hang tag 2021

[NHPete]

Wow #1: You guys really care so much about being "recognized" by the ATC for hiking the AT?

It's not about being "recognized" by the ATC, I don't care if my name is somewhere on their website and I don't want a patch or certificate, it's about being able to say that I thru hiked the AT without anyone questioning my judgement on starting a late-2021 SOBO hike.

The ATC has had the following on their website since January 21st:
We will point out that a hiker has 12 months (not restricted to a calendar year) to complete a thru-hike.

That seems to imply that they would likely be changing their stance on thru hiking in 2021, once a vaccine was readily available, so some people (like me) have delayed their hike until the second half of the year, in order to do the socially responsible thing.

Wow #2: You guys are so petty as to suggest you will stop your support of the ATC for their judgment call on social responsibility regarding COVID when they do so very much more for the AT, and recognition is such a completely insignificant part of their efforts!

I didn't question the ATC's judgement regarding COVID. Personally, I've done everything I can to avoid getting and spreading COVID. At what point can I stop paying the price for a pandemic that has been far worst than it should have been, because so many other people refuse to take basic precautions? Why should my life continue to be disrupted once everyone in the US has had access to a vaccine, but too many of them refuse to get vaccinated.

I've donated thousands of dollars to land conservation efforts in my lifetime and I've donated my time and money to trail related efforts as well. There's a limit to how much I can spend on donations or memberships, and I get to decide how I will spend my money. What percentage of AT thru hikers have donated $50 or more to the ATC in their lifetime? I'm guessing it's not a very high percentage, they're certainly not obligated to do so. There are plenty of other trail organizations that are much poorer funded than the ATC. Come my July 20th start date, if I've been doing the responsible thing for 16 months in terms of preventing the spread of COVID, I've been been vaccinated, everyone in the US has had access to getting vaccinated, and the ATC is still recommending that people postpone their hikes, then I think there's something wrong with the ATC's judgement at that point. If I choose not to make a donation to them because of that, that's not being petty.

[gpburdelljr]

Currently only about 20% of the US population has been fully vaccinated. Everyone is currently eligible in some, but not all states. Currently there aren’t enough doses available to vaccinate everyone that intends to get vaccinated. The ATC will probably wait until everyone that intends to get vaccinated has done so, before changing their stance on hangtag. I doubt they will change their stance based on a projected date for this to occur, but only when it has happened. Also, there are still questions on whether the vaccines will be effective on mutated strains

[Alligator]

Looks like the question was answered pretty early on.