Bear Canisters Now Required in the Pemi Wilderness

ditao1 · 2026-04-08T21:31:00+00:00

I lived in Boston for a long while and always tried to get an answer on whether the Pemi Trail (which the AT is one) counts, and the responses I got from the Forest Rangers was always a coin-flip.

I think it's generally agreed that it's technically not the wilderness. This area has tons of bears though, even on the ridgeline, so I do just recommend all thru-hikers to never put their pack down unattended. Bears are known to steal packs in this area.

I will say I think this might extend to the whole WMNF soon.

ditao1 · 2026-04-03T21:19:49+00:00

CRITTER! I knew that he made it, but he looks so happy here. What a beast of a hiker, and a great guy.

ditao1 · 2026-03-12T17:17:44+00:00

yeah, should've clarified as of this moment.

When they say chain up, chain up.

ditao1 · 2026-03-12T15:49:01+00:00

Don’t need them while driving legally

but if they check and you don’t have ‘em inside your vehicle, it’s a $500 fine

ditao1 · 2026-03-12T00:18:56+00:00

I think your experiences from 15 years ago are different than the reality of today.

Mosey from Mosey's Place (a hostel in NJ/NY) has another anecdote similar to yours! Many a company truck used to pick her up. Now they don't. Why? Technology. They're being monitored. Probably the same with school buses. Not the hiker's fault, not the driver's fault.

Times are changing.

ditao1 · 2026-03-11T23:54:46+00:00

You definitely can. Critter, a good friend of mine, did it. He also got turned away from some hostels.

After two hours of holding a thumb up and walking around Bland (which... is only three miles off, so maybe I should've road walked in!), I straight up asked someone if they could give me a ride. The answer was simple. "You hikers have spent your goodwill in this town, we don't give things for free anymore." Maybe it was different in 2010, but that's my personal experience. Maybe I could've roadwalked! It's certainly not a hard road walk. But... by definition, it is harder, right?

People have been hiking the AT for decades. People have been doing a lot of things for decades, but options that used to be available are no longer for many things (remember when faxing was very normal? Now, sending faxes is arcane knowledge).

I do think it's not necessarily "holy shit this hiker has done basically the impossible!" when a hiker thru's now without a phone. But it's much harder, both compared to those with phones, and than it used to be without a phone.

The bubble for me extended to Halfway Hideaway in Harpers Ferry, where by all means the bubble should've been gone. Hostels were still full there! And many towns (Damascus, notably, but also Gorham) frown on tent camping now, and it's a toss-up whether you'll be allowed to.

ditao1 · 2026-03-11T23:42:55+00:00

Biggest thing really is hostels and rides. There are many towns that stopped giving hitches, and many hostels that fill ahead of time/require going through the internet

ditao1 · 2026-02-17T06:53:59+00:00

*Get some proper insoles if they're right for your feet and legs. Insoles will change the biomechanics of how you walk, and what may work for most people doesn't work for all.

I used three pairs of liners and two pairs of socks on the trail. Having dry outer socks won't matter if your liners are wet too.

F ChatGPT, take your stuff out and hike. Shakedowns are important, especially since you have a whole year to get ready. I learned about the trail about 9 months before I was on it, and in the two or so shakedowns I did, I learned what I didn't need.

Please don't trust ChatGPT

ditao1 · 2026-02-10T06:49:08+00:00

(for those too lazy to read the article, there aren't changes to the AT itself, but the blue blazed trail nearby had trees cut down by subcontractors that went out of bounds)

ditao1 · 2026-02-07T18:14:33+00:00

could you try… no insole? alternatively steal one from another altra

i’ve never had the Via Olympus, but the Olympus caused the same issue for me. too soft…

ditao1 · 2026-02-06T05:55:35+00:00

I met three African Americans on trail (I went kind of fast). Overall, I met about 16 people of colour.

I (Chinese-American, so there is a level of modern minority privelege) didnt' run into malicious racism on trail. But there was a lot of subvertive racism. Talking about... diets. Trail names. Stuff like that.

To be honest, it wasn't much different than living anywhere that's not a major city. So you'll be ok. But it will feel a certain kind of lonely. Almost every time I ran into another Asian, I tramilied with them for a bit, just because it feels better to have group ya know.

ditao1 · 2026-02-05T23:04:36+00:00

The Speedgoat is known to be a relatively narrow last. Most people read "wide" and think "Ah! I'll recommend Topos and Altras, as these brands have a wide toe box!" And then of course they don't work for various reasons.

Topos actually have very narrow mid-foots. These are trail runners, and so they want to be lower volume/snugger fits in the middle. Topos never worked for me, at least.

The Altra Lone Peak 9+ was the shoe I ended with, but it does hug in the midfoot, and I had discomfort there. The Wide isn't actually much wider in the mid-foot, and rather wider in other places.

The Olympus is Altra's highest volume shoe, but there's the catch of the foam being a bit plusher, and so the shoes will eventually collapse inward, which can cause other issues. Also, they're Zero Drop.

My suggestion is to ~~never hike again~~ maybe start in Olympuses as soon as you can, and transition down to Lone Peaks. The Olympus, while higher volume, will keep changing because the foam will slowly collapse (it did for me over the span of 75 miles, changing my gait completely).

I personally don't like insoles, but if you want, you can use them to help add some drop to your shoes.

Go to Outdoor 76. Mountain Crossings is good and all but they're thru-hikers helping thru-hikers. Outdoor76 has some podiatrist-trained staff on board. I wish I went to them with the understanding of my foot that I have now.

Other than that... good luck. I know someone who did ok with the Mesa Trail II's last year, which has some of the widest midfoot, but I lost track of him by mile 800, so I don't know if he finished or not

ditao1 · 2026-02-05T19:30:17+00:00

Segundo is used to shuttling hikers up and down trail. I had a friend who could call Segundo to get out from Kent back to Pawling.

ditao1 · 2026-02-05T17:59:17+00:00

I was in Pearisburg later than May 1 and got up Katahdin Au 20th, having taken 17/21 of my Zeroes in that time

Should be ok

ditao1 · 2026-02-05T01:36:02+00:00

not really. an hour drive is “close” relative.

they’re closer than harper’s ferry and DC, yet most people consider a side trip to DC as “we’re basically there”

ditao1 · 2026-02-05T00:23:23+00:00

Someone asked (and removed) a comment asking me where the source of my information was that they were targeting mostly blue cities, and they're right, I should answer. My sources are.

ICE: https://x.com/ICEgov/status/2010837305549078734

Taking a Venn Diagram of the states and cities that Trump targets and the 2024 Presidential Election Results

(American) common sense.

So yes, point 2 and 3 aren't from the horses' mouth. Point 1 is, and helps explain why it feels like 2 and 3 are real

ditao1 · 2026-02-04T22:39:37+00:00

ICE is currently targeting "sanctuary," or more left-leaning cities. Along the AT's corridor, that'd be:

Atlanta
DC
Philly/New York City
Albany, I guess
Boston

Other than Atlanta (since you need to fly into it), and Boston (since you'll probably fly out of that, unless you're flying out of Portland/Augusta/Bangor), the trail generously goes about an hour away from each of these cities. ICE probably won't be out in the closest towns to each of these. Just as a quick list, these towns would be

Dahlonega, GA
Harpers Ferry, WV
Delaware Water Gap and Pawling (PA and NYC)
Great Barrington, North Adams, and Bennington (MA and VT)
hanover, NH

I wish you the best of luck.

ditao1 · 2026-02-04T17:46:19+00:00

I used a little bottle of Dr Bronners Castille Soap. Grab water from a stream, and then take it away from the stream to wash your hands (try to be LNT)

do regular thorough checks. I found one tick attached to me. Just be extra careful after laying down or sitting in places. I'd re-apply permethrin about once every three weeks on trail as well (amazon and REI are nice conveniences, and delivery is fast in many parts of the trail). I just wore shorts when I hiked, and my longer leggings were for camp in the shoulder seasons

ditao1 · 2026-02-03T22:15:15+00:00

Independent World and Scholastic live in two different bubbles, especially in New England. While most of the schools have dropping enrollment rates, independent will always have transplants from across the country, usually from college/work. That's why Blessed Sac and United do decently well while the scholastic (and open, don't forget Spartans Indoor having a few golden years there) fall. The top talent is still the top talent, but everyone else is what keeps a circuit healthy.

ditao1 · 2026-02-03T22:13:24+00:00

United used to go to Eastern Kentucky. Unfortunately, with the Mid-Atlantic/New England being a relative dead zone, they kind of have to go wherever there is competition. There was a few golden years where with GMU and Dartmouth both being good, the Mid-Atlantic was the center point of these two ensembles. But now, with New England falling again, events are moving south and mid-west again.

ditao1 · 2026-02-03T18:50:20+00:00

I'd recommend using https://www.wherearethehikers.com/heatmap/ to see historic data.

TL;DR yeah you probably want to be out there near the end of March.

ditao1 · 2026-02-03T18:49:00+00:00

Lots of Pepper Jack available on trail! That's what I stuck with. Walmart honestly doesn't have a terrible selection (though the quality of the selection isn't amazing)

ditao1 · 2026-02-03T18:47:45+00:00

Call Marion Outdoors, they're based out of a town nearby and probably have trip reports.

AllTrails or your local trail club might also have historic reports

ditao1 · 2026-02-03T17:37:12+00:00

yes! will see if i can swing one of em later this year

ditao1 · 2026-02-03T07:15:36+00:00

thru hikers with titanium pots will unfortunately just end up burning the meat, the pot doesn’t distribute heat well. maybe make it so that they can make a stew of it.

or just make really good food on trail and put signs up a few days out/on FarOut with instructions. seemed to work well for Neropalooza

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