It’s May 19 and I’ve hiked 478.6 miles so far. I had an exciting week that involved breaking mile 400, some high mileage days (30 miles!), a new state, and the “Trail Days” Festival!
A lot of people have been asking me what it’s like to be on the trail. So in this update, I want to share with you what my days consist of and answer questions that you’ve asked me!
Life on the trail has gone above and beyond my expectations. Everyday is a new adventure. I typically wake up with sunrise to the sound of birds singing all through the forest. I prefer to sleep in my tent to avoid mice, loud snorers, and to have more privacy, but some people prefer shelters. In the morning, I like to get my day started right away and usually pack up pretty quickly. I usually have a dry breakfast, typically a clif bar or two, and get started hiking by 8:00 or 8:30 am. Some hikers like to have a hot breakfast of oatmeal and coffee before starting their day. Other hikers prefer to sleep in. And I’m sure there are a hundred other morning routines as well. I usually make a tentative goal the night before about how far I’d like to hike and check my trail guide for water sources and any cool stuff along the way such as balds or vistas. I use the AWOL Trail Guide and it tells me everything I need to know to get from Georgia to Maine. There are other hikers who pretty much wing it and several I’ve met use no guide at all; though I wouldn’t recommend that. I’ve been hiking with a group of solo hikers for a while now. We banded together at the beginning of the Smokies and most days we set the same ending goal. During the day, we often meet up along the way during food breaks or at water sources. I really enjoy doing the actual hiking solo, but it’s nice to have a good group of friends on the trail to meet up with throughout the day and hang out with at camp. We’ve all become close friends over the last few weeks and we have a lot of fun on the trail together.
Trail names are a fun tradition of hiking the AT. A couple weeks into my hike I was given the trail name “Blue Kazoo” for my blue shirt and blue rain jacket and the fact that I have a kazoo, which was given to me as a gift for the trail and has made for many entertaining times. Some of my trail friends names are: Dirty Peanut, Bullet, Blue, Forrest Gump, Samwise, Medkit, Marley, MP, Ambush, and Snack Time. Each name has its own story.
Water is a very important part of my day. I like to know how many miles it is from one water source to the next and plan accordingly. The best way to stay hydrated without carrying excessive amounts of water is to drink at the water source and carry just enough to make it to the next. I don’t like to carry more water than necessary because water is heavy. *One liter weighs about two pounds.* That may not sound like a lot, but I assure you that it is. I can tell when I am running low just by how heavy my pack feels.
Water sources are streams and springs and many have been “piped” by a metal or plastic pipe inserted horizontally into the stream to create a spout which makes it easier to fill water bottles. I use a filter called the Sawyer to remove pathogens to avoid getting sick. I also camp near water or make sure I have enough in the evening to cook dinner, drink, clean my cooking pot, and make it to the next water source. Mountain water tastes incredible by the way!
The food that I eat typically includes granola bars (clif bars are my favorite), peanut butter (I always have a small container of it), tortillas, crackers, trail mix, dried fruits, ramen, rice, pasta sides, summer sausage, jerky, and lately a lot of candy and fruit snacks. The combinations of things that I’ve seen put into tortilla shells is truly impressive- haha! Just the other day, for example, my friend made us burritos consisting of refried beans, salsa, pickles, and olives. And it was delicious. Seriously. Hiker hunger is an impressive force. Some of the more common “burrito” combinations I’ve seen consist of peanut butter, trail mix, Nutella, candy, and granola. Putting rice or pasta into tortillas for dinner is also a popular way to eat. Pretty much anything can and will be eaten in tortilla shells on the trail. I also like to add Emergen-C to my water at meals for the nutrients and flavor and I like to make hot tea after dinner when I’m not too tired.
Hiking for 8 or more hours a day, (sometimes up to 17 hours!) with a 30 lb pack up and down mountains burns a lot of calories. It’s important to eat a sufficient amount to have the energy to get through the day; so we eat A LOT. Most of our conversations revolve around our food cravings. As you can imagine, trail foods get old quickly and going into town for resupplying usually involves eating a lot of food that we don’t get on the trail such as cheeseburgers, salads, fresh vegetables, and my personal favorite, guacamole! I’m pretty sure I’ve eaten at every Mexican restaurant from Georgia to Damascus, VA- haha!
I’ve been hiking for 43 days now and my pack feels like just another part of me. I carry everything I need to survive and be comfortable on my back. If you’re thinking that must be heavy, you are right! It’s a common goal to lower pack weight though. The lighter the pack, the more enjoyable hiking can be, so every ounce counts. My original pack weight was 34 lbs (4 lbs over my goal max weight), but it’s gotten lighter as I’ve been able to send my cold weather clothes and gear home. I’ve also gotten a couple shake downs from other hikers and parted with some things that I didn’t really need. I haven’t weighed my pack lately, but it has gotten noticeably lighter and smaller. It’s amazing how little you really need from day to day to be comfortable. I’m really enjoying living with less stuff. Hiking everyday all day is also rough on my gear and many things are becoming worn and some have broken. The 478 miles are showing and it’s getting to be time to replace some of my gear.
My days are filled by climbing and descending mountains each of which is completely different. Some climbs are steep and rocky while others are full of switchbacks which can sometimes make the ascent more gradual. Some days I see the most amazing views I’ve ever seen and other days I see nothing but trees, fog, or rain. But even on those less desirable days it’s a lot of fun. I take several breaks everyday, especially when there are beautiful vistas to stop at. If I’m planning on a relatively short mileage day, my breaks might be long and if other hikers are with me, they could be an hour or more, because we often wait for each other to catch up. So, some days are really relaxing despite the whole hiking up and down mountains thing. A few days now a couple of us have set really high mileage goals in order to make it into towns, to events, or just because we are feeling particularly motivated to hike. The most miles I’ve hiked in one day so far had been 30 and the fewest has been 4. (Not counting my “zero” days.)
When finally arriving at camp in the evening, I pitch my tent on the most level ground I can find, cook dinner around the fire with the other hikers, hang out, and relax. If it’s raining fairly heavily we will cook in the shelter. If we aren’t camping near a shelter, sometimes we cook in our vestibules or eat a dry dinner to keep ourselves dry and warm. Staying up past 10 pm is a late night out here for me! Hiking all day wears us out and we’re usually ready for rest at the end of the day.
At some point in the evening before bed, we often wash off at the water source with our biodegradable camp soap and soak our tired/sore feet in the cold water. The ice cold mountain water feels amazing. There aren’t showers out here, so we get gross pretty quickly- really gross! I am also a big fan of baby wipe baths. We brush our teeth and then (sometimes) hang our food bags from a tree or bear cables if they’re available to keep mice and bears away from our tents and food.
There is a lot of foot traffic along the AT. Even when I hike alone for the majority of my day, there are still hikers not too far ahead of me and most animals are pretty good at avoiding people. So I haven’t personally seen an abundance of animals directly on or near the trail. Another factor in wildlife viewing is the actual hiking. We hike a lot of miles everyday. On top of the miles we hike to get from point A to point B, we hike to water sources not directly on the trail, to shelters/campsites sometimes 0.5 miles off the trail, to hostels off the trail, to towns off the trail, and along really desirable blue blazed trails to things like waterfalls. And none of these miles are included in the 2,189.2 miles of the AT length. So, we don’t like to add on too much extra hiking. This means that I’m not likely to leave the trail in search of wildlife. (I know, I’m a shameful herper and birder!) I listen to birds calling all day though, and have identified many that way. Sometimes it’s dangerous when I hear a familiar call from above and I try to visually identify the bird while still walking and I trip over rocks and roots along the edges of cliffs- haha!
Time is also a factor. Getting from point A to point B, finding and filtering water, and eating is typically enough to fill up our day. With all of that said though, I have seen a lot of snakes (garter, water, racer) salamanders (newts, red-back), toads and frogs, some really cool birds (Pileated woodpeckers, scarlet tanagers), skunks during night hiking, I’ve heard many owls in the night, a bobcat in the night, and although I still haven’t seen a bear for myself, many hikers have. One hiker just in front of me a bit on the trail today saw one!
Our weeks are broken up by trips into nearby towns typically every four to seven days. In towns we resupply, shower, do laundry, and gorge on delicious “non-trail” foods. Towns also give us the chance to recharge our electronics and binge on the internet. My cell phone doesn’t get service along the trail 99% of the time, so I keep my phone off until I get to towns where a lot of the time I still don’t get cell phone service. There’s only one cell phone carrier that seems to get coverage out here and I don’t have that one- haha! Though it is nice to turn off from all of that while I’m out here. The towns we pass through and near are typically very small towns with a grocery store, dollar general, a couple restaurants, sometimes a laundromat, and a couple motels. That’s usually it. We hitch hike around town to get out errands done without walking a ton on our rest days. When we decide to stay the night in a town we often share motel rooms with several other hikers which saves money and can be a lot of fun. Hostels are plentiful along the trail and are a great way to get a bed, shower, and clean laundry for a good price if you don’t want to split motel/hotels rooms. You can also get a shower there without staying the night. Much like water, food is also heavy. It’s all too easy to add ten pounds to your pack in food after a resupply. There is a definite trade off between how much food we carry and how often we resupply. I’ve also been getting mail drops about once a month so far of food I bought before leaving for the trail which saves me a little money from expensive food stores along the way. (Thank you, Eric for being my dependable mail dropper!)
Another really great part of trail life is trail magic. There’s no better feeling than being surprised with a delicious snack or beverage along the trail when you’re least expecting it. I’ve gotten fruit, candy, soda, Gatorade, chips, sandwiches, musical entertainment, and rides into town. I’ve heard of other hikers getting cheeseburgers, hotdogs, beer, moonshine, and even small trail supplies! We call the people who give trail magic “Trail Angels.”
Hiking the AT is truly incredible. I get to spend my days anyway I like as long as I keep meeting my mileage goals in order to make it to Mount Katahdin. I can take a hundred breaks or two breaks. I can sleep in and hike at night if I want to. I can take naps. I can spend hours on a bald. I can do whatever I like. But it is not easy. Thru-hiking is not for everyone. I’ve known several people to leave the trail because they weren’t enjoying it or it wasn’t what they had hoped it would be. Hiking all day everyday is hard work and very tiring. It’s hard on your body and it takes a lot of mental determination to keep going even on the most difficult of days. Some days the climbs last for hours and it’s hot and your feet start to kill you and the flies are relentless and you have to find it in yourself to keep moving forward. There have been countless times that I have spent hours climbing only to summit a mountain and see nothing but fog. The descents are not easy either. They are hard on your feet and knees and can cause painful shin splints. We are literally living in the woods, so we do everything in the woods- *everything*. Some shelters do have nearby privies (compost toilets), but they can be a less desirable option as they are smelly and sometimes unsanitary. Norovirus is commonly spread from contaminated privies and contracting it could take you off the trail for several days. Hand sanitizer is ineffective against the virus; soap and water are necessary to kill it. We also deal with biting flies, mosquitoes, ticks, poison ivy, sunburn, chafing, blisters, bruises, and stubbed toes at least 20 times a days on rocks, roots, logs, and all of the invisible hard objects I trip over several times a day- haha! And we stink. We wear the same clothes day after day. But despite all of it, I am loving every minute of this journey! I can’t imagine a better way to be spending my time. It’s taught me a lot so far and has been a big part of getting healthier and happier. I’m beyond grateful for this experience.
I’ll be in Virginia for a few hundred miles and I’m making good progress. I am ahead of my original mileage plans. I can’t wait to see what Virginia has to offer!
If you have any questions you’d like answered, send a message or leave a comment on our Facebook page and I’ll answer it in my next update! Thanks to Jen, Joann, and Instagram users for the questions this time!
Thank you for following my journey!
Happy Trails,
Nicole
P.S. I started a GoFundMe account to raise money for my hike. Please check it out: http://de.gofund.me/
