For those who haven’t taken the 4 seconds to google the Appalachian trail, here are the facts:
-The trail is 2186 miles in length
-It is the longest “hiking-only” footpath in the world
-The trail is marked by 165,000 “white blaze” markers to find your way
-The AT passes through 14 states
- Georgia
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Maryland
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Maine
-The elevation changes amount to the equivalent height of 16 times Mount Everest
-The trail is not as far from civilization as most people think. On average, the trail crosses a road every 4 miles
-In 1921 Benton MacKaye went public with his proposal for the Appalachian Trail. He apparently came up with the idea while daydreaming up in a tree
-Less than 15,000 people have completed the trail since its completion in 1937
-3 out of 4 people who attempt the trek drop out early
-The average time to finish the trail is 5 months
-Jennifer Pharr Davis finished the trail with the fastest assisted time of 46 days, 11 hours and 20 mins (She did not have a backpack and was resupplied by crew)
-The trail is maintained by a network of volunteers who are coordinated by the Appalachian Trail Conservatory
-Nearly everyone who hikes the AT gets a nickname
-“Hiking the Appalachian Trail” now has a second meaning after South Carolina’s Governor, Mark Sanford’s office used that as his excuse when he disappeared with his mistress in 2009 for 6 days
-The AT runs by the only town in America to execute an elephant by hanging
Trail lingo:
Zero- A day where no miles are hiked, usually taken in an interesting place or to mend injuries
Nearo [near-oh]- A day where few miles are hiked.
NOBO [No-bow]- A north bound hiker
SOBO [So-bow]- A southbound hiker
Flip Flopper- A hiker who does half the trail then travels to the start of the other half
Yoyo- A hiker who completes the trail in one direction and imidiately hiked the trail in the opposite direction
Triple Crowner- A hiker who hiked the three major lattatunal trails in the US. Including the Pacific Coast Trail, Central Divide trail, and the Appalachian Trail
(I stole most of these from http://appalachiantrials.com/21-fascinating-appalachian-trail-facts/)
Man in the woods 