Help support "ATHQ"

Greetings,

I'm not entirely sure if there are guidelines in place within this forum regarding "Crowdfunding" Campaigns (I've done my best to look), so I'm going to be genuine, and respectful (I don't like spam, unless it's trail food). If you've hiked the entire sections of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, or New York, on the AT, it's possible that you've either met me, or likelier, have read my log entries. My trail name is "The Wandering Deer" (I often wear a Jägermeister bandana - I'm hard to miss). I also go by "KC". For the past few years, I've found that one of my passions has been studying, and compiling information about the Appalachian Trail. I have yet to thru-hike it (something I intend to do soon, hopefully). I'm no stranger to thru-hiking, though, having thru-hiked the MMM Trail (Metacomet-Monadnock-Mattabesett), also known as the "New England Trail", (a trail I've thru-hiked three times), and Vermont's Long Trail (once).

In studying the AT, and compiling information, I've learned some things,
- 1: Comprehensive information about the AT is widely scattered (outside of places like WhiteBlaze, etc)
- 2: I've found websites, and apps that chronicle the AT (photography, information, etc) that aren't nearly as comprehensive as I would like, or want you to pay outrageous sums of money to acquire the information, information that is only made available to you if you pay for it in sections.

In using GoFundMe, I want to establish a base of information regarding the Appalachian Trail, "ATHQ", where this information can be provided in great detail without having anything stopping anyone. This would include, but not be limited to photography of shelters, peaks, and trail towns, information about mileage, and mail drops, gear reviews, and much more. I already have an abundance of photography of the New England portions of the Appalachian Trail (and New York), but cataloging the entire trail down to the last detail (and presenting it all in one place) is something I feel would be of great benefit to anyone attempting an AT thru-hike.

Cheers, and thank you for reading this!

Hope to see all of you out on the trail!
- WDKC

GoFundMe link: http://www.gofundme.com/AppalachianTrail

Carry a GPS so you can map shelters, road crossings, water sources, and POIs, as well as side trails

Quote:

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Originally Posted by darkbyrd

Carry a GPS so you can map shelters, road crossings, water sources, and POIs, as well as side trails

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Noted. I plan to mark geographic coordinates, on top of photographing each shelter individually, as well as any, and all points of interest, road crossings, and side trails included. Where to find a palatable water source is a huge concern for me as a thru-hiker, so that's a priority. I intend to make this specific endeavor much longer than an average thru-hike (leaving earlier in the season) which is one reason I've taken to Crowdfunding. In a lot of ways, I'm a student of science, so having the opportunity to really break the trail down, and examine every aspect of it, I find, would be of great benefit to a lot of people. I've spent an insane amount of hours researching the AT where I wish all that information could just be in one place. I intend to thru-hike the trail either way, if not before, or after, however, if I'm only thru-hiking it, I won't be so focused on examining it as closely (leaving with the rest of the pack), and will be more driven toward pushing for the October deadline.