Asking the "Why?" question

[Malto]

I will answer a slightly different question. Why not hike the AT? A few years ago when I lived in ATL I travelled to Ca every month and had the good fortune to hike in the Sierra year round. I fell in love with the Sierra and the some of the other environments out west, specifically on the PCT. So when I started to plan for a thru hike it was the PCT all the way. Now that I have hiked half of the AT I would probably go back and either do a thru of the CDT or another PCT hike before doing a thru of the AT. I suspect that more people choose to do the AT because it is better known, closer (more people have hiked a bit of it.) and generally perceived as safer for the beginner.

[Sandy of PA]

I hike solo, because so many other people are out there I percive it as safer should an accident happen to me. Someone will come along to help.

[BrianLe]

"I hike solo, because so many other people are out there I percive it as safer should an accident happen to me. Someone will come along to help. "

I understand the proximity issue --- it's the trail that's near, and for the same reason it's the one that folks in the eastern part of the U.S. hear about the most, the ones perhaps friends or relatives have hiked. Makes sense.

However I think that the safety issue is, to some degree, a misunderstanding. For the first-time long-distance thru-hiker, the other logical trail to try is the PCT. Indeed the PCT offers snow issues often warranting use of an ice axe. It offers a few Sierras creek crossings that are (or can be) well beyond anything like that on the AT. And it offers potentially hot, shadeless terrain right from the start where water is harder to come by and rattlesnake encounters are virtually guaranteed. While not as remote as the CDT, you can certainly be more remote on average than on the AT.

But if you hike in prime "thru-hiking" season, on the PCT too, someone is likely to be along in not too much time, and you can just as easily connect up to hike with other thru-hikers.

And the AT has its risks. Both trails have habituated bears in places, so IMO that's a wash; possibly better on the PCT in that once you're out of the Sierras, that's it for habituated bears. And moose are more dangerous than black bears anyway; I saw moose on the CDT and often in the northern part of the AT; not an issue on the PCT.
The AT has perhaps more road crossing and road-related issues (though that's certainly a risk factor on all the long trails). I recall a place, I think it was in NY, where it was like playing the old game of Frogger crossing the highway (where I was the frog).
The White Mountains are just flat *hard*. I overdid it trying to maintain 20+ mile days in there, strained my quadrecep and was laid up for a few days healing from that. I also got Giardia or something like it on the AT, never had such an issue on the PCT, and I drank untreated water "where it made sense" on that trail too.

I wasn't alone in getting a bit paranoid in Maine walking on smooth steep rock in wet weather. My sense of balance is pretty good, but I had a couple spectacular falls towards the end on slick rock and slick tree roots, one of which resulted in a big goose egg on my forehead. Head injuries are NOT a joke; I felt fortunate to just end up with a bump.
Then there's Lyme disease.
And the most dangerous animal by far in the animal kingdom is much, much more prevalent all along the AT --- homo sapiens sapiens. Most of the "weird people encounters" along the trail are ultimately part of the delight, but it just takes one bad one to make for an unhappy trip.

Of course a balancing of risk factors has a subjective component, but I don't think that the AT is "safer" than the PCT. I think they're both pretty safe, it's just that the risk factors vary. Perceived risk is thus, even by someone who's very informed, subjective based on their own knowledge/experience base and biases (even phobias).

[Tinker]

My very first signature line here on Whiteblaze says it all for me. "I just walked, I was very happy" (borrowed verbatim from Bill Bryson's book A Walk in the Woods.

I continue to hike, he continues to write - apparantly I'm happier walking than he is. .

I tried to edit last night but computer got locked up.

Why the AT? Because it's close by, famous, hilly (mountainous, maybe, in places), beautiful (mostly) but mostly because it's linear.

Unlike some of my hiking buddies who climb the same mountain over and over or go to the same lake over and over, I like to see new things every day.

[mtnkngxt]

As far as why I'd Thruhike the AT? I wouldn't at this point. I'd spend the capital and hike the PCT skipping the desert, because I'm no purist and I have no interest in that section. Next summer I'll be doing the JMT, there's nothing on the AT that can compare to the views and trails out there, and I've seen a lot of the AT.

[OzJacko]

As someone coming from probably the farthest you can be away from it, I have a few thoughts, many match those above - other than proximity.
However the proximity issue does mean I've walked my local track already (600mile) so if it applies it is probably the primary one for most.

It is an institution. Long Trail claims aside it is considered by most around the world as the oldest long distance hiking trail around.
Many other trails claim inspiration for their existence on the AT my local included.

It has a "community" - both the annual transient population of hikers and the angels, towns, and associated businesses and people along the way make up a hiking related community not matched anywhere else.

Despite it's proximity to "civilisation" it tries very hard to remain a "wilderness" walk.

Yes Bryson "was a candyass" but he made it even more well known.

Nearly every other trail has a much lower % of "newbies". Personally I think they provide much of the character and pleasure of a trail. Only hiking with experienced hikers is so much less entertaining.

Whilst "trail magic" exists on all trails, only on the AT is it so institutionalised.

And lastly for me, tell me where else I can go and spend six months in a foreign country that speaks english (sort of), has good cheap food readily available to buy, only occasionally shoots a visitor, has few rampaging diseases and all for about $5k?

[Lyle]

First backpacking trip I ever took incorporated a short section of the AT between Russel Field Shelter and Spence Field Shelter. After hiking the pre-cursor to the American Discovery Trail, the AT just seemed appropriate.

[Tinker]

As someone coming from probably the farthest you can be away from it, I have a few thoughts, many match those above - other than proximity.
However the proximity issue does mean I've walked my local track already (600mile) so if it applies it is probably the primary one for most.

It is an institution. Long Trail claims aside it is considered by most around the world as the oldest long distance hiking trail around.
Many other trails claim inspiration for their existence on the AT my local included.

It has a "community" - both the annual transient population of hikers and the angels, towns, and associated businesses and people along the way make up a hiking related community not matched anywhere else.

Despite it's proximity to "civilisation" it tries very hard to remain a "wilderness" walk.

Yes Bryson "was a candyass" but he made it even more well known.

Nearly every other trail has a much lower % of "newbies". Personally I think they provide much of the character and pleasure of a trail. Only hiking with experienced hikers is so much less entertaining.

Whilst "trail magic" exists on all trails, only on the AT is it so institutionalised.

And lastly for me, tell me where else I can go and spend six months in a foreign country that speaks english (sort of), has good cheap food readily available to buy, only occasionally shoots a visitor, has few rampaging diseases and all for about $5k?

Australia= British Dixie..... (accent - wise).

[flemdawg1]

There are many trails you could hike, like the American Discovery Trail, Continental Divide, etc. So why hike the Appalachian Trail? What's the "draw" for you? The history? Mystery? Adventure? People? Some "ancient wisdom" there?

I don't really think of it as an "either/or" proposition. I like hiking mountains and this ld hiking trail is the closest of the big 3. But I also hike and camp other trails, (doing a 40 mile weekend section on the Pinhoti next weekend), and I hike as much as possible whenever I can (esp when I get to travel out west).

[NotYet]

When I was a little girl we would travel to Bristol, TN for family reunions. Often the family would drive up to Roan Mt for a picnic, and we would run down the trail exploring the woods. My Daddy explained that the trail we were on went all the way from Maine to Georgia. That grabbed my imagination!!!! I'd love to thru-hike the AT again one day, but first I want to see more of some of the other long trails.

[snowblind]

Why the AT?

I haven't been through that part of the country before. That, and I figured it was a good as place as any to start my long-distance hiking future!

[Almost There]

Proximity for me. It's about an hour from my house. I've done about half the AT. Sometimes I think when I do a thru it will be the AT, but there are times I think I'll just finish the AT in sections (a benefit of all the road crossings is ease of sectioning), and then thru the PCT...and maybe eventually the CDT. I love the camaraderie of the AT, but every once in a while I get stuck on a section hike with young, idiotic thru-hiking R-tards. If you've hiked Va in May or June you know what I'm talking about.