PDA

View Full Version : Where are most thru hikers from?



DavidNH
03-12-2005, 10:30
Hello,

I am wondering... The At thruough hikers and LD secton hikers you have met in past..do they tend to be from a particular section of the country? For example, mostly from south or northeast or elsewhere?

Also... It appears that many of the posts in this forum and others appear to be from folks living in the Southern US with much less representation from New Englanders. Just wonder why that is.

Nhhiker (David)

Mother Nature
03-12-2005, 11:46
I can't speak to the reason others have landed in the south but I moved here after becoming an Adirondack 46er and living near the Canadian border to go to graduate school. While in graduate school I discovered the AT and other wonderful trails in the Southeast. When I retired, I decided to move closer to the AT in north GA to be an active part of the trail on a regular basis.

On my long distance hikes and in my daily jaunts I have run across hikers from just about every state and from many countries. It is amazing how many foreign hikers have read Bill Bryson's book and cite that as a catalyst for doing the trail. Having lived in Europe myself for three years, I can understand the shock when they find the AT a little more rustic than they were used to. but worth the journey. They may have the Alps but the majority of their trails are heavily switch backed and well groomed.

I think, overall, the forum writers are a pretty well geographically balanced group. As more hikers trail northward on the AT, more questions may be directed to the forum that question the trail and conditions in the south thus drawing more responses from people living near the southern sections of the trail.

And then I could be wrong about everything but I am having too good a time to notice or care.:p

Mother Nature

Jack Tarlin
03-12-2005, 12:02
David--

While thru-hikers are from everywhere in the country (and increasingly from overseas), the majority seem to come from the East, and this stands to reason: Easterners, having grown up in a Trail state (unless they're From Florida, South Carolina, or Delaware), have probably known about the Trail all their lives. Perhaps they hiked parts of it while children. Perhaps their first backpacking/hiking/camping experience came about on the Trail.

They're also likelier to have encountered someone who has hiked the whole AT, spoken well of the experience, and helped to spark their own interest. As adults, Easterners are likelier to have hiked sections of the A.T., to have met thru-hikers, and to have had more oportunities to wonder about what a thru-hike would be like.

In any case, while there are certainly Oregon and Texas and Nebraska thru-hikers, the majority seem to be from the East. I'm not sure, tho, that you're right about most being from the South. I've met a ton of Georgian and Virginian thru-hikers, but then again, an awful lot are from New York and Massachusetts, but keep in mind where young people tend to be located: In or near major cities, universities, high-tech centers, etc. This inevitably means there are always going to be more thru-hikers from suburban Boston than from say, Muncie, Indiana. Thru-hikers also tend to be progressive and liberal in their politics, i.e., they are more likely to be from "blue" states, or more likely to have been educated in one, and more likely to remain living in one after their schooling, i.e. there will always be more thru-hikers from Connecticut than from Idaho.

One funny thing, tho, is what happens to folks AFTER they've thru-hiked: I know of several life-long New Englanders who've moved down South, having come to love that part of the world. I personally try and spend as much time as I can down South these days (40-odd New England winters was enough, thank you!). Likewise, I've met many folks from the South, mid-West, or West, who've re-located to New England after their trips, especially to Vermont.

One of the best things about hiking the Trail is that it gives folks the oportunity to see parts of America that they'd never visited, and even better, to meet and spend time with folks rom these different areas. It inevitably makes people more broad-minded about their fellow Americans, helps to counter pre-conceived notions (such as the ones Yankees have about rural Southerners and the other way 'round as well).

One last comment: There've always seemed to me to be a ton of thru-hikers from Ohio! With no dis-respect meant at all to my friends from that part of the world, the natives of that state seem awfully excited about spending significant time somewhere else! And I asked Miss Janet about this subject; she also commented that there are are always a ton of New Englanders, but also, for some reason, a whole lot of Texans!

(My feelings about that: Lone Star starters are born adventurers. Or maybe they just want to get away from people like Mountain Dew for six months!)

neo
03-12-2005, 12:06
i am from tennessee:sun neo

MileMonster
03-12-2005, 12:31
Most are from earth...but some aren't.

Slimer
03-12-2005, 13:46
yea, I met a fellow just before Stratton. Although his feet were on the ground, his mind WAS NOT. This guy looked just like ole Charlie Manson.

oldfivetango
03-12-2005, 14:06
yea, I met a fellow just before Stratton. Although his feet were on the ground, his mind WAS NOT. This guy looked just like ole Charlie Manson.
So- how do you know it really wasn't Willie Nelson?
Did he try to bother you?
Cheers,
Tango

A-Train
03-12-2005, 14:53
The most popular states for thru-hikers I met were Maine, Texas, Florida, New York and Mass, but every state was accounted for on the east coast.

A-Train
03-12-2005, 14:54
Oh and if you were really interested in having some hard data you could always scan a copy of the completion pages in the ATTN which lists the 2000 milers each yr and includes hometown and state.

The Old Fhart
03-12-2005, 17:57
This data may not be the best sampling but the 1999 ALDHA Membership Directory Had a short column on page 27 called "Who We Are." The top 10 states were:
01) Virginia 115
02) Pennsylvania 97
03) New Hampshire 68
04) North Carolina 62
05) Massachusetts 57
06) New York 52
07) Maine 50
07) Connecticut 50
08) Ohio 47
09) Maryland 41
10) Vermont 39

The regional distribution was:
North 498
South 333
Central 158
West 59
Non-US 24

Also the 1998 ALDHA Membership Directory listed everyone who had ever reported hiking the entire trail as of the publication date (about 2000 total). To answer a debate in another thread about first finishers, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas was #18 in 1958. Hope this info helps.

squirrel bait
03-12-2005, 18:03
Go Tarheels. We're moving up.

TJ aka Teej
03-12-2005, 23:48
Mrs TJ says "they're all from freakin' Mars"



To answer a debate in another thread about first finishers, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas was #18 in 1958.
An old topic in another forum wondered why Justice Douglas never wrote about being a 2000 miler. He's listed, an ATN interview quotes him as being proud of his section hikes on the AT, but I'm pretty sure no one could find him making the 2000 miler claim in print. Maybe they did after I stopped paying attention to the thread :D All I have is his My Wilderness: East to Katahdin, but I don't remember it being in there. Any way - humble 2000 miler, or "just" a sectioneer, the AT and wilderness had a good friend in Justice Douglas.

rickb
03-13-2005, 00:30
TJ--

Didn't all the early 2,000 Milers have to submit documentation to the ATC in order to be included on the club's list? Or perhaps his status allowed him to be an exception? An honorary 2000 Miler of sorts.

Rick B

jackiebolen
03-13-2005, 00:43
Representing your big neighbor to the North...I know there's at least a few of us.

The Old Fhart
03-13-2005, 12:12
This data is from the 2005 ALDHA Membership Directory (which I just got) in a short column on page 29 called "Who We Are." Currently, the top 10 states are:
01) Virginia 123
02) Pennsylvania 88
03) New Hampshire 75
04) Massachusetts 75
05) North Carolina 69
06) Florida 65
07) New York 60
08) Ohio 57
09) Connecticut 54
10) Maine 50

The regional distribution is:
North 505
South 399
Central 192
West 47
International 31

Note that this is apparently based on the current ALDHA members only so that explains how some states lost ground from the numbers I previously posted from 1999. This is possibily not representative of all finishers but it might show the trend.

Mountain Dew
03-13-2005, 16:39
Thanks for the kind words Baltimore Jack. As soon as I read your post Hungry Heart came on my radio. It got changed. As far as Texans hiking the trail goes... Rubberband Man, Bodhi, Miss Janet, Dred, and countless others long distance hiked the A.T. Texans are known for being adventurers and love to be larger than life. What better place to do both than on the A.T.

TJ aka Teej
03-13-2005, 20:15
TJ--

Didn't all the early 2,000 Milers have to submit documentation to the ATC in order to be included on the club's list? Or perhaps his status allowed him to be an exception? An honorary 2000 Miler of sorts.

Rick B
It was very common to submit reports of your AT adventures to your AT club in the early days, but it was Myron Avery who first thoroughly documented his 2000 miler status. Since he was pushing a measuring wheel with a support party along every mile, his record was indisputable. I think Earl was the first to have his claim doubted, and so the first to have his report's quality debated. After Earl, detailed reports were required until the backpacking boom of the 70s, I think. I'm certain there's some old ATCers that know all about Justice Douglas' 2000 miler status, and perhaps the ATC even has his application on file. I'll be in Harpers Ferry come April, maybe I'll get to ask about it.

TJ aka Teej
03-13-2005, 20:18
03) New Hampshire 75
10) Maine 50
Large numbers from two small states!