Q: Why are you doing this?

A: The hardest question to answer - Many reasons, really. Please click the "About Me" link to the left.

Q: Where is the Appalachian Trail?

A: The Appalachian Trail stretches from Springer Mountain, Georgia to (Mount) Kathadin in Baxter State Park in Maine.

Q: How long will it take you?

A: The average hike time for those doing it in a single season is about 6 months. I expect to finish in about that time or maybe a little longer to allow time for sight-seeing and acclimation to the trail.

Q: Who is going with you?

A: I am going by myself, although there will be 2,000-3,000 people leaving during the months of February, March and April with the same ambitions. Typically you will walk with folks for a while and then solo for a while, forming a loose community of hikers, some of which you will run into from time to time.

Q: What about your wife, is she going along?

A: My wife is not going along - She will be coordinating the mailing of supply packages to me during the trip, updating the website and keeping things running at the home front. I could not do my hike without her support. She will be meeting up with me along the trail whenever possible, and hopefully will be hiking the last 100 miles with me.

Q: And your wife is letting you do this?

A: Yes. The absence of piles of dirty clothes, tools on the kitchen counter, and my snoring will be a welcome respite for her. We will miss each other terribly.

Q: How many miles is it?

A: Parts of the Appalachian Trail are occasionally re-routed to curb erosion and wear-and-tear in certain ecologically sensitive areas and for other reasons. The current length of the trail is approximately 2,175 miles.

Q: How Many Miles a Day do you Have to Walk?

A: In order to finish in 6 months, you must average about 12-13 miles per day. If you average a day off the trail per week, then you must average around 14 miles per day on the other days.

Q: Are you Carrying a Gun/Weapon?

A: I will only carry a small can of bear/pepper spray and that is more for possible use against feral dogs than for use against bears or people. Guns are not permitted on government owned lands which approximately 40% of the trail cross through. Besides, guns are heavy, even Glocks, compared to the rest of the gear you must carry.

Q: Where will you sleep?

A: The majority of my nights will be in one of the 250+ AT shelters which lie approximately every 7-10 miles along the trail. The shelters range from small 4 person lean-tos, to 20 person buildings, made of materials ranging from wood, to concrete to stone. I will also be sleeping in my tent which I will be carrying with me, and sometimes in hostels. For those times when I feel I've deserved it, I will hitchhike into town and indulge in a hotel where I will dirty lots of towels and snore to my heart's content.

Q: Are you carrying everything with you?

A: For the most part, yes. I will be shipping my winter gear home during the summer and will have it shipped back to me before I get to New England. Otherwise, the rest of my pack will weigh from 35-40 pounds, full.

Q: Aren't you scared of Hillbillies (Or some other Deliverance reference)?

A: Your friends who have seen Deliverance will be quick with the "Squeal like a piggy" comment. You know who they are. The people of the southern Appalachians have had a tough past and many have often been driven down to their southern homes against their will over the past century or so. Their desire to keep to themselves is a cultural thing and so they are deserving of people's respect to travel past their homes.

I am no more apprehensive than if I were going to any other city with unfamiliar folks. Some people have just been watching too many movies.

Q: What will you eat?

A: It's been said that the average hiker burns between 4000-6000 calories per day. Because of the tremendous amount of energy needed to sustain the hike, my diet will ideally consist of approximately 50% carbs for energy, so that means lots of pastas, soups, protein items and well...just about anything I can get. Needless to say, in-town all-you-can-eat buffets make no money when an AT thru-hiker comes through the door.

I will be cooking dinners and some lunches using my alcohol fuel stove and will rely on GORP (Good Ole Raisins and Peanuts), candy and snack bars, lots of peanut butter and other quick-to-eat snacks during the day and for breakfast.

Q: How much will it cost?

A: It's been said that it costs about the same as a moderately priced apartment in terms of expenditures per month. That roughly translates to about $1.50-$2.00 per mile. So figure with the gear needed at the beginning about $4000-$5000 total for the 6 months. There are no costs incurred to hike the trail itself which was one of the initial premises when the trail was conceived and was being built in the 20s and 30s. There was a small bridge toll up north which has since been waived for thru-hikers and there is a canoe-ferry which will take you across the Kennebec River in Maine for donations.

While the costs for a hike like this are considerably less than living at home, you must come up with and save this money up front as there is little if no opportunity to raise money while hiking.

Q: What do you do for a living?

If I may borrow a clever answer to this from another hiker's site, I hike for a living - I have recently retired from my previous job.

Q: Do you think you'll make it all the way?

A: About 20-25% of those who attempt the trail in one season will actually complete it, up from about 15% in years past. They say it takes about 6 weeks to get your body into its prime conditioning. Beyond that, it's mostly mental. If you have prepared properly and have given yourself compelling enough reasons to stay the course, then there is no reason to expect that you won't finish, barring injury or some other situation which is beyond your control.

Q: Can we send you anything along the way?

A: Because every extra ounce counts, and because every mail drop location is tentative, there really isn't a way to ensure I would receive anything. While I am happy to accept good old basic Pillsbury pan brownies and Nestle's Toll House Cookies, please contact my wife, Aracelis to coordinate with my mail drop schedule.

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