Will the A.T. ever be limited?

[Bearpaw]

The area around shelters can be pretty heavily impacted sometimes. Otherwise, the AT is the best maintained trail I've hiked and I've walked in Asia and Europe and throughout America.

Backpacker Magazine knows quite a bit about hiking the Sierras, a bit about the Colorado Rockies, a bit less about the Whites, and have doctoral theses about selling gear. They are CLUELESS about hiking the AT.

Get out on the AT and form your own experience before you tell folks who are on the trail all the time what conditions are like.

[Lone Wolf]

i bet against him

[Bearpaw]

Does anyone have any hard numbers on how many access points there are along the AT? I would include not only paved access such as Thornton Gap, Newfound Gap, Fox Creek, but also FS road and logging roads that are less developed but nonetheless are publicly accessible. Just curious.

Don't forget side access trails. Blue blazes like Wesser Creek Trail, Overmountain Victory trail, Hampton Blue Blaze, Benton MacKaye and Bartram Trail intersections come to mind in an instant. Untold numbers of trails in the Whites. Altogether, I'd think there are several 100, if not over a thousand access points.

[Pedaling Fool]

Controlling the number of thru-hikers is not a fix (even if you could do such a thing). When looking at the big picture thru-hiker's make-up a very small portion of the AT's population, it seems like a lot because of how crowded the shelters are around March in Georgia -- it's an illusion. But even then it is common not to see one person for hours during your hike. In other words the trail is not crowded, it's the shelters.

The crowds come from the non-thru-hikers in places like SNP (and then only in certain sections). I remember walking section through there and feeling like I was in a traffic jam. But it never lasts long. You only see tons of people around trailheads near stores/resturants or well known places, such as Charlies Bunion...

In the end I think the OP's concerns are understandable, but won't really be an issue, even 30 years into the future. The real problem is development and that's not unique to the AT.

[Cookerhiker]

Does anyone have any hard numbers on how many access points there are along the AT? I would include not only paved access such as Thornton Gap, Newfound Gap, Fox Creek, but also FS road and logging roads that are less developed but nonetheless are publicly accessible. Just curious.

I think a "hard" number would be impossible to come up with. Not only the varying degree of "roads" - interstates down to dirt tracks barely accessible via 4WDs - but how do you count towns? For example, is Hanover or Damascus or Hot Springs one access point or many? What about side trails - they also vary by degree of conditions and maintenance? Some are blue-blazed, some yellow-blazed, some non-maintained.

I suppose you could count up all the points referenced in the Data Book and just count the towns once.

[TheCheek]

Please do not think that all people from Wisconsin are like this.

[restless]

Please do not think that all people from Wisconsin are like this.

Like what? Thought provoking and challenging our deep rooted belief systems? I don't see anything wrong with that.

[M1 Thumb]

Please do not think that all people from Wisconsin are like this.

Too late.


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Order now and I will throw in a free foil beenie that shields against all known mind control and thought reading devices.

[4eyedbuzzard]

i bet against him

Naysayer

[4eyedbuzzard]

Please do not think that all people from Wisconsin are like this.

Okay, but I'm not buying your cheese anymore. Somethin' funny in it.

[sheepdog]

I'm about as liberal as a gay mexican at a pro choice rally in San Fransisco but you make me look like John McCain.

another liberal??

[4eyedbuzzard]

I'm about as liberal as a gay mexican at a pro choice rally in San Fransisco but you make me look like John McCain.

another liberal??

I dunno sheepdog, "gay mexican at a pro choice rally in San Fransisco" ain't particularly PC. Just sayin'

[tawa]

More effects of global warming---lol

[The Cleaner]

Hey bro, put down '1984' and pick up 'The Monkey Wrench Gang.'

... assuming you can read...

Well said...

[Lilred]

I'm sorry, I can't take anybody seriously who suggests planting gps chips in newborn babies. LOLOL How ludicrous!! Next we'll be hearing how this is the mark of the beast...

$250 fees for the AT? Then it will become the elitists's trail. God help it then.

I don't think I've ever seen a newbie come on whiteblaze for the first time and make such outlandish suggestions about the trail. So you read one article and you believe it? Go hiking. Go see for yourself, then make suggestions. After your hike, you're gonna feel reallllly silly about this thread...

[Lone Wolf]

I am new to hiking, but from my perspective it seems the A.T. is heavily overused. I have been looking at pictures of the trail posted by fellow users here and a fair amount of them show damaged lands, garbage, etc.

It seems the A.T. takes a heavy beating from people!. I am planning a thru-hike in 2012, and I am worrying what damage I will see. I really do not want to hike a overused and damaged trail, and what Backpacker magazine has said worries me! ( A few issues ago )

It has forced me to think about the future of the A.T., and possible solutions.

1: Limit the number of people allowed to hike the entire A.T. each year.

1a: Stagger the release of hikers from the start. For example, allow only 20 to leave one day, 10 the next, 0 the third, 20 the next, etc.. which fits with my next suggestion.

2: Require thru-hikers to purchase a National Trail tag of some sort, say starting at $250. ( this will keep many of the crazies and undesirables off the trail as well if strictly enforced )

3: Every 5rd year, close the entire trail for 2 years to all traffic both day and thru hikers, to allow nature to recover itself. This will also allow major repairs to the trails to take place, shelters, water, etc.

I have more ideas I want to share but I am still working on them. I sent the above ideas to my State and Federal representatives for them to consider, and as I get more involved in the A.T. I hope to one day take the trail to the next level, without further damaging the trail.

Also note the National Trail Tag can be 'loaded' up to allow access to all of the National Trails, and you would be able to buy access on a per year basis, or a lifetime access. The only issue with this is that it has to be totally assured legally that 100% of the proceeds from these sales go directly to the benefit of the A.T. and/or the other trails one can load the card up with.

For example, if one pays for a lifetime access to the CDT, those funds can ONLY be used for the direct benefit of the CDT. Nothing else!

What do you all think? I know that these ideas are strange and some directly go against what the A.T. is about, but something needs to be done to save the trail for future generations, and heck, even improve it!

i like your style, kid.

[double d]

another liberal??

Whats wrong with that? After all, it was the liberals who signed the National Scenic Trail Act in 1968. Look up who voted for it and against it in Congress, its clear it wasn't Conservatives (especially during an election year). So the next time your on the AT, hug a liberal!!!!!

[sheepdog]

I dunno sheepdog, "gay mexican at a pro choice rally in San Fransisco" ain't particularly PC. Just sayin'

good point...

[restless]

I'm sorry, I can't take anybody seriously who suggests planting gps chips in newborn babies. LOLOL How ludicrous!! Next we'll be hearing how this is the mark of the beast...

$250 fees for the AT? Then it will become the elitists's trail. God helop it then.

I don't think I've ever seen a newbie come on whiteblaze for the first time and make such outlandish suggestions about the trail. So you read one article and you believe it? Go hiking. Go see for yourself, then make suggestions. After your hike, you're gonna feel reallllly silly about this thread...

While I agree that some of his ideas are "outlandish" and even smack a little too much of Big Brother, the point that he was trying to make is important nonetheless. If a person can thru hike without seeing the impact that millions of people make on the trail, then I would say that those hikers need to look a little closer. I have found it interesting that people on here can consider the OP to be somewhat of a whackjob for his ideas, rather than looking at the point he was trying to make. I'd rather stand with a newbie who is concerned for the long term sustainability of the AT, than any number of thru hikers trying to figure out how to take their iPad, iPhone, GPS, laptop computer, cellphone and any other number of gear gadgets along with them so that they can stay in touch with everyone back home and tweet from a shelter every night. Get real people. The newbie OP seems to be more concerned about the trail then most others. Say what you will about his ideas, the AT has issues.

[restless]

Whats wrong with that? After all, it was the liberals who signed the National Scenic Trail Act in 1968. Look up who voted for it and against it in Congress, its clear it wasn't Conservatives (especially during an election year). So the next time your on the AT, hug a liberal!!!!!

careful double d, words like that on this thread might get you labeled as a whacko