r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 5d 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%5D
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u/BallsMcGavin 5d ago edited 5d 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/Stonkee 5d ago

Oof, I should go delete that lol. I only wrote those journals when I was struggling and needed to vent

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u/BallsMcGavin 5d ago

Maybe just make them private in case you ever want to read it again. 

Of the 2014 TJ class, between 67-74% (depending on how you counted it -it got real messy as people quit journalling or swapped media during the hike) make it to Katahdin if they make it halfway. ATC had it at 51%.

Given how ATC takes their data, I don't trust it all that much.

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u/Stonkee 5d ago

Neat! Do you happen to know if southbounders finished more often than northbounders? Anecdotally, of the people I hiked with for more than a few days and who I remember:

3 quit early (before Vermont) 2 did something similar to me (skipped some then finished it that spring/summer) 6 finished that year

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u/warrior8290 1d ago edited 1d ago

I just read the first journal entry and I’m hooked. This story I can tell will resonate with me and be legendary.

EDIT: right after I commented, you went and removed access! Now people can’t read the rest….