On the Trail

Last weekend we met a couple of hikers heading to the start of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. We were in a state park that had an approach to the AT trail, but first you had to get to the top of a waterfall. It was about a mile and 600 stairs. I made it to the top before one of the through-hikers did.

His speed was not the problem because a 2,190-mile hike is definitely a marathon not a sprint. But this hiker did not seem to have trained very much and his answers to our questions showed a lack of planning. How long do you expect it to take? I asked. The internet says 5-7 months, was his answer. People who successfully complete this hike have a plan to walk a specific number of miles each day to meet their milestones. I didn't get the sense that this was the case here. I wasn't even sure he'd make the 8+ miles to the start of the trail.

It is one week later and I wonder what this hiker's status is. The average miles per day is 8-10 at the start of the trail. If this hiker is still going, he's hiked maybe 65-75 miles already. That just doesn't seem likely. If so, he still has over 2,100 miles to go. Only one in four through-hikers complete the trail.