Hiker Rick's Site

I'm Hiker Rick, I'm the greatest hiker in these here woods, I know everything there is to know about hiking gear and survival techniques.

COOKING POT

You need to have a cooking pot with you to boil drinking water, killing any parasites and bacteria that might be in it. A lot of people including myself carry a water filter to take care of this problem but water filters have moving parts and a ceramic filter element that could easily break. It's better to carry a light cooking pot, you will probably not need it but if your water filter breaks the cooking pot will save your life.

FIRE STARTER

The most important thing is that you always have the ability to make fire. The best way is to have multiple dependable sources of fire. Don't rely on stone age techniques they take lots of practice to master and even then the condition need to be right.

LAMP

A good flashlight is very good to have around the campsite and if you need to walk in the dark it's absolutely necessary. If you do need to walk in the dark and don't have a light source it's better to stay where you are and wait 'til the sun comes up.

WATER

Always make sure you're bringing enough water or have access to water where you are going.

STRING

You should carry at least 50 feet of high quality very strong string. You can use this to make a shelter or to trap small animals for food. But mostly it's always something you need for the most unforeseen reason.

STOVE

Stratus Trailstove, the only way to go. The Trailstove burns wood, not gas. Wood is readily available at your camp site. Wood does not explode if you leave it in the sun. Wood will not cause brain and nerve damage if accidentally inhaled. Wood does not require a heavy metal container for storage and transportation.

Even if you can't see water you can see the signs of water such as greener than usual vegetation, or a string of uniform vegetation, or a flock of birds.

If you need get to where the signs of water are but don't see any water you may decide to dig down, if you do always dig by the largest piece of vegetation, that's where there is most water.

Appalachian National Scenic Trail

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is a 2,167-mile (3,488 km) footpath along the ridge crests and across the major valleys of the Appalachian Mountains from Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in north Georgia. The trail traverses Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. The Appalachian Trail (A.T.) is used by day, weekend and other short-term hikers, section hikers and thru-hikers. Thru-hikers hike the entire length of the Trail in one season.

The A.T. began as a vision of forester Benton MacKaye, and was developed by volunteers and opened as a continuous trail in 1937. It was designated as the first National Scenic Trail by the National Trails System Act of 1968. The Trail is currently protected along more than 99 percent of its course by federal or state ownership of the land or by rights-of-way. Annually, more than 4,000 volunteers contribute over 175,000 hours of effort on the Appalachian Trail.

Write to
Appalachian National Scenic Trail NPS Park Office
Harpers Ferry Center
Harpers Ferry, WV 25425

Phone
Visitor Information - 304-535-6331 (ATC)
Headquarters - 304-535-6278 (NPS)

TRAVEL BASICS

Getting There
CAR - The Trail has more than 500 access points. Contact the private, nonprofit Appalachian Trail Conference for directions.

COOKING POT		You need to have a cooking pot with you to boil drinking water, killing any parasites and bacteria that might be in it. A lot of people including myself carry a water filter to take care of this problem but water filters have moving parts and a ceramic filter element that could easily break. It's better to carry a light cooking pot, you will probably not need it but if your water filter breaks the cooking pot will save your life.
FIRE STARTER		The most important thing is that you always have the ability to make fire. The best way is to have multiple dependable sources of fire. Don't rely on stone age techniques they take lots of practice to master and even then the condition need to be right.
LAMP		A good flashlight is very good to have around the campsite and if you need to walk in the dark it's absolutely necessary. If you do need to walk in the dark and don't have a light source it's better to stay where you are and wait 'til the sun comes up.
WATER		Always make sure you're bringing enough water or have access to water where you are going.
STRING		You should carry at least 50 feet of high quality very strong string. You can use this to make a shelter or to trap small animals for food. But mostly it's always something you need for the most unforeseen reason.
STOVE		Stratus Trailstove, the only way to go. The Trailstove burns wood, not gas. Wood is readily available at your camp site. Wood does not explode if you leave it in the sun. Wood will not cause brain and nerve damage if accidentally inhaled. Wood does not require a heavy metal container for storage and transportation.