Appalachian Trail Fail in 2021!

So, for the last 2 weeks, every time that I start a post. Something comes up. So this is a bit delayed. But I will be going back to weekly.

I tried to hike the Appalachian Trail in 2021. I left after 30 days. It was not a great experience in a lot of ways and most of them were unforeseen issues. I started out with the stairs being out and addition mileage the first night. The stairs for the trail had washed out a few day prior to my arrival. It was a late start that day, i.e. 2pm ish. I had an asthma attack the evening and had to walk very slowly which means that I did not get far that evening.

I had not had an issue with my asthma for years. The 1st day, I didn’t even get off the approach trail and slept on the side of the trail that had a site. I did make sure that I was next to a road and was able to get a signal just in case it got worst in the middle of the night. Plus some one was walking around my tent that night. I was sure it was a human but did not want to show that I was a female and alone. So, I just kept very still and quiet until the person left my tent area.

I found out a few days later, that the military did military evening training in the area. I guess they use to leave little soldiers around the sleeping area to show how close they could get to campers and not have them know. But it upset campers so they stopped that years before. But I think that this was what visited me. Humans have certain foot falls vs animals. There is a big difference. If it was not military, then they would have made different noises.

My first day and night were just full of fun. I did not even get dinner because I was almost out of water. It was not a good start. Because I was walking slow and drank a bit more then I would have because I was having the asthma attack, I drank more then I should have for the amount of miles that I had done was wasn’t all that much.

The next day, I did not even get to the beginning of the trail because I had to walk slowly as I was still not breathing very well and I had to walk very very slow and stop a lot. It was not bad enough to call for help but I was moving slowly and not getting very far at all. I was able to contact a driver so that I could leave the trail and go to town but he was nice enough to just bring me an inhaler the next day. I was so thankful but it left me at the Springer Mountain Shelter for the full day. So only about 9 miles for the first 2 days and I had not even started the trail.

The morning of day 3rd, I got an inhaler but I was weak because I had not drink enough water that first day and the breathing issues. So, I did not get very far from the top of springer. I was starting to get more strength but I was still just weak and I did not get enough to eat really. The next night, this guy was just not really cool but not a big deal. But the next morning, I made a fire to heat water. He just was all upset because I needed to move over so that he would make it a bigger fire so he could get warm and it just was uncomfortable. This is were I did not get enough to eat.

The next night, I think that I pushed a bit to far. But I realized that the next day, that I was losing weight from the lack of food intake and just needed a day off to eat. So, I hiked to the next shelter, got wood together so that I could force myself to eat every hour on the hour. Yet, another man choose to throw all the wood that I gathered into the fire and basically started to tell me how he was never getting off the trail and that we could become buddies. Plus I could get more wood for the fire. My back was done so I did not eat every hour on the hour and my weight lost was going to be an issue.

For the next few days, I tried to shake this guy. Because after all, if I needed to get a hotel room, then he would join me and I could pay for it. It would be for my sake that he would be joining me. Yeah, right. He just wanted a free room for the night. Plus he wouldn’t have to go into town as I could pick things up for him, i.e. he did not have to pay for the ride. He had more rules for me then an of my husbands or boyfriends. Most of them were for his benefit, i.e. I would gather wood every night because he did not need it. Plus, I am not sure what he was telling other people but I don’t think that it made me out to be someone that they would like to know.

I am fuzzy on a few things about timing but I believe that we were having really bad weather, so I got off the trail for the evening. He was staying on the trail for the evening but would meet up with me in the morning because I wasn’t getting a hotel and only a bunk, i.e. I would not be staying some where that I would be paying for him. But the joke was on him. I started for 2 nights. So, he would have a two day start on me.

Yeah, the joke was on me. I got back to the trail from were I was staying and was having my final Coke because there were trash cans in the parking area. I was just putting on my backpack and behind me someone called, “Bet you did not think you would see me again.” I was hoping but not hard enough. Another day with him. But he told me were he was going to be sleeping so I stopped one sleeping area before that.

Finally, I felt he would be ahead of me and I could ditch him. But then I picked up a new one. This one wanted to share a tent. Opening line all about stopping to get drugs at the local girly bar and where did I work. I don’t and no thank you. I lost something and he ended up being the only one that had one, so I got to walk up as he was talking to he girl friend or wife to ask about a trade or purchase. He still wanted into my tent. You have two chooses on the trail, slow down or speed up to lose someone. Now, I was spending the night at the same camp with both of them.

I was able to mainly stay between the two of them or every other night had one of them would be at my camp. Then my food bag went missing. I am 99% sure who took it. But you never know. But my gut feeling was it was for revenge not a mistake. With no food bag, I had to get a place and get to town. A few hikers had hear about the missing food bag and were nice enough to give me a bit of food for the day. But I called for a place and had to meet the driver before sundown. The only issue was that it was too far for my body to go that day.

My body was completely destroyed as well as my feet. I needed to rest and choose 3 days at a place. It would give my feet and back time to heal. Plus both of them would be 2-3 days ahead of me on the trail. I thought that way I would lose both of them. Yeah, meet the one at the grocery store the day that I was headed out. I guess they took a few days off the trail as well.

I bought too much food and overpacked my pack. It does not work, if you are already fighting off back issues and feet issues. I stayed on the trail overnight only a few miles in because that was just too much food to be carrying but the trail tells you all about your insecurities. Mine has always been lack of food but then I eat like a trucker through my 20s and was still only 125 pounds with lots of muscles. I stayed a second evening at the same spot and just kept eating my food down.

By the time that I got to Franklin. I was just done. I was 30 days in, down 15 pounds (not good for me), my back and feet were just a wreck, I had blow throw over thousand five hundred dollars (I bought a new tent but still), I needed to leave the trail to buy a relative food because of Covid, and 111 miles in 30 days was just to slow of a pace to complete the trail in one year. 111 miles in 30 days about 3.7 miles per day. The trail is about 2199 miles which would be about 594 days to complete. I might have been able to get better but I just know this was just not the year. The asthma attack, lack of food and water the first night, avoiding annoying boys, plus needing to leave the trail once a month. It just was not possible.

But I did learn a few important things. Tunnel tents are a tomb like especially if you have to stay in them for several hours a night awake, i.e. I only need about 6 to 7 hours sleep. The trail is was like high school for me, avoid boys because they think that you need a man and they are in charge of you. It did not work in high school and it still does not work.

I learned a lot of about my eating habits that means that I need to stop at stores and towns more to get higher quality and calorie foods. Trail foods are not me. I don’t eat them now and I need to find a way to make my pack lighter for more heaver food choices. I am allergic to fish, therefore, I can’t do tuna. I am not a roman lover without garlic salt and other things to add to it. Candy is a meal especially Reese cups and gummy bears. Unfortunately, they are heavier but I can force them down even when I don’t want to eat. I need breads more then meats. Not many meats that I like which you can carry on trail but I love bread, bagels, donuts, etc. At least one or two 1/4 pound sticks of butter are needed. The weight sucks but keeping the weight on is more important.

I hate rain gear. Keeping an extra set of clothes is a better idea. If it is raining, then the trail is wet and I am not really get anywhere except breaking an ankles and being all wet. It is just better to take the morning, afternoon, or day off to wait it out. The trail is just too slippery. I like sleeping next to someone that is snoring. Best sleep that I got. Reminds me of the Olive Oil the pug.

The trail cost more then a dollar per mile. That is a big lie unless you plan to be on the trail all the time and never have a zeros in town plus go at a pace that is very fast. Double or triple that budget is more of the right mark. If you are going to drink and they have a lot of great bars and restaurants bring drinking money because most of those are expensive but remember, it dehydrates you for the next few days if you over do it. It was fun to watch the 20 somethings be slower then dirt because they over did it. It slowed them down a lot. A beer or two is one thing and good for calories. But more then that, I watched how long it took for some people to recover on the trail. I did not drink but I am not a big drinker.

And the number one thing that I learned, any medical issue that you might have had will come back. I will not forget the inhaler because that was the start of being to weak to actually get some where! It took days of my trail time and the lack of wanting to eat help finish my time on the trail before I even started. Plus my ankle was still weak from falling down 13 stairs the Sept before.

Also, I learn one thing about the trail that most people don’t talk about. Whoever put together the path was a sadistic narcissist who never meet a mountain that he did not want to reach the top of. I swear, Georgia was all about going up a mountain to come back to a valley to go straight back up another one. It is like the trail never say a flat valley with a stream to walk next too…lol

I think that I will be doing the trail next year. It comes down to a few things. First being that I save up the money. But I am going to look at the length of time on the trail. Not sure if I can complete it in a season but we will see. This year would be to soon and so many people will be on it with closing of so many government agencies.