Hiking the Appalachian Trail
(GCC: Ever since I read Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, it has been a dream of mine to hike the Appalachian Trail. It’s also a popular idea for those early stages of Early Retirement, when the psychological transition from earning to spending is underway. Fresh air, physical exertion, and low prices are a great cure all. Plus an accomplishment as great as this one can bring a whole new perspective to life. Just ask Joe, today’s guest post author. )
Me (after returning from a three day hike in the Smokies): Hey, uhh…Katie?
Katie: Yes?
Me: I wanna hike the Appalachian Trail. Like the whole thing. All at once.
Katie: You do? When?
Me: This March (we were planning on getting married in March…)
Katie: Okay…?
Me: Ya! So I met this guy…
I was out for a weekender with a few friends on spring break when I met my first thru hiker. He had a beard down to his chest, he was wearing a raggedy fedora and he smelled like wet socks left in a car on a summer day in FL. I wanted to be just like him. Marcus, or “Little Engine” was his name; A “SOBO” southbounder that had just completed his thru hike and was extending his trip.
At first I was scared of this man and didn’t want to go anywhere near him. I observed from a safe distance and quickly realized he was decent, educated, and had a lot of experience and knowledge. Before I met him I never believed people ACTUALLY took 6 months out of their lives to hike through 14 states. Almost exactly a year later I’d be one of those locos attempting to walk 2,200 miles with a 20 lb pack from GA to ME. (A “Gamer”) :P
We pushed back our wedding to Sept.1 and I was scheduled to leave March 1, giving me exactly 6 months to complete the trail. Then my sister got engaged and set her wedding date to March 10, yay… My March 12th start date was then set!
Getting Started
Starting the trail I was a bit concerned (read: freaking nervous) I couldn’t finish early enough for my wedding, so I obsessed over being as lightweight as I could afford, to be as efficient as possible. Backpacking gear is pretty basic but it is one of the biggest costs of a thru hike. If you’re starting from scratch you’ll need a decent backpack (go figure) a three season tent and a sleeping bag. Those make up “the big three” and those costs combined can easily add up to $1500 or more. On the other hand a great entry level setup can be had for ~$300. But think, no rent, no gas, no internet, cable, etc… while being on the trail. That’s a great deal!
(Joe’s Big 3 4 ideas: Backpack, Tent, Sleeping Bag, plus a sleeping pad.)
(GCC: or the bag we used on the Wonderland Trail.)
Daily costs are very low. You hike for about a week, carry enough food to get you to the next town, then head to civilization to resupply. You do this again, and again… and again. In town you might indulge in the family size pizza (for yourself, of course)… and 2 hours later the double bacon cheeseburger with a large side of onion rings all washed down with a tub-sized milkshake. You’ll likely pay $15-30 for a cozy dorm bed in a hostel, primarily for the hot shower. If you really want to splurge you can book the town’s only hotel and have a more luxurious experience but that will cost you about $100. Smart people will split this cost with five other smelly hikers.
The greatest aspect of hiking the trail is that you find freedom from everything in “normal” life that typically causes stress. Picking a daily outfit, long commutes in traffic, news. Also it’s CHEAP compared to the alternative. The only problem is that you’re not really MAKING any money while thru hiking unless you have already developed sources of passive income streams.
It took me exactly four months and thirteen days to complete my thru hike. That might sound like a long time to be roughing it in the woods, but honestly it wasn’t enough. I met some of the most incredible people, learned so much about gratitude and experienced something that so many people only dream of doing. Did I ever feel like quitting? No, not really. Only because I had such great support back at home.
McAfee Knob
The encouragement that my now wife, Katie gave me during my hike was powerful. She sent me high-school style love notes and boxes filled with snacks and random food I had requested. (coconut M&M’s, who knew?) I missed her and my family very much but the motivation to make everyone at home proud also kept me going. I’m not sure if it would’ve been the same if I was doing it solo. I also get teary eyed when I read all of the letters my mother-in-law’s fifth grade class sent me. “I wonder what you are doing? I wish I was there?” From a girl in a wheelchair. And, “I lik you tent. I do not lik your bathroom. Ew!” From the boy learning english. (I think he was referring to the privy with no doors or walls, haha!)
Focus on the Cupcakes! (A whole box just for me)
Having said this, there were many emotional lows I experienced on the trail. Talk to any thru hiker and they’ll likely tell you that the hardest aspect about a long hike are the emotional challenges not the physical ones. I can’t tell you how many times I didn’t want to get out of my warm and cozy down sleeping bag only to put on my soggy, stinky hiking outfit and start yet another day in the cold rain. Or the frustration I felt trying to catch a hitch to a nearby town so I could get a warm shower and a legitimate meal while car after car sped past me. I saw many thru hikers quit and countless individuals who continued their hike but were generally unhappy. Maybe they were battling with stress they left back at home. Maybe they were sick of eating Knorr pasta sides and peanut butter and were ready to be finished. There’s a reason why the AT thru hike success rate is only about 20%. It’s not a walk in the park.
I like to tell people that the trail can be done for as much or as little as you want, like real life. There are “hiker boxes” in every town where people leave what they don’t want and items are free for others to take. You can camp just outside towns and resupply in the morning and do all other chores before heading out in the evening to avoid the “town vortex” and associated costs. There is a lot of room to do the trail on the cheap. A good estimate would be $3,000 – $5,000 to hike the whole trail. It sounds like a lot but where else in the U.S. can one live for 5 months on that little?
I’d urge anyone even slightly considering taking on the Appalachian Trail to “do it.” Thru hiking the AT was the best thing I’ve done in my life. It’s a great way to spend six months and you might even learn a thing or two about yourself and life in general. Regardless, you’ll never know unless you try it.
Plus, there’s nothing better than a warm shower and ice cream after 6 days of camping in the woods. So appreciate the small stuff. That’s what the trail taught me…. :)
Crossing the Finish Line
If it wasn’t for Little Engine I might not have embarked on that journey so I owe it to him to encourage others to do the same.
I essentially walked my way to our wedding and I am so grateful for Katie and all of the support my family gave me while I was on the trail.
We clean up nice
Thank you for reading. Please reach out to me if you have any thru hiking questions.
-Smilin’ Joe
Thanks for sharing. I have definitely considered it, but not seriously. I’m going to give the Bill Bryson book a read and maybe that will change my mind.
A Walk In the Woods was actually the first time I’d heard of thru hiking. It’s definitely a great read, one of my favorite books actually. The movie isn’t as good as the book of course.
The movie was pretty terrible, but the book is all kinds of inspiring.
Wowza, what a neat experience! I can say it’s definitely not for me, but it sounds like such a great experience!
A buddy of mine went GA-ME in 2005. His biweekly email updates to a few dozen friends were EPIC. It’s not for me — I’m happy with dayhikes and the occasional long weekender — but it’s awfully inspiring to hear from folks who take a stab at it. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
You are the hero! Hiking 2200 miles, in 4 months and 13 days, that’s fantastic. I’m so glad to hear you had your dream come true, and got the great support from your wife. Congrats! Did you feel lonely while on the trail? How did you handle the wild animals when you saw them, like bears, wolves, snakes (I have snake phobia)? Did you miss the social media during that time? Thank you for sharing the great story.
Hello Helen! Thanks for reading :). I never really felt lonely on the trail because I met sooooo many wonderful people. When you’re thru hiking you develop what we call a “trail family” and it’s a very strong connection. I also spoke with Katie when I made it to towns. I saw five bears total when I was on the trail, many dears, a porcupine, along with other random animals. I did see one huge rattle snake in West Virginia. I thought it was a pile of rocks and almost used it for traction as I approached it. It shot up and started rattling at me and my heart almost bounced out of my chest! Luckily, there was a hiker from Arizona with a huge staff right behind me that helped carefully direct it off the trail. Phew… My wife has a snake phobia too, so I know the feeling. As for social media, it wasn’t as big when I was on the trail. I only updated my facebook and honestly, not having it was one of the great joys of thru hiking :). Thanks again for commenting!
Hey Joe – nice to see you over here! As you know, hiking the AT is one of my FI goals. I know it’s not all about the time, but DAMN – 4.5 months is fantastic!! People always give me crap for being a fast hiker or pulling long days but it’s imperative to go your own pace or HYOH. Some days are faster or longer than others but I have found I am at my best when the shit in my brain is exhausted before I physically end my day. No one wants to be one of the 80%! :) I look forward to using you as a source for information as the day gets closer!!
Hey girl. Do it! My hike was a little “fast” but I had PLENTY of zeros and neros. Katie visited my in NJ then we spent three days in NYC while I was on the trail. I also took a couple days to visit a good friend in DC so even at 4.5 months, there was a lot of “unproductive” days ;). Trail legs are a real thing. I got mine in Hot Springs, NC where I became a machine. It was great challenging myself to see what I was capable of. My longest day was 47 miles! I was actually the slowest in my group, but I walked at a comfortable pace and only fell twice the entire trip :P. Thanks for reading and yes, don’t be shy if you need help planning your thru hike.
I attempted a thru hike in 2018. I made it as far as one day from New Jersey due to a sprained foot a few weeks earlier.
I figured as long as I wouldn’t finish in time, why do it in pain.
The thing I detested the most was the time suck of hitching to town to resupply. Bicycle camping is much easier in that regard.
If I go on a thru hike again I will also ditch any time goals. I liked being on the trail a lot more than trying to get to Damascus for trail days or the Hudson Valley for my birthday with friends
That is rad! We’ve done a few section hikes and love the AT. Such a cool idea that was miraculously brought to fruition primarily through the work of volunteers.
Not sure I’ll ever do a thru hike but it’s a very tempting idea.
The only backpacking I had done before thru-hiking was a few weekenders on the trail. I instantly fell in love with it. It’s a special place. Still my favorite trail.
Thanks for this awesome write-up! I’ve been idly considering a thru-hike although I’m not sure if I’d be able to actually finish it. That’s not an excuse for not attempting it, though!
Snakes, though. Fear of snakes is definitely a huge reservation I have about doing long hikes…
Thanks for the kind words, Erin. Even if you don’t finish it at least you will have done an awesome section hike ;). Snakes are not that common on the trail unless you’re looking for them. I saw more bears than snakes!
Congrats man!! I grew up on the east coast and close to the AT, so after college a buddy and I started working on it in pieces. That works well and is fun until your ending points are a 4 hour drive away….
So I’ve done about 525 miles of it in segmented trips. I’d love nothing more than to do the whole she-bang at once like you did.
Great accomplishment and great post!
Lucky! A dream of ours would be to take the RV to the trail and set up a base near the trail so we can hang out with thru hikers and give them trail magic. It’s one of our many early retirement plans :). Thanks for reading.
Joseph Jimenez is my son-in-law. I have called him my friend since he was a student in our church youth group. When my daughter Katie showed an interest him when she was a freshman in high school, I had no reservations in allowing her to go out with him. He was a good young man then, and he has only improved with age. Joe and Katie are two of the most impressive people I know. They live life according to THEIR rules- not the rules that have been defined by tradition, society and culture – the rules that many of us follow blindly and are slowly suffocated by. They have found a way to live their lives that suits them just fine, and I admire them greatly for showing such a courageous spirit and love of life. I myself am paying close attention to them and learning from them. My wife and I have benefited from their experiences and we are constantly amazed at how they are always finding new approaches to life and experiencing new adventures. Congratulations, Joe and Katie, for breaking out of the mold and being YOU! I love you two more than you know and could not be more proud of you both!
No one has mentioned Grandma Gatewood !!!! She is my inspiration for walking the trail, she did it solo in her 60’s. Her story is incredible, a true hiking pioneer.
She is a true legend.
I loved reading about your journey. I could see Apple Orchard Mountian daily in VA growing up and would dream about through hiking the whole trail after weekend trips on it with scouts.
As I got older, I realized the cold April/May rains in NC and VA would break me as it does most Northbound hikers. I’ll take the day hike, anvil like hit of jumping into a cold swimming hole, then back to the warm shower.
Thanks for commenting! I think there was a stretch where it rained at some point in the day/night for 40 days straight! I loved the sound of the rain drops on my tent, and now on our RV, it’s so relaxing. I’d love to live close to the trail someday!
As an extra motivation, long walk(s) with a low carb diet can be an effective cure for brain fog, pre-diabetes, high blood pressure, overweight (mind the knees), etcetera. High protein like sardines and fat like raw oil seeds linseed, sesame, peanut. Not so readily available at a reasonable cost in much of USA. Doing sections while on walkabout is nice also.
Nice writeup! I’m thru-hiking the AT in 2018 as a mini-retirement before buckling down for the last 5 years to FI. Very much looking forward to the experience!
That’s awesome! You’ll have a blast. I can’t wait to do another long hike. Since the AT I haven’t done more than two week hikes, but I plan to as soon as I hit FI. Enjoy :)!
Great story indeed! I wonder – did you see many (any) lone female hikers? How safe would it be for a woman to do this alone? Do they carry something for protection?
LOL! There are a ton of solo female hikers. One of my best friends from the trail was a solo female hiker. She went on to hike the Pacific Crest Trail on the west coast. And no, women don’t carry anything extra for protection that I am aware of. It’s simply unnecessary/impractical. The greatest thing about hikers is that they care for one another and watch each other’s backs. If someone is being unruly, disrespectful or is generally being a creep they will not be welcomed by the crowd and will leave. The community is very welcoming towards everyone unless they bring negative vibes. Something else people don’t realize about the trail is that the AT is very much a community experience. You’re never far from civilization and every night (if you want to) you gather around a shelter to cook, hang out and share stories. That’s the best part of thru hiking IMO :).
Goodnight, you started early! I think my attempt will start on/about April 1st. I don’t deal well with extreme cold. I’m impressed by your pack weight, too. So many people seem to start at much, much higher weights. 20 lbs is a good number. I have most of the gear I will need….just need to get to retirement!
Hey! Thanks for commenting. I’m a big nerd so I obsessed over gear leading up to my trip. I had some great equipment but I save a ton of weight by forgoing certain items. Plus I had read all the horror stories of people re-outfitting themselves at Mount Crossing after just 3 days on the trail! I don’t carry “camp shoes”, pillow, crazy electronic gadgets, etc… I also don’t carry much water. I just camel up when I hit a water source and it’ll get me to the next place. Luckily, the AT has plenty of water sources and basically every shelter has a reliable source so it’s very easy to gage. I plan to go frame-less for my next long hike. Happy hiking!
I did a LASH (Long A$$ Section Hike) this year on the AT. I was out for 27 days and wanted to do the whole thing but my job didn’t want to give me any unpaid time off. They didn’t want to let me take my full 20 days off at ones and only agreed after i told them i am ready to quit. After i came back i started looking at other way of being able to take 6 months off and found the concept of FIRE. Now my goal is to fire in 10 years and do the whole trail in one go. I am so jealous of you and your accomplishment. Congratulations.
Haha! Lasher… my MIL did 3 week hike this summer and she came back telling me she was a lasher. I was like “WTF?” I’d never heard of the term until then. That’s great that you had the courage to quit and isn’t it amazing what that allowed you to do? It’s incredible how much employers agree to once they realize they might lose a valuable asset. Welcome to the FI community. It’s almost as good as the hiker community ;).
I can honestly say if it were not for your thru-hike, we would not be where we are now! We would not be traveling all over the world, living in an RV or retiring in our 30s! This was such a wonderful article dear and I am so proud of you!
A wise man told me I ruined myself (in a good way) for hiking the trail. ;)
Inspiring story! I’ve read a couple books of a few that hiked through. Always been attracted by the simplicity of it. Hiking with everything you need with you for months. I do back country hiking, including a portion the Killarney trail (Ontario Canada). Nothing compared to AT but it has it’s own challenges over 80KM; including an adventure with a bear — fun story.
ooooh, how I’d love to backpack in Canada. As for the simplicity of hiking goes, I completely agree. I love how you can organize your entire life in one pack! The trail pretty much turned me into a minimalist because on the trail you view every little thing as a burden because it weighs down on you ;). (I took this mindset to my real life). Thank you for reading!
If you ever make it up for back packing and want recommendations on where to start, let me know! I mostly know Ontario though, so I can’t weigh in on the other provinces… yet!
Have you checked out any blogs/info on ultra light backpacking? There are some hard core enthusiasts for light equipment out there. I can totally see backpacking making someone a minimalist in the rest of their life. I personally refuse to carry anything over 20lbs. And that’s still considered heavy by most of the community.
I recently went down the rabbit hole of extreme ultralight gear to educate myself on the latest stuff… It’s crazy how light people are going these days. UL hiking has really become popular in the states!The next long hike I do I’ll hopefully have a cuben tent and a frame-less pack with no hip-belt :). I just a brand new UL Feathered Friends sleeping bad that I’ll use. Taking it on our trip to New Zealand tomorrow!
Cheers!
Oh dear, you dared to look… Yea they have all kinds of light gear, and tricks. Like drilling holes in the toothbrush handle to lighten it. You’ll have to let me know how you like the frameless pack. Enjoy your trip!
I love our frameless pack. We used our packs on the 100 mile Wonderland Trail and they are still going strong around the world 8 years later.
This post got me seriously looking into camping gear. The biggest problem for me is that I really like showering everyday, but maybe I need a little more adversity in my life :)
Great stuff, and one hell of an accomplishment!
Thanks so much! I love nerding out over the latest backpacking gear. You get used to not showering but it does pretty much suck. Thank you for the kind words. I enjoy seeing all of your gardening accomplishments!
This is something I don’t think I have the patience for. Or the balls? I love to hike, but I’m a day-hiker type. Maybe some day… I know after reading about it in Bryson’s book that some days are just slogs from hell. The feeling of accomplishment is what I think you take away from it all. That and knowing you didn’t spend that many days in a friggin cubicle.
Hey man! There’s a popular saying “the worst day on the trail is better than the best day in the office.” :). I hadn’t done anything longer than a three day trip, so when I started I wasn’t really sure if I could do it. You’re 100% right, after finishing I felt this crazy positive sense of confidence. Like if just walked from Georgia to Maine I can do anything! Thanks for commenting.
My niece thru hiked the AT back in 2009. My sister would send me updates of how it was going. I was impressed – they got stuck a few times because of snow in the south early on.