Demographics?

[candacem09]

I have several questions and i know it's kind of a lot to ask but i'm really just trying to get a feel as to who i'll be hiking with.

1. What is the ratio of women to men on the trail?

2. What percentage of people are, for example, under 25, under 40, over 55?

3. What is ratio of solo hikers to groups?

I'll be a 20-21 yr old female hiking NOBO solo next year *fingers crossed* and i was wondering how many other people will be in the same boat as me (I hope there's more than just a couple of us).

[aaronthebugbuffet]

Do you normally only socialize with other 20-21yr old females?

[candacem09]

lol no, i am just a little worried that itll be 99% guys who are alot older than me.

[Mags]

lol no, i am just a little worried that itll be 99% guys who are alot older than me.

The ATC has archives with those statistics, but generally speaking, most thru-hikers on the AT are under 25 and over 55.

Age wise, you'll be in good company. If I had to take a gut check, about 1/3rd of the under 25 are women. Not as common solo..but not unheard of either.

Hope that helps.

[Hooch]

Some will be female, the majority will be male. Some older, some younger. Since you're relatively young, the majority will be older.

[mweinstone]

heres the skinny answere.
we got the good, the bad, and the ugly.

then we got yur terminaters

got yer captian nemos

we got your old ladys livin in shoes

we got your simon templers and your jane goodalls

jauck coutstos and hungry jacks, little boo peep types and yer little debbies

we got tranys and homos and straights and something new for the class of 28!

see our nuts see our nuts we got fruits! you like fruits!

we have the odd fruitcake

we posses all manner of squatting stinkys and leaning winkys

theres old JB, hes a hundred and three!

theres johnney thunder, hes not 30 somthin but under

say high to old spit, he aint even a person

neithers fabion or tuck or lp

we have dogs you see

and folks and plants. real veggies. and veegs and pritkins and harry potters too.

put an average age on them? a bent? a hue?

new new my dear. new.

[Amanita]

I'll be a 20-21 yr old female hiking NOBO solo next year *fingers crossed* and i was wondering how many other people will be in the same boat as me (I hope there's more than just a couple of us).

Well if I get all my ducks in a row, I'll be in EXACTLY the same boat as you. I don't know about the general demographic, but 2's a start. And I bet as 2012 gets closer more will find their way to white blaze, as it's pretty hard to miss when looking for information about the AT.

[mweinstone]

and heres a slice of resident fruitcake for a welcom new poster

u just b welcom your not on a planet with no way to hike. ever. an indoor planet. with no way to make the color green.and compleetly flat. where hikers die pileing pillows in an insane attempt to create mountains on flatworld before going insane from no green, hills or hiking.

see who your dealing with!
next customer!

lmao

[scudder]

If you get out on the trail in May in northern Va. there will be lots of folks coming thru. If you do a southbound weekend, you could check them out for yourself!

[moldy]

I have noticed that in the past few years more and more young ladies are on the trail. 10 years ago it was a male dominated population of hikers. Not any more. I say that it's almost half of all hikers today are women.

[Trailbender]

I have to meet this matthewski guy one day, funniest posts ever, but they also make a ton of sense.

[stranger]

In my direct experience, I would say the vast majority of hikers fall into two age categories:

1. Under 25
2. Over 40

The biggest age gap is that 25-40 mark, or even perhaps up to 50...

The majority of hikers are Men, especially in the lower age bracket. Most women hike either:

a) With their respective partner (boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, etc)
b) With another woman

I would definitely say that you would be in the rare category in terms of being solo, female and 20-21...although it's quite common to meet older women who do this.

Why this is...I do not know, but it was the case in 1995, 2001 and 2008. There are increasing numbers of women hiking, and hiking solo...which in my view is the only way to hike, hiking with a pre-arranged partner is more touble than it's worth for most people...unless they are in love that is.

Finally, it needs to be said...you will attract alot of attention to yourself from your relatively young, male peers as you make your way north, it's no big deal, but expect attention from the younger boys - it will happen, it always does.

The greatest part - you will never need to hitch alone because every male hiker will want to hitch with you cause they will get a ride in 10% of the time, and everyone looks out for everyone on the trail...safety is not an issue in my experience.