Better way to spend your money
Why not spend $10 and achieve the same effect?
https://tinyurl.com/Walmart-Airhorn
Combine this with bear spray and the already EXTREMELY low odds of an attack by a black bear, you'll have nothing to worry about while on the Appalachian Trail.
Definitely NOT recommended
> I lit a cherry bomb firecracker and went back to sleep
Three reasons this is a bad idea:
1) Cherry bombs have been illegal in the US for 54 years
https://www.americanpyro.com/banned-illegal-explosives
2) There's no way you can be certain that a firecracker of any size, that you randomly toss in a forest area, won't ignite a fire -- particularly if it's dark and you're barely awake.
And before you say, "What harm can a firecracker do?"
https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/21/us/te...rnd/index.html
3) An air horn accomplishes the exact same thing, with no danger of causing $36 million in damage, and can be re-used several times -- just buy a replacement can of propellant.