Appalachian Trail – 2023/2024

Why the Appalachian Trail (AT)?

I can’t tell you how many hikers, friends and family have asked me when or if I am going to hike the Appalachian Trail (AT) and get my Triple Crown. Even Mrs. Haze commented a few years ago that I should hike the AT before I get too old. My response has always been that I had too many hikes left to do in the wild West. And besides, I enjoy solitude and hiking in more remote, wide-open settings.

So what has changed? Nothing really, however I do have less long hikes to do in the West. Also definitely a fact that I am older. I just came to realize during and since my Colorado Trail hikes this past summer that I would be denying myself a tremendous new challenge, a new environment and an opportunity to continue to learn and grow.

So Appalachian Trail and Springer Mountain here I come in! My flight is booked and I’ve put together a rough schedule. Most of my gear is in pretty good shape but I still have lots of work to do. As usual, I can’t wait!

Firstly, I really have to learn the proper pronunciation of the Appalachian Trail. Kind of like the “Apple.at’.chan” Trail – glad I sorted that out before I embarrassed myself. Without a doubt, there will be plenty more opportunities for that!

AT – What & Where?

The Appalachian Trail, completed in 1937 and conceived by Benton MacKaye, a forester, extends along the spine of the Appalachian Mountains for about 2,200 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin (mouwnt kuh.taa’.dn) in Maine, passing through 14 states, six national parks, eight national forests and 67 state-owned land areas. The AT finally became a National Scenic Trail in 1968.

The highest point on the Appalachian Trail is Clingman’s Dome, 6,643 ft, in North Carolina, and the lowest point is Bear Mountain State Park, 124 ft, in New York. I am especially looking forward to the Grayson Highlands (VA), Great Smoky Mountains, Shenandoah National Park, NH’s White Mountains and Maine. I was a bit surprised to learn that the AT has more elevation change, over 520,000 ft, than the longer PCT. Tougher than the Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail? We’ll see!

A lot of useful information for trail preparation is found at http://www.appalachiantrail.org and http://www.theatguide.com.

AT Daily Posts

My daily blogs and other posts related to the AT are found below:

• AT: Cold and Wet Weather?
• AT: Bear and Other Critters
• AT: Preparation & Training
• AT: Progress
• AT: T Minus 24 Days
• AT: AT Approach Trail, Amicalola Falls
• AT Day 1: Wet First Day on the Trail
• AT Day 2: Rolling Hills & Gaps
• AT Day 3: Blood Mountain & Neel Gap
• AT Day 4: Blue Mountain & Unicoi Gap
• AT Day 5: Zero Day in Hiawassee GA
• AT Day 6: Unicoi Gap to Dicks Gap
• AT Day 7: Goodbye Georgia, Hello North Carolina!
• AT Day 8: Southern Nantahala Wilderness
• AT Day 9: Mostly Down to Winding Stair Gap
• AT Day 10: Zero Day in Franklin NC
• AT Day 11: Wayah Bald & Rocky Bald
• AT Day 12: Down to the Nantahala River & Up!
• AT Day 13: Long Haul to Fontana Dam
• AT Day 14: Into the Great Smoky Mountains NP
• AT Day 15: GSMNP to Siler’s Bald Shelter
• AT Day 16: Clingman’s Dome & Newfound Gap
• AT Day 17: Zero Day in Gatlinburg TN
• AT Day 18: GSMNP to Past Mt Guyot
• AT Day 19: Out of the Smokies to Snowbird Mtn
• AT Day 20: Cherokee NF & Past Max Patch
• AT Day 21: A Nero in Hot Springs NC
• AT Day 22: And a Zero Day in Hot Springs
• AT Day 23: Mill Ridge & Pigsah NF
• AT Day 24: Pigsah NF & Whiterock Cliff
• AT Day 25: Over Big Bald to Spivey Gap
• AT Day 26: Downhill to the Nolichucky River
• AT Day 27: Zero Day in Erwin TN
• AT Day 28: Unaka Mountain
• AT Day 29: Roan Highlands & Round Bald
• AT Day 30: Roan Highlands into Tennessee
• AT Day 31: Cherokee NF to Black Bear Resort
• AT Day 32: Pond Mountain Wilderness
• AT Day 33: Zero Day at Boots Off Hostel
• AT Day 34: Cherokee NF to Cross Mountain
• AT Day 35: Goodbye Tennessee, Hello Virginia!
• AT Day 36: Zero Day in Damascus VA
• AT Day 37: Virginia Creeper Trail
• AT Day 38: Mt Rogers & Grayson Highlands
• AT Day 39: Jefferson National Forest
• AT Day 40: Short Hop to Mt Rogers HQ
• AT Day 41: Zero Day in Marion VA
• AT Day 42: Davis Valley & Jefferson NF
• AT Day 43: Virginia Countryside
• AT Day 44: Another Day in Jefferson NF
• AT Day 45: Virginia Hills
• AT Day 46: Downhill to Pearisburg VA
• AT Day 47: Zero Day in Pearisburg VA
• AT Day 48: Peters Mountain Wilderness
• AT Day 49: Double Hump in Jefferson NF
• AT Day 50: Sinking Creek to Dragon’s Tooth
• AT Day 51: McAfee Knob & Tinker Cliffs
• AT Day 52: Carvin Cove Down to Daleville
• AT Day 53: Zero Day in Daleville VA
• AT Day 54: Along the Blue Ridge Parkway
• AT Day 55: Still Near the Blue Ridge Parkway
• AT Day 56: James River Face Wilderness
• AT Day 57: Zero Day at Stanimals in Glasgow VA
• AT Day 58: George Washington NF
• AT Day 59: Into the Priest River Wilderness
• AT Day 60: 3 Hanging Rock & Humpback Mtn
• AT Day 61: Humpback Mtn to Rockfish Gap
• AT Day 62: Zero Day in Waynesboro VA
• AT Day 63: Into Shenandoah National Park
• AT Day 64: Along Shenandoah’s Skyline Drive
• AT Day 65: SNP’s Big Meadows & Skyland Lodges
• AT Day 66: On to Thorton Gap & Luray VA
• AT Day 67: Last Day in the Shenandoahs
• AT Day 68: Short Hop to Front Royal
• AT Day 69: Zero Day in Front Royal VA
• AT Day 70: Virginia Green Tunnel
• AT Day 71: Virginia Roller Coaster to WV
• AT Day 72: Into Harpers Ferry WV
• AT Day 73: Harper Ferry & Potomac River
• AT: First Half Recap
• AT: Second Half of the AT
• AT: Holidays
• AT: Progress
• AT: About Ready to Go
• AT: Fine Tuning
• AT Day 74: Maryland!
• AT Day 75: Another Day in Maryland
• AT Day 76: On to Pennsylvania
• AT Day 77: Pennsylvania Pines
• AT Day 78: Pine Grove Furnace State Park
• AT Day 79: Boiling Springs & Cumberland Valley
• AT Day 80: Cumberland Valley to Cove Mountain
• AT Day 81: Short Hop to Duncannon
• AT Day 82: Zero Day in Duncannon PA
• AT Day 83: Out of the City & Into the Country
• AT Day 84: Creeks, Bridges, Beavers & Ridgetops
• AT Day 85: Ankle Busting PA Rocks & Boulders
• AT Day 86: Into Port Clinton PA
• AT Day 87: Zero Day in Hamburg PA
• AT Day 88: Hawk Mountain Detour
• AT Day 89: Across the Lehigh River to Blue Mtn
• AT Day 90: Rocky Trail to Wolf Rocks
• AT Day 91: Rainy Day to Delaware Water Gap
• AT Day 92: Zero Day in Delaware Water Gap PA
• AT Day 93: Across the Delaware River into NJ
• AT Day 94: Tallest Point in New Jersey
• AT Day 95: All the Way to Vernon NJ
• AT Day 96: New York, New York!
• AT Day 97: Zero Day in Greenwood Lake NY
• AT Day 98: Green Canopy of New York
• AT Day 99: Bear Mountain & Hudson River
• AT Day 100: Long Hike to NY Pizzeria Stop
• AT Day 101: Rainy Day to the Dover Oak
• AT Day 102: Zero Day in Pawling NY
• AT Day 103: Into CT Along the Housatonic River
• AT Day 104: Housatonic River Valley
• AT Day 105: Really in New England Now!
• AT Day 106: Zero Day in Great Barrington MA
• AT Day 107: The Berkshires
• AT Day 108: Boardwalks, Marshes & Goose Pond
• AT Day 109: Dalton to Chesire & Beyond
• AT Day 110: Mt Greylock down to Williamstown MA
• AT Day 111: Into Vermont, Only Three States Left
• AT Day 112: Zero Day in Bennington VT
• AT Day 113: Glastenbury Wilderness
• AT Day 114: Lye Brook Wilderness to Bromley Mtn
• AT Day 115: Bromley Mtn to Little Rock Pond
• AT Day 116: White Rocks & Beyond
• AT Day 117: Killington Peak
• AT Day 118: Zero Day in Killington VT
• AT Day 119: Kent Pond to On The Edge Farm
• AT Day 120: Last Day in Vermont to Norwich
• AT Day 121: Hanover NH & Moose Mtns
• AT Day 122: Down to Lyme NH
• AT Day 123: Zero Day in Lyme NH
• AT Day 124: NH Mtns to Wachipauka Pond
• AT Day 125: Mt Moosilauke to Kinsman Notch
• AT Day 126: Kinsman Mountains
• AT Day 127: Zero Day in Lincoln NH
• AT Day 128: Franconia Ridge & Mt Garfield
• AT Day 129: White Mtns to near Crawford Notch
• AT Day 130: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
• AT Day 131: Up and Over Mt Washington
• AT Day 132: The Last of the Whites
• At Day 133: Zero Day in Gorham NH
• AT Day 134: Mahoosuc Range to Gentian Pond
• AT Day 135: Into Maine & Goose Eye Peaks
• AT Day 136: Mahoosuc Notch & Old Spec
• AT Day 137: Baldpate Peaks & Wyman Mountain
• AT Day 138: Moody, Old Blue & Beemis Mtns
• AT Day 139: Zero Day in Rangeley ME
• AT Day 140: Rangeley Slackpack
• AT Day 141: Saddleback Mtns to Orbeton Stream
• AT Day 142: Southern ME Mtns & Carrabassett River
• AT Day 143: Crocker Mtns & Hostel of Maine
• AT Day 144: Bigelow Mountains
• AT Day 145: Flagstaff, Carry & Pierce Ponds
• AT Day 146: Across the Mighty Kennebec River
• AT Day 147: Zero Day in Caratunk ME
• AT Day 148: Ponds, Mountains & Balds
• AT Day 149: Onward to Monson ME
• AT Day 150: Independence Day in Monson ME
• AT Day 151: Into the 100-Mile Wilderness
• AT Day 152: Over the Chairback Mtns to Gulf Hagas
• AT Day 153: Gulf Hagas, Hay & White Cap Mtns
• AT Day 154: Mtn View Pond to Nahmakanta Stream
• AT Day 155: Nahkamanta Stream to Rainbow Lake
• AT Day 156: Rainbow Lake to Abol Bridge
• AT Day 157: Zero Day at Abol Bridge ME
• AT Day 158: The Birches at Katahdin Stream
• AT Day 159: Katahdin Summit Bid!
• AT: Second Half Recap
• AT: International Appalachian Trail