I guess I should write a little more about this whole thing. First of all, its called the HULKhikesAT blog because my trail name is the Hulk. One of the neat things about the Appalachian Trail is that everybody on it has a trail name. You trade your name for a different moniker that other hikers usually choose for you. A guy named Hawkeye named me on my third day out at the Nanthahala Outdoor Center.
Now heres a little more about the trail. It's a 2178 mile trail through the mountains. It crosses 14 states including Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, New Hampsire, Vermont and Maine. There are shelters (huts) and camping areas every ten miles or so where hikers usually spend each night. Each year about 2000 hikers set out to finish, but only about 10% of them finish.Most of what is eaten is freeze-dried or doesnt need to be refrigerated. Granola bars, energy bars, beef jerky and dried fruit make up most of my breakfast and lunch and snacks while ramen noodles, instant mashed potatoes and instant pasta and rice are favorites for dinner. Then when we get into towns, hikers will pig out to regain lots of calories since typically about about 400 calories are burnt each mile.
I am leaving April 30th for Damascus and should finish around the 20th of August. I'll be going with my friend Graham Wigle until he has to leave for summer B at UF. I have almost all of my gear with the exception of a few items of clothing and some extra pairs of boots. And I would leave now if I could. Thats all for today