This Week’s Top Instagram Posts from the #AppalachianTrail

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

For many hiking NOBO on the Appalachian Trail, their journeys are wrapping up with the summer season and coming to bittersweet endings, while our SOBO hikers are feeling the grit and grind of the trail and approaching big mountains again. Keep your eyes out for those finisher photos!

This week’s photos were taken from August 28 to September 10 after careful selection from the #TrektheAT hashtag.

 

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Every season has its advantages and disadvantages. We are hiking in summer when it’s hot, with a lot of mosquitos and black flies, thunderstorms and dryer streams. On the other side we have to carry less gear, we have long days and the wild berries are getting ready to eat. On the open parts on top of the mountains we can find blueberries and blackberries. We put them in one of our bottles and have a delicious breakfast with oatmeal, granola and wild berries. Summer is perfect for the AT, just like any other season 😉 ⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #appalachiantrail #at2019 #at #trektheat #thetrek #thruhike #thruhiking #hike #hiking #outdoors #optoutside #travel #adventure #backpacking #wanderlust #camping #campvibes #takeahike #hikemore #choosemountains #getoutside #ultralight #wondermore #backpackerradio #hikingadventures #travelstoke #mountaingirls #likeamountaingirl #weleaf @appalachian.at

A post shared by WeLeaf//Slow Travel World Trip (@weleaf.nl) on

 

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Life is so much different out here. We’re not rushing off to work or waiting in traffic, we don’t have to worry about meetings or deadlines. It’s just us and the woods. We see birds, not cars, flying by. We hear the screech of eagles, not tires. It’s a kind of chaotic peacefulness too difficult to fully understand. The vastness is overwhelming when you stop to think about just how much life surrounds you at any given moment. Bacteria, plants, animals; it all comes together to provide us with a magical escape from the civilized world. That’s what this trail is all about. It’s about completely reconfiguring your priorities. It’s about knowing how to walk these paths leaving no trace of your existence behind. It’s about forming and nurturing a relationship between you and the wildness that surrounds you. It’s impossible to fully grasp the lessons we learn from this place until we’ve left it, the mindfulness it teaches us whether we’re ready for it or not. We’re all lucky to be a part of this transformative experience, forever changing our lives as we know it. . . @appalachian.trail @appalachiantrail @thetrek.co @guthookguides #appalachiantrail #appalachiantrail2019 #at2019 #trektheat #hikrlife #amongthewild #wildernessculture #wildernesstherapy #trailtherapy #lifeoutside #outside_project #optoutside #keepitwild #campingcollective #backpackersworld #getoutstayout #theoutbound #choosemountains #backcountry #whyihike

A post shared by Jori Schmalz (@theoutdoorvegan) on

 

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8/26-8/29 Days 134-136 // Total Miles: 1,721.6 Made it to Damascus. Real food, real bed, showers, and laundry. R&R at Woodchuck Hostel. We officially have 470.4 miles left. Going chronologically, on the 26th it was overcast, but cool and comfortable weather with occasional misting. We had the pleasure of walking along ridgelines and through picturesque cow pastures. Sadly, we passed the tribute to Stronghold, the hiker who was senselessly murdered a couple of months ago. Miles later, we reached our lunch spot, a burrito place, which was actually closed on Mondays. We ate gas station pizza instead, resupplied, and hiked on. On the 27th it rained. We stopped in the Mount Rogers National Recreational Headquarters with hopes of drying out a little and seeing a captive hellbender (a giant 2’ long salamander native to the area), but sadly the hellbender passed away a while ago. We did see a rather ugly taxidermy version of it though. On the 28th, we made it to the famed Grayson Highlands (!!!), where we spent time hanging out with “wild” ponies. It was interesting how much that portion of the trail (above 5000’ in elevation) reminded us of Maine. The 29th brought us in rather late in the evening to Damascus. #atflipflop #appalachiantrail #atflipflop2019 #thruhike #virginia #backpacking #whiteblazes #trektheat #hikerfeed #hikertrash #atthruhike2019

A post shared by Hardy & Matador (@onwardsoutdoors) on

 

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New Hampshire: “I’m very difficult!” Southern Maine: “Hold my beer.” Everyone wants to talk about the Whites. I get it. However… Mahoosuc Notch is described as a one mile “deranged jumble of boulders”. This one mile took me nearly 3 hours to complete. @hiking_on_insulin and I were going up, over, under and around boulders- slick after raining all night. I can’t decide if it was type 1 or type 2 fun…but I think the look on my face says it all. Immediately after the notch, we had a climb that the guide described as “grueling”…maybe because it was mostly vertical rock climbing, gaining 1500 feet in under a mile! However, I did hit 1900 miles the other day, and my legs definitely show it. #watchforhikers

A post shared by Lexi “Tomatillo” (@lexipatt0n) on

 

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9/1/19 Woah, I started hiking 5 months ago today ?

A post shared by Kaylin Brown (@kaylinb1231) on

 

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September 3, 2019 I ended up taking an unplanned zero in Hanover, NH at the new hiker hostel in town. Before getting to town I checked the weather and a rather significant storm was forecast beginning Sunday night and all day Monday. Since I have a no hiking in rain policy it was a very easy decision. During my unplanned zero I binge watch the entire @netflix Dark Crystal season one. It’s a decent prequel to the original movie from my childhood. I spend the day napping, eating pizza and ice cream; and go to bed rather early. Today I wait for the hostel host to wake up and eventually get a ride back to town around 9 am. It’s a later start than I had hoped for, but I stop in at the Starbucks for a coffee and breakfast. I leave town before 10 am and pleasantly enjoy a moderate day of hiking in a new state. During the afternoon I catch up to AT NOBO hiker Turtle and we end up having lunch at one of the rare unobstructed views. For the rest of the afternoon I listen to several podcast to keep my energy up, and decide to call it quits at 6 pm for a decent 22 mile day with late start. Not bad for an aging Buddha. 🙂

A post shared by Lo Phong La Kiatoukaysy (@lilbuddhahikes) on

 

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We are on our way home now! We decided to rent a car and drive down the east coast following the Appalachian Trail along the way. Yesterday we drove from Maine to Pennsylvania and today Pennsylvania to North Carolina. Driving, I have come to realize, is no doubt efficient but it’s also robotic and boring. We just spent 5 months walking a distance that only takes 2 days to drive, that’s crazy. The act of walking humbled us because it’s so slow and tiring. But after all it’s a beautiful mode of transportation that teaches as much as transports. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I have been off the trail for a week now and have begun reflecting on all that I’ve learned. There is something special about walking. We learn to walk at a young age and it becomes effortless. But when you take a long walk you learn to rely on this simple act. We were made to move, designed to walk. It’s our God given mode of transportation, scientifically proven to improve our body and mind. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Ok ok ok, there is a lot to say about walking but I got more. I’ve reflected on my long walk with family and we thought of Jesus walking everywhere, going from town to town where he would preach. I like to imagine this time was spent talking amongst his friends. On our trek across the east coast we met a lot of people and had long conversations that bonded us together quickly. We have made life long friends in the short 5 months we’ve hiked. Jesus traveled with his friends for 3 years. I now have a glimpse of the type of bond Jesus must have had with his friends. For traveling long distances together by foot creates special relationships. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ All in all, I’m addicted to this walking thing. I’m already planning my next backpacking trip. Who knows, we’ll see. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #AppalachianTrail #TrekTheAT #AT2019 #thruhike #backpacking #thetrek #camping #greatoutdoorprovisioncompany #longdistancehike #adventurecouple #youtuber #optoutside #appalachiantrailvlog #appalachiantrail2019 #hike #longtrail #womenwhohike #thruhike2019 #thruhiking #backpackingcouple #travelcouple #adventurecouple #appalachianmountains #mountains #hikingcouple #travel #hikertrash

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