There are many ways to hike the Appalachian Trail, but the goal should be to respect the trail, other hikers, and yourself. The crowds of eager hikers starting in Georgia in March and April thin out quickly, as people discover it's not what they expected, it's too hard, or they get injured or bored, or depressed when it rains everyday for weeks. Some come to test themselves, to prove something; some come to get away from their previous life, to renew themselves in some way; some to be alone and some to share the trip with fellow travelers; some to experience the terrain and wildlife and the "wilderness," such as it is. The traditional wisdom has always been to "hike your own hike" -- to not judge or compete with others, to accept what happens on its own terms, no matter how difficult or dreary at times.
People come to the trail with a variety of expectations. Some may have read Bill Bryson's humorous A walk in the woods. Yet while entertaining, his account only reflects his own experience. He hiked about 1/4 of the trail actually carrying a full pack, in Georgia, North Carolina/Tennesee, and parts of Virginia, briefly in Maine; he also did a number of day hikes in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, and he calculated that he had hiked about 40% of it overall. He is a good writer, did some research and told a funny story that sold lots of copies. But his archly critical comments about other hikers and people in southern towns, and his impatience with the actual trail experience, suggest that he probably didn't enjoy it all that much. It was pretty clear that he would have preferred walking a different and easier trail, perhaps in more settled Europe, less wild and with no risk of encounters with bears.
As for me, I just like being outside, away from the everyday world, unscheduled, moving through a varied landscape, enjoying the simple wholeness of it, appreciating the contrast with "normal" life. Out on the trail you walk, eat, sleep; repeat. Days and miles flow by, every day is different, every day the same, your thoughts go wherever they may. The trail becomes your life as you fit yourself to its demands, not your's or someone else's. You meet interesting (or maybe not) folks, experience the weather with little shelter, carry everything you need on your back, endure hardship and hunger and thirst and then go into a town and gorge yourself thoroughly, with real appetite.
And as for this blog, these entries will necessarily be intermittent, subject to the limits of battery life, phone service, access to towns. These will be virtual postcards, hopefully of some slight interest, an easy way for me to share snippets of life as encountered on the Appalachian Trail.
