Fast Facts About My AT Thru-Hike

Hello again! It’s been just over two weeks since I summited Mount Katahdin and finished my Appalachian Trail thru-hike. Now that I’ve taken some time to recuperate, I’m ready to start writing a bit more about my experience.

For my first post-AT article, I though that perhaps I’d indulge you readers on some fast facts about my hike, including all the common questions I received before, during, and after my hike. I plan to expand on many of these topics in separate posts, but for now here are the details.


  • Start date: March 25.
  • Did you do the approach trail? Sort of – my driver and I got lost and I ended up starting near Nimblewill Gap, about the halfway point, so I did four miles of it.
  • Days on the trail: 97 (summited June 30).
  • Registered NOBO at Katahdin: 36
  • Average miles per day: 25-30.
  • Highest mileage day: 32 miles. I wasn’t about the big mile days- I focused on consistency.
  • Body weight lost: 26 pounds (187 pounds to 161 pounds).
  • Lowest mileage day (other than a zero): Seven miles.
  • Zeros: Five.
  • Did you even have fun?: Absolutely! A lot of “Type II” fun, but overall it was a wonderful experience.
  • Favorite moment on the trail: Corny, perhaps, but summiting Katahdin with my brother and childhood friend was the best. I had been looking forward to that moment for a very long time. 
  • Pairs of shoes gone through: Five. They weren’t all trashed, but I had some feet issues that I tried to resolve with different footwear.
  • Base weight: 12.5 pounds.
  • Money spent: $2,500 on trail plus, about $500 in food for resupply boxes.
  • Resupply boxes sent: 15.
  • Was I sponsored? Sort of. I’m an ambassador for two companies, ManukaSport and SnapNutrition, and they provided me with free products to use during my hike. 
  • Injuries sustained: ITBS for about three weeks and painful tailor’s bunions that lasted the whole hike.
  • Ibuprofen consumed: A lot – probably around 200 of the 200mg tablets. My bunions were murder.
  • Favorite on-trail meal: Dinner at Woods Hole Hostel.
  • Hostels and hotels stayed in: 20 (13 hostels, seven hotels)
  • Favorite hostel: Rattle River Lodge. Super clean, awesome crew, fabulous breakfast. Runner-up: Boots Off Hostel or Shaw’s.
  • Least favorite hostel: Laughing Heart or Uncle Johnny’s. They weren’t awful, but paled in comparison to places in the north.
  • Favorite trail town: Waynesboro, VA.
  • Amazon orders: Five.
  • Longest hiked with someone else: 15 days through New England with my buddy Logs, but he torched me in the Whites.
  • Easiest section for me: New England up until the Whites.
  • Hardest section for me: Southern Maine.
  • Favorite section: Shenandoah National Park and New England
  • Least favorite section: Northern Pennsylvania into New Jersey. Not only because of the rocks, but also because it rained for about a week straight.
  • Worst weather: 80 mph winds on Mount Washington. Going over those peaks were super sketchy and miserable.
  • Favorite piece of gear: My pack – a Superior Wilderness Designs 40L long haul. Totally rocked.

That’s it for now. Comment below if I missed anything or if there’s something else you want to know.

 

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Comments 7

  • John Van Etten : Jul 20th

    Congratulations – you crushed it!!

    Reply
    • Brandon Chase : Jul 22nd

      Thanks!

      Reply
  • Pony : Jul 22nd

    Dang. Logs must be pretty prodigious if he kicked your butt — a butt that hiked the entire AT in 98 days — in the Whites.

    Congratulations.

    ~Pony (AT’16; CT’15)

    Reply
    • Brandon Chase : Jul 22nd

      He was a beast. 30s through the Whites was too much for me!

      Reply
  • Patrick : Jul 25th

    What is “type II” fun?

    Reply
    • Brandon Chase : Jul 25th

      Type II fun is “miserable while it’s happening, but fun in retrospect”. I had lots of grueling days, but looking back it was all part of the experience!

      Reply

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