View Full Version : One big frat party?
So I was reading through a few threads on WB and noticed a lot of people saying that the trail has turned into one big frat party. I didn't see anyone really arguing it. Is that true? I'm really looking for a long hike in the woods, not a big party in the woods... Are there parts of the trail that are worse than others or is it pretty much the whole length?
Johnny Thunder
04-24-2011, 22:52
as a former frat boy i can say that NO the trail is not becoming a big frat party. there are parts of the trail where parties are more prevalent (towns, hostels, hotels, and some shelters...to name a few). these places are easily avoided by folks with brains.
the at is a social experience first and a wilderness experience second. never confuse that and you'll be happy.
Many Walks
04-24-2011, 22:59
Most of the heavy partiers we saw ran out of money or decided it was too hard and dropped out early. The big herd thins out pretty fast.
mweinstone
04-24-2011, 23:55
the ATis not like a party house. its like your grandmoms house. you have to behave and wipe your feet and finnish your liver and let her kiss you. its way yuckky the oppisite of any party i ever went to. most days you are eating drinking walking and liveing with very very straight folks. the overall essence of the trail , i would say,... is straight nerd old guy american with dog .
I didn't find the AT during my thru-hike to be so much a party trail but rather enjoyed by people who knew how to have a good time. Lots of fun to be around these people and that certainly added greatly to the experience.
Mostly the AT is a microcosm of America with a few people from other lands thrown in for good measure. So yeah, there were a few that imbibed a little too much but not very often and they weren't a nuisance.
North of Connecticut the number of people on the Trail had diminished and I was hard pressed to get group photos. A party? How about more sleep and more eating?
Datto
Most of the heavy partiers we saw ran out of money or decided it was too hard and dropped out early. The big herd thins out pretty fast.This is because they probably soon realized that in order to be successful, steady effort and physical toil day after day would be a requisite. Something they very soon realized they weren't prepared for nor at all willing to do;).
njordan2
04-25-2011, 06:08
Frat party, no.
Fart party, yes.
the at is a social experience first and a wilderness experience second. never confuse that and you'll be happy.
It's a shame what the AT has apparently turned into.
Fog Horn
04-25-2011, 08:46
I read the same thing but I read into it more like "if you choose for it to be a frat party, it will be"
From what I gathered, if you don't spend a week in town drinking, and instead get out on the trail, then you won't really encounter the "frat party" aspect of the trail. Its all personal choice. I'm not there for booze, so I won't be getting hammered at every trail town. Some people like the social aspect of it more though, so they choose to do that.
HYOH. If you don't want to party, then don't.
Pedaling Fool
04-25-2011, 08:50
So I was reading through a few threads on WB and noticed a lot of people saying that the trail has turned into one big frat party. I didn't see anyone really arguing it. Is that true? I'm really looking for a long hike in the woods, not a big party in the woods... Are there parts of the trail that are worse than others or is it pretty much the whole length?
Go to Springer in mid-March. But it's not all frat-like. A lot of old people too. Kind of a neat mix. The trail is not one big frat party, but it does have its pockets.
Montana Mac
04-25-2011, 09:02
I started my 09 thru attempt on March 4th. Yes there were a good number of hikers that were around. I ended up hiking with a group of about 4 other people but it was NOT a frat party type group.
After Waynesboro or so this group "fell apart" due to different hiking speeds, obligations that people had to get off for a while, etc.
Once I got up into PA there were many nights that I had the shelter / shelter area to myself and hiked many miles without seeing another hiker.
Once you get north of Damascus and AFTER Trail Days the crowds (especially the party type) thin out.
If you want to party hike you can find that type of hike - if you want solitude you will be able to find that also - just remember to HYOH
its what you make it some people parrty others dont know one is making you do it either or mkeing you be around it.. ts all on you.
I hear that occasionally Standing Bear Hostel can get rowdy (i haven't confirmed that) and I can tell you from experience that the Doyle in PA (the bar) can get a little rowdy on Weekends (but it was a great experience and I wouldn't miss it). Trail Days....... well, ...no comment. I have come across a lot of sippers and pot smokers on the trail but for the most part never been bothered. You can almost always tent away from the noisy areas.
I wouldn't worry about the frat house comments. That is an over exaggeration IMHO.
88BlueGT
04-25-2011, 09:44
I cannot comment on the crowds as I have never thru-hiked BUT it shouldn't be hard to turn your trip into whatever you want too. There may be some sacrifices though. If you don't want to party or hear people partying maybe you should try not to stay too much at shelters. If you come up to one and its packed w people, hike on, move up 200yds and you'll be fine, peace and quiet.
Serial 07
04-25-2011, 09:55
there were typically a lot more girls at the frat parties i went to when in school...
Camp away from shelters. Spend less time in towns. Maybe go SoBo.
You get from the AT what you decide to get... :sun
stranger
04-25-2011, 10:15
Some really good advice on here already and I can offer the following reflections from long distance hikes from 1995, 2001 and 2008...
Yes, absolutely the trail today is a social experience for most hikers, with the wilderness/isolation thing being second, that's a given for most people. In the early-mid 90's it was different, but not entirely...the AT has always been a people's trail.
This does not mean however that it's a frat party out there, meaning the trail, in my experience, the trail is the one place that crap usually doesn't happen, and when it does it's both rare and predictable.
Most of the frat party scene is either in town, or at times on the trail with select, large groups of younger, prodominately male hikers who everyone knows about anyway. Many of these types hike to Trail Days, spend two weeks there, and fizzle out thereafter.
This also assumes you leave Springer Mountain between 1 March and 15 April, when the vast majority of hikers depart, by contrast if you left Springer in May you would have a very different experience IMO. Also, being 100 miles north or south of Damascus during Trail Days is a good idea in terms of the party hikers. In 2008 we hitched to TD from Iron Mountain Gap in TN, about 80 miles south of Damascus, when I arrived back in town 5-6 days later many of the hostels were full with hikers who had been in town for 2 weeks....
You can easily have a very enjoyable, somewhat solitary hike along the AT if you do the following:
1. Hike outside of thru-hiker season going nobo, or consider going sobo
2. If are set on going thru nobo, leave very late April or early May
3. Do not use shelters
4. Do not camp next to shelters
5. Do not frequent hostels
6. Spend extra money and get your own motel rooms
7. Don't go to Trail Days
8. Don't be within 100 miles of Damascus during Trail Days
And really, as others have stated...Hike your own Hike, meaning...if you show up to a shelter and there are 15 hikers there, say hello, sign the register, use the privy, get some water and hike another mile or two before crashing for the night, there are hundreds of campsites along the AT.
Town is town, and you will run into hikers there regardless, but you can usually get your own room if you avoid hostels.
And if you avoid shelters...honestly, you will not see that many hikers along the AT, even during peak season, remember the frat boys are afraid of the rain : )
Mtn.Crazy
04-25-2011, 10:15
I think that what you are getting references to are the season influx of college kids on the trail. Usually they hit the trail on spring break and right after graduation/ end of spring terms. I hit the trails then as well, but it's never bad. Usually, they are a little ignorant of trail etiquette and travel in larger groups, but most are great people and are out there to have a life experience. Aren't we all?
Thru-Hiked in 2006, and cannot say I noticed much of a frat party atmosphere to the trail (aside from one wild weekend at the Doyle, but that's hardly unexpected and easily avoided). This may (or may not) be due to the fact that for the most part I structured my hike quite close to this advice:
3. Do not use shelters
4. Do not camp next to shelters
5. Do not frequent hostels
6. Spend extra money and get your own motel rooms
7. Don't go to Trail Days
8. Don't be within 100 miles of Damascus during Trail Days
I don't think #4 is truly necessary, as I typically camped near the shelters when I could, if only because having a picnic table made cooking a lot easier ;) Almost every shelter out there you can camp just out of earshot of the shelter itself and still be close enough to use the tables and hit the privy when you want. This gives you the option of making your hike as isolated or as social as you want it to be, since other than very brief encounters throughout the hiking day, the shelters are really the only place you will see your fellow hikers.
Oh, and I did go to Trail Days, but one of my friends drove down to Damascus to visit me on the trail that weekend, so we had a car and thus just stayed at a hotel on the nearby Interstate. Violating rule #7 by using rule #6 worked out just fine.
ScrapIron
04-25-2011, 12:58
Whatever it has turned into, it's a good bet that it will not revert to what it was in the days of yore. Times change....that is just the way that it is.
Lamenting the passing of the old ways is a waste of time.
So I was reading through a few threads on WB and noticed a lot of people saying that the trail has turned into one big frat party. I didn't see anyone really arguing it. Is that true? I'm really looking for a long hike in the woods, not a big party in the woods... Are there parts of the trail that are worse than others or is it pretty much the whole length?
you need to go do a different trail than the at then. try the pct, lt, or the cdt.
Most of the heavy partiers we saw ran out of money or decided it was too hard and dropped out early. The big herd thins out pretty fast.
Yup.... I was hiking yesterday about 5 miles south of Jerry Cabin shelter and stopped to talk to 4 NOBO's. Just as one of them commented that they had only made 51 miles in the last 7 days another one pulled out a bowl and a bag of weed.
Not trying to stereotype anyone but I think the two are related.
The thing that tends to get on my nerves is not the general atmosphere but the sheer number of people you see on the trail. It's like looking at a scene from The Canterbury Tales at times.
I don't mind doing a "Stop and Chat" every once in a while but if I stopped to talk with everyone that paused as I went by I'd never get anywhere. So...sometimes I just nod and keep going.
But, even with that, it is nice to know that all these people could be home sitting on the couch watching Law & Order reruns on TNT and chose to be outside instead. Maybe there's hope for us yet.
flemdawg1
04-25-2011, 15:45
No its not a frat party atmosphere. Another case of WB hyperbole. There are occasional hikers who carry whiskey, beer, pot, etc. In the 300+ miles of AT hiking I've done I never saw a single hiker drunk out on the trail or in shelters.
flemdawg1
04-25-2011, 15:49
Yup.... I was hiking yesterday about 5 miles south of Jerry Cabin shelter and stopped to talk to 4 NOBO's. Just as one of them commented that they had only made 51 miles in the last 7 days another one pulled out a bowl and a bag of weed.
Not trying to stereotype anyone but I think the two are related.
Well Jerry Cabin is only a day and a half away from Hot Springs. And less than 50 miles from Standing Bear.
BTW what were the guys names there? they prob started w/ me back on April 1st.
flemdawg1
04-25-2011, 15:51
Well Jerry Cabin is only a day and a half away from Hot Springs. And less than 50 miles from Standing Bear.
BTW what were the guys names there? they prob started w/ me back on April 1st.
Standing bear to JC- 63 miles.
johnnybgood
04-25-2011, 15:53
you need to go do a different trail than the at then. try the pct, lt, or the cdt.
Mountains to Sea Trail , or flip flop the AT . Harpers Ferry nobo to Katahdin, then return to HF by train and trek sobo to Springer.
The party crowd will either be north of the Mason-Dixon or off the trail .
Well Jerry Cabin is only a day and a half away from Hot Springs. And less than 50 miles from Standing Bear.
BTW what were the guys names there? they prob started w/ me back on April 1st.
Didn't catch their names - it was 3 guys and a very pretty young lady. Very friendly, just not moving very fast.
I try to keep my trail drinking classier than a frat: nice wine, aged bourbon, times may be tough but we must keep up appearances you know...
flemdawg1
04-25-2011, 15:58
Didn't catch their names - it was 3 guys and a very pretty young lady. Very friendly, just not moving very fast.
Pot smoker- Ugly perhaps?
Pretty lady- Pocohontas or Kiddo?
By the time you get to the New England states, most (though not all) of the partying jerks have been weeded out and you have more of a hiker's trail.
Actually, From Harper's ferry many are weeded out. The Doyle hotel in PA gets the last big crush of the thru hiker alcoholics.
GA/NC/TN/VA during peak thru hiker season yes the place is sadly very much a moving frat party. However, during trail days.. avoid the festival and stay on the trail. You'll be able to re claim the woods.
snickers06
TallShark
04-25-2011, 16:18
I think i would personally enjoy the social aspect of some parts of the trail, I'm sure there are times when your solitude can get the best of you, (like North of Penn) when you wished that some of the awesome folks you met earlier on the trail were around.
Jim Adams
04-25-2011, 16:55
The trail hasn't changed into a social trail...it has been a social trail since I was first on it in 1990.
Hiked again in 2002, people, attitudes, social aspect was still the same. been around alot of "party Hikers" have never seen it like a frat party atmosphere.
geek
Good to hear. I was picturing being pegged in the head with a beer can by some drunk yelling "stop being so loud!" as I was trying to sleep. I don't mind social at all... just rude. From what everyone describes the AT isn't like that.
:sun
WingedMonkey
04-25-2011, 17:34
Good to hear. I was picturing being pegged in the head with a beer can by some drunk yelling "stop being so loud!" as I was trying to sleep. I don't mind social at all... just rude. From what everyone describes the AT isn't like that.
:sun
Don't count on it, just saw this in a Journal about Derrick Knob Shelter LOL
There are maybe 30 people here tonight. About 10-12 tents set up plus a full shelter. Couple hammocks too. There were some people hanging around the fire as I was sleeping and they were talking and such as always happens at shelters. Then some old guy comes out of the shelter screaming curse words and such to get people to shut up. So someone responds to him "that was a polite way to ask."
Skidsteer
04-25-2011, 17:40
Don't count on it, just saw this in a Journal about Derrick Knob Shelter LOL
"Shelter" is always the common denominator in stories like this.
No its not a frat party atmosphere. Another case of WB hyperbole. There are occasional hikers who carry whiskey, beer, pot, etc. In the 300+ miles of AT hiking I've done I never saw a single hiker drunk out on the trail or in shelters.
just because you didn't see doesn't mean it didn't happen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMDTOPlpdKY
88BlueGT
04-25-2011, 17:50
That video is so old. Pretty funny if you ask me though, I laughed.
Partiers don't bother me. Been there, done that. Might do it some more :)
flemdawg1
04-25-2011, 18:04
just because you didn't see doesn't mean it didn't happen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMDTOPlpdKY
And just because it happened once, doesn't mean the trail has a "frat party atmosphere".
Resist the hyperbole. :D
Jim Adams
04-25-2011, 18:09
Don't count on it, just saw this in a Journal about Derrick Knob Shelter LOL
this wasn't a "frat party" atmosphere...it was 1 old rude guy.
sounds to me that with that many people there it was pretty mundane.
geek
WingedMonkey
04-25-2011, 18:24
this wasn't a "frat party" atmosphere...it was 1 old rude guy.
sounds to me that with that many people there it was pretty mundane.
geek
Maybe you missed which of his statements I was quoting in your usual rush to correct me.
:D
DrRichardCranium
04-25-2011, 18:34
No, the AT is not at all a big frat party. It's a very long hiking trail. What people might get into when they're off the trail is their own business.
Jim Adams
04-25-2011, 18:53
Maybe you missed which of his statements I was quoting in your usual rush to correct me.
:D
no, I didn't miss anything.
geek
Johnny Thunder
04-25-2011, 19:34
It's a shame what the AT has apparently turned into.
that's sort of like saying "it's a shame that people want to live near the east coast." we're lucky that it's a social trail. otherwise it'd just be a lot of walking through the back yards of big cities.
Johnny Thunder
04-25-2011, 19:35
there were typically a lot more girls at the frat parties i went to when in school...
frat girl are (errr...were) easy.
The [A.T.] has been a social trail since I was first on it in 1990.
geek
Thanks, I've long wondered when the A.T. became a social trail. I knew it runs through a more densely populated region and has more visitors than either the PCT or the CDT, but I did not know it was a social trail until I visited WhiteBlaze.
I learn something new every time I log on here. Silly me, I thought it was still a National Scenic Trail.
God way up in heaven, for whatever it was worth,
Thought He'd have a big old party, thought He'd call it planet Earth
Jim Adams
04-25-2011, 23:00
Thanks, I've long wondered when the A.T. became a social trail. I knew it runs through a more densely populated region and has more visitors than either the PCT or the CDT, but I did not know it was a social trail until I visited WhiteBlaze.
I learn something new every time I log on here. Silly me, I thought it was still a National Scenic Trail.
Maybe it wasn't a social trail in 1980 when you thru hiked but it has been a social trail every year since my first thru hike in 1990....contrary to what most WB'ers think, most thru hikers now days wouldn't attempt a thru if it weren't social.
geek
You'll find all types of folks on the AT - young, old, male, female, CEO's, doctors, lawyers, engineers, dishwashers, homeless, gas station attendants, employed, unemployed, single, married, divorced, separated, professional actors/actresses, professional athletes, experienced hikers, Baby in the raw hikers, those that hike with canes, those that hike blind, those that hike fast setting speed records, those that limp along to Mt Katahdin, poor, rich, druggies, non druggies, partiers(lots of ways to party! doesn't always have to entail illegal drugs!), non-partiers, social, introverted, etc.
Are there lots of people I would say yes. At some times, in some incidences, maybe no. Are there places on the AT or times to hike the AT or where to start an AT thru-hike or different hiking styles to avoid crowds? Sure! Can you change how or with whom you hike? Sure! It's not always a party scene in terms of always having to experience drunks or weed smokers! You can avoid that if you want!
There are pros and cons of hiking a social well traveled well marked well maintained well documented well used trail in densely populated areas of the U.S.!
Frat party atmosphere maybe sometimes. Sometimes not!
You get out what you want! HYOH!!!
If you want to avoid people lots of good suggestions already given!
tjforrester
04-26-2011, 00:58
So I was reading through a few threads on WB and noticed a lot of people saying that the trail has turned into one big frat party. I didn't see anyone really arguing it. Is that true? I'm really looking for a long hike in the woods, not a big party in the woods... Are there parts of the trail that are worse than others or is it pretty much the whole length?
EJC, I'm on the trail this year, have walked from Springer to Hot Springs so far, and I'm impressed with the caliber of hikers I've met. They are knowledgeable, friendly, and driven. In the hiking window I was in there wasn't a party atmosphere, period.
Party animals generally coalesce off the trail, alcohol is their catalyst, and they sometimes hitch from town to town to keep the party going. They are a minority and to exaggerate them into a frat party walking the trail is disrespectful of all the really fine people out here.
EJC, I'm on the trail this year, have walked from Springer to Hot Springs so far, and I'm impressed with the caliber of hikers I've met. They are knowledgeable, friendly, and driven. In the hiking window I was in there wasn't a party atmosphere, period.
Party animals generally coalesce off the trail, alcohol is their catalyst, and they sometimes hitch from town to town to keep the party going. They are a minority and to exaggerate them into a frat party walking the trail is disrespectful of all the really fine people out here.
Glad to hear that they are mostly off the trail. The people you've met are people the kind I hope to be hiking with in the future. Enjoy your hike!
88BlueGT
04-26-2011, 09:09
I feel like you guys down south see more traffic than I do in the NJ/PA area. I would say 75% of the time I'm out I maybe see one or two people.
Pedaling Fool
04-26-2011, 09:15
I feel like you guys down south see more traffic than I do in the NJ/PA area. I would say 75% of the time I'm out I maybe see one or two people.
It's like that out on the trail, but at the shelters there are some serious crowds in the evenings.
Most of the heavy partiers we saw ran out of money or decided it was too hard and dropped out early. The big herd thins out pretty fast.
Like MW says...
if you get near a HERD of hikers (usually the younger gang) you might notice a party mentality...but, by Harpers Ferry theyre usually gone or "partied out" & are just into the miles...
Good Luck w/ yer hike!
see ya'll out there May 28-June 12 (NO PARTYING!):D
DWG....NOBO....Kent,CT
WILLIAM HAYES
05-03-2011, 21:07
most of the real hikers I have met over the years are in their sleeping bags by 9-stay away from shelters near the roads which is where you are most likely to find weekend party types