From the Wall Street Journal- Hiking the AT

[Coffee]

Same here, most people that have money have it because they didn't spend it.

I have known lots of "poor rich people" ... plenty of people who make six figures+ each year who spend all of it and more and, as a result, have no net worth or negative net worth.

[Drybones]

I have known lots of "poor rich people" ... plenty of people who make six figures+ each year who spend all of it and more and, as a result, have no net worth or negative net worth.

You made my point.

[Toolshed]

I am an avid Wall Street Journal reader - I worked for a number of years in Coroporate Finance - I now work near NYC and Lessseeee...I have an undergrad Business Degree and an MBA from a top 40 business school...But wait, theres more.......

..........I fancy myself at times more like LW than a yuppie. I thought the article was right-on. He didn't write it for no toothless stinking-smelling AT thruhiker who expects everyone to honor him/her at every establishment. He wrote it to a target audience of those who simply don't leave the comforts of the city. To the crowd who ask continually "You go out there alone???" What happens if....(bear, wolf, snake, moonshiner) ?" These people are actually enthralled with what we do. The thought of saving and re-using a styrofoam cup for a week repulses the majority of this group, but the idea of $99 or $599 gadgets to help them feel rugged and as well as the top end climbing clothes to make them look rugged abounds - And it catapults them (momentarily) into our league

Ever notice why REI EMS & Bean sell their clothes to "stay warm and dry on the trail or around town" 80% of their customers live nowhere near a town, preferring the urbans or suburban sprawl. Being around "town" sounds so much cooler and much more rugged than "wearing it around your local metropolitan statistical area..."

Anyway, 99% of WSJ readers squinted their shaped, tweezed and waxed eybrows reading this article and immediately felt more rugged, committing themselve to stop at EMS near the subway station (or REI near the bus stop) to purchase more rugged goodness.......'

This article left many thinking back to the day that they took their AWD Lexus out into the country where they dropped to 2 bars on their smartphones as they wound their way up some older macadem road thinking about "The Hills Have Eyes" and keeping their elbows at the ready to lock the doors if they come across a character looking like LW, Mags or SkidSteer.

and I felt smug as my worlds collided.......

[handlebar]

Same here, most people that have money have it because they didn't spend it.

In my experience, most people that have REAL money (multiple millions), have it because they inherited it. The rest of us have it because we lived well within our means.

[Mags]

I am sure there are plenty of bald, shortish and Mediterranean looking people in the greater NYC area. Think a few movies and tv shows made that a large plot point too

funny you should mention "gear as lifestyle". something I noticed a lot of. I truly think that people buy the gear and clothing in large part so that their busy lives allow them to live the outdoor lifestyle on some level. http://www.pmags.com/gear-as-lifestyle

As the Portlandia skit I linked to says :"got to get the gear!"

[chiefiepoo]

Good analysis, Toolshed. Not surprised to see other WSJ readers check in today. Now, when an AT article shows up in my Economist magazine I'll know that we have gone global. BTW, I do not tweeze, wax or moisturize. My HSM suits and Allen Edmonds shoes gather dust in the closet while my Pendelton wool gear and Vasgue boots do all the work these days.

[ChinMusic]

They spend that much on Starbuck's Lattes in 6 months.

I've read the WSJ my whole adult life and never been in a Starbucks.........

[ScottTrip]

I think the outdoor Gear look is funny. Think about how many YELLOW North Face Goretex jackets you would see after Jon Krakauer was photo wear one was published.

[4eyedbuzzard]

I've read the WSJ my whole adult life and never been in a Starbucks.........

Geeze, it was meant in humor. Sorry. I also read WSJ, Forbes, etc. But I have to admit to drinking Starbucks coffee when passing through airports.

[R1ma]

So who caught the OBVIOUS error?

I question a few things in there, but the AT goes thru 14 states, not 13.

We have a winner.

What about the 65% of thru-hikers start in Georgia, 10% start in Maine.

Where do the other 25% start? If they don't start, or get to, the ends, they haven't done a thru-hike...

Yes, you can argue till your blue in the face about taking alternate routes through sections or to resupply, but you've still got to go from one end to the other

[ChinMusic]

What about the 65% of thru-hikers start in Georgia, 10% start in Maine.

Where do the other 25% start?

Not all hikers start at a terminus.

[Trillium]

Not all hikers start at a terminus.

Exactly. I have a friend who started in Damascus heading north, skipped from Harper's Ferry to Duncannon, hiked to Katahdin, came back to PA for the Gathering, hiked from Duncannon to Harper's Ferry, got a ride down to Damascus where she hiked southbound.

[Astro]

Exactly. I have a friend who started in Damascus heading north, skipped from Harper's Ferry to Duncannon, hiked to Katahdin, came back to PA for the Gathering, hiked from Duncannon to Harper's Ferry, got a ride down to Damascus where she hiked southbound.

Sounds like a guy I met at Vandeventer Shelter named Toes. Instead of flip-flop or a yo-yo, it was more like a hop-skotch.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Sounds like a guy I met at Vandeventer Shelter named Toes. Instead of flip-flop or a yo-yo, it was more like a hop-skotch.

Kind of like the "Cool Breeze" hike itinerary - http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiki...where-to-start