WHEN and WHERE you first stepped on the AT?

[blue indian]

2012. Stecoah gap. Paddled the Nantahala then got a shuttle to Stecoah gap, walked south and camped on Cheoah Bald then back to the NOC.

[KnightErrant]

Grayson Highlands, April of 2004, so I was in 5th grade at the time. I was visiting grandparents in southwest VA for spring break but the weather was unexpectedly cold (kind of like what we have going on here this weekend, since I live in the area now.). It was in the 40s and rainy so my parents decided to take my brother and sister and me to the state park to see if there was any snow up there in the higher elevation, since we Floridian kids had never seen snow. Sure enough, we pulled off the road at a snowy field and made snowmen and threw snowballs for an hour or so.

During that time, three men with huge backpacks came walking out of the woods. They were thru-hikers, and they said they certainly weren't expecting snow in April in Virginia, but there we were! We hadn't even realized we were on the trail, because it was covered in snow and we didn't know what the blazes meant. That was the first I'd ever heard or seen of the AT. After that it was a vague bucket list item, and in the last couple years it's grown into something of an obsession!

[dervari]

2013. Short hike from Three Forks to Long Creek Falls.

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[Kaptainkriz]

Somewhere near Sages Ravine in 1980:
KrizAT1980.JPG

[chknfngrs]

My pops took me hiking up Mt. Washington in 1985, we used the AT. That's my first memory of "the" AT

[TheRuralRefugee]

1971 at Clingmans Dome on a family trip to the SMNP. I had no knowledge at the time of the AT and didn't for many years afterward. The first time I knowingly/intentionally set foot on the AT was 1988 at Newfound Gap, when me and my seven year old son and my Mother walked a few hundred yards north. The next day, my son and I climbed Mt LeConte.

[Greenlight]

The end of March, this year. I left my car at the trail head where the AT crosses I-70 in Maryland, walked across the enclosed foot bridge and hiked to Dahlgren Backpacker's Camp, spent the night, then hiked back to my car. It was about 15 miles all together. For a first taste of the AT, it was a blast. I can't wait until my thru-hike.

For me it was August of 1985. I'd made the decision a month earlier to hike the AT starting March of 86. I was living in R.I. and drove to Mt. Greylock, parked and walked north for about a mile. I've been screwed up ever since.

[Ankle Bone]

Gooch Gap, GA!

[kenp]

Route 623, edge of Burke's garden. Me and my wife-to-be SOBO for 2 nights July 2006 (I've done many multi night section hikes since, once was enough for her!)

[Skyline]

April 1993. The brief stretch of AT that leads to Stony Man viewpoint in SNP. That night at Skyland I met a thru-hiker at the bar who had started at Springer in deep winter and we got drunk together, talking about the AT subculture. I was hooked. Kept coming back to the Luray area on weekends, made lots of rookie mistakes learning how to hike and backpack, and bought a home here in October of that year. The ensuing 23+ years have been life changing.

[Teacher & Snacktime]

October 20, 2012 in Tyringham, MA - our first hike for Eddie's Challenge II - An Appalachian Adventure

1start1.JPG

[kenp]

Route 623, edge of Burke's garden. Me and my wife-to-be SOBO for 2 nights July 2006 (I've done many multi night section hikes since, once was enough for her!)

During my visit to my wife's family in VA the previous year, I happened to pick up Bryson's "A walk in the woods". After a bit of googling, I was amazed to discover that the AT was only about 5 miles away! So I promised myself I would do a section hike during my visit the following summer.

[-Rush-]

For me it was August of 1985. I'd made the decision a month earlier to hike the AT starting March of 86. I was living in R.I. and drove to Mt. Greylock, parked and walked north for about a mile. I've been screwed up ever since.

My first time on the AT was in July of 1985. I was on a 3-day backpacking trip near the NOC in summer camp. I carried an aluminum frame pack, a giant synthetic sleeping bag, and wore cotton clothing.

[lyagooshka]

For me, as follows:

Accidentally - while turkey hunting above Blue Mountain Ski Area in PA (crossed the trail a few times).

On purpose - Lehigh Gorge, PA rt 873/248/145 NOBO parking lot.

[Mamabear17]

1985 neels gap to woody gap group trip and my interdiction to hiking.

[rocketsocks]

For me, as follows:

Accidentally - while turkey hunting above Blue Mountain Ski Area in PA (crossed the trail a few times).

On purpose - Lehigh Gorge, PA rt 873/248/145 NOBO parking lot.

interesting, bunch a years ago I heard someone steppin' on a turkey with a crow call in that area, but didn't hear any shots, thanks fer da tip!

[kizzybean]

1965 - at 8 yrs old, Mt Katahdin. 50 years later planning a thru hike for 2017. The mountains are calling.

[Gravytrain]

I had no idea that I was doing it at the time, but Bear Mountain in NY, summer 1995. My unit was deployed to West Point to train cadets for the summer, and on a weekend I went with some buddies to hike the trail and climb to the peak. Just took assault packs with some water and snacks. I didn't know that was part of the AT, nor had I even heard of the AT. We were back there in 1998 I think, and we did the loop around Cranberry Lake one weekend. Nothing difficult for a group of young Infantrymen in our prime.

[lyagooshka]

interesting, bunch a years ago I heard someone steppin' on a turkey with a crow call in that area, but didn't hear any shots, thanks fer da tip!

2EZ!
Just make sure you park outside the gate of the ski lodge.
They are open summers for events, but they lock the gates at night.
Once they lock it for the night, they don't open until the morning.
Otherwise, it's a nice hike, and you will probably see a bunch of bird watchers too.
Friendly bunch, usually up the to try and spot a raptor.

[Sarcasm the elf]

This question has been driving me nuts the last couple of years. I can't figure exactly where or when I first stepped foot on the A.T. even though I'll never forget it!

Here's what I remember: Early 1990's, in Connecticut, on a Boy Scout trip. We day hiked about seven miles after being dropped off by car from a scout camp being used as a base camp.

I've had the backpacking bug ever since...

Here it is six years later and I still can't figure it out. I've hiked the Conn section multiple times and nothing has matched the images in my head of what that first hike looked like. I'm starting to think it may have been in an area that has since been relocated, and that the trip started or ended on schaghticoke tribal lands back when the trail went through there. Oh well...