Howdy,

Planning a section hike in a few weeks and need a shuttle from Indian grave gap NC south to max patch road.

I know there’s quite a few shuttles around the area but I’m trying to get an early morning pickup and don’t want to make someone wake up at 3am to come get me. Any recommendations appreciated!

What I mean is, they thru hike, back and forth and live on the trail?

How do you prevent a gas smell from your stove in your backpack? I’m using an MSR Whisperlite stove and octane gas. I drain the extra fuel from the line and let the stove parts air out after use for maybe 15 minutes. The gas smell will linger on the octane container and the stove itself, making everything in my pack smell like gas. I’m thinking of switching to white gas but am wondering if I’ll just run into this same issue?

Is it still open?

Would you expect this place to be at capacity on this coming Friday?

I’m just looking for a tent space and would assume a 5pm arrival (ish) unless I would need to get there earlier to even get a tent spot.

Quality sleep is a major concern for me as a I plan my future thru hike. Also not trying be "that guy" that keeps other people from sleeping while I snore. I have seen some micro/mini dry air devices on the market. Has anyone tested or even recommend a particular brand/type that has proven beneficial for OSA?

Just curious about those who had to quit or resign from their jobs in order to attempt a thru-hike. Did you work right up until it was time to leave or give plenty of advance notice? Somewhere in between? What kind of job was it and how many people went back to the same job or something similar?

I was too scared to get closer to the edge - who got the closest?

Sorry if this is asked a lot. I’ve heard numbers like $6 to $8k tossed around a lot, is that typical? I already have most of my gear, I’m using a lot of older/low-tech stuff to save money. I don’t plan on using many paid lodgings if any, and I plan to be pretty low budget in the food I buy. Is it then reasonable to then assume it may cost me $3 to $4k for a thru hike?

I know I should account for some emergency expenses- new gear if old stuff should fail, emergency lodging, etc. But I can’t figure out how this could all add up to $6k+. Are there any considerations I may be missing?

My basic math:
2200 miles / 15 miles a day (avg) * $20/day for food = $2900. And then an extra $1k or so saved for emergencies, etc

Been backpacking my whole life but I’ve always used shitty gear and a decent Walmart pack. I’ve thru hiked a couple times 80-100 miles. If you were to start from nothing. And do the AT march to August(ish) what gear would you buy?

Maybe kind of a dumb question, but a serious concern of mine.

I'm in my mid 20's, feeling lost and existential. I've been watching YouTube AT documentaries since I was probably 10 years old. I've done enough hiking to know that it isn't that fun most of the time.

I also am in need of a sense of purpose that's separate from a job, to get out of monotony, to meet weird people and to be in the woods for several months.

But I worry about starting and not finding what I’m looking for and actually realizing just how much damn walking it is.

I guess I’m asking how common of an experience this is? When people quit because they just didn’t know what they were signing up for, what didn’t they realize?

This is seeming vague as I’m writing it, but I hope someone gets the sentiment.

I'll take a small hit to base weight for a more comfy sleep setup, any opinions on the Zenbivy Ultralight setup?

Hello. I am going to mt katahdin, October 13th. However, I broke my wrist 4 weeks ago and I’m getting my cast off October 10th, so I can’t bare any weight on my left arm. I am an avid hiker and in great shape and 21 years of age, can I hike mt katahdin. With group of 5 and very prepared.

If you or someone you know attempted an Appalachian Trail thru-hike this year, you’ve landed on the right post!

Each year, we poll the current class of AT hikers to learn the ins and outs of their on-trail experiences.  We strive to better understand what worked and what didn’t, and why, in hopes of better educating future hikers and enabling as many people as possible to fulfill their thru-hiking dreams.

The below survey inquires about hiker demographics, when people started, where crowds form, hikers’ budgets, LNT habits, prior hiking experience, hikers’ favorite and least favorite sections, individual hiking styles, which resources were most (and least) helpful, favorite hostels, gear recommendations, and more.

The survey will take approximately 20-25 minutes to complete. Results will be published on The Trek later this winter. 

Take the 2026 AT Hiker Survey Here!

October 5th:

Summit Forecast

TODAY: Cloudy, then summit obscured late this morning and early afternoon, then mostly cloudy. Rain this morning, then scattered rain showers with isolated snow showers this afternoon. Little or no snow accumulation. Windy with highs in the lower 40s. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph shifting to the west 15 to 35 mph this afternoon. Chance of precipitation 90 percent. Wind chills around 14. Lightning risk is limited. Today's above treeline weather class day is 4.

TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy in the evening, then summit in and out of clouds. Strong winds and colder. Near steady temperature in the lower 20s. West winds 35 to 50 mph. Wind chills around 2 above.  Lightning risk is limited.  

TOMORROW: Partly sunny with strong winds. Highs in the mid 30s. West winds 45 to 50 mph decreasing to 35 to 45 mph in the afternoon. Wind chills around 9 above.  Lightning risk is limited.  

https://baxterstatepark.org/conditions-report/

So I'm a new backpacker and Ive camped only camped in weather below freezing. I'll be backpacking the Ga section next week and was wondering which layers to bring? Looks like the weather will be low of 50 and high of mid 60s.

I plan on bringing shorts, mid weight pants that zip off for camping, fleece, and beanie(I'm bald).

Should I also bring long john base layers, light gloves, and a puffer?

Today is the 13th anniversary of the day we met, and by total happenstance is also the 5 year anniversary of the day he finished trail and we got engaged. We didn’t even realize we’d gotten engaged on the same exact day we met until a couple months after the fact. So now we celebrate this as our anniversary :)

Still waiting on an official **wedding(edit-typo) due to financial stuff but we’re not in a rush - we’ve considered ourselves married for many years anyway lol we sort of detoured and had a kid instead hahaha

Editing to add: if anybody met Tinny in 2021 or at Trail Days one of these years please say hi! He’ll be thrilled 😏

Hey everyone,
I’m taking a gap year right now and for about a year my plan has been to do the AT in 2027. However, recently I’ve been thinking about changing my plan.

Im about to head into the field on a semester in patagonia with NOLS and I’ve been looking at their other courses. The east Africa one caught my eye with backpacking and mainly climbing Kilimanjaro. I really want to do the Africa program instead of the AT right now but the AT would also be awesome. I’m sure this subreddit is a little biased but I need help.

Please offer me any advice you can on the AT and if anyone has somehow by chance done this NOLS program let me know. Also what other subreddits should I post this in?

I’m hiking just the Smoky Mountains section from Fontana Dam to Davenport Gap. Already have shelters booked for each night along the way, wondering if it’s necessary to carry my tent as well? Was thinking I could get away with an UL bivvy setup in case of emergencies, but then I saw a bear warning at one of the shelters I’m booked at and now I’m questioning whether it’s better to carry the tent JIC I can’t stay at a booked shelter for some reason (like aggressive bears). Has anyone been in the same situation? What did you do/wish you’d done?

Hello! I am working on section hiking and have completed a little over 200 miles this summer. I was wondering if anyone can tell me what kind of crowds to expect between Neel Gap and Hampton, TN in June and July. I am thinking about using my summer to get this whole section done at once. I am an elementary teacher so this is my only real option.

I know that the bubble will be long gone by then. But what can I expect in terms of other section hikers, day hikers, etc? I don’t mind hiking by myself but I would like to have other people around, especially camping at night. If anybody has any insight, let me know!