One big frat party?

[EJC]

So I was reading through a few threads on WB and noticed a lot of people saying that the trail has turned into one big frat party. I didn't see anyone really arguing it. Is that true? I'm really looking for a long hike in the woods, not a big party in the woods... Are there parts of the trail that are worse than others or is it pretty much the whole length?

[Johnny Thunder]

as a former frat boy i can say that NO the trail is not becoming a big frat party. there are parts of the trail where parties are more prevalent (towns, hostels, hotels, and some shelters...to name a few). these places are easily avoided by folks with brains.

the at is a social experience first and a wilderness experience second. never confuse that and you'll be happy.

[Many Walks]

Most of the heavy partiers we saw ran out of money or decided it was too hard and dropped out early. The big herd thins out pretty fast.

[mweinstone]

the ATis not like a party house. its like your grandmoms house. you have to behave and wipe your feet and finnish your liver and let her kiss you. its way yuckky the oppisite of any party i ever went to. most days you are eating drinking walking and liveing with very very straight folks. the overall essence of the trail , i would say,... is straight nerd old guy american with dog .

[Datto]

I didn't find the AT during my thru-hike to be so much a party trail but rather enjoyed by people who knew how to have a good time. Lots of fun to be around these people and that certainly added greatly to the experience.

Mostly the AT is a microcosm of America with a few people from other lands thrown in for good measure. So yeah, there were a few that imbibed a little too much but not very often and they weren't a nuisance.

North of Connecticut the number of people on the Trail had diminished and I was hard pressed to get group photos. A party? How about more sleep and more eating?

Datto

[DapperD]

Most of the heavy partiers we saw ran out of money or decided it was too hard and dropped out early. The big herd thins out pretty fast.

This is because they probably soon realized that in order to be successful, steady effort and physical toil day after day would be a requisite. Something they very soon realized they weren't prepared for nor at all willing to do.

[njordan2]

Frat party, no.

Fart party, yes.

[BradMT]

the at is a social experience first and a wilderness experience second. never confuse that and you'll be happy.

It's a shame what the AT has apparently turned into.

[Fog Horn]

I read the same thing but I read into it more like "if you choose for it to be a frat party, it will be"

From what I gathered, if you don't spend a week in town drinking, and instead get out on the trail, then you won't really encounter the "frat party" aspect of the trail. Its all personal choice. I'm not there for booze, so I won't be getting hammered at every trail town. Some people like the social aspect of it more though, so they choose to do that.

HYOH. If you don't want to party, then don't.

[Pedaling Fool]

So I was reading through a few threads on WB and noticed a lot of people saying that the trail has turned into one big frat party. I didn't see anyone really arguing it. Is that true? I'm really looking for a long hike in the woods, not a big party in the woods... Are there parts of the trail that are worse than others or is it pretty much the whole length?

Go to Springer in mid-March. But it's not all frat-like. A lot of old people too. Kind of a neat mix. The trail is not one big frat party, but it does have its pockets.

[Montana Mac]

I started my 09 thru attempt on March 4th. Yes there were a good number of hikers that were around. I ended up hiking with a group of about 4 other people but it was NOT a frat party type group.

After Waynesboro or so this group "fell apart" due to different hiking speeds, obligations that people had to get off for a while, etc.

Once I got up into PA there were many nights that I had the shelter / shelter area to myself and hiked many miles without seeing another hiker.

Once you get north of Damascus and AFTER Trail Days the crowds (especially the party type) thin out.

If you want to party hike you can find that type of hike - if you want solitude you will be able to find that also - just remember to HYOH

[d.o.c]

its what you make it some people parrty others dont know one is making you do it either or mkeing you be around it.. ts all on you.

[jbwood5]

I hear that occasionally Standing Bear Hostel can get rowdy (i haven't confirmed that) and I can tell you from experience that the Doyle in PA (the bar) can get a little rowdy on Weekends (but it was a great experience and I wouldn't miss it). Trail Days....... well, ...no comment. I have come across a lot of sippers and pot smokers on the trail but for the most part never been bothered. You can almost always tent away from the noisy areas.
I wouldn't worry about the frat house comments. That is an over exaggeration IMHO.

[88BlueGT]

I cannot comment on the crowds as I have never thru-hiked BUT it shouldn't be hard to turn your trip into whatever you want too. There may be some sacrifices though. If you don't want to party or hear people partying maybe you should try not to stay too much at shelters. If you come up to one and its packed w people, hike on, move up 200yds and you'll be fine, peace and quiet.

[Serial 07]

there were typically a lot more girls at the frat parties i went to when in school...

[Mags]

Camp away from shelters. Spend less time in towns. Maybe go SoBo.

You get from the AT what you decide to get...

[stranger]

Some really good advice on here already and I can offer the following reflections from long distance hikes from 1995, 2001 and 2008...

Yes, absolutely the trail today is a social experience for most hikers, with the wilderness/isolation thing being second, that's a given for most people. In the early-mid 90's it was different, but not entirely...the AT has always been a people's trail.

This does not mean however that it's a frat party out there, meaning the trail, in my experience, the trail is the one place that crap usually doesn't happen, and when it does it's both rare and predictable.

Most of the frat party scene is either in town, or at times on the trail with select, large groups of younger, prodominately male hikers who everyone knows about anyway. Many of these types hike to Trail Days, spend two weeks there, and fizzle out thereafter.

This also assumes you leave Springer Mountain between 1 March and 15 April, when the vast majority of hikers depart, by contrast if you left Springer in May you would have a very different experience IMO. Also, being 100 miles north or south of Damascus during Trail Days is a good idea in terms of the party hikers. In 2008 we hitched to TD from Iron Mountain Gap in TN, about 80 miles south of Damascus, when I arrived back in town 5-6 days later many of the hostels were full with hikers who had been in town for 2 weeks....

You can easily have a very enjoyable, somewhat solitary hike along the AT if you do the following:

1. Hike outside of thru-hiker season going nobo, or consider going sobo
2. If are set on going thru nobo, leave very late April or early May
3. Do not use shelters
4. Do not camp next to shelters
5. Do not frequent hostels
6. Spend extra money and get your own motel rooms
7. Don't go to Trail Days
8. Don't be within 100 miles of Damascus during Trail Days

And really, as others have stated...Hike your own Hike, meaning...if you show up to a shelter and there are 15 hikers there, say hello, sign the register, use the privy, get some water and hike another mile or two before crashing for the night, there are hundreds of campsites along the AT.

Town is town, and you will run into hikers there regardless, but you can usually get your own room if you avoid hostels.

And if you avoid shelters...honestly, you will not see that many hikers along the AT, even during peak season, remember the frat boys are afraid of the rain : )

[Mtn.Crazy]

I think that what you are getting references to are the season influx of college kids on the trail. Usually they hit the trail on spring break and right after graduation/ end of spring terms. I hit the trails then as well, but it's never bad. Usually, they are a little ignorant of trail etiquette and travel in larger groups, but most are great people and are out there to have a life experience. Aren't we all?

[Thor]

Thru-Hiked in 2006, and cannot say I noticed much of a frat party atmosphere to the trail (aside from one wild weekend at the Doyle, but that's hardly unexpected and easily avoided). This may (or may not) be due to the fact that for the most part I structured my hike quite close to this advice:

3. Do not use shelters
4. Do not camp next to shelters
5. Do not frequent hostels
6. Spend extra money and get your own motel rooms
7. Don't go to Trail Days
8. Don't be within 100 miles of Damascus during Trail Days

I don't think #4 is truly necessary, as I typically camped near the shelters when I could, if only because having a picnic table made cooking a lot easier Almost every shelter out there you can camp just out of earshot of the shelter itself and still be close enough to use the tables and hit the privy when you want. This gives you the option of making your hike as isolated or as social as you want it to be, since other than very brief encounters throughout the hiking day, the shelters are really the only place you will see your fellow hikers.

Oh, and I did go to Trail Days, but one of my friends drove down to Damascus to visit me on the trail that weekend, so we had a car and thus just stayed at a hotel on the nearby Interstate. Violating rule #7 by using rule #6 worked out just fine.

[ScrapIron]

Whatever it has turned into, it's a good bet that it will not revert to what it was in the days of yore. Times change....that is just the way that it is.
Lamenting the passing of the old ways is a waste of time.