Comparing My Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail Thru-Hikes

Long-distance hiking tracking tool screenshot

In 2019, I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) and in 2022, I thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). I wrote summary posts for both of those hikes and I thought it might be interesting to do a post comparing my experiences on both trails.

How to Choose the Best Satellite Messenger or Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) for Hiking

Garmin inReach Mini Satellite Communicator

Introduction

Let me start by saying I am NOT an expert on satellite communication or personal location devices. I’m just a hiker who wanted to know what device was best for my PCT thru-hike and went down the rabbit hole of research (Google, YouTube, FB hiking groups) to find out. What I found was that there are many reviews of specific devices and some comparison reviews … [ Read more ]

Long-Distance Hiking Resources

Hiking

Interested in long-distance hiking or thru-hiking? Here’s a useful collection of online resources to help you prepare. Most were originally in my collection of Appalachian Trail thru-hiking resources but since I have now added a Pacific Crest Trail resources page as well, I decided to separate out the resources that are useful to long-distance hiking, regardless of the trail.

NOTE: All links will … [ Read more ]

Hiking and Nature Quotations

Hiking

If you’re into hiking and are a fan of quotations like I am, here’s a collection I put together when researching my Appalachian Trail and (future) Pacific Trail thru-hikes. There are quotations specific to the AT and PCT as well as general hiking, nature quotations.

Appalachian Trail Resources

Appalachian Trail barn

In preparation for my 2019 Appalachian Trail thru-hike I came across many useful resources. I don’t claim this list is complete, but I believe it is the most comprehensive one online. Regardless of your experience level, I’d be surprised if you can’t find something new here to interest you.

Analyzing My Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike — Expenses and Statistics

Mt Katahdin

In 2019, I successfully completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, starting April 22 at Amicalola Falls in Georgia and ending August 24 on Mount Katahdin in Maine. I follow multiple online thru-hiking groups and people often ask about costs, mileage, time, etc. so since I tracked all of that I thought I would summarize it for anyone interested.

Want to track your own thru-hike? … [ Read more ]

Hiking the Appalachian Trail: Getting the Best Mobile Phone Service

Mobile Phone Phone Apple Equipment

For better or worse, mobile phones have become an indispensable piece of gear for most hikers. While you can use the camera and your favorite guidebook offline, having phone and Internet service can be helpful as well. Getting WiFi in towns and hiker hostels should be relatively easy but mobile service will depend on both the service provider (carrier) and the phone that you use.

Carrier … [ Read more ]