As I reflect on that last 100 days, I am amazed to find myself sitting in Connecticut. When I started, New England felt impossible. Unbelievably far. Nearly inconceivable. But here I am!
I remember the 100th day of school growing up. We would count 100 pennies, dress up as 100 years old, and do everything to show just how big the number 100 is. So, in that fashion, here are 100 lessons I have learned since I started up the trail in Georgia at the end of March. All lessons were learned by me, the hard way. This means most are opinions, and probably subject for debate.
The trail teaches us each something different, that is the whole point.
1. The nature of the rain is the same. But it grows thorns in the marshes and flowers in the gardens.
2. The only way to keep going is to listen to your body.
3. Stretch every night and warm up every morning even when you don’t want to.
4. Rat snakes aren’t poisonous, even though they act like it.
Aggressive rat snake
5. Always have a dry set of clothes to sleep in.
6. Hunger fluctuates, but the food still needs to be eaten to recover. Food is fuel. I need to eat until I am full at night or I feel weak the next day.
7. Rattlesnakes are poisonous. Make sure you can hear them (turn your music down).
8. Slow down in the beginning to hike faster to Katadhin. Thank you to the Outdoor 76 workers in Franklin, NC for saying this.
9. Be bold, start cold. (Take layers off before starting your hike).
10. Get people’s contact information before it’s too late.
11. Two white blazes show which way the trail turns. The top blaze shows which direction. I didn’t know this for an embarrassingly long time.
12. Town days are an important part of the hike as the trail takes you through cute American towns that most people would never find themselves in. Getting to explore little towns and bigger cities too has been an unexpected treat of trail.
Not a little town but our zeros in NYC have been a highlight of the trip. The juxtaposition between the woods and the chaos of the city was so amazing and ridiculous.
13. Make sure to take time to hike truly by yourself.
14. Water is heavy don’t carry too much but plan accordingly. I’ve never had to carry more then 1.5 liters except sometimes when we needed to camp not near a water source. (This is also a wet year which is funny cause I thought every year was a wet year).
15. Far out comments are all opinions. Very rarely are they facts.
16. Don’t get too sad when you get separated from someone you really like hiking with since the trail has a funny way of bringing people back together.
17. Check in on your friends, on trail and at home.
18. Stop talking about Katadhin every day, especially at the beginning!! Just be present.
19. Sawyer squeeze filters and CNOCs work best as a gravity filter (mentally since it’s all I ever do out here).
I got rid of my sawyer cap and got the connector. Life changer.
20. Towns are so close together on the AT. This means 50-60 miles. Also a lot of the middle parts feels like walking through towns and not being in the wilderness. Just takes some getting used to.
21. Always ask the cashier to use the store card at groceries stores to get the deals.
22. Make a budget before leaving and stick to your budget. It’s OK to say no, especially down south. Georgia was very expensive but the options got cheaper. (Until Connecticut)
23. Stick to journaling every night. If we bailed on our journals the first few nights like we wanted to, I doubt that we would have them now.
24. Tight calves can lead to sore feet since they can pull the arch up. Stretch them.
25. Roll your feet out. Carry toe spacers. Foot health is essential. Also I write the alphabet with my toes every morning to help stretch the muscles in my feet.
26. Ticks can be so incredibly small, the size of a poppy seed. Inspect every piece of dirt.
27. Expect to wear a lot of sunscreen until the leaves grow in at the beginning.
28. If I could train for this again, I would set a treadmill to max incline and walk on it with weight on my back. The stairstepper was pretty much useless except for that approach.
29. A puffy jacket is kinda useless on the AT since if it gets wet, it doesn’t work. I only used mine at camp and if I got too cold I’d just be in my sleeping bag anyways.
30. Take pictures of people!!!
31. Everyone out here is so different but so much more alike than you think.
32. There are no rules for how to complete a thru hike. It’s adaptable, but stick to your own goals. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and it’s supposed to be challenging.
33. ”Ultralight” definitions change every week.
34. Dry socks are god tier. And honestly rare. Nothing fully dries out in the humidity.
35. Never quit on a rainy day.
Mental was so low this day. But we pushed on and it ended up being fun by the end.
36. Never quit on a bad day. Or a really hot day, or buggy, etc.
37. Carry doxycycline.
38. Everyone talks about poop on trail, but it’s not normal to bring it up in town.
39. Trail names are a badge of honor, especially when given to you by someone you respect. Also you’re allowed to be picky about which one you get, but don’t fight the one that sticks.
40. Gas station pizza is gas.
41. Fruit snacks before a climb do magic.
42. Trail gossip spreads like wild fire.
43. If you make a plan far out into the future, guarantee that you will have to change it.
44. Choose your tent site like it my rain inches that night. Don’t pick the spot where the rain funnels to.
45. Porcupines can climb trees.
46. Every day is a chance to start over.
47. Silence has taught me more about myself than any podcast or book.
48. Bug spray needs to have deet. And bug nets are an essential gear item, not needed until June though.
49. Don’t get used to being a privvy princess because norovirus hits every year.
50. The typical US town was not built for pedestrians.
51. Superfeet insoles are the GOAT. I don’t think I would be on trail without them and they lasted me over 1,000 miles.
My first pair I took from 200 to 1,200 with the pair I’m taking to Katadhin
52. Rinse the sweat out of your clothes and off your skin or you will get heat rash.
53. No matter how bad the mosquitos are, they can always get worse.
54. The trail provides.
55. When day hikers ask where you came from they’re asking where the thru hike started not where you camped.
56. When day hikers ask where you are going the answer is Maine (not where you’re planning on camping).
57. Rain gear is important in March and April to stay warm but becomes practically useless in the summer. It is nice for doing laundry in town however.
58. Lyme disease becomes a problem when a tick bites for over 24 hours. This is why tick checks every night and morning are essential. Even if you tick check your body they could be hiding in your clothes so check those too. They are so sneaky and very good at their jobs.
59. Talk to the person offering you a hitch for a bit to make sure they’re not drunk!
60. When you’re kind to the trail, the trail is kind to you. When you resent the trail, the trail resents you.
61. The AT is the hardest of the big three. This is going to be my most controversial one considering that I haven’t hiked the PCT or CDT. But I hiked the Colorado Trail and many other hikes out west! They are all graded for horses which the AT is not! Also all triple crowners have confirmed we’ve met this year have confirmed this, thank you.
62. Don’t look too far into the fog or you might see a skin walker.
63. Never whistle in Appalachia or skin walkers are attracted (folk lore you must respect).
64. Ear plugs are ESSENTIAL in shelters.
65. Never take for granted a stream next to a camp site. Sometimes the only water source is 400 feet downhill off trail.
66. Habits lost in the first few days don’t exist. For example, we wanted to take a photo of everywhere we slept. We missed the first three days and never did it again.
67. Being cliquey against section hikers or people not in your immediate tramily is so lame and you’re robbing yourself of many connections and stories.
68. Shelter max capacity goes up by 2-5 people depending on how stormy it is.
69. Always have cash on you.
70. Before setting up your tent take a really good look around for any dead trees that could fall and kill you. Widow makers are still my biggest fear.
71. The weather channel is the best weather app out here (most accurate), but I have 5 total on my phone I like to reference. Usually a bunch of weather forecasts combined will show the most realistic prediction.
72. Weather forecasts change every hour out here! I mostly pay attention to the rainfall amount and storm intensity ratings to judge the severity.
73. There is no flat section to the AT. If there is it’s rocky or muddy.
74. Ask the deli in the super market for a strip of parchment paper to wrap your cheese in to absorb the “sweating” to make it last longer!
75. Take time to go to the Appalachian Trail museums along the way. One of the coolest parts of hiking out here is understanding the history and culture you’re apart of now.
In the Pine Grove Appalachian Museum. Crazy thinking about hiking without a phone… In some ways I’m jealous.
76. Do the approach trail (hot take). If you can hike the approach to Springer day 1 so there’s no confusion about what day you “started” the trail.
77. Get the Merlin app and get into birding to become more aware of the noises around you.
78. Electrolytes are essential to staying healthy. Sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium! Check these levels on electrolyte packages and always eat bananas in town!! My electrolyte imbalance made my ankle feel broken at one point, crazy
79. Have an open mind. I’ve noticed that the people who struggle the most out here are the ones who came here with a plan or idea about what their hike needs to be and feel compelled to stick to it.
80. Comparison is the thief of joy. Follow people on instagram to stay in touch but there is no point in comparing. The trail always puts you where you’re meant to be!
81. Knorr sides can be cooked in the bag to avoid dirtying your pot.
82. Mac and cheese doesn’t need to be cooked in boiling water. Boil the water then turn off the stove and dump the Mac and cheese in. Wait 10ish minutes and then the noodles will be cooked! Add in cheese and relish in the fuel savings!
83. Folgers coffee is so bad. Invest in the starbucks instant coffee for a much better morning experience.
84. Beyond anything else, trail days was an amazing reunion with people that I probably will never see again. That alone made it worth the trek.
85. Learn how to stretch your calf without stretching your Achilles. I didn’t even know there’s a difference before trail. 😀
86. Taking time to delete photos and videos every so often saves massive headaches down the road.
87. “Snail stays on trail” perhaps one of my favorite lessons was said to us by a man named snail even though he wasn’t trying to teach us anything. His goal was the hike the whole AT without ever sleeping in town. Although not entirely feasible for our goals it’s something we’ve adopted into our own lingo as we want to remember that we are out here to experience the wilderness more so than our modern comforts.
88. There is poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac on trail. Know what they all look like. In fact, getting the Seek app is a great way to recognize plans and also see what berries are edible!
89. My 20,000 charger lasts about 4 nights. Usually there is a place to charge it in this time.
90. Carrying more than 4 nights of food is not worth how heavy it is in sections where resupplies or delis are so common.
91. Leg hair serves as an extra sensory layer against bugs. This one might be weird, but I’ve never had leg hair before.
92. If you see a tall mountain chances are the AT will send you a right up over it.
93. Leave space between you and the shelter wall. This is where mice like to run so don’t put your pillow right up against the wall. Shuddering thinking about this one.
94. Set up your soap and water before heading to the privvy so it’s easy to wash your hands without touching anything.
95. Always check the hiker box before resupplying.
96. Yellow blazing means skipping part of the trail in a car. Blue blazing means taking a separate, usually easier trail, instead of the AT. Aqua blazing means skipping part of the trail to be in a canoe. Pink blazing means following a girl up trail. Platinum blazing means staying in the most luxurious places every chance you get, ie spending a lot of money. Brown blazing means taking a shit in every privvy along the trail. Etc. Probably.
97. Take time to chat with trail maintainers. Thank them as much as you can. The hike would not be possible without them, and they all have cool stories.
98. It’s okay to say no to trail magic. But also be so grateful for their support, time, and money.
99. Write in the log books to and use them to see where your friends are! Wash your hands after touching the pen.
100. No pain, no rain, no Maine. ❤️
bonus
- If it was easy everyone would do it.
-mothra
