It's Quitting Time

Out of the many hundreds of hikers who begin the AT each year, a startlingly high percentage never actually get out of Georgia. I've been witnessing that over the last couple of weeks, a phenomenon compounded by the very cold spring we're having.

Spring? What is that? And where is it? And is that damn groundhog going to recant?

It really is amazing how many people get here and are completely floored by the cold and snow in the north Georgia mountains in March and even April. I guess folks assume that it's the South, and it's all trees draped with Spanish moss and glowing belles pressing chilled julep cups to their gently perspiring brows. Not so, people. It gets awfully cold in these mountains and you'd better come prepared, cause it's gonna be even worse when you hit the Smokies. Many of the hikers who are not prepared are on the way home already--the shuttle drivers have all been doing as many "reverse runs" as regular dropoffs over the last couple of weeks.

Belle on the mountain, neither glowing nor perspiring.

Springer Mountain, late March. 22 degrees.

One of the biggest issues with hikers quitting is the gear dump. Sometimes frustrated hikers just ditch some or all of their stuff along the trail or in a shelter, then head home. Removing that gear is part of my job. I found a large pile last week in one of the shelters--probably not all from one hiker, but still a shining example of how to be totally unprepared for the AT. Along with a freakishly heavy and wildly inappropriate tent, there was a poncho, giant fleece jacket, hammock, assorted foods, and strange little accessories. The best part was the book--not the guidebook typically carried by all thru-hikers, but one of the many books about the AT experience, chronicling some of the characters known on the trail. Tucked inside the book was a printout of the Wiki state-by-state description of the AT and a handwritten schedule. This is where things get both hilarious and pathetic, all at once. 

Big pile of gear abandoned in shelter.

Big pile of gear drying out in parking lot.

Another thing that seems to take hikers by surprise in Georgia is the difficulty of the terrain. North Georgia is NOT FLAT, people. And we don't believe in switchbacks. So you're going to go up. And then down. And then back up. And then repeat. In the Georgia section, only the fittest, most experienced hikers could even consider doing more than 10-12 miles on the first few days. Taking these things into account, consider the following schedule:

Day 1: 28 miles. Only 7 days scheduled with
less than 20 miles.

NH in 3 days?!? Perhaps you are unaware of this
place called the White Mountains....

Katahdin on day 90. With zero zeroes.

Aside from the sheer insanity of the 28-mile day one, there is one other tiny fact that I should mention. All of you thru-hikers reading, familiar with the trail and shelters, please put down any liquids and swallow anything in your mouth. I wouldn't want you to soil your keyboards. I found this schedule and associated pile of inappropriate gear in Black Gap Shelter. Once you gain control of yourselves, please continue reading. For everyone else, I'll point out that Black Gap Shelter is on the Approach Trail. That's the 8 mile trail leading up to the start of the AT at Springer Mountain. Black Gap is 1.5 miles from the summit and start of the trail. So either this hiker planned to start the following day with the 28-miler or they had actually miscalculated and intended to do 36 miles. Regardless, complete and total lunacy. 

The thing that I find really amazing and pathetic about this is that there is currently more information available about thru-hiking than ever before. There are dozens of books, websites, and forums. There are classes for potential thru-hikers. There are even guides who do preparation hikes and coaching. There is honestly no excuse for being this ridiculously uninformed. But this is why some people are already gone and others are still making their way north. Happy trails to all!