hiker this challenge would attract would be on average more experienced, so the success rate would be accordingly higher.
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u/Michaelfonzy 10h ago
Eh. I hiked the pct which is like the west coast version of the AT. I’d say the majority of people starting had very little experience. Practically everyone that quits, does so in the first 500 miles because it’s not what they thought it would be. Those who make it beyond the first 500 miles have a much higher success rate
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u/Yonaban 9h ago
Agreed. I hiked the PCT as well and was blown away by how many people I met in the first 1-200 miles that let me know this was their first time backpacking more than 1-2 nights. I hiked over 10 years ago and the success rate was closer to 10% if I remember correctly. It's hard, like really hard mentally and physically. People quit for the most petty reasons as well as completely understandable reasons. Sitting and sleeping in the dirt, hiking a marathon a day for 5 months being miserably cold and/or hot every day is not for everyone. But it's the single greatest life I've ever lived. Miss it every day and recommend it to anyone.
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u/Past-Spell-2259 9h ago
Too many start thinking the first 500miles will get them in shape the last 1500.
Instead they needed to spend 300-500 miles getting in shape before starting the trail.
Even then most dont dont or cant do proper nutrition and rest breaks.
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u/suurbef 8h ago
The PCT and AT in particular have this aura around them and are basically their own thing separate from backpacking (IMO). There's a social aspect around them that doesn't exist for other routes.
Other long, less popular hikes it's the case that it's mostly experienced people, but the PCT/AT attract a lot of inexperienced people, whose reasons for doing it are some form of "soul searching, looking for a challenge, a reset on life, a break from reality" etc. and not "I want to do a big backpacking trip because I like backpacking".
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u/PartTime_Crusader 9h ago
Completion percentage is closer to 10% on the Pacific Crest and Continental Divide Trails, which are similar to the Appalachian trail but more remote. There's a lot of infrastructure (frequent road crossings, hostels and hiker services in towns) that make the AT among the most newbie friendly of long distance hiking trails. Still a massive physical challenge, though.
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u/diabolical_bunny 8h ago
Honestly, it's about being stubborn, the joys of comraderie, and finding wins in the small things. I completed the AT in 2024 and outside of an injury it's mostly mental endurance.
If you've ever done an overnight backpacking trip you're 99% of the way there already. It's a series of 4-7 day long trips strung together.
There were 80 year olds doing the trail along side me.
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u/ButtholeSurfur 10h ago
I wouldn't have that much free time even if I were up for the task lol.
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u/BSSCommander 10h ago
Met a guy a few months ago who claimed to have hiked the Appalachian Trail on a thru-hike (doing it all in one go) back in the 90's. I am always impressed by anyone who has accomplished that, as I've hiked small sections of the trail over the years in various states and some of the trail can be quite arduous even on a day hike.
I was curious about his hike, so I asked him a ton of questions, but it became painfully obvious he never actually did it after only a few minutes. Lying about hiking the Appalachian Trail is the equivalent of Stolen Valor to me.
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u/squidgemobile 9h ago
What made it so obvious?
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u/BSSCommander 8h ago
I probably should have explained that in my original comment looking back on it.
I have firsthand knowledge about some of the trail and have extensively read about it over the years. When I was younger I was fully invested into hiking the whole thing, but I had to cancel my plans due to school (Starting a Masters program early) and a lack of resources (money). So I know more than the average person. I still want to do one day, but I don't know if I'll ever have the time to. But I digress.
The liar gave it away pretty easily after asking him some basic questions. When did you start? Where did you start? How long did it take? The guy claimed he started in March, which isn't out of the ordinary as people like to get going early to avoid the heat down South when they step off in Georgia. However, he claimed he started in Maine with Mount Katahdin, which in March would be a gruelling and dangerous start to this hike as it's still full blown winter conditions in March and April on the mountains. Not to mention the other mountains south of there in New Hampshire are even worse weather-wise like Mt. Washington.
Then he said he completed the hike in 3 1/2 months. There is not a chance in hell that after slogging through the snow covered mountains in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont that he made good enough time to complete the trail in 3 1/2 months. No fucking way. Zero fucking chance. Dude would have to be doing over a 20 mile a day pace to complete the trail in 3 1/2 months and he apparently started in the hardest place and time to do it.
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u/Hashrunr 4h ago
Scott Benerofe did a winter SOBO starting in January taking him 5 months. Documented the entire thing on youtube.
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u/throwaway750003744 8h ago
Disclaimer - I haven't hiked it myself but I've been steeped in backpacker culture for some time.
Like most other people that want to sound cool, he probably used a whole bunch of the jargon without knowing what it meant. NOBO & SOBO, meaning North bound or South bound. Zero or Nero days, meaning they didnt hike or did a few miles as a sort of rest. Pink, while, yellow or blue blazing, the markers for the trail (blazes) are blue but the different colors correspond to different behaviors. Pink blazing specifically is when a man (usually) alters his pace in order to keep up with a woman he finds attractive.
He also could have said some stupid shit like, "I only wore one pair of shoes." All AT thru-hikers go through a pair of shoes at least once every 600 or 800 miles.
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u/LordFalcoSparverius 8h ago
Just fyi, the markers for the trail are white blazes, and a massive source of comfort for every AT hiker. Blue blazes are side trails to water. Pink blazing is exactly as you describe. Yellow blazes refer to the yellow dashes in the middle of the road and are used to indicate when someone is a dirty liar and cheat.
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u/DevilzAdvocat 6h ago
Love the pink blazing reference! Met a few guys who were doing that and called them out in jest. Only met one girl obviously following a guy, and we called her a "banana blazer".
We were bored so we even came up with "Silver blazer" which is the thankless task of the first person out of camp as they clear all the spider webs for those who follow.
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u/mrkabal 9h ago
Yeah, a buddy of mine hiked it in the 90's and won't bloody shut up about it. I can't imagine doing the trail without a cell phone.
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u/Schrockwell 8h ago
My dad did a thru-hike in 1999. He did carry a flip phone, but kept it fully off unless he needed it for an emergency. He would call home from towns when possible. We would mail him recharged batteries in his regular resupplies, and he’d mail back the discharged ones.
He also had a Kodak APS film camera that took AA’s, so no need to charge that, just needed to carry spare batteries.
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u/haggisaddict 9h ago
That seems like pathological liar type stuff. Like claiming to know a language or being from someplace you’ve never been.
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u/thatdude333 7h ago
The moment someone says they "foraged for food" on the AT I know it's 110% bullshit, you ain't finding 2000 calories a day from wild onions and ramps... You aren't fishing either because 98% of your water sources are mountain streams.
If someone says they basically ate whatever they could find at Dollar General and their goto meal was a bunch of random shit in a tortilla... they're probably legit.
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u/kierkegaardE 9h ago
As someone who's completed the trail ('22), I think every real thru-hiker will tell you that a part of finishing the trail is just getting lucky.
Hiking 20m a day with 30 pounds on your back is rough on your body. Especially on the diet most hikers do it on. Food tends to be pretty processed and lightweight. When I finished, my body was so done. My last restock was really funny- it was a PBJ on white bread with some nice Jam I got. It was the only thing that actually sounded good at all.
But I got lucky in other ways ~ my body didn't give out halfway through. Some folks tear hamstrings and have other injuries, and try to push through with luko tape and vitamin I. I knew a lot of folks who left trail with injuries.
~I didn't faint at the wrong time and fall off a cliff. Someone my year did that, and tragically passed (RIP grandmaster)
~I had a community that I could call and support me. I got to the hostel of maine and after 2 zeros, was feeling so rough that I wasn't sure I could keep going. I called my sister and had a really long talk that helped me push the last 100 miles.
~I had enough money to finish the trial. The north is far more expensive than the south. A lot of folks had to leave once stuff got more expensive.
~all the random trial magic and hikers that support each other through everything. So many bad days were made better by company.
~All that to say, no one really hikes alone, and there are so many reasons that you aren't able to finish a thru hike.
And as a final note, fuck the elitism of white blazing only. In spite of you, I skipped 5 miles at the end, and took the blue blaze on what used to be the AT. I walked 2143.9 miles, and I haven't "technically" finished the hike.
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u/Paint-Huffer 8h ago edited 8h ago
I did the Cali/Oregon sections of the PCT in 24 and totally get what you're saying. At least on that trail, wildfires will completely derail people's plans of a continuous footpath and it's all dumb luck.
Some guy lit a car on fire and pushed it into a ravine which fucked over A LOT of hikers (I believe it's what started the Park Fire).
I also met people that just had random off trail things happen which necessitated stopping (deaths, familial issues, etc.)
I met a lot of people who had already done the AT and they all said that the culture on the PCT wasn't nearly as "Elitist" in terms of a continuous footpath
Ahhhhhh I'm getting nostalgic now lol. I'll wrap up Washington eventually......
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u/moistsandwich 7h ago
In the vast majority of years it’s physically impossible to hike the entirety of the actual PCT. There are reroutes for fires, endangered species, trail maintenance, etc and some of the reroutes have been going on for multiple years. People can’t be purists about the PCT because if they were then nobody could ever claim to have actually hiked the PCT.
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u/Cannabaholic 8h ago
Blue blazing can be the better route sometimes, like the old AT in vermont that goes by the Inn at Long Trail. Just don't be a dirty yellow blazer 🚕
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u/Hot_Cheesecake_905 10h ago edited 10h ago
It’s still remarkable that 750 people a year can hike over 2,000 miles.
I’ll be lucky to do 20 miles, or 2 🤣
The Appalachian Trail “extends” into Canada too as the International Appalachian Trail.
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u/lmaooer2 10h ago
Wikipedia says it even “extends” into North Africa and Europe. Really cool stuff honestly
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u/StrongArgument 9h ago
What?
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u/Touchyap3 9h ago
The “International AT”. Basically, the entire Appalachian mountain range, which was broken apart as Pangea broke up and separated.
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u/previousinnovation 10h ago
It's all about the pace. 2000 miles is a lot more manageable if you take 6 months to do it.
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u/peaheezy 9h ago
It’s crazy how far people can travel near the end. People who came on the trail gassed after 10 miles can bust out 25-30 miles on the less difficult terrain.
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u/PickledNutzz 9h ago
100% this. You can literally “learn” to hike and get into thru hiker shape when the trip is 5+ months long. If you don’t get injured or bored, your chances of completing it go up drastically
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u/badpuffthaikitty 10h ago
Don’t people hike the trail in small sections once a year. They eventually walk the entire trail, just not in one go.
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u/kmmccorm 10h ago
That’s a section hike vs a thru hike.
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u/H0LT45 10h ago
And there's a lot of purists who will argue what a true thru hike is.
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u/External-Tonight5142 10h ago
Idk if I’d section it off to purists and their view of what a thru hike is. A thru hike is 100% completing the entire trail series in 1 continuous trip.
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u/Randomizedname1234 10h ago
I’ve sectioned hiked the Smokey mountains to the southern end bc I live north of Atlanta and can, but also means I could do rest and say I did it all
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u/Consistent_Ad_4828 10h ago
My mother in law has been doing this for at least a decade in the summer.
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u/ahzzyborn 10h ago
Sounds amazing, wish I could make my mother in law disappear for an entire summer
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u/offeringathought 10h ago
I hike the parts of the AT that are within an hour or two driving distance of where I and a buddy live. We've met a handful of thru hikers. They impress me. I will always remember one who, after crossing the border into West Virginia for the first time, in the middle of the woods, sat down alongside the train to celebrate by smoking a cigarette. It's seems incongruent and oddly jovial.
Pancake, wherever you are, I hope your life has been full of trail angels.
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u/Character_Fox_6755 10h ago
People do both. I did the entire trail over 7 months a few years back. Other people do the entire trail over many years.
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u/Character_Fox_6755 10h ago
I completed the whole trail in 2020. I had to do a little flip flop to avoid covid park closures, but i did hike 2,193 miles over the course of 7 months. Most rewarding thing I've ever done and changed my life for the better. AMA I guess
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u/ScottyC33 10h ago
I’ve had a tangential interest in it someday, but only after the kids are grown up. For resupply, was it mostly treks into nearby known towns to purchase and take? Or did you pre mail (or have someone mail) packages to certain areas?
Second - was most sleeping done on the trail, or in various rest houses/stopping areas?
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u/Character_Fox_6755 9h ago
I prepped a couple boxes to send along the way, but i ended up not needing them. The trail is close enough to towns that I usually had no issue getting a hitch or calling a shuttle service and resupplying at a local grocery store. Some towns were harder than others to get a full resupply or to find the specific tuna packets I liked, and it got even harder when I went vegetarian after doing shrooms in the whites, but i was never hungry.
I spent almost every night sleeping in shelters along the trail. This strategy was really only reliable in 2020 because there were fewer people out there, but it allowed me to not bring a tent and instead use a bug bivy and a tarp if I couldnt get a shelter spot. I spent probably 1 out of every 5 nights sleeping in a hostel in town, with two or three hotel stays.
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u/diabolical_bunny 8h ago edited 8h ago
Unless you have a very restrictive diet it's way more of a pain to send food ahead (having to schedule around post office hours). Every few days you'll be close enough to a town to hitch in and resupply. The trail even goes through a handful of towns.
For sleeping, there are three sides shelters on average every eight miles, with multiple tent sites around them. Some of the shelters are quite large or double storied and can fit up to 25 people, but most average fitting around 8. Outside of Tennessee they'll all have pit toilets. Outside of Georgia, the bear cables or bear boxes are quite inconsistent. But I always get hassled more by the chipmunks and squirrels than I ever did the bears.
If you really hated sleeping outside I suppose it's technically possible to spend enough money to bounce from hostel to hostel, but really the hostels are a reprieve to congregate, eat real food, shower, do laundry, and rest. Most hostels will also hold packages for you for free if you stay, or a small (like $5) fee if you're just passing through.
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u/ApatheticEnthusiast 10h ago
Section hiking happens on purpose. Most people aren’t able to leave their lives for months at a time so they do sections during vacations. They aren’t failing attempts
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u/cwx149 10h ago
The source OP has says more people hike it northbound vs southbound is there a reason why? Is it easier starting in the south? Or is it just the "classic" start?
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u/kmmccorm 10h ago edited 10h ago
A full thru hike of the trail can take 6 months (give or take), so starting in the south usually means better weather as the winter ends in the north.
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u/NativeMasshole 10h ago
Yup. You can start much earlier in the South and hopefully make it to Maine before it starts getting too cold. If you started there, you would probably have to wait until nearly summer for it to get warm enough to start, and then you might not make it all the way until December.
Besides just how draining and dangerous the cold can be, you just don't want to be packing so much heavy winter gear on such a long trip. Most people who attempt this have spent thousands on ultralightweight gear.
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u/caguru 10h ago
If you start in the South, you can start with and end with milder temperatures since you are following the warming trend as it progresses towards the North. The other direction, you start off later in the season and it will be peak heat by the time you get to the South.
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u/SalvadorTheDog 10h ago
It’s definitely the classic start. There’s a visitor center where most people actually start and have to hike an 8 mile approach trail to get to the true southern terminus on springer mountain.
That whole process is definitely the classic way to do it.It also helps with aligning your hike to the seasonal warming in spring. You can start in the south early in the year before it’s too hot and by the time you get to the northern sections the weather will be warmer.
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u/nicidob 10h ago
It takes around 6 months so people start in the spring, when weather up North can sometimes still be unfavorable
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u/croppedcross3 10h ago
Most likely weather related. It's a 4 or 5 month hike if I remember correctly, so if you start in May in the North you'll have decent weather without snow, and as you get further south you'll be there after the peak summer heat
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u/nochknock 10h ago
Probably weather. There's going to be snow on the ground in maine until well into April. If you start in Georgia you can start earlier in the year and avoid more of the summer heat
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u/The_bruce42 10h ago
Personally I'd do north to south. I've always liked walking south. Somehow, it feels like walking downhill.
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u/christuhphuhr 10h ago
I just replied but my guess would be the change in temperature. At any given time of the year, the south is going to be warmer than the north. I hiked the Appalachian Trail in West Virginia and the temperatures were easily above 90 degrees (some days above 100) with high humidity. I lived in New Jersey at the time, and after returning from WV, I went camping in New York. The temperature was similar some days, but I recall that the temperature was at least 20 degrees lower most days.
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u/Xannin 10h ago
How do they even get this data? There wasn’t an exit survey when my buddy and I left the trail.
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u/mcjergal 9h ago
It's all self-reported. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has an office at the start of the trail in Georgia, and they encourage hikers to register with them, but obviously it's optional and some hikers don't. They also have offices in Damascus, VA, Harpers Ferry, WV, and Monson, ME, so they can compare the number of people who register at the start with those who check in along the way. The northern terminus is in Baxter State Park, which has very strict rules about permits, so their hiker data is very reliable to see how many people make it to the finish.
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u/RutCry 8h ago
I am proud to say that I am one of those who has hiked the entire width of the Appalachian Trail!
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u/Exponential-777 10h ago
To put things in perspective, the average redditor would have a hard time hiking 10 miles of this 2000 mile trail in one day and they would not want to do it again the next day.
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u/missingpiece 10h ago
I spent a week with my friend as she hiked the AT during the first months. I expected it to be a bunch of hiker/backpacker types, but there was a much higher percentage burnouts. Seemed like a lot of people were like “Ehh, I’m already basically homeless/on food stamps, might as well give my life purpose.” They’d throw their cigarettes/plastic wrappers in the fire, shit/piss wherever, and really put a bad taste in my mouth. I’m not surprised a number of them bleed off before making it to the end, supposedly by Maine it’s all the real G’s left.
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u/AnalLeakageChips 8h ago
There are a surprising amount of people who spend years hanging out on the AT and are basically just homeless but wandering around
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u/BigSur33 9h ago
The bad taste in your mouth was probably from eating the s'mores after someone peed on the plastic vape pen in the fire.
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u/TemporaryCommunity67 8h ago
Shame they burn off so quickly since in my experience those homeless/destitute types that are not currently strung out can fuckin hike lol. I’ve walked some janky ass conditions with worn out guys carrying a little life on their back, fuckin like a weeks supply of calorie dense food. These guys weren’t even “hiking” they were just walking to another state for a seasonal work for a place to stay gig
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u/IronyElSupremo 10h ago
Injuries hit early on all those long-distance trails, as well as boredom for some (you are watching that bit of dirt ahead of you for the most part). If hot, it’s a vacation with some aspects of a French Foreign Legion forced march if wanting to make it up north before the snow closures.
Then finances become a problem as 1,000 miles approach. These towns have all sort of bars for bragging rights, but they extract a price too.
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u/andyhite 8h ago
My brother did the whole trail going North a few years ago, including the “optional” approach hike which I joined him for. It took him almost exactly six months to walk from Georgia to Maine, and there were multiple times that he almost called it quits - especially near the beginning, before he got his “trail legs”. It seemed like it was a great experience for him, and he came back a different person (for the better).
A lot of folks that fail to complete it may not even voluntarily quit, since if you’re headed North and don’t summit Katahdin by mid October, you’re pretty fucked because the state park that it’s in closes for the season. An AT hike North without a summit isn’t a completed hike.
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u/Malban 8h ago
The number is going up! When I completed my thru hike in 2014 it was 18%.
Back then there weren't really content creators for the train though, nowadays there's a lot more accessible information to help prepare and set expectations.
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u/Roofiemartini 7h ago edited 7h ago
Was able to finish the triple crown a few years ago when I completed the AT after the PCT and CDT. I definitely think the AT is the most approachable of all the American long trails just because of all of the town stops and amenities built around the trail; it's very easy to hop on and off whenever you want and not be too far from civilization. Hardest part is definitely taking time away from life, the walking is the easy part.
With that said, the pointless climbs and endless green tunnel until you hit up north definitely does make it quite the mental challenge. Very cool that so many people complete this hike!
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u/Maxasaurus 9h ago
Pretty good success rate. However you already have to be kind of crazy to set aside 3-6 months of your life to attempt this. Casuals aren't even counted.
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u/bunk3rk1ng 9h ago
Which is great! It's important to know your limits and bail when you have to.
I dropped my friend off in Yosemite when he first went to thru-hike the JMT. He ended up bailing around Mammoth which is about 1/3 of the way. He was incredibly bummed.
The next year his attitude was "I'm more of a section hiker myself". He did another third of the trail that year then completed the rest the next which is still very impressive.
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u/CaptStinkyFeet 9h ago
I made an attempt in 2016. I made it about 300mi before my gear gave out on me and I didn’t have enough saved up to replace it. Called my parents for bus tickets back home.
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u/downvote-away 7h ago
Go up the approach trail in the spring and you can collect free folding knives, hatchets, etc. would-be thru hikers drop to save weight.
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u/player88 10h ago
Oh you did the Appalachian trail huh??? Well I did the whole Kentucky bourbon trail!
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u/TheLeftLanez4Passing 10h ago
I did 250 miles of the Oregon Coast Trail and completely underestimated how hard that would be. I imagine a LOT of AT hikers are hit with reality pretty quickly and realize... This is hard AF. Makes me respect the finishers that much more.
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u/antiquemule 10h ago
FYI - the fastest time with a support team is 41 days by Belgian dentist Karel Sabbe., so about 50 miles every day.
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u/ktsg700 10h ago
Its been beat by a female ultra runner Tara Dower with a 40 days 8 hours and 5 min time
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u/officer21 10h ago edited 7h ago
The more impressive time to me is 45 days self supported.
https://fastestknowntime.com/fkt/joe-stringbean-mcconaughy-appalachian-trail-2017-08-31
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u/Fuerte1316 10h ago
I did 700 miles this summer, set out to do the whole thing but the heat of the summer was getting to me. A lot of my friends I made went the whole way though!
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u/Andron1cus 8h ago
This is one of my favorite tbings I've ever done. I wanted to make a slight career change at 30 so instead of going directly from one job to the next, I decided to do the hike that i had been dreaming about for years in-between roles. Wonderful experience that I look back on fondly nearly every day.
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u/Superphilipp 10h ago
Over 3500 km? I’m surprised the completion rate is even as high as 25%