A couple months ago I announced my intentions of hiking the Appalachian Trail with the goal of completing it in record time. With the trip quickly approaching, I wanted to clear up exactly what it is that I am doing. There are essentially three types of records for long trails: supported, self-supported, and unsupported. Supported essentially means a crew follows the hiker/runner for the duration of the trip, providing their food and drinks as well as sleeping arrangements and any other help along the way. Unsupported on the other hand involves no support from anyone and no resupply, and is essentially limited to a few days because of the near complete refusal of assistance, even in the form of food from a town. The third, less well defined type is a hike done in self-supported fashion which involves resupplying in towns but no assistance from vehicles or a dedicated support crew. For all of the types, the hiker must complete every single foot of the trial by their own effort. Continue reading Self-supported guidelines
Tag Archives: Pacific Crest Trail
To be a human in the wild
“Twenty years ago, fresh out of college, I was too poor to afford the most expensive name gear. I did have a great back pack (Lowe Alpine Contour), but a cheap tent, Walmart ground pad, and low end hiking clothes, etc. Several times on the trail, I would meet people and outfitters who would judge me on my apparel/gear. It was like the trail had become a country club and I was not welcome or good enough to be a member. I feel now, the same way I felt then. If you love the outdoors, hiking and camping, then you belong.”
It’s not Martin Luther King. It’s not Ghandi. But my goodness did this dude put it perfectly. To provide some context, people have been incessantly bitching about the movie Wild and the resultant flood of backpackers. This guy was fed up with the elitism from a portion of the hiking community. Continue reading To be a human in the wild