The Next Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike

Invest in better gear. When I was preparing for my Appalachian Trail thru-hike, I was short on funds and long on doubts. I didn't really want to spend a lot of money on gear for an activity I wasn't sure I would finish or ever want to do again. I bought off-brand equipment or made my own. For the most part, everything was fine. But my hip joints ached after a night on a shelter floor, and in Damascus, VA, I sent my Z-rest foam mattress home and bought a Therm-a-rest inflatable mattress -- the best investment I ever made.

Digital camera. I did my thru-hike in the pre-digital days. I have lots of pictures, but I can't use them online. The few I did scan onto a disk are fuzzy and grainy. It's also cumbersome to carry all my pictures along on my travels. The next Appalachian Trail thru-hike would be digitally recorded.

Photograph people. Like I said, I have lots of pictures. But they are mostly pictures of views and the trail itself. That was only half the hike. The Appalachian Trail is what it is because of the people. On the next thru-hike I would take more pictures of people, especially trail angels and legendary trail friends, and definitely of activity with my fellow hikers at the shelter in the evenings.

Methods. As an inexperienced backpacker, I didn't know how to pace myself for the distance, and it wasn't until later in the hike that I learned to push myself through the lethargy I often felt. I was intimidated hiking and camping alone. Now I know, and I have more confidence in my abilities. I would be more disciplined on the next Appalachian Trail thru-hike, hiking more miles in the early days so I wouldn't have to push so hard at the end. And I would camp in my tent more often so my destination every day isn't dictated by where the shelters are.

Ancillary activities. Thru-hiking is exhausting. It was just about all I could do to hike the miles I needed to hike every day, so I didn't want to do anything extra. I passed up the chance to stand at Virgina's highest point because it was half a mile off the trail. On the next Appalachian Trail thru-hike I would take more side trips. I'd walk the extra steps to a high point, climb the rocks to a vantage point, and take a day off to work with a trail crew from Kincora.

Connect with people. Okay, I've always been a shy introvert. On my thru-hike, I withdrew in the evenings, preferring to sit in the corner writing in my journal instead of interacting with the other hikers. True, I ended up publishing a book from my journal, and I'm not sure it would have been possible if I hadn't immediately captured the emotions of the day on paper. But I wish I'd connected more with other people. In the years since the hike, I've had the desire to get to know the trail friends of legend -- those known throughout the hiking community for their kindness to hikers -- and to write their stories. But now it's too late; Keith Shaw, Pegleg, and Tillie Wood are gone. On the next Appalachian Trail thru-hike, I would open up more to others.