Date: 2008-11-25
To: Random thoughts
Miles today: 0.0

Some random thoughts about the trail.Why hike the trail. Always had a passion for hiking. On one of my hikes in the Australian Alps I stumbled across the Australian Alps Walking Trail, I found out some information about it and then ended up walking it mostly for the adventure. 900 kms later had the trip of my lifetime and was hooked on long distance hiking. I had lived in this country my whole life and had discovered so much beauty that I did not even know existed. A few years later walked the Bibbulmun Track on opposing side of the country and it was fabulous. Great way to get a feel for a different state, made so many worthwhile friendships. Saw many small towns along the trail, different flora, and it gives you access to places that few people get to see. I always had a dream of overseas travel, if this format of travel had worked so well in my own country why not apply it to another country. The AT is one of the most famous trails in the world, so it was an easy decision to pick the AT. I wanted something that had some similarities to home, for ease of travel, but at the same time presented a real challengeWhat did I find on the trail I headed off alone, but before long I was bumping into many others attempting the same thing, a thru hike. For the first few weeks there were between 15 and 30 people at every shelter. Stop on the trail for lunch and you were guaranteed to be passed by 5 people. 6 months later in the 100-mile wilderness it was a very lonely experience, few people left, but when you did catch up with a fellow thru hiker it was incredible. Often they were an old friend, or if you had not met, you had heard about each other from other hikers. There was that immediate camaraderie based on the fact that you had both achieved so much. Different regions South - new and exciting, great trail towns and trail magic. The towns are poorer and there are so many hikers, so hostels are plentiful and people can make a good business off the hikers. Life is laid back; the towns are so friendly as they have become accustomed to the annual northern migration of thru hikers. Southern hospitality is more than just a catch phrase. Often you will run into road crossings were former thru hikers or the local scout group have set up a tent with supplies. They cook hamburgers hotdogs etc, hand out beer, and will do it maybe for a day or a week. It is a way of former thru hikers reconnecting with the trail. What you begin to realise is this trail has changed the lives of so many people. The mountains in the south are at their highest elevation. Challenging walking for a newbie, there is a high drop out rate as people struggle with injury and the difficulty of the trail. Virginia - A quarter of the trail passes thru this state. Trail days is at the first town you hit in Virginia, a big hiker festival with more than 10 000 people, Gear retailers and many more, particularly former thru hikers. It is a huge party and celebration. With Virginia being so long it is hard work for many, and the boredom of long distance walking sets in, if you want to finish in time you have to start getting bigger miles each day, the town stops become less, and it becomes more of a job than fun, but such a visually beautiful state with Shenandoah, and so much more. Mid Atlantics. - Harpers Ferry is the half way mark of the trail a huge psychological hurdle. Took a ride into DC, after being on trail for over 3 months it was a bizarre experience to be back in civilisation, it was a bit scary. Standing in front of Capitol Hill and the Lincoln monument had some extra meaning. It was as though I had a special knowledge of this country, walking gives you a unique perspective. I had seen so much of small town America on the east coast. The trail begins to flatten out, and Maryland is passed with great ease, finally some easy hiking. Pennsylvania is a different story, it is full of rock that is relentless, stress fractures in the feet become an issue. Leaving the south and entering the north is a huge cultural divide, you notice a gradual change in accents, and behaviour. People are more direct, less likely to just walk up to you and start to chat, but still they are friendly, they just have a different way about them. Civil War monuments become less and less, and now it is all about the Revolutionary War. New Jersey and New York are passed, some surprising and fantastic walking to be had. The last phase, New England - Walk into Connecticut and the towns become totally different, very pretty and ornate, the rough and tumble of the working class towns in the mid atlantics are gone to be replaced by prep schools and Ivy League colleges. People drive expensive cars, towns have better facilities, and the people have a big stick up their ass, but still friendly. The trail begins to get hard again in Vermont, the weather deteriorates, the trail turns to mud and we get 3 weeks of rain. The last 2 states are the hardest. New Hampshire has the White Mountains, with the pinnacle being Mt Washington. The Presidential are so steep, in the south the mountains may be slightly higher in elevation but they are well graded and have a good tread way. The Presidential are full of rock and go straight up and down, there is very little respite. The daily mileage drops, but the effort increases. The knees are in agony and the body begins to fall apart, the views might be spectacular, but it has turned into a mental battle, you can see why at this late stage so many people drop out. Maine gets even worse, as the tread way becomes impossible, rock, roots and mud. The mountains gradually get smaller in elevation and the walking gets a bit easier, but at least it is the most gorgeous state. The leaves begin to turn, you see bears and moose. The 100-mile wilderness is spectacular with all of its glacial ponds and beautiful sunsets and finally there is Katahdin. A huge mountain, probably the hardest mountain on trail, but who cares this is the end. Finally the madness is over, but then all your friends that you have made on trail will also be going separate ways, both a real sense of sadness and also relief that it is finally over.There are many strange and wonderful people on trail. Most people are white, middle class at the very least, and educated. The long green tunnel as the trail is known is not really a proper representation of America as a whole. The towns tend to be white ones. Friends are quickly made, there are some nutters on trail, but it is easy to escape them, just take a rest day in one of the towns, or pick up the pace and do extra miles. There are a group who are known as AT legends they have hiked the trail multiple times.They tend to have a common issues, alcohol, divorce, life just has not worked out for them. The trail becomes a home for them, it is a very forgiving home, and people tend to be kind and very accepting. Their problems tend to be forgotten, and the trail becomes an escape from reality, a place to find comfort and to hide. For most it is a once in a lifetime experience, an adventure they will be telling their friends and family about for years to come. It definitely changes people¢s lives. Most people are at a time where they have a big change going on in their lives, completing university, starting a new career, getting divorced, retiring etc. It draws together a very eclectic and diverse group of people; it challenges people physically, and often provides them with what they are looking for.