Is the AT getting crowded?

[AndyB]

Ridgerunning for the AMC in 1996 cured me of wanting to thru hike the AT again,in season anyway. you can tell just how many people are really on it when you hike the same section all summer, wave after, wave after wave of groups of hikers. I seem to recall clumps of hikers down south when i thru hiked but by the time I hit central Virginia everyone was really strung out and only grouped up in town. When i was ridgerunning there were large groups that had been together for 100s of miles, I'm just not that social. Maybe it's on a bubble? i don't know. I think it's interesting that the % of hikers that finish a thru hike stays basically the same no matter how many attempt each year. I think I read at one point that in 1995 there were 2500 people attempting a thru hike. How many were there in 2010?then go back another 15 years to 1980? huge differences, so in short, I'd say it's getting crowded, at least down South, too crowded? maybe. But the weekenders and section hikers still make up the majority right?

[azb]

I started hiking on the AT in 1969. Most my trips in thearly years were in Maine. I went 5 days in mid-august and saw nobody.

When I thru hiked in '79, I saw very few people at all anywhere in Maine. It was terrific, but a little lonely.

But there were plenty of nights in other states where the shelters were so crowded that there was no room. I remember one cold, rainy night in NC where there were so many people in the shelter, we didn't even bother sleeping. We just stayed up all night talking, playing cards, etc. It didn't seem right to make anyone move along on such a cold, crappy night. But there was no way anyone had the space to sleep, let alone the quiet. So we didn't.

Az

[mad4scrapping]

I hike almost every weekend on the AT in Virginia and never see what could be remotely described as "crowds." A few people here and there on the trail, but never a crowd. It's still a wonderful way to get away from the crowds. Most people I know in Richmond, which is a mere 1 1/2 hours from the trail, have hardly even heard of the AT. They go to the beach instead--now there, you will see crowds!

[Papa D]

10-K - I am always being a little funny, but yeah - my idea is sort of legit - and yes it is a natural extension of "slack-packing" services - I could actually hand hold a few hikers if they could manage very light packs with their own sleeping bags, food, and water - we could even have a business where one person took the "clients" to Troutville (?), the next staff member gets them to maybe Bear Mtn Bridge (?) and then the first guy leapfrogs up and takes them to Maine. Two guys could offer a 3 client deal for $45,000 total - guaranteed results - the company handles all food, re-supply, shuttles, etc. - I'm kidding, but then again, maybe not .....

[Papa D]

When I thru-hiked I was one of 17 (I believe) confirmed Southbounders in 1985 - there were more NOBOS but it was still a rare accomplishment to thru-hike the AT. It was (in my view at the time) the penultimate backpacking test - for experienced, dedicated, practiced hikers who were willing to suffer a lot of wet, cold, blisters, soreness, and (in my case) being lonely to get it done. Now (and I'm not being critical) it's just different - the trail is mostly the same, but slack-pack services, hostels with hot-tubs, tons of trail angels, the internet, cell phones, GPS, and much better gear, it is easier (and maybe it is more plain old fun, I'm not complaining). I can lament and view this stuff as negatives, but I'd rather not - hence my "thru-hike services" idea - for $20K per person, I'll take care of everything for you - NOBO or SOBO - you just walk with about a 10 pound day-pack - I'll feed you, take care of re-supplies, carry a big pack load (or slack-pack it for you), and even entertain you. - We open for business in 2012!

[Tinker]

Related link :
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...=trail+crowded
And another:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...=trail+crowded

Man, I really missed being able to edit

[max patch]

I'm waiting on a "Hiker Hand Holding" service - where someone will hike the trail and hold your hand all the way to Katahdin - that's about the only thing that's left that no one is doing.

Not Katahdin, but Mr Doyle was basically selling a slackpacking service with a nightly Q&A session this year through most of Georgia. I wonder how many (any?) took him up on this "opportunity".

[Tinker]

10-K "I'm waiting on a "Hiker Hand Holding" service - where someone will hike the trail and hold your hand all the way to Katahdin - that's about the only thing that's left that no one is doing."

Not true - there are plenty of people willing to hold your hand as long as there's some cash in it.

[Papa D]

there are plenty of people willing to hold your hand as long as there's some cash in it

yep - ME!

[hnryclay]

The real question is one of expectations. The AT in the south is not wilderness... Not even close. It is like going to any other park. You will see other people, including college age people that are there just to party at all the shelters that are close to the roads in the spring, and summer. If you want wilderness go west, there simply is not any on the east coast. I am not knocking backpacking on the AT, I enjoy it tremendously. However I do not expect a wilderness experience. Sadly the wilderness in Virginia has been gone for over 100 years.

[johnnyblisters]

The real question is one of expectations. The AT in the south is not wilderness... Not even close. It is like going to any other park. You will see other people, including college age people that are there just to party at all the shelters that are close to the roads in the spring, and summer. If you want wilderness go west, there simply is not any on the east coast. I am not knocking backpacking on the AT, I enjoy it tremendously. However I do not expect a wilderness experience. Sadly the wilderness in Virginia has been gone for over 100 years.

I agree with your view on wilderness, but one may find wildness where ever they please. Check out some Guy Waterman books, mainly Wilderness Ethics, great read on this subject!

[Tinker]

There's a lot of commercialization wherever there's a view and easy access to it. The White Mts. in NH are always crowded on nice days in the summer. So far I found to Maine be the least crowded section of the AT, followed by Vermont. Massachusetts isn't too bad, either, but road access makes it easier for casual hikers to get to the overlooks. Same for Conn. and NJ. New York, surprisingly, had few other hikers when I went through (sobo), but then I hiked half of it in the dead of winter .

[Elder]

The only trick would be how to convince your clients not to be embarrassed when they pass other hikers who might make fun of them.

I think the matching pastel hiking suits would give them pride in the accomplishment.....

[Bearpaw]

The real question is one of expectations. The AT in the south is not wilderness... Not even close. It is like going to any other park. You will see other people, including college age people that are there just to party at all the shelters that are close to the roads in the spring, and summer. If you want wilderness go west, there simply is not any on the east coast. I am not knocking backpacking on the AT, I enjoy it tremendously. However I do not expect a wilderness experience. Sadly the wilderness in Virginia has been gone for over 100 years.

Walk the Benton MacKaye Trail. It might change your mind a bit.

[Elder]

but, in the mean time.
I have been a Neels a lot this Spring and the total hiker numbers are even or perhaps down.
Then it is not April 1...yet, so there are still a lot waiting to start.
Miss Janet continues steadily at least.8)
The Trail Dames Magic was welcome and well recieved on a nasty cold weekend!
Thanks Ladies!
A good tarp/tent/raingear test...too many failures.

[Pedaling Fool]

The AT is not crowded, only crowded at shelters and certain road crossings. However, the stories of hikers from years ago sure as hell makes it seem crowded.

[Praha4]

Springer to Damascus is a congested hiker highway in March and April. Especially in Georgia this time of year. That last post about tent city at Hawk Mtn shelter is typical.

I think the concept of a thru-hike sounds appealing and adventurous to folks, until the first few week thru hike honeymoon period on the trail wears off. The drudgery and monotony of day after day routine on the trail begns to wear on people, with reallly not much new in the way of scenery from day to day in the southeast.

it's not much of a wilderness experience any more, its more of a physical endurance test.... can you hike 5-6 months continuous, up and down the eastern Appalachian mountains, before you get sick of it? can you tolerate being wet, tired, skin rashes, cold, hot, sweaty, blisters, dirty, etc, for days at a time? can you tolerate being around the same people every day you will meet on the trail, who can get under your skin?

if you can tolerate all the above, with the reward being the satisfaction of saying you are a thru hiker, than go for it. If you have friends you want to do it with, it makes it more enjoyable to be sure. You will meet interesting people on the trail, some you like, some you don't like. but thats not much different than being home or in civilization.

[Leanthree]

I would give suburban sprawl a hand in any crowding. People live closer to the trail and there are more services closer to the trail because there are more people in the country.

[hnryclay]

Walk the Benton MacKaye Trail. It might change your mind a bit.

I have walked around the BMT, Dolly Sods, and other areas that are more "wilderness". The fact is real wilderness is just not found on the East Coast down south. I am not knocking the trails at all. As a matter of fact it is the opposite. I have lived in south west Virginia my entire life, and when I was younger considered places like Grayson Highlands "wild". However after going out west and seeing real wilderness where there are no roads for 50-60 miles that definition no longer fits anything down south. There is nothing wrong with what we have here, but our trails are in reality corridors of park land, not wilderness. As I said it is about expectations, some people expect Denali in the Smokeys... it just is not the same thing. When you are on top of the balds in the Roan Mountains, or on top of Massies Knob the great views you see at night are polluted with the lights of the surrounding towns. Most parts of the AT in Virginia are less than a half mile from a paved road. I am sorry but that is not Wilderness, it is however none the less a "wild" experience as mentioned before, but you are very much in civilization. The BMT is a great option for solitude, but it is no more or less in the wilderness than the AT. I think this is part of what makes the AT great. An escape relatively close to where the majority of people in this country live, which allows many different options for seeing the outdoors safely. Lets just agree that our particular area of the country does not lend itself to wilderness simply due to the constraints of population in a given space.

[hnryclay]

In addendum I have never been to Maine, which is why I say down south on the AT. I do not know the conditions up north, but would love to go sometime.