This Week’s Top Instagram Posts from the #AppalachianTrail

Welcome to the weekly roundup of the best Instagram photos of hiker trash and treasures on the Appalachian Trail.

August is here, which means thru-hikers are feeling their trail legs and cruising through the end-of-summer heat and skeeters, or starting to wind down after many thousands of miles (as if New Hampshire and Maine feel like winding down).

This week’s photos were taken from July 30 to Aug. 13 after careful selection from the #TrektheAT hashtag.

 

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AT, Day 130: On Wednesday, we began to battle the notorious weather of the Whites–some of the deadliest and most predictable in the United States, and one of the factors that makes the timeline and safety of the final leg of a northbound AT thru-hike so tough. The plan seemed simple–hike the first seven miles to Mizpah Spring Hut, then make the decision about staying or going. We all spent Tuesday night in different places, with Robin Hood tenting in the woods, Tina and I along the tracks, and SpongeBob and Balls Out lucking out with some trail magic in the form of an elderly couple who put them up for the night. Just as Tina and I began the three-mile, 3,700-foot initial ascent, we unexpectedly rendezvoused with Balls Out and Sponge Bob, so we all did the climb together, pushing surprisingly quickly through what is one of the most punishing grades on the AT yet. But, after every thousand upward feet or so, we were rewarded with another panoramic plunder from the Webster Ledges, a series of bold granite outcroppings beneath the peak of Mount Webster, named for one of my favorite political orators of all time, Ol’ Problematic Danny Webster. We pushed over Webster and then across a peak named for a True American Shithead, Andrew Jackson, arriving at Mizpah just as the skies began to darken and the clouds began to close in. Robin Hood had been the first one out of camp that day, and he’d already arranged our work-for-stay, since the weather seemed to be foreboding. Over soup and bread, the five of us began a long debate about the merits of calling it a day or pushing past in potentially dangerous conditions to the renowned Lakes of the Clouds Hut, which would put us just beneath the base of Mount Washington and give us a chance to summit in the morning, even if the weather continued to sour. We opted for the latter–riskier, but giving us a better chance of moving through the all-important first phase of the Whites with some speed. We began to race up Mount Pierce, named for another presidential shitheel. From the summit, we could see firsthand the dramatic and bifurcated nature of the weather up here… (Cont’d)

A post shared by Grayson “Gunner” Currin (@currincy) on

 

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DAY 108 – Carrying Pup Up #MtWashington We awoke at 4:30 a.m. with the birds, followed by wagging tails and an excited Pup. It felt like a celebration of life…the best way to wake up. I had coffee and Danish while Pup her food and treats. We packed out by 5:30 a.m.?? We have big climbs today with breaks. A nice stream made a great spot to ring out my shirt and shorts to refresh. Always ring out in the grass or gravel not in the water. It was hot with no relief from the sun or heat during the climb. We cranked out big miles in the morning. Pup was doing great. We bumped into Aquaman and hiked before chilling for lunch. I rang out my socks to freshen my feet. On the way, we crossed planks over a muddy area. It was over 3ft deep measured by my pole. The heat got to Pup and I. We took a 20 min break in the shade at Lake of the Clouds Hut. Pup was not happy getting up and for the first time since we started she laid down while we were walking away and quit. This is the biggest reason why you shouldn’t hike with your dog. The stubborn stupid man I am took Pup and put her on my shoulder and pack. Most of her weight was on my hips due to the pack design thank goodness. It is 1.4 miles uphill with an incline of roughly 1200 ft. Yup, I packed Pup and every single step hurt and burned. I thought I was going to have a heart attack the whole way and some joint quit on me. I wanted to quit with every step. The emotion and bond of carrying her was out of this world and I broke out in tears several times on the climb. Our whole life together kept going round and round in my head. Pup off and on during the ride would lean over and kiss me and clean the tears from my eye. I couldn’t do much with my hands as I was holding onto her tight. The trail was rough and covered in rocks, boulders and loose stone. Keeping balance was intense. The trail was crowded but everyone moved cheering us on. One man yelled, “You’re a hero!” We walked to the summit and there was over a hundred people in line for their photo. I asked the front 20 people if they would allow us to cut so we could go sit. We were waved up like a god and made a friend who took our photo. #HikingtheAT #dog

A post shared by Turtle and Pup ?? (@turtleandpup) on

 

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We passed a few girls, who I assume to be locals, who had settled into a circle at the top of the bald a few feet off the trail, giggling and taking selfies when one of them stopped and noticed as I took some photos of the trail markers. She yelled “omg it’s only a piece of wood!” as her friends laughed after her call-out. She’s right, it is only a piece of wood. A piece of wood with a white blaze, a marker that thousands upon thousands have found solace in, found guidance in, found strength and hope and happiness in as they make their way past these markers in one of the 14 states it spans through. Its a marker that’s led me to meet some of the most inspiring people, people who were hiking to get sober, hiking in memory of their loved ones, or hiking to find themselves. It’s only a piece of wood, but what it represents is much more, my friend, and I hope you learn the history of the beautiful place you’re enjoying one day to really appreciate that piece of wood that led you to it. #trektheAT #appalachiantrail

A post shared by ↟ Feed Your Soul ↟ (@__feedyoursoul__) on

 

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Team tarp. ?⛰ Waking up with grins like that means there’s a good day ahead (7 miles downhill to the border and into town for a Zero; a lovely AirB&B and Mass MoCA Art gallery! ?) The forest animals jumped around our camp all night and we were woken by a crazy grouse flapping and squawking around the place. Perfect ☺️?? • Left to right: Stump, Mandalynn, Wag and Captain. @phototropic_stump @malbelk @mandalynn.salamander @benjiii8 . . . . . . #trailfamily #tramily #hiketogether #tarplife #guthook #vermontlife #togetherwehike #kindnessofstrangers #whatmakesyouhappy #happiness #trektheat #hiketheat #appalachiantrail #thetrek #thruhike #thruhiker #cornish #sobo2019 #mountaingirls #mountaingirl #choosetrails #seeyououtthere #outdoorist #hikelikeawoman #sleepoutside #hiker #hikelife #kindness #withguthook

A post shared by Appalachian Gail / Gail Muller (@appalachiangail) on

 

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#appalachiantrail2019 #at2019 #appalachiantrail #atclassof2019 #appalachianhikers #trektheat #rawphotography

A post shared by Dominic Iacopino (@dominiciacopino) on

 

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08/03 || Appalachian Trail || Day 33 || . After cowboy camping on top of Carter Dome we descended down into Carter Notch for our first AMC hut experience where we were able to use our AMC thru hiker cards to get free pastries, ate breakfast left overs from the guests, drank coffee and played Bananagrams. . Afterwards we climbed into the Wildcats which were overrun with weekend muggles and quickly knocked out Wildcats A-D before descending down into Pinkham Notch to use our thru hiker cards again for chili and bread at the Pinkham Notch Visitors Center surrounded by more muggles. . Tonight we are camped below the base of the Presidentials which has us beyond stoked. . Tomorrow we take on Mounts Madison and Washington. #sobolivesmatter #southboundersarenothomeschooled . . . . #atclassof2019 #atsobo #sobo #southbound #appalachiantrail #trektheat #thetrek #withguthook #hmgtribe #straytgthr #thruhike #hikertrash #shotoncanon #canonphotography #canonusa #optoutside #rei1440project #upperrightusa #hikethewhites

A post shared by Anubis and Winnie (@walking_towards_winnie) on

 

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The climb out of Lehigh Gap was one of my favorites so far. The “trail” consists of a mile of rock scrambles and cliff climbing. After reaching the top of the granite summit, over 1000 feet in elevation later, we found this sweet flag painted on a rock. You don’t NOT take a super patriotic pic when you’ve already got the matching shorts ?: @jlesman24 • • • #trektheAT #AT2019 #ATthruhike #hikertrash #thruhike #thruhiker #appalachiantrail #hikeyourhike #hike #appalachiantrail2019 #blueridgemoments #goatworthy #moosejaw #hiker #backpacking #travel #wanderlust #wildernessculture #wildeast #whiteblaze #nopainnomaine #withguthook #bigagnes #granitegear #merica #flag #america #donttreadonme #mountains #outdoorphotography

A post shared by Sam Malesa (@ssm357) on

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