THE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS
1. So...What the is this Appalachian Trail anyway?
The Appalachian Trail (or AT for short) is a trail that runs 2178 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. The AT was created in the 1920-30s by volunteers purely for recreational use. Every year, around 1200-1400 people attempt to hike the trail, but only 250-300 finish.
2. Will you hunt your own food?
Uhm. No - we will not be hunting and eating squirrels and deer. But we will be eating a LOT. We'll be burning well over 4000-5000 calories a day. Most of our food will be carried with us and will consist of mostly dehydrated and freeze dried vegetables, soups, beans, and other mixes such as hummus and couscous. Every 5-6 days we will be close to what people often call a "trail town". Many hikers choose to pre-ration their food for the entire trip and simply mail boxes to themselves and put them on hold at post offices in trail towns along the way.
3. Are you guys crazy for wanting to walk this far?
Well...Yes, but that is besides the point. :) Actually, we spent close to a year considering to hike the trail and planning out our approach. We began purchasing equipment on sale 1 piece at a time over 2 years. The idea of being in the woods away from 'normal' civilized life did seem scary at first, but the more we thought about it, the more we realized how great of an experience it would prove to be. When we began learning about the world water crisis and charity: water, it became a no-brainer for us. Hiking to raise awareness and funds seemed like a perfect fit!
4. Where do you sleep?
We will mostly be sleeping in our 2-person compact tent that we will be carrying with us. It is probably not the type of tent you remember when you went camping with your family at the local lake or campground. It's JUST enough space width and length wise for two people to fit side-by-side lying down and only weighs a little over 2 pounds per person with the poles. When we don't feel like setting up the tent, we will also have the option most nights of sleeping in one of the many shelters that local clubs maintain along the trail. A shelter is simply a 3-sided shack that keeps out the wind and rain and is a little more luxurious than a tent :)
5. How long will it take to finish?
Most people spend between 5-6 months to thru-hiking the AT start to finish. We will hike anywhere between 10-18 miles per day towards the beginning of the trip and probably over 25 miles per day towards the end. Yes, some people finish in merely 4 months, but pacing ourselves like a gazelle or puma never really sounded appealing to us. We are taking 6 months, but may finish before that.
6. What about your jobs?
We're just gonna stop going. We figured we'll be 2-3 weeks out before anyone really figures out we're gone. Actually, we have both been blessed with great jobs and we have already notified our employers to give them a good 2-3 months to help them transition our positions.
7. What about bills?
You know...I never really enjoyed paying bills...so I don't think we're gonna do that either. Unfortunately, we still have to pay them if we want to be functioning members of society again one day...We are actually selling our house, one of our vehicles, and most of our possessions before leaving in April in the hopes that most of this will eliminate many of our monthly bills and the cash will help offset the remaining. If you feel like you want to help us though, just let us know :-)
8. What if one of you gets hurt?
We'll be carrying a device known as "Spot" that continually tracks our location via GPS. If one of us is seriously injured and is unable to walk or be carried to the next town by other hikers, we can call for assistance.
9. Can I quit my job and come too?
Sure! The more the merrier! In all honesty, all of you are invited to meet us in any of the towns we will be hiking through along the way or even join us for a section if you want!
Have another question that isn't listed here? Shoot us an email at info@walktowater.com and we'll do our best to answer it and post it on here!
