View Full Version : Is the trail getting shorter?
Desert Lobstah
06-16-2006, 10:27
With all the folks tramping on it, the topography must be flattening out considerably!
berninbush
06-16-2006, 10:47
If the trail is "flattening out," it will be visibly lower than the surrounding land. The trail will run through a deep cutting with steep banks on either side.
I don't think any of us are going to live to see that. Interstate highways are MUCH more heavily travelled (both volume and weight), and are not visibly sunk. Even rivers, with constant pressure and the eroding action of water, take a very long time to carve a significant canyon for themselves.
;-) Makes an interesting theoretical question, I suppose.
You must mean the ELEVATION. Is the elevation of the trail decreasing? The answer to shorter, as in distance: The trail, from its original state many moons ago, has since had Mt Oglethorpe cut off as being the southern terminus, its now Springer. The mileage of the AT changes almost daily (more or less) due to temporary and permanent re-routes because of storm damage, and a lot of other reasons. The Elevation change from tramping? I would think the elevation is actually increasing, maybe a 1/4 inch every 1000 years or so.
berninbush
06-16-2006, 11:00
Well, theoretically, if the passing feet of hikers were leveling out the trail by kicking dust downhill, making it flatter, this WOULD shorten the distance just a bit. Picture yourself standing at the bottom of a big hill. The shortest distance to the other side of the hill would be straight through, rather than up and over... so if someone levels out the hill, you have less distance to walk.
But it's a bit hard to take this effect seriously, as it's so miniscule. And if Ridge is right, that the land is rising slightly due to natural factors, the effect should be completely cancelled out. I don't know anything about geology.... why is the land rising, Ridge? Continental plates?
.... why is the land rising, Ridge? Continental plates?
Probably rising more from the litter and pollution than the plates. LOL
Rain Man
06-16-2006, 11:48
If the trail is "flattening out," it will be visibly lower than the surrounding land. The trail will run through a deep cutting with steep banks on either side....
As in some places in the Smokies, i.e., the GSMNP?
Though perhaps due to horses there.
Rain:sunMan
.
Just Jeff
06-16-2006, 11:49
I thought the Appalachians are getting smaller b/c they're so old. Didn't they used to be big and jagged like the Rockies, but now they're wearing down and not rising any more?
max patch
06-16-2006, 12:02
Yes, the trail is getting shorter!!!
Thats why the ATC relos the trail every year and adds a mile or so. That compensates for the trail getting shorter due to the reasons stated above. This is important because if they didn't do this then in just a few years it would be impossible for anyone to be a 2,000 miler and they'd to make all new patches and everything.
max patch
06-16-2006, 12:03
I thought the Appalachians are getting smaller b/c they're so old. Didn't they used to be big and jagged like the Rockies, but now they're wearing down and not rising any more?
Good point. When I first moved to Georgia you needed oxygen, permits, and sherpas to summit Springer. It has gotten much easier over the years.
Alligator
06-16-2006, 12:05
Search orogeny. How your internet filter doesn't bleep that out.
J/K.
berninbush
06-16-2006, 12:09
As in some places in the Smokies, i.e., the GSMNP?
Though perhaps due to horses there.
Rain:sunMan
.
I'm skeptical that's due to humans OR horses. I suspect the trail in some places was engineered that way, and in others follows natural grooves in the land. If it were due to traffic, the whole thing would be that way, not just in spots.
It does seem plausible that the Appalachians as a whole are very slowly shrinking due to natural wear. Nothing lasts forever. But that's a process that would take hundreds or thousands of years. Again, I'm no geology expert, so you can't prove it by me whether they're growing or shrinking.
sherrill
06-16-2006, 14:09
Your logic is all wrong here - the trail is not getting shorter, it's getting steeper going north.
Hundreds of hikers take pebbles from the top of Springer, thus lowering it's altitude. Only a few actually deposit it on Katahdin, but enough to raise the altitude somewhat.
This has caused the East coast to shift lower towards the Gulf and the trail going north is rising.
berninbush
06-16-2006, 14:14
:rolleyes: :D
That's interesting reasoning. How many pounds' worth of pebbles would you estimate get shifted per year?
Just Jeff
06-16-2006, 15:14
Your logic is all wrong here - the trail is not getting shorter, it's getting steeper going north.
Hundreds of hikers take pebbles from the top of Springer, thus lowering it's altitude. Only a few actually deposit it on Katahdin, but enough to raise the altitude somewhat.
This has caused the East coast to shift lower towards the Gulf and the trail going north is rising.
Dead wrong. As the pebbles are removed from Springer, it gets lighter and floats up a bit with each pebble. As they're deposited along the way, the northern reaches get heavier, thus sinking a bit with each new pebble.
So actually, the trail will soon start tending towards a downhill hike if going NOBO. Which is why I'm planning a SOBO after retirement - I like uphills better.
Coupled with Republican-Induced Global Warming and Arctic Melting (RIGWAM), the Kennebunk Ferry will soon be relocated to get you to the top of Katahdin. Probably in time for our grandkids' hikes.