- 10. Rain that is warm. I don’t get this luxury in the Rockies. When it rains and I am out there, I have to think about safety. Out here, I am wearing a dress and I would be stupid not to dance.
- 9. White Blazes. Are you kidding me? Someone has done the work to make it so that I need zero maps or navigational tools to walk from Georgia to Maine.
- 8. Towns. I never have to carry more than 2-3 days of food at a time!
- 7. Culture. The Appalachian Trail world is full of jokes and lingo. Songs and tag-lines. History and stories. Festivals and challenges.
- 6. Variety. When you glance back at your hiking season and realize you’ve come from Rhododendrons to Cedars, it’s quite amazing. Furthermore, when you look back to the dialects and roadside locations of Tennessee and find yourself next to Dartmouth, or being told to “Scram” in a Boston accent, it seems pretty hard to believe that this is all the same walk.
- 5. Water. It’s everywhere and it’s life-giving.
- 4. Hostels. Holy crap! There are hostels in every small town along the way and they are extremely thoughtful toward hikers and run by powerhouse humans who know and love the trail.
- 3. Magic. They say the trail provides, but you wouldn’t believe it, until you see it. I’ve heard stories of hikers breaking a trekking pole, and then coming around the corner, deep in the woods, to find one fully in tact, sticking out of the ground like the sword in the stone. If you ask, you get what you need.
- 2. Green Tunnel. I cannot stress this one enough. It is a luxury beyond measure to be able to recreate outdoors in the summertime, from sun up to sun down, without thinking about protecting yourself from the sun. Thank you trees!
- 1. The People. From the tears of Nimblewill Nomad, to the supporting hands of Robert Bird or A.T. Gracie, this is the gold. Thousands of humans put forth energy, support, effort, protection and care to make this experience happen. There are individuals swinging pickaxes and hauling rocks so that you can have an easy step, without even thinking about it. There are beautiful women and men waiting at road crossings so that they can cook you a meal and offer you a cold drink. There are advocates and builders and believers doing what they do, for us, so that humanity can have a nice place to walk. I could have sworn that America is a hostile country in many ways, but that can’t be. Not if this is happening. This trail means so much to so many people, and they want to share it. They want to help. They want to be a family.
What a great list, one after the other promising and interesting. Even magical! I grew up in Florida and visited North Carolina to cool off and enjoy the seasons, so have had experiences hiking parts of the AT and have heard some of these stories. Everyone I know who has walked the trail has loved it! Xo
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