2012 Appalachian Trail Hike

Welcome to my Appalachian Trail blog!  I will be hiking the Appalachian Trail this year and I’m planning to keep you updated on my progress via this blog.  Below is an introduction to the A.T. by the numbers…

-          2,184 miles long

-          14 states are crossed while walking from Georgia to Maine

-          4-6 months is how long it takes the average thru-hiker to finish

-          250 three sided shelters along the trail for me to sleep in

-          16 – The total elevation gain of hiking the entire A.T. is equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest 16 times

-          2-3 million visitors walk a portion of the A.T. every year

-          2,000 hikers attempt a thru-hike each year

-          1 in 4 who attempt the thru-hike successfully complete the journey

-          6,000 calories per day is burned by the average thru-hiker

-          1 awesome beard that I’ll have by the end if I can make it the whole way without shaving

Our start date for the trail is March 8^th, so it is coming up fast.  I’m in focused planning mode now; it takes a lot of work!  Starting in early March and hiking for about 6 months puts the tentative end date in late August.

I’ll be hiking with my roommate from college, Ryan Simko.  We are planning to hike the entire trail together as thru-hikers.  We will also be starting with our friend from Santa Barbara, Brian Sarvis, who will be hiking with us for the first several weeks.  If we can’t talk him into staying on the trail he will return home for a break and then rejoin us for the last few weeks of the hike.  We’ll also be joined by more friends and family who are interested in hiking a few days with us…everyone is welcome!

There will be more to come, follow this blog or follow me on Facebook to watch our progress!

“The mountains are calling and I must go.”
- John Muir