Date: 2015-04-28
From: Hot Springs, North Carolina

To: Hot Springs, North Carolina
Miles today: 15.0

I told about 100 people that I was doing a through hike of the AT prior to my departure.   But I was rather cryptic of the details, such as trip duration and trip distance.   This post will fill in some of those details. The "Four things it takes to Thru-hike the AT" I have read in books about the AT. So I claim no originality, but find it fascinating. It also explains who thru-hikes the AT. Three of the four things change as you age. One does not. The four things are: 1) Motivation/Reason to Hike 2200 miles. This does not change with your age. 2) Money This varies with age3) Energy This varies with age4) Time   This varies with ageMy Motivation and Reason to Hike 2200 miles I will discuss in detail in the post "Why I am hiking the AT "If I had Excel, I would do a spreadsheet of Money, Energy and Time as they vary with your age, but since I am composing this on Notepad, I will explain each one. 2) Money.   This is the ONLY item that favors the old. Money has two categories, Gear and on-the-trail expenses. Gear: It takes $1000 - $2000 to obtain backpacking gear. $2000 will get you the lightest gear.   MY gear is NOT very lightweight. I tried various lighter gear, but decided to stick with what I mostly had. My backpack is, for instance, eight years old, and weight an atrocious 5.5 pounds. I know that's heavy. Two days ago, two trail workers looked at my pack and said "Hey, that pack is very Retro". As in old. As a reasonably well-off older person, I easily could have replaced all my gear with lighter stuff, but decided not to. Money: on-the-trail expenses. Again, this favors the old.   I have the assets to stay in town at a motel when I want to. So does Brad.   So we stay at motels Splitting the cost of a room), versus staying at the much cheaper but much more rustic and noisy hiker hostels. The Fontana Dam has the Fontana Resort, at $75 per night.   All the older hikers were there. Fontana Dam also has the "Fontana Hilton" shelter, so named because it has flush toilets and showers! It's free. All the youngsters stay there. I have read in books that some of the younger hikers are forced off the trail halfway through because they run out of money. That won't happen to us older hikers. The on-the-trail expenses will cost me about $5000. Something like that.   Perhaps more. But that's over six months.   $5000 for at "six month vacation" (If you can call this a vacation.)That's cheap.   People pay more for a cruise. Walt Disney World is not $100 per person per day, just for the ticket.   So I consider $5000 reasonable, but some younger hikers may not. 3) Energy This varies with ageThis favors the young, big-time.   By Energy, I mean the physical ability to move your body and 20-30 pounds on your back 2200 miles total, or 15 miles per day for 150 days.   The young can do this easily.   The old can not do it so easily.   See yet another later post "Shelter Injustice". 4) Time   This varies with age. Both Old and young have time, but middle age people DO NOT. The AT is about 2200 miles.   It takes about six months to through hike the AT.   Youngsters can do it in five months.   Older folks can take up to seven months, South to North.   I hope to do it in 5.5 to six months.   I started April 8th. I hope to finish Oct 1st.   Maybe late September.   It's NOT a race, but the northern terminus gets cold in October, and closes for the season in mid-October. Here is a summary, by Age Group.   Again, this would look better in Excel, but no Excel here.Age groups are:A) 20-33 People just out of college, with no job or just quit their job. B) 33-55 People married, with 0-20 year old kids, in mid-career jobs. c) 55+   Just retired, like me. 1) Motivation/Reason for Hike - Is independent of Age2) Money.   20-33 often don't have enough of it. 33-55 and 55+ have it3) Energy.   20-33 have the most. 33-55 have enough.   55+ might not have enough 4) Time.   20-33 have it. 33-55 DON'T HAVE IT.   55+ have itBased on this criteria, here is who is through-hiking the AT(This does NOT apply to "section hikers", those who are doing the AT in 2 week chunks. They can be anyone. Through hikers percentages I have observed:70% are age 20-3320% are age 55+10% are some other age. That totals 100%So the AT IS a young person's game, with a few old-timers like me thrown in. Here is further breakdown of the age groups. All of this is based on simple observations.   I don't ask everyone their age or employment status. But enough to make the claim that this is reasonably accurate. Of the 70% that are 20-3395+% of these people are single.   I see almost no married couples on the trail. A few, but very few. Of the 70% that are 20-33, the Male-Female split is skewed towards men, but semi-even. I estimate 70% of the youngsters are Men, 30% are women.   SO a lot of younger hikers are women. Of the 20% that are 55+Most are married. Most meet their wives occasionally for a couple days. I will also. Surely some are not married and divorced. I don't pry into peoples affairs. Of the 55+, 99% are men.   I was about to say that there is Non, Nada, Zilch women over 33 on the trail, but I was told by others that they had seen a few older women on the trail.   Suffice it to say they are very rare. Of the 10% are everybody else.There are a few kids just out of high school.   But very few.   Most youngsters have completed college, or, at least, are 5-10 years out of high school. There are very few people on the trail age 33-55. Those people are in stable jobs, married, and have kids 0-20.   Those people CAN NOT hike the AT. Just doesn't work.   You can't have those kinds of responsibilities and do this.   Of course there are SOME people on the trail age 33-55.   But I bet almost none of them have kids age 0-20. There are few people older than about 62. my age. Most of the 55+ are age 57-62.   I have met only 2-3 people who I have asked (or asked me) that are older than 62.   So the age 60 group is on the lower end of 60, not the upper end. Other interesting observations of who hikes, and who doesn't. Hiking the AT is a lily-white endeavor.   I have yet to see any blacks, Hispanics or Asians on the trail.   It's as if somebody posted the sign: White Only Allowed.   Surely there must be some minorities on the trail, but I have yet to see many/any.   I did see one Asian fellow, but he said he was from Maine.   I suppose he was a minority.   But the only one I saw. The majority of hikers are from the East Coast, Maine to Georgia.   Then comes the closer states like Illinois & Iowa.   I have yet to meet anybody who lives in Minnesota. Of course, I don't ask everyone where they are from, just some. The majority of hikers not from the USA are from Germany.   I've met four. Obviously they have a German accent.   Hiking must be popular in Germany. Just a few people hike with their dog.   Maybe 2%.   Most hikers dislike dogs.   Dogs scare away the little wildlife around.   Dogs in or near the shelters are a pain. Just my opinion.   I've seen a few dogs, but not many. Did I already tell you this dog story? Sorry if it is a repeat.On about the 3rd day, I met two hikers, one had a dog.   He said the dog accompanies him wherever he goes, as his service dog.   I asked the hiker, "Why the service dog, you are not blind are you?" The hiker responded... "Only a jackass would say that".   He is my service dog, because I have PTSD". I was taken aback (at being called a jackass), excused myself, and moved on.   A 1/2 mile later, I said I was sorry for inferring he was blind, and he said he was sorry for calling me a jackass. So we made up, but neither felt good about the exchange.   Maybe that was another strike for me against dogs. One other strange observation. About 25% of the 20-33 age kids smoke cigarettes. Some even while on the trail. I have observed most smoking while drinking beer.   I would think that no backpackers would smoke, since backpacking is associated with health, and smoking is not.   The large number of young smokers might just be due to the carefree attitude of most younger hikers.   I hate my job, so I will quit and take six months off to hike the AT.   But I have seen almost none of the 55+ men smoke. They know that smoking will likely kill you, and they value the time they have left. OK, there you have it.   Now you know that most of the AT thru-hikers are young male/female and single, or old(er) men and married.   And it is that way because of the three things that are required to hike that AT that vary with age, Money, Time and Energy.