The AT/OCD Challenge

[Bob Kittredge]

Had a twisted thought on the trail today. While you're hiking the Appalachian Trail, make a point to physically touch (with hand or foot) each blaze you see as you pass. Don't worry about backblazes, just the ones facing you.

For extra credit count them as well.

Of course, by the end of the trail, you'll only remember blazes; not views; not wildflowers; not wildlife; not even the faces of other hikers.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Had a twisted thought on the trail today. While you're hiking the Appalachian Trail, make a point to physically touch (with hand or foot) each blaze you see as you pass. Don't worry about backblazes, just the ones facing you.

For extra credit count them as well.

Of course, by the end of the trail, you'll only remember blazes; not views; not wildflowers; not wildlife; not even the faces of other hikers.

Some thru hikers in fact do this. I don't know what the current count of blazes is, but I'll bet it's a pretty big number! 2100 miles x 30/mile (?) ~ 63000 blazes?

 

[DSettahr]

Of course, by the end of the trail, you'll only remember blazes; not views; not wildflowers; not wildlife; not even the faces of other hikers.

While hiking the Northville-Placid Trail in the winter, we had fairly lengthy sections of trail to follow with few or no markers. On top of that, we had no tread to follow, nor any packed down snow path to show us the way (apparently snowshoers don't often make it to the remote sections of the Adirondacks!).

As a result, my companions and I were constantly straining our eyes for blue trail markers. After about 2 weeks of this, some of us swore that when we looked into the woods, our minds would play tricks on us by putting a blue trail marker on every. single. tree.

 

[roadtripper]

That is pretty twisted!

Another twisted thought - has anybody done all sections of the A.T. during the winter months? Not necessarily in one calendar year, just the entire 2100+ miles during the winter months.

 

[jniehof]

Another twisted thought - has anybody done all sections of the A.T. during the winter months?

Dan Allen was working on it; don't know if he's finished.