Top 5 Things That Changed While You Weren't Looking

1-Towns ain’t what they used to be. Up to this point it’s
been an all or nothing proposition. Either it’s a town or it’s
not. And if it’s a town, it’s had all or most of what you
needed. For the next 500 miles or so that is going to
change dramatically. One town will have good groceries or
a Post Office close to the trail or a good place to eat but not
all three and maybe only one. This means you have to do a
little more homework planning your resupply stops.

2-Lower mountains higher prices. This is most keenly
felt in lodging prices where running a hostel goes from being
a labor of love to financial suicide and the hotel and motel
prices are sharply higher than they have been so far. More
of your town days may need to start and/or end on the trail.

3-You. Particularly when it comes to mileage. You’re
probably in as good a shape as you’ve ever been. Your pack
weight is down to a science and you know how to rack up
some big days. All of which is fine. Still wouldn’t hurt to
look up once in a while.

4-Look out, States! After a seemingly interminable trip
through Virginia, it’s only natural to want to buzz through
the smaller states. You’ve only done four of the fourteen
states on the trail and the next seven or eight look like easy
pickings. Don’t look down on states with fewer AT miles.
Take each one for what it is.

5-Changes in the land. Not only has the height of the
mountains been coming down steadily, so has the width.
Instead of looking across at multiple ridges, you’re maybe
looking at one ridge much further away and soon you’ll be
looking down on flat countryside. The focus and the
priorities will shift as well.