Date: 2013-02-05
To: More explanations.
Miles today: 0.0

This isn't an attempt to explain why I'm hiking.I think I will have to write a book after the hike for that (what a novel idea - I wonder if anyone else has done that?).This is to explain for those unfamiliar with the AT (mostly friends in Oz) a bit of what the AT is and what this journal will show. Much of this is known to Whiteblaze people and many of the rest of you.The Appalachian Trail is foot trail that runs across (mostly the tops) of the Appalachian mountains on the east side of the United States. It is currently listed as being 2186 miles long but for now we'll say 3500km.In all my prep entries I will generally refer to kilometres, kilograms and Celsius etc (usually with miles, pounds and Farenheit as well), but once in America all entries will be refering to "local" units as conversion is something we won't have time for.It is one of the worlds oldest long distance hiking trails and was completed in 1937(I think).If you are familiar with the Bibbulmun Track it is similar but also very different. Like the Bibbulmun it has shelters (called huts, leant tos or shelters variously) along its length (over 250) but they are not evenly spaced or uniformly similar in style like the Bib. They are often very old and/or very small. Bill Bryson in his (in)famous book "A Walk in the Woods" describes them as "all" having mice. This is one of the few things in his book that is largely undisputed.Also they don't have water tanks, you generally have to collect water from springs or creeks or ponds along the way. I never once filtered or treated water on my Bib hike but I most certainly will have to at least some of the time on the AT.Some (particularly in Tennessee) don't even have privies(composting toilets).Because it is on a mountain range after all the AT also has significantly more up and down than the Bib. I won't try quoting how many times up and down Mt Everest you are supposed to have done by the end but it's a lot. Most people take from 4 to 7 months to complete the hike. Due to visa restrictions we are hoping to do it in about 5 months or a bit over to allow time to get in and out of the USA as well. Because of wintry conditions on the mountains at the start and finish (particularly the north) there is a "window" of time that people generally start to complete a hike of the whole trail in one year. Most go south to north (NOBO - NOrthBOund) although about 25% of the 2000-2500 that try each year go SOBO (SOuthBOund).Because of the number of people starting at similar times the trail can be relatively congested near the start (and all along at times with weekend hikers and scout groups etc) and a tent or some other form of shelter is really mandatory unless you want to risk "difficult" times.The bubble of people moving northwards from Georgia in March/April creates what amounts to a mobile village with many customs and behaviours shared by this mobile community. The size of the AT hiking population and this bubble effect makes the AT very different from most trails.As Daniel and I see meeting people and experiencing this relatively unique situation as a major appeal of the AT, we are leaving pretty well in the middle of this bubble.