Advice
Why You Should Join Your Local Appalachian Trail Club
With more than 6,000 volunteers dedicating around 270,000 hours each year, the Appalachian Trail is one of the world’s largest ongoing volunteer projects. Volunteers touch every aspect of what makes
Best Places to Do Trail Magic on the PCT
This time last year, I started walking toward Canada on the PCT. I walked into camp that first night with as much dignity as I could muster, wondering if maybe...
Mailbag with Jennifer Pharr Davis: Dealing With Post-Trail Depression
The Trek Editor’s Note Welcome to our fifth Mailbag with National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year. But the real reason we love JPD and ask for her input? For such an...
Everything You Need to Know About Waterproof Fabrics
Waterproof fabric technology has come a long way since its humble complicated chemical beginnings in Bob Gore's laboratory. I'll spare you the details of how intermolecular forces prevent water
Appalachian Trail State Profile: North Carolina / Tennessee
After leaving Georgia at Bly Gap (mile 78), the Appalachian Trail climbs and descends through North Carolina for 96 miles, hits the Tennessee state line at Doe Knob (mile 174), then...
An Introvert’s Guide to the Appalachian Trail
I have always loved hiking. It gives me time alone in nature to replenish my energy, enjoy the pure exertion of exercise, and appreciate the beauty of the world around...
Mailbag with Jennifer Pharr Davis: Leaving Family Behind During Long Hikes
The Trek Editor’s Note Welcome to our fourth Mailbag with National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year. She has authored incredible hikes with small children, but you don’t have to hold yourself to
Eat, Dammit: 5 Strategies to Optimize Your Caloric Intake During a Thru-Hike
When I finished my thru-hike and sat down to write articles that doled out the hard-earned wisdom of a past thru-hiker, I decided I was not going to pass on...
Appalachian Trail State Profile: Georgia
The AT in Georgia is 79 miles long, starting at Springer Mountain outside Dahlonega, and stretching to the North Carolina border right before Bly Gap. Terrain Long, sweeping climbs to...
Mailbag with Jennifer Pharr Davis: Solo Hiking Vs. Companion Travel
The Trek Editor’s Note Welcome to our third Mailbag with National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year. She has authored A hiker’s connection to the forest is can also be closer without other