This national park is different because it extends from Maine to Georgia through all the states in between. There are many areas to hike this trail and each of them provide a different feel to backpacking. This link provides access to a great map that shows the trail in detail all the way from Maine to Georgia. This summer I did an internship in Connecticut right near the Appalachian Trail and unfortunatley i did not know how close it came to the area I was living. I would have loved to go and hike around for a day or two and discover what the trail had to offer. A nice thing about the Appalachian trail is that it is free to hike for anybody that is interested. There are fees for camping that vary by the site you choose to set up, and usually the fees are pretty small.
When doing some research on the Appalachian trail, I found out that they have a 2000 mile hike that some serious backpackers participate in. The average hiker that does the trail in one straight shot will take about 6 months to complete the journey. This is something that I would love to do, but I don't think I would be able to fit that into my schedule with work and school. This website gives information about when to start and in which direction to start the travel. There are advantages to starting from the north and from the south, so it really depends on which type of hiker you are. This spectacular feat takes long hours of endurance and perseverance, but it all pays off in the end when you reach the 2000 mile mark. In 2007 only 500 people completed this, so it is a very rare accomplishment, but something that should be congratulated.
The Appalachian Trail provides lots of fun backpacking experiences for the weekend backpacker through the serious 2000 mile backpacker. If anyone has taken a hike down the trail, i would love to hear your experiences. Feel free to comment on this post. Until next time...happy backpacking.
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