![]() ![]() I'm planning on starting my hike on September 17 - only a month away! In the meanwhile, I'll be posting about a variety of topics - how I plan for a hike, the gear, clothing, and food I take with me, and some of what's involved when you actually hit the trail. On a wooden post the white rectangle and letter S indicating the Appalachian trail heading south. And it should be fun to finish in Harper's Ferry, the traditional "psychological" half-way point of the trail, and home of the headquarters for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the organization that coordinates the clubs that maintain the trail. Pennsylvania doesn't usually show up on hiker's "must do" sections of the AT, but the hike is close, and I can drive to it, so there's less of an issue for travel time and expense. So this year I'm blocking out 7-8 days to hike south from Duncannon, PA, to Harper's Ferry, WV, a total of about 125 miles. I'm currently training for the Richmond Marathon in November, so I didn't want to take too much time out of marathon prep for a hike. Each year I try to add on a new section, and this year I've decided to write about my preparation and the hike itself. In the years since, I've knocked off 721 miles of the AT, traveling in sections from Erwin, TN, to the MD/PA border. 60 miles later I arrived at Reed's Gap - exhausted, blistered, and sun-burned - and I couldn't wait to get back out on the trail. The trail passes through 14 states and is maintained by 34 different trail mainten. ![]() I fondly remember my first multi-day trip - 4 days and 3 nights hiking north from the James River to Reed's Gap on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, is a footpath in the eastern United States for outdoor enthusiasts, extending about about 2140 miles from Maine to Georgia, along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains. At the time of the founding of the Appalachian Trail, all of the route south of the Potomac River passed through segregated states and any person of color who decided to hike in the mountains alone or in a group was quite literally placing his or her life in danger. I've been backpacking on the Appalachian Trail (the "AT") since the late 1990s. It is important to note that the vast majority of the members of these hiking clubs were white. I'll be going north to south, finishing in Harper's Ferry. My AT journeys to date - 1/3 of the way done! ![]()
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