Missing AT thru-hike info

[admirald7s]

As I'm planning my thru-hike for 2017, I keep debating about what things to track along the way. Others have done "where/how I spent my money." I've heard (but not read) that there are several definitive articles about each shelter along the trail. There are numerous sources detailing hostel/shuttle services. So it got me thinking about what hasn't been covered.

So, what did you not track on your thru that you wish you had? Or, for those planning a thru in the future sitting in front of your computers, what info haven't you found - you're looking for the AT Definitive Guide on...what?

If possible, I'll collect the requested info on my hike and share the results.


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[bigcranky]

Every hike I have ever done, I wish I had shot more photos. I wish I had a photo of every campsite (or location where I spent the night), photos of the significant people that I met and spent time with, more photos of myself and my hiking partner, detail photos of cooking, the beautiful piped spring, the view from the ridge. While I'm hiking I think, oh, I've shot that one already, or I just don't feel like taking the time, but when I get back, I wish I had forced myself to shoot more.

[4shot]

So, what did you not track on your thru that you wish you had? Or, for those planning a thru in the future sitting in front of your computers, what info haven't you found - you're looking for the AT Definitive Guide on...what?





I took copious amounts of photos which my wonderful spouse later compiled into 4 volumes of wonderfully compiled and edited photo journals. i religiously wrote in my journal every night in my tent about the day's experiences.I have never gone back and looked at them. To be fair, I have never gone back and looked at my high school or college yearbooks or pictures from my wedding or other stuff from the past). that's just not my thing although i get that others get great pleasure from these things.

so, to answer your question, I have no regrets from my thru hike. (except for maybe some times, i regret that it ended.;))

[kenl]

First, one of the things I've often thought about and was hoping to track (and maybe it's out there) is the weather encountered. If I was on the trail for 150 days, how many of those days did it rain? How many times did lighting scare the begeezus out of me? Maybe tracking temps is a bit over the top but rain, snow and sunny days could be interesting.

Second would be animals. You know you're going to encounter animals, but what kinds and how many? Mice, too many to count! Snakes, six sightings! Two bears. One porcupine.

Great idea to ask. It will be interesting to see what responses you get. Good luck!

[Spirit Walker]

People overplan their hikes as it is. Keep records for you, if you want them, not for the rest of the world. Other people don't need details of latrines or shelters or how many calories you ate. Even money records are so highly personal as to be mostly meaningless to anybody else.

I kept journals, which I do reread from time to time. I included weather, where I stayed, and who I stayed with. It was interesting, after the fact, to look back and see where I had first met people who became my friends. Mostly I wrote about my experiences and my feelings about those experiences. I'd try to find a few highlights and lowlights that I'd want to remember years in the future. They were entirely for me, though some of my later journals ended up online.

[Another Kevin]

The A-T is so over-documented that it's almost ludicrous.

One thing, if you've got the technology, that would really help, is to keep the trail alignment up to date on the map. OpenStreetMap.org (https://openstreetmap.org/) is a place where citizen mappers can edit a map of the world. Government agencies no longer really have any interest in keeping trail maps up to date. The USGS mapping efforts were defunded in the first Bush administration, for instance, and all USGS topos are many years out of date. The A-T centerline itself on OpenStreetMap and on the ATC web site is always missing recent relocations, so field data always helps. Even more important is that there are a lot of side trails and access trails that aren't mapped at all, so if you use them and map them, that'll improve the map for everyone.

https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/4286650 was a particular project of mine over the last couple of years. That trail has seen several substantial relocations in the last few years, and there was a lot of obsolete information out there. Acquiring, editing, and updating those tracks, in turn, let me update the mileage table (http://www.nptrail.org/?page_id=59).

Producing a big map of the world is an insane challenge, but with thousands and thousands of citizen mappers each doing a little bit, it happens.