View Full Version : Is the AT getting crowded?
Lazy Sunday, thought I'd throw this out for discussion...
Is the AT getting becoming a congested super-hiker-highway?
From reading the recent posts about trail magic and hiker feeds being prevalent and the hiker support infrastructure that seems to be increasing every year you'd think that throngs of hikers were on the trail.
Yet, thru hiker stats (at least completed thrus) as tracked by the ATC are statistically close from year to year.
Is it an increase in section hikers, more people attempting thrus and failing - where are all the hikers that support this "industry" comimg from?
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.
as best as I can tell the southern end is getting a lot of traffic. However, It seems that there are some "high traffic" spots and then stretches where it's nice and quiet.
garlic08
03-27-2011, 10:55
One idea: Some of the Magic I saw on my '08 thru was offered by past hikers. Those ranks are growing.
I did not experience the congestion. I saw some very crowded shelters, but that did not affect my hike. The hiker numbers were down from a peak in the early 00's, and there are more facilities now.
I truly enjoyed the hospitality in the South, from the Trail Dames at Neels Gap serving burgers to the thermos of hot coffee somewhere in the damp woods down there.
Enjoy the lazy day. I'm off for a bike ride.
Tenderheart
03-27-2011, 10:57
When I bacpacked back in the late 60's, you could be on the AT for several days and not see a soul. Really! I have read that the boom in hiking interest can be attributed to Ed Garvey and his early books. As for the "Hand Holding Service", I think the closest to reality is Warren Doyle and his "expeditions". He and his team will carry your stuff in vans and meet you each night, leaving you to hike big miles with only a small day pack. This service cost 600 bucks each back in 2000. I ran into the group in SNP. Each person was allowed two milk crates of gear on the van. I assume he is still offering this service. Not a bad way to go if you don't mind high mileage days with little weight and the same companions day after day.
litefoot 2000
Lone Wolf
03-27-2011, 11:00
25 years ago at this time there were 4 of us at Neel gap. i bet today there are a couple dozen
When I bacpacked back in the late 60's, you could be on the AT for several days and not see a soul.
When I started planning, this is what I was expecting - this is what I want! The more I read the less excited I am but I'm still going - just hoping it isn't as bad as it seems.
Trailweaver
03-27-2011, 11:08
A lot depends on the time of year, of course. I haven't been yet this spring because I know it's crowded in the south at this time. I have been where I hiked my whole section hike and maybe saw 2-3 people. Pick your time and place if you wish to hike alone and it can be done.
The Cleaner
03-27-2011, 11:08
I think that more hikers are on the trail these days but the number of hikers who finish in one hike has not gone up too much.What I don't get is why does everyone trying to do the whole trail stop and go to Franklin.Then they post how great a hot shower&food are.Used to be no one went to Gatlinburg,now seems to be a pouplar spot.I guess the UL hiker can't or won't carry enough stuff to stay on the trail more than 4-5 days.Instead of a "Wilderness Journey" of one's lifetime,the thru hike is just getting from town to town till you end up in Maine.Also hikers said their good-byes at Springer and made new friends along the way.Now some feel the need to stay connected with various tech devices every few days.If one likes the comfort of friends&family so much why are they on the trail?Hiking the trail in the early 80's was somewhat different than now........
Seems like the normal group out there right now. I was out on the Bartram Trail for the past week, and most of the hikers I met were on the 2.7 miles where it joins the AT.
Passed a hiker feed at Winding Stair Gap Saturday of last weekend. Met 8 or 9 thru-hikers at the Budget Inn in Franklin. Three hikers around Wayah Bald in the later evening (around 6 PM). Saw 5 on Cheoah Bald Friday while I had lunch there.
Numbers don't seem that different from other years.
earlyriser26
03-27-2011, 11:19
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.
[QUOTE=litefoot 2000;1135498]When I bacpacked back in the late 60's, you could be on the AT for several days and not see a soul.
Do to all the AT hiking books and our new social networking systems, ie. Twitter, Facebook, more and more information is available to the general public that was not 25 years ago. Never mind 50 years ago.
The AT probably is more crowded during certain times and at certain places.
Springer for the first 200 miles will be crowded from mid Feb. to mid April. Start a NOBO hike after mid April and the amount of hikers you will meet had dwindled quite a bit. Do a SOBO hike and it's never crowded. It has become fashonable for the college age folks to come to the AT for spring break. Hiking some and partying much. They soon leave and go back to school.
After mid May, those thru-hiking get spread out and evenly spaced along the trail. It's not very crowded then. The summer months, July and August brings a lot of hikers to the White Mountains. The trail becomes somewhat populated during these months but once you are through the White's it becomes less crowded again. Baxter and Katahdin is also a popular destination for non thru-hikers so that is crowded during the summer. Hike it after Labor Day and the crowds are not present.
We now live in a socity that is more outdoor orientated and they have discovered the AT.
4eyedbuzzard
03-27-2011, 12:07
It can get rather busy in the Whites in the summer here in NH, particularly on weekends and on sections that are accessed by day and overnight hikers. But large parts of the trail system in NH was here before the AT, and it has always been relatively popular and busy in the summer, and 98 or 99% of it isn't from thru-hikers (most have quit by here). Generally though, once away from the Presidentials and Franconia and other popular spots which indeed can get mobbed at times, trails in general are usually not overly crowded once you get a couple of miles in from a trailhead and away from most of the day hikers.
My daughter and I were out last year SOBO on the AT from Wentworth, NH / Mt. Cube area in early June and only passed a few other hikers each day, nobody but us was at Hexacuba Shelter, and there were no signs of hikers having been at Smarts Mountain. Trapper John Shelter, which tends to be a party spot at times with college kids and locals, was vacant as well the next night. This was midweek though, so there wasn't any weekend hiker traffic.
I will admit though that I'm doing a lot more hiking OFF the AT. We have a lot of trails up here, as most of you know, and I'm finding that I can get a better "wilderness fix" and make the car logistics easier by creating routes and loops and such using other trails. Also, given that I have back problems and am likely never going to be in really good hiking condition again, there are less demanding hikes / trails with more nice camping opportunities to be had that aren't as heavily used. I'm finding that I really like being near streams, ponds, lakes, and bringing along some fishing gear as well. Definitely not hiking just for the sake of hiking, but I seem to like the camping and fishing part just as much.
brian039
03-27-2011, 12:13
The more the merrier. Really awesome, cool people tend to hike and that's what made my experience so much fun. Georgia, the Smokies, the Whites, and Maine with all the college freshman orientation groups were really the only places where I felt maybe it was a little too crowded at times. But people are welcome to do what they want so we just have to share the trail with them.
it's funny that you mentioned the "hiker hand holding service" - I was hiking in CT last week and thought that that would be an interesting job - I'd tote a 35 lb. pack - 15 for me and 20 for someone else and hike the whole AT for about $20,000 - I would guarantee my client's "success." I'd set up my client's tent, keep 'em dry and fed, jog into towns and get their re-supplies, take photos of them, build 'em a campfire, etc. - of course, I could yellow blaze, blue blaze, or slack-pack or whatever I needed to do to get the job done - I'd only actually have to hike about 1/2 the miles. It would be an interesting service - AT SHERPAS - 10 K - you are on to something!
If you schedule your hiking away from the thruhiker wave and stay away from shelters, the AT can still be a pretty quiet place. Of course, weekends are a different story.
it's funny that you mentioned the "hiker hand holding service" - I was hiking in CT last week and thought that that would be an interesting job - I'd tote a 35 lb. pack - 15 for me and 20 for someone else and hike the whole AT for about $20,000 - I would guarantee my client's "success." I'd set up my client's tent, keep 'em dry and fed, jog into towns and get their re-supplies, take photos of them, build 'em a campfire, etc. - of course, I could yellow blaze, blue blaze, or slack-pack or whatever I needed to do to get the job done - I'd only actually have to hike about 1/2 the miles. It would be an interesting service - AT SHERPAS - 10 K - you are on to something!
I don't know if you're being funny or not but it's really just taking what already exists (slackpacking services) and extending it up the trail. It's not really as far fetched an idea as it sounds once you think about it.
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. :)
buff_jeff
03-27-2011, 13:24
Man, it sounds like I missed out...I never got a hiker feed or any parties, and only a handful of coolers. :D
Almost all of my section hiking was done outside of the normal thru-hiker herd, so I really lucked out, honestly. There were always enough people to make things fun, but rarely do I remember shelters being consistently packed or passing dozens of people on the trail every five minutes. I could always find a nice stealth spot if I wanted to, also.
I don't know how you could say that the AT is overcrowded, though. What exactly does that mean, anyway? Are we talking about trail facilities (tent sites, shelters, and also town resources) being overcrowded? Is it more of an aesthetic thing? I guess it's ultimately up to the individual. For some, seeing one or two people an hour might be "overcrowded" on what was ostensibly meant to be a "wilderness" footpath. For others who like a social setting, having 12-15 people at a shelter site might just be a nice crowd.
WingedMonkey
03-27-2011, 14:37
Is the AT getting crowded?This is a post from a blog on March 21 2011 @ Hawks Mountain Shelter:
"Woke up in a dense fog among roughly 25 other tents and another dozen people in the shelter."
Blissful
03-27-2011, 14:41
Go SOBO, after October (Sept has college groups out) not a soul on the trail except for weekenders and leaves. But even that was scarce in places.
Mountain Mike
03-27-2011, 15:16
When I did my thru back in 88 it was year after Nat Geo did an article on the trail. I saw a lot of novices out on the trail. Some that never even backpacked before. Shelters did get crowded more so when a bunch of us traveled more less together. In early 90's I did southern section again. Shelters got full along the start. I even seen one full & people hammocking above them.
Is this good or bad? The crowds only seem to be at shelters in most places. You can easily avoid it by tenting elsewhere. On the other hand it's a great place to meet like minded people. I still keep in touch with people I hiked with back in 88. The AT became a mini social network even before the internet. Keeping track of each other thru our posts in shelter journals. If you want a true wilderness experience I would suggest you look elsewhere than the AT or seek off season hikes.
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?
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. :sun
Az
mad4scrapping
03-27-2011, 17:08
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!
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 .....
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!
Related link :
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=70409&highlight=trail+crowded
And another:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=67182&highlight=trail+crowded
Man, I really missed being able to edit :D
max patch
03-27-2011, 17:39
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".
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. :D
there are plenty of people willing to hold your hand as long as there's some cash in it
yep - ME!
hnryclay
03-27-2011, 21:48
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
03-27-2011, 21:55
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!
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 :D.
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.....:eek:
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.
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
03-27-2011, 22:39
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.
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
03-27-2011, 23:30
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
03-28-2011, 00:04
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
03-28-2011, 00:11
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.
Mountain Mike
03-28-2011, 04:02
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.
Well said. One resupply off PCT for me required a 17 mile hike to dead end road & then a hitch from there.
While discussions on this thread about guided end-to-end hike services have been facetious, sometimes serious ideas are hatched out of these. For the record, commercial use on public lands usually requires a permit, and no permits for commercially guided hikes for the 40% of the A.T. directly managed by the NPS A.T. Park Office (ATPO) have ever been issued. Even if ATPO were to change their policy on commercial use, permits from dozens of other A.T. land-managing agencies would be required, too. There's a short (not comprehensive) list at www.appalachiantrail.org/atcpartners.
If you have questions about this, the person to talk to is A.T. Chief Ranger Todd Remaley (304) 535-6171.
Laurie Potteiger
ATC
fredmugs
03-28-2011, 07:43
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 .....
Your idea has a lot of merit. Last year a bunch of us went to Vegas and we did a day trip to Red Rock canyon. We paid a guy $75 each (he normally charges $90) and he picked us up at our hotel, drove us into the park, gave us day packs with food and water, and took us on a guided hike. He even took us to In-N-Out burger afterwards. I told the guy that was what I wanted to do when I retire.
I wouldn't make any guarantees though - people are lazy and stupid.
ScrapIron
03-28-2011, 08:49
I'm one who intends to stay out of town as much as possible. I'm going to get away from modern technology. I feel no need at all to stay connected to the internet. I will write my journal in longhand and transpose it to a blog when I get home.
The Old Chief
03-28-2011, 11:43
Last week, heading Southbound from the N.C. line, I experienced a lot of solitude. Only "crowds" were at the shelters. I didn't see another hiker from about 3:30 on Tuesday, 3-22-11 until the next morning about 9:00. This was from just North of the climb up Tray Mtn to just South of the cheese factory site. Didn't go into check out Tray Mtn shelter so I don't know if anyone was there or not. I spent a peaceful night all by myself at the cheese factory site.
While I am not thrilled with the idea of trying to set my tent up among 25 other tents and a full shelter, I suppose when I think back on my trek in Nepal, what we are describing here really isn't that much different. Nepal was not a wilderness experience. The trails we hiked were the "roads" that the Nepalese used for commerce and trade. It was an endless conga line of people and yaks. Literally you passed thousands of people every day. I sat at the end of a suspension bridge and counted 300 people in an hour. I looked out the window in the middle of the night and people were still out there walking. I'm sure the AT isn't half as crowded as this and yet my Nepal experience was amazing and wonderful. I guess you just have to adjust your expectations for that actual AT conditions.
I'm not a fan of party boys, though, so I'd probably also adjust my start date and/or direction.
I expected the PCT to be a solitary journey but it wasn't, either. I was amazed at the "throngs" and yet what do they say, something like 300 people start the trail each year?
Not sure if it is typical, but I was shocked to pass 84 NOBOs between Fontana & NOC this weekend. That's 3 hikers/mile!!
takethisbread
03-28-2011, 17:42
as best as I can tell the southern end is getting a lot of traffic. However, It seems that there are some "high traffic" spots and then stretches where it's nice and quiet.
The AT where i am CT, MA, VMT, NH is jamming with hikers from June till October. Especially the Whites which is like Disneyworld (or The Smokies).
If I hike any of this section in August Sept i will cross paths with 30+ hikers a day.
BTW, love the Young Antiques are great thanks for the tip
WingedMonkey
03-30-2011, 19:24
This is a post from a blog on March 21 2011 @ Hawks Mountain Shelter:
"Woke up in a dense fog among roughly 25 other tents and another dozen
people in the shelter."
This is a post from a blog the next day on March 22 2011
"I arrived at Hawks Mtn. Shelter at 3:15. By 6:00pm it started to look like woodstock. I counted about 30 tents with 12 in the shelter."
So far I have not experienced any crowds, tend to hike early (March) and later (Sept/Oct), 90% of the time I have had shelters / tent sites to myself.
Yes, a LOT of people would detract from the experience.
My guess is that as time moves along more and more people will be getting into outdoor active recreation, do not think that it will thin out.
the AT is SUPPOSED to be crowded. It's designed mostly for day hikers, and is within a reasonably short commute to a large portion of the US population.
Bare Bear
03-31-2011, 17:08
I often hike in Fl where you can go a week without seeing anyone else. There are hiker logs I have seen where there are only ten sign ins in two years.....
Friday, April 1
26 hikers in the 20 miles between Devils' Fork Gap and Allen's Gap.
That's more hikers than I've seen in the 500ish miles I've hiked from December - March probably and I saw them all in the same day.