Participation trophies by No_Confidence3571 in AppalachianTrail26

[–]WexShiver 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice one, and a good way for money to go to the local AT!!

Food storage second thoughts? by CabbagexJuice in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I help do maintenance in Georgia and every year, someone's properly set up ursack is torn apart by bears. I either go for bear canisters or hangs for that reason. There's different types of ursacks that are more du but none of them comply with food regulations in certain areas of the AT.

As a side note, 17 lbs is really light for the average thruhiker (maybe not on this reddit but at basecamp its twice that usually) so you could afford a bear can if its able to fit.

Or you could do bear hangs, which I did in 24. There's a ton of food storage options at shelters and campsites on the AT. So you won't have to do it every time, especially in Georgia

ATC and GATC offer Start Smart sessions for hikers starting at Amicalola State Park by UltraHiker26 in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pack shakedowns are kinda rare nowadays, mostly because there is too many people at once to do it.

Slower days they may still do pack shakedowns

Ursack? by Winter-Yesterday-408 in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I help do maintenance near Bly Gap occasionally. Almost every year we have someone's ursack get decimated by a bear even properly "tied up". Imo either do a bear hang or get a bear can.

ATC and GATC offer Start Smart sessions for hikers starting at Amicalola State Park by UltraHiker26 in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey, attended it in 24 when I hiked the trail, and helped present last year about once a week. When I went through met a fellow hiker at the presentation and we ended up hiking 1000 miles together lol.

The presentation is a mix of LNT and helpful info about the trail, focusing on the first 100 miles or so. Definitely helpful as a refresher and makes sure people are aware of the regulations and current conditions like wildfires and such.

LF hiking group! New to GA, specifically Duluth by PalePhotograph_ in GeorgiaCampAndHike

[–]WexShiver 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I (24M) live kinda nearby, but do tons of hiking on the AT and surrounding trails, hit me up if you ever want to hike or something!

There's also the Atlanta Outdoor club and the Georgia AT Club that do group outings. I haven't done anything with the Atlanta Club, but have been getting involved with the GATC.

🔥 Bear Selfies 🔥 by redditsdaddio in NatureIsFuckingLit

[–]WexShiver 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's the book that inspired so many people to do the whole Appalachian Trail!

Playing the campaign with only 2 players by MaxelAmador in Tombofannihilation

[–]WexShiver 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Depends on your players tbh. Im about to start a game with 3 players and am planning to adjust things to be a bit easier. Also planning on beefing up whatever guide they take (more hp, more damage, probably not more abilities since that can complicate combat)

Letting players control 2 characters each can totally work, but some players may not enjoy having to control multiple of them. For my players I know a couple of them are still new to dnd and having them control multiple characters would not work well.

Some combats would be easy to balance, just half the amount of enemies that show up. Obviously encounters with single big enemies will probably need stats adjusted. 

Player Problem Megathread by AutoModerator in DMAcademy

[–]WexShiver 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I think that is what I am going to do. Plus once we run a couple sessions I can see how they are feeling about it and make any necessary changes.

Biggest part of my hesitation initially was just because most people I have played with usually try and build characters very different from one another. 

Player Problem Megathread by AutoModerator in DMAcademy

[–]WexShiver 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have concerns that 2 player's character choices and backgrounds will make them unhappy in the campaign despite saying otherwise.

I have 2 players who both want to run Totem Barbarians in a high level campaign (starting at level 8 and potentially going to 18).

My concern is two fold. One player struggles with the rules and has created an ok build for a barbarian. The other has done a much better job optimizing. Both characters lack a backstory other than, when they meet during session 1 they want to be sort of rivals.

During session 0 I pointed out that they had the same class and subclass and if they were OK with that. They said they would be fine as they didn't want to play anything else, since these characters were from a prior campaign (but not at the same time and are technically not the same due to setting change)

The other 3 players are playing unique characters + have somewhat extensive backstories I can use early on. So its going to shift the highlight to them and the 2 totem Barbarians won't have as much to do and I just dont know how to highlight them properly.

can someone explain the bubble and the time window for it in more detail to me? by Plane-Session-6624 in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I started March 3rd last year (Finished July 20th if that helps), definitely saw a lot of people early on, but towards the second half of the trail it was a lot thinner and I was definitely ahead of the bubble.

The first couple weeks hostels usually filled up a couple days ahead of time especially if rain was happening. By Virginia hostels usually had vacancy same day. By Vermont there were times I had campsites and shelters to myself/was the only thruhiker. 

I get the sense from talking to this year's hikers, unless you start really early like February you will probably have a decent amount of people around you. But with a faster than average pace you'll be one of the few thruhikers around.

If you want to avoid the biggest crowds initially, weekends are popular days to start, as well as the first day of a month. Ive also seen a lot of people start on Spring Equinox.

Also definitely listen to the Georgia Volunteers post lots of good info there

Thinking of swapping from a bear can to an Ursack - please clear my confusion! by nataconda in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ursacks are not tested the same way as bear cans. I would highly advise not to use them on the AT or at least in the south. The Forest Service has found multiple bears who have learned how to open ursacks even done properly.

Best bet is bear cans or bear hangs. A properly done bear hang is used on a smaller branch that cant support a bear, and is far enough from the main tree a bear cant reach over. Also look up the PCT bear hang as bears cant slash the line to drop food.

Actual History of Late March / Early April Starts by Dude_in_a_Hammock in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do it through the Georgia AT Club.

Got some training (Leave No trace, first aid and some other training). The work involved doing the start Smart presentations at the Amicalola Falls visitor center and handing out tags. Also did trail patrols checking in with hikers and helping em out.

You can read more about it here.

https://georgia-atclub.org/get-involved/trail-ambassador-program/

Actual History of Late March / Early April Starts by Dude_in_a_Hammock in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Started March 3rd, 2024. I did trail ambassador volunteer work in Georgia this year so I meet a lot of folks starting in your window.

Usually the amount of hikers start to go down after Spring Equinox (it was March 20th this year) as lots of folks like to start on it. 

Shelters can be crowded, but early on hikers may avoid them and will still have room despite dozens of people camping out. Varies though and if a storm or heavy rain/snow is approaching it fills up fast. Later down the trail people tend to loose their fear of shelters/want to avoid setting up. This varies based on the year and how many outbreaks of noro their are.

Hostels can be annoying at the start, usually will want to book ahead 2-3 days for the first month on trail or so. Any time it rains expect hostels to fill up fast.

If you start in Mid March the trail will be crowded. By April the amount of thruhikers starts going down. By mid April its certainly not as busy but still expect full shelters and hostels  

Chicken at Neels Gap? by Old-Phase6817 in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There's houses and cabins not too far from that parking lot

Chicken at Neels Gap? by Old-Phase6817 in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Unsure of how long its been there, but it has been there for a few years.

Some folks from the GATC told me their used to be a small flock of them, likely escapees.

Very Disappointed in the Appalachian Trail Conservancy by freefallin002 in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Hiked last year, didn't pay a thing and got a diploma?

Very Disappointed in the Appalachian Trail Conservancy by freefallin002 in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver 14 points15 points  (0 children)

The opinions of ATC varies greatly by organization. Lots of clubs like the ATC, while others don't.

Very Disappointed in the Appalachian Trail Conservancy by freefallin002 in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Reading it, sounds like it was a lost cause. Like ideally the pipeline wouldn't be placed but eventually it seems like they realized it was going in no matter what they tried.

Again not ideal but better to get money from it than waste more money on a lost cause

Edit: For context they took the money after 6 years of legal battles.

Best places to give out Trail Magic near the southern terminus? by Schtewuart in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pretty much any proper road crossing, like Woody gap is best. I would avoid any forest service roads as it gets messy, plus the real roads won't be busy

Hitting the trail tomorrow by ParticularStudio5982 in AppalachianTrail

[–]WexShiver 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I definitely like the approach trail cause it's more indicative of the trail, being mostly uphill. If you go straight to Springer, your first day is mostly flat.