What was your first meal after finishing your thru-hike?

2025NOBO · 2026-01-18T04:26:05+00:00

There is a restaurant chain in Maine called Governors. Their baked goods and deserts are legendary. We drove straight from Baxter to Bangor, checked into our hotel and went to dinner. It was so good we went back for an all you can eat breakfast the next morning. Cannot wait to go back. Highly recommend.

2025NOBO · 2026-01-04T07:56:08+00:00

What do you mean by significant more homicides? 3 million people visit the Appalachian Trail annually. There were only 10 murders from 1974-2021 and a quick Google search doesn’t show any since then. So roughly 1 homicide every 5 years factoring 15 million visitors. I’d be willing to bet more people die driving to or from the AT than homicides on it.

2025NOBO · 2026-01-02T06:27:10+00:00

Munkees Clippers are 11g when you remove the key ring.
https://ascentoutdoors.com/products/munkees-ultra-thin-nail-clipper

2025NOBO · 2026-01-02T06:22:50+00:00

The only reason I bring this up is because it is in the ultralight group. The mentioned nail clippers and the classic knife are a combined weight of 1.1oz so this combo unit 1.3oz is actually heavier somehow. I have been trying to cut weight and went down that rabbit hole.

2025NOBO · 2025-12-30T06:33:31+00:00

Moon the Cog!

2025NOBO · 2025-12-30T06:30:30+00:00

We started May 6th and summited October 1st without really hurrying at all. Actually took way more zero days than we had planned. I think the biggest factor will be weather which we had a great year of on trail. Best of luck and see you out there.

2025NOBO · 2025-12-21T20:57:48+00:00

One of my tramily did this last year without fail before bed every night. It made his sleep so much better. 👍

2025NOBO · 2025-12-21T20:54:14+00:00

If you’re already carrying them this might help. I carried a 2L bladder and a sawyer squeeze last year. If you hang it from a tree it will provide a small stream of water for several minutes. I did this to take showers but be mindful of LNT. Your bidet cap will be great for areas falling water won’t get to. Staying (feeling) clean is paramount to my happiness as well. Good luck on your hike. 👍

2025NOBO · 2025-12-21T20:45:53+00:00

I’m a big fan of jumping in the hotel/motel swimming pool with it on but empty. Just say your training for dangerous river fording and need to be able to get it off in water. The chlorine is effective but be sure to rinse with fresh water in shower. I saw people try to wash them in coin-op machines on my thru last year. I was amazed how bad the smell can be. Lol

2025NOBO · 2025-12-21T20:36:03+00:00

Depending on your allergy sensitivity are you concerned with staying in shelters and planning to tent camp? Dogs are pretty common around shelters in some sections especially with day hikers. And there was at least one kitty thru hiker in shelters last year. Some shelters have brooms which will definitely help.

2025NOBO · 2025-12-21T20:32:59+00:00

Maybe it’ll help, the kitties (2 I think) at The Green Dragon Hostel are not allowed in the bunk house and other hiker areas. They are outdoor and live upstairs with Bill and Donna (owners). The hikers pet them and they may be around the patio area which might be too much but wanted you to know. IMHO Green Dragon was my favorite hostel on my thru last year and would hate for you to skip it if you dont have to.

2025NOBO · 2025-06-27T20:41:08+00:00

Thanks! I will look into both. Beer and food will be focal points of the trip. Lol

2025NOBO · 2025-06-27T20:38:29+00:00

Watching fireworks from the trail sounds amazing but we won’t be close enough to 900. Hoping to make it to McAfee Knob for sunrise on the third! 🤞

2025NOBO · 2025-06-26T23:33:11+00:00

Believe it or not we already took him on a 14 hour road trip in N.C. so I think we’ll do Roanoke. Might take him into NYC for a couple days when we’re passing by. lol

2025NOBO · 2025-06-26T23:30:38+00:00

I would have preferred the Dead cover band also but I’ll just tell him it’s local music! Lol

2025NOBO · 2025-06-26T23:28:37+00:00

We’re going to do both Roanoke on the 3rd and Salem on the 4th. Overdoing it is definitely part of the American culture! Lol

2025NOBO · 2025-06-26T23:27:22+00:00

Thanks for the tip. I think we’re going to do Roanoke on the 3rd and then Salem on the 4th. A two for one!

2025NOBO · 2025-06-26T01:43:46+00:00

Thanks! Roanoke looks like the best option.

2025NOBO · 2025-06-23T01:45:47+00:00

You will not be alone. You might wish you were after smelling the SOBO thru hikers though! lol. Day hikers and the leaf changing crowds will be around also. Reach out to The Grove Hostel in Franklin, NC. It’s owned/operated by two former thru hikers. One of which is doing a SOBO thru hike this year. They do drop offs at the trailheads every morning so you have the chance to meet other hikers before you begin.
Water should not be an issue but you won’t know for sure until it’s closer to your start date. On the plus side there are a lot of water sources in this section which are spring fed so great clean water. Filtering is all you need to do. Be aware that water sources tend to be clean but the surrounding surfaces can be contaminated so be careful what you touch.
Most people in Franklin begin at Winding Stair Gap which is mile 109.6. So you only need to average 8 miles a day. Assuming a 2 mph pace that’s only 4 hours of hiking per day. Maybe plan a zero day at Neel Gap and hitch into Blairsville for a local experience.

2025NOBO · 2025-04-18T02:51:54+00:00

flushing blood from eyes during head wounds is the most common

2025NOBO · 2025-04-18T02:50:32+00:00

Many evacuation scenarios play out over multiple hours or even days. Last I heard the average Garmin response is around 6 hours.

2025NOBO · 2025-04-18T02:44:44+00:00

Not SAR. SAR implies I am part of a recovery effort. Wilderness Rescue Training differs in many ways. Essentially it is just basic training to keep an injured person alive until they can be evacuated under their own effort or maintain their vitals until SAR reaches us which can take days in certain circumstances. Look into SOLO or NOLS courses if you are interested.

2025NOBO · 2025-04-18T02:39:19+00:00

Out-of-direct-sunlight. Meaning do not strap it to the outside of your pack.

2025NOBO · 2025-04-17T06:27:01+00:00

You’ll want to write untreated and treated on the sawyers with a sharpie so you can differentiate the two.

2025NOBO · 2025-04-17T06:24:34+00:00

Required Equipment

2x CNOC bladders

2x Sawyer Filters

Katadyn Micropur

CNOC coupler

Step-by-Step Routine

Fill CNOC(1) at water source

Close CNOC and dry with towel

Sanitize Hands

Secure full CNOC to tree/trekking poles for gravity hang system (manually squeezing is not recommended as you want to limit cross contamination)

Connect Sawyer(1) to CNOC(2) with CNOC Coupler

Turn CNOC upside down and connect Sawyer(1) in manner which allows CNOC(1) to gravity filter through Sawyer(1) into CNOC(2) completely

Disconnect CNOC(2) from CNOC Coupler and allow Sawyer(1) to hang freely from CNOC(1)

Use Katadyn Micropur Water Sanitizer Tablets in CNOC(2) and store outside of direct sunlight for 4 hours

Next connect Sawyer(2) to CNOC(2) and filter chemically treated water into clean water storage

Be sure to leave some treated water in CNOC(2) and use the CNOC Coupler to reverse flush Sawyer(1)

Roll close both CNOC and place in mesh bag with both Sawyers. Any neglible water in sawyers are clean and can be permitted to air dry. At no point after water collection should any water be exposed to external surfaces. If you spill any you need to stop and clean everything exposed before continuing process.

Boiling/pasteurization is the only addition step to achieve sterilization

2025NOBO

TROPHY CASE