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View Full Version : Do thru-hikers get bored in the Mid Atlantic?



wilconow
06-19-2007, 15:22
Between Front Royal and I guess Massachusetts or so, the "mountains" are pretty low and there's more road crossings and development nearby.

Since VA/MD/PA is the closest part of the trail to me, I've done a lot of it, Sure, it's nicer than a suburban park, but I couldn't imagine taking a long trip to backpack this part of the trail.

I've seen some comments here and there, but only in the David Brill book do I remember sharp commentary about how boring it is compared to the rest of the trail.

Is this part one of the toughest to get through mentally? It's warm, not as scenic as other parts of the trail, and you've been out for a while but still have quite a ways to go.

:sun

Appalachian Tater
06-19-2007, 15:25
It's not boring. It's just that you get your legs by Virginia and maybe want to put in some miles, and Virginia goes on forever milewise. It has nothing to do with the place and everything to do with the thruhiker's mind.

Peaks
06-19-2007, 15:59
it's all about what you make of it. After Virginia, it's kinda fun to go through so many states so quickly.

burger
06-19-2007, 16:01
I'd say that Front Royal to MA is extending the "boring Mid-Atlantic" a little too far. Yes, northern VA, MD, and PA were dull (lots of relatively flat sections, little elevation, few good views). But NJ was really scenic, at least up to High Point. And New York even had a few nice sections. Then, by the time you get to the northern part of CT, the terrain has really started to change--the hills get bigger and steeper, and the views get better and more frequent. So, if you can get past PA, the trail gets progressively better.

wilconow
06-19-2007, 17:39
I'd say that Front Royal to MA is extending the "boring Mid-Atlantic" a little too far. Yes, northern VA, MD, and PA were dull (lots of relatively flat sections, little elevation, few good views). But NJ was really scenic, at least up to High Point. And New York even had a few nice sections. Then, by the time you get to the northern part of CT, the terrain has really started to change--the hills get bigger and steeper, and the views get better and more frequent. So, if you can get past PA, the trail gets progressively better.


yeah, i never been north of PA so i was just going by what ive read. i know nj is supposed to be nice and ny more challenging, but they're still pretty low..

DavidNH
06-19-2007, 18:19
The mid atlantic states are lower in elevation and cerainly far less spectacular or impressive than the south or north. Yet I would not say it was boring because being out in nature is never boring..at least not for me. It is always pretty!

I will say this.. in NY/NJ there where some wonderful ice cream stands (and what in life is more important than ice cream?? :-?) and when you cross into Connecticut..well you're into quaint New England! :) oh...and in Massachusetts you get Friendly's restaurants with yummy ice cream and frappes!:sun

But the really exciting scenery waits till Northern most mass, and VT, NH and ME.


David

DavidNH
06-19-2007, 18:23
One more thing on those mid atlantic states.. Pennsylvania! Most of the trail in this state is un interesting fairly gradual (though there are some very steep sections like Lehigh gap! ) and then there are the rocks..and don't even get me started on those damn rocks. Maryland.. kinda dull but its only like 40 miles so you just get it done.

David

Footslogger
06-19-2007, 18:38
I wouldn't call it "boring" but by then the process is much more MENTAL than PHYSICAL. When you get that far along on the trail there are those days when some hikers have to ask themselves ...WHY AM I DOING THIS AGAIN ??.

But BORING ? ...it's anything BUT boring if you are focussed on the objective. You might have to find ways to stay motivated to keep on keepin on though !!

'Slogger

wilconow
06-19-2007, 18:40
boring may not have been the best word choice. i suppose im just asking if it is tougher than other states with higher mountains, better scenary, less road crossings, etc.

aaroniguana
06-19-2007, 21:48
Try living in South Baltimore. Dodging bullets, bleeding bodies in the street, hookers and crack dealers on every corner, and every 6 years or so the Mayor gets promoted to Governor and we get someone new who doesnt give a crap.

It's never boring in MD.

wilconow
06-19-2007, 22:23
Try living in South Baltimore. Dodging bullets, bleeding bodies in the street, hookers and crack dealers on every corner, and every 6 years or so the Mayor gets promoted to Governor and we get someone new who doesnt give a crap.

It's never boring in MD.

im from baltimore. have you read 'the corner' by david simon (the wire, etc). it deals with the west side

aaroniguana
06-19-2007, 22:36
Excellent book.

moxie
06-19-2007, 22:58
There are no boring places on the AT. Some are less exicing than others but there is not a boring inch between Springer and Katahdin

fiddlehead
06-19-2007, 23:19
I agree with moxie above. now, sitting in front of the computer, that is often boring. hiking? maybe some of the long straight road walks in NM but the AT? naw.

Check out that roadwalk in NM and see if you think the AT is boring in comparison: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=17236&catid=member&imageuser=5137

emerald
06-20-2007, 17:16
So, if you can get past PA, the trail gets progressively better.

I can agree with the above statement, but don't find Pennsylvania boring in the least. There are quite a number of vistas that are outstanding and many hiker amenities that add to the experience.

One of my favorite:rolleyes: WhiteBlaze posters once said Pennsylvania is like New England but laid out flat. On that post, he was correct. I think of Pennsylvania as a warm-up for what's farther up the trail. Add elevation changes, water features and higher-latitude flora and fauna, a more varied and challenging terrain results.

In August and September I'd rather hike in Maine too, even if I weren't allergic to ragweed pollen. I'm bothered little if at all by ragweed pollen in the more remote interior portions of Maine.

Mags
06-20-2007, 18:01
Ne Jersey was one of my favorite sections on the AT. Seriously.

Though you are mot high up, you are often on ridges with good views. The mountain laurels were in full bloom. And I saw my first bear in the wild on the NJ/PA border.

The southern AT and New England may be more spectacular, but the middle section of the AT can have some nice parts. And NJ is one of the nicest.

DavidNH
06-20-2007, 18:31
Ne Jersey was one of my favorite sections on the AT. Seriously.

Though you are mot high up, you are often on ridges with good views. The mountain laurels were in full bloom. And I saw my first bear in the wild on the NJ/PA border.

The southern AT and New England may be more spectacular, but the middle section of the AT can have some nice parts. And NJ is one of the nicest.

You know what made New Jersey such a nice state? PA immediately preceded it. and in New Jersey the rocks ended!!

Bt the time I hit Delaware Water Gap I despised PA so much that I absolutely loved New Jeresey. Oh and NJ also has the first glacial Pond of the trail (going northward)!!!

David

emerald
06-20-2007, 18:55
Though you are not high up, you are often on ridges with good views. The mountain laurels were in full bloom. And I saw my first bear in the wild on the NJ/PA border.

Yes, I thought that's what I read. Was that bear swimming from New Jersey to Pennsylvania or vice-versa?:D

Pennsylvania's state flower is the mountain laurel and we have way more bear too. They're just not as apt to harass hikers, most of them know better.;)

Later alligators, I know of something more lucrative I ought to be doing right now.

Programbo
06-20-2007, 20:11
Boring?..LOL..I can see that among todays thru-hikers..I`m reminded of my 16 year old niece who is sitting there with her 200 station digital satellite, 500 DVD`s, cable internet, etc and moans, "I`m bored"...Hey when I was 16 all I had was a 12 inch black and white tv with a coat hanger for an antenna and you had to change the channels with a pair of pliers and I wasn`t bored...Oh my...I guess it gets back to what I say often..It all depends on why someone is out there and as time moves on the reasons people are there and what they get from it grow farther and farther from that walk with spring...I wish everyone who hikes the AT could feel what I feel when I am on it..There is just a feeling of magic and happy contentment that washes over me...The ages just disappear and there is a timeless wonder to the place..The tradition..The history..Something magical and never ending..I look out off a view I looked off of 35 years ago and I can feel the sense of awe that 15 year old boy felt back then as if it were yesterday....Aside from all this poetic nonsense there is just so much to see even in a "boring" state like Maryland..The C&O Canal towpath..The Civil War history..Gathland and it`s ruins..Turners Gap was the site of a battle...The first monument to George Washington...Black Rock..Lots of quaint 1930`s era shelters that just radiate the history of the trail...Oh well..I guess you had to be there..........As far as all the Baltimore comments..Like Ed Norris said, "If you're not mad, you're not paying attention!"

aaroniguana
06-20-2007, 22:24
Oh I'm paying attention, Programbo. My daughter's best friend was robbed at gunpoint working at the Royal Farm store in Lansdowne the other night. When she ran outside to get their tag number they ran her over with their car. Twice. Good people like Ed Norris get screwed for telling the truth.

I gotta get out of here.

stranger
06-25-2007, 06:23
I don't think the mid-atlantic section is boring on it's own, but considering what you have come through already on a northbound thru and you could understand why it's not very exciting. The days of 4000 foot gaps in the Nantahalas are over, as are the ridges of the Smokies, Roan and Grayson Highlands.

But to be honest I like the mid-atlantic, it's very easy to resupply and the terrain is quite simple, even the PA rocks. I've hiked all of PA twice, and some sections 3 times. Southern PA is beautiful and you don't even see a rock until Duncannon. NJ is scenic and relatively easy and NY is great, although I grew up there so may be biased, CN has cool sections (Sages Ravine) and MA is quite pleasant.

Shenandoah is awful in my view, even with all the food options, and the 20 mile section north of DWG is pretty damn rocky...other than that I like the mid-atlantic and all it's ice cream availability. If hikers do get bored, it's likely they have walked off their initial enthusiam for the trail. The terrain becomes less stunning as the heat and bugs get worse, your best mate on the trail just quit and your realise your money will run out in Vermont, welcome to the Virginia Blues!

Mags
06-25-2007, 11:17
Yes, I thought that's what I read. Was that bear swimming from New Jersey to Pennsylvania or vice-versa?:D




Afraid not. :) But TRAIL wise, the bear was located near where the AT crossed from PA to NJ. Delaware Water Gap area to be precise.