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Planning roughly 5–6 months on trail. Based on my WikiTrail estimates: fast pace finishes September 13, medium pace finishes October 3, and slow pace finishes October 11. Check the WikiTrail links above for a rough sense of where I'll be at any given point!

Visiting me won't be an easy feat. You can either choose WHERE you visit me, or WHEN, but not both! If you have a free weekend, you have to be willing to meet me where I am. If you have a specific section you want to hike, you have to meet me whenever I get there! Use WikiTrail as I hike to get an estimate of when I'll be near you. I also have to make it to Maine before the snow falls, which means I have to keep to a pretty strict pace. Unfortunately, I won't be able to stay long in towns, and if you want to hike with me, you better keep up!

A "zero day" is a full rest day with zero miles hiked — usually in a town for resupply, laundry, and recovery. A "nero" is a near-zero, typically less than 5 miles, often to get into or out of a town.

Generally yes — millions of people hike the AT safely each year. The bigger risks are minor injuries, weather, and exhaustion rather than dramatic dangers. I have a GPS device, first aid kit, and a solid community of fellow hikers (the "tramily") for the journey.

A trail family — the group of hikers you naturally fall into step with on the trail. Since most NOBO hikers start around the same time and hike similar daily distances, you end up leap-frogging the same people for weeks and eventually become a little community. I'll likely pick up a trail name too!

Mostly lightweight, calorie-dense food — oatmeal, nut butter, tortillas, instant meals, lots of snacks. The rule of thumb is around 100 calories per ounce. In town I'll be eating everything in sight. Hiker hunger is real.

In a tent (see the gear page!) or in one of the free, three-sided wooden shelters spaced every 8–10 miles along the trail. Shelters are first-come first-served and can get crowded, so I carry a tent for backup.

Spotty but more than you'd think. Most ridge tops and town stops have signal. I'll have a Garmin InReach satellite communicator for emergencies, which works anywhere regardless of cell coverage.

Minor injuries (blisters, twisted ankles) are par for the course and I'm prepared for those. For anything serious, the trail passes road crossings every few days and the hiking community is tight-knit — help is usually not far away. I also carry the Garmin InReach which can send an SOS from anywhere.

The White Mountains in New Hampshire and the 100-Mile Wilderness in Maine are widely considered the toughest stretches — steep, rocky, and remote. The good news is by that point I'll have 1,800+ miles of trail legs under me.

Most hikers budget $5,000–$8,000 for the whole trip — roughly $1,000 a month. The big costs are gear upfront, food resupply, and town expenses (lodging, restaurants, laundry).

Starting in Georgia in late April means chilly nights and warming days. The mid-Atlantic gets hot and humid in summer. New England turns cold fast in September — which is exactly why I need to keep moving!

Almost. Zero days (full rest days in town) are necessary for recovery and sanity. I'm aiming to keep them rare to stay on pace for Katahdin before the snow hits.

The AT is marked the entire way by white rectangular blazes painted on trees and rocks — about 2"×6" each. Following the white blazes is essentially the entire navigation strategy for 2,198 miles. Blue blazes mark side trails (to water, shelters, viewpoints).