Appalachian Trail walk · Walk in Appalachian Trail
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Walk in Appalachian Trail
Walk in Appalachian Trail
No matter which way you slice it, you'll be walking on the trail. The trail is open only to walkers, hikers, and backpackers?no motorized vehicles or even bicycles are allowed. Dogs can accompany you on most of the trail, except in most national parks (although they must be on a leash at all times). At least 50% of the AT within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is open to horses as well.
For anything longer than a day hike, be sure to prepare for rough conditions on your feet. Given the constant ups and downs of the trail, plus the ever present East Coast humidity, your feet will bear the brunt of your experience. Don't wear sneakers. Wear proper hiking shoes/boots, and consider two layers of socks (sock liners are best for the inner layer) to reduce friction. And bring moleskin and a pocket knife to deal with blisters.
If you're just starting out on the trail, and are in average shape, don't expect to do much more than 8?10 miles in a day. Thru-hikers, whether they start in good shape, or wind up in great shape within a week or two, will cover far more ground, in the ballpark of 18?25 miles/day.
And thru-hikers beware, it takes on average five million footsteps to complete the trail. Despite its great popularity, only 10,000 people have reported hiking the length of the trail.
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Appalachian Trail Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.