Supplement - Backpacking the Appalachian Trail

I'm limited on number of pages I can have on the website so I'm putting this supplement to backpacking the Appalachian Trail here. I don't want anyone making the same stupid mistakes I did on my first venture into backpacking.

OUTFITTING YOURSELF TO BACKPACK

The most common mistake a novice makes (points to self) is buying the wrong size pack or an improperly fitting pack.

We gals like to pack our "stuff" when we travel anywhere...but when backpacking ladies, you won't need all your "stuff" and will sorely (literally!) regret it if you do.

There are many varieties of packs out there on the market but it's essential you purchase the one that's right for YOU.

The best way to do this is go to a sporting goods store and have a professional fit you for a backpack.

But before you even get as far as purchasing your backpack you're going to need to know what you intend to put in it. Use this backpacking checklist to determine what gear you'll need for your particular needs and skills. Keep in mind all of the fancy gear in the world will be useless unless you have the practiced skills to use it so refrain from buying gear you don't have the skillset to use.

Whenever possible, acquire multi use tools like the Covacure survival shovel at right that currently retails for $24.

It can be used for traditional uses such as digging holes, setting up tent stakes or breaking through soft and hard materials with equal efficiency because of the sharp edges. It comes with additional tools such as a saw, inch ruler, wrenches, knives, bottle openers, hammer, screwdriver, whistle, break glass cone and fire starter.

Buying multi use tools saves you both money and pack weight rather than buying each tool individually.

Don't be afraid to buy used or secondhand gear to start as long as it's in good shape and working order. You can always upgrade as you go along and gain more backpacking experience. One of the best places I've found to obtain secondhand gear is military surplus stores.

RULE OF PACK WEIGHT

The second thing you need to know before purchasing your pack is the rule of pack weight:

YOUR PACK SHOULD WEIGH NO MORE THAN 10% OF YOUR TOTAL BODY WEIGHT.

No, you can't fudge on that percentage unless you're an Olympic gold medal winner triathlete in superb physical condition! And you will be glad you didn't fudge when your feet hit that trail with your pack on your back!

I did not know this having done no research into backpacking. I weighed 125 pounds, which means I should have been carrying no more than 13 pounds tops. 

My pack weighed in at 65 pounds. 

Try carrying that up 18,000 feet in elevation.

Two hours up the trail I felt like I was carrying the weight of the world. I was tempted to heave that pack off the first cliff I came to.

PURCHASING YOUR BACKPACK

Believe it or not, there is a right way and wrong way to purchase your backpack.

If possible, have the salesperson put enough weight in your pack to equal 10% of your body weight, then walk around the store a few times carrying that weight in the pack. If at any point it's uncomfortable carrying the pack then the salesperson can help adjust the pack to fit you properly,.

When backpacking you will be carrying the bulk of the pack weight on your hips. There are several places one can adjust the pack including interchangeable hip belt options as shown below, so that you can adjust the torso fit of your pack.

Adjustment straps can't compensate for an incorrectly set adjustable suspension system.

Make sure wherever you purchase your backpack that you can exchange or return it if you or the salesperson can't adjust it to fit you comfortably.

MOLLE PACKS

Once I became a CERT (SWAT) team instructor and learned the joys of Molle packs, I ditched my traditional backpack for a molle pack.

I knew exactly what gear I needed in my pack by then and could rearrange that gear into the different molle bags to lighten or make my pack heavier. It was much easier to adjust the weight of the pack by simply adding or removing molles. This kind of pack isn't for everyone, I just mention it as an option.

PACKING YOUR BACKPACK

Packing can be broken down into three zones, plus peripheral storage:

• Bottom zone: Good for bulky gear and items not needed until camp.

• Core zone: Good for your denser, heavier items.

• Top zone: Good for bulkier essentials you might need on the trail.

• Accessory pockets: Good for essentials you'll need urgently or often.

• Tool loops and lash-on points: Good for oversized or overly long items.
  

Believe it or not, packing your pack correctly is every bit as critical as how you carry it.

I packed and repacked my backpack several times before getting it to the point where everything felt properly distributed.

GET IN SHAPE

I figured I was young and healthy and if 'old people' (anyone 40+) could carry a backpack for miles, how difficult could it be to strap a pack on and walk? DUH! on my part!

Trust me, you're going to want to get in backpacking physical condition before ever attempting the real thing! You're not just going to be hiking. You're going to be climbing, running, etc.

Pack your backpack just as you would as if you were actually going backpacking, with 10% of your body weight in the pack. Start out by walking around the block a few times with that pack on. Then practice climbing and running with it on. You'll likely find you're quite tired after doing this but it's what you're going to be doing on the actual trail. You are going to use leg muscles you never knew you had.

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BEARS

You have a 99% chance of encountering black bears on the Appalachian Trail so it's important you know how to respond to a bear encounter.

Having helped to raise a few bear cubs in my day, I can assure you that the black bears are nothing to be afraid of. In fact, they are the shyest of all the different bear species and will actually go out of their way to avoid contacts with humans. They'd just as soon avoid us altogether.

However, the bears on the AT are accustomed to encountering humans and like us, they're curious. They're as curious about you as you are of them. So they might stare at you for a couple minutes before ambling off into the woods to go about their bear business.

They're very curious creatures.

Yet they are very much like us in both habits and personalities...

I've even done what Grampa did here with a bear that kept getting into my trash and tearing down my birdfeeders...

As you can see they're very much like us in many respects. Yes, you must respect them as they are wild animals. But you need not fear them.

You have a 1 in 2.1 million chance of being attacked by a black bear. Black bear attacks are extremely rare. Since 1900 there has only been a black bear attack fatality once every 2 years. You stand a greater chance of getting hit by lightning than being attacked by a black bear. In all of the years I've had encounters with black bears in the wild and helped raise black bears never once has any black bear made anything even remotely resembling an attack on me. That included sitting on a logging trail attempting to fix my trail bike malfunction when suddenly I felt a wet nose and hot breath on the back of my neck. Mama bears are at their most dangerous when protecting their cubs. I simply froze and didn't move so as not to frighten or alarm Mama bear. In the next moment her 2 cubs came around from behind me and climbed right into my lap. Because I froze I presented no threat to her or her cubs (in her mind) and after a couple of minutes she wandered off deeper into the woods with her cubs in tow.​

Your reaction to a bear encounter largely determines how the bear will react in that encounter.So how should one react?

The very worst thing you can do is run or try to hide from the bear. In the bear's mind if you do this you're telling the bear that you are prey to be chased as potential food. Instead, stand your ground, make yourself appear as large as possible, talk to the bear in a loud but non-threatening, calm voice. The bear may look at you for a few seconds and appear to be sizing you up. This is just curiosity on the bear's part. Furthermore, on the AT trail the bears are accustomed to encountering people. But because black bears are shy and reclusive by nature, 98% of the time they will just wander off into the woods because they don't want contact with you.

You are not going to outrun a black bear. They can run between 30 and 35 miles per hour.

Don't climb a tree to try to escape the bear. Black bears are extremely adept at climbing, their curved claws enabling them to dig into tree bark in order to pull their massive body weight up the tree. They can scale 100 feet in under 30 seconds so all you'd do by climbing a tree is trap yourself in the tree, only to find the bear in hot pursuit coming up the tree after you. The reason they do climb trees is to enable them to reach food not available to them on the ground so again, you'd be telling the bear "Hey, I'm a food source for you to come after."

NEVER EVER do what this family below did and feed a wild bear. All it takes is one feeding for a bear to habitualize you as a food source. I worked for the bear facility that raised 'Gentle Ben' and the bear that appeared on Grizzly Adams TV shows. One of the females had triplet cubs that were named Peter, Paul and Mary. It was my job to feed Peter his bottle at feeding times after Mama Bear abandoned her cubs. In the middle of summer I had to wear a winter jacket when feeding Peter to prevent being clawed all over. After Peter finished his bottle he would cling to me for dear life while bawling his head off and it would take 2 adult males to pry Peter off of me to return him to his pen. It wasn't that Peter did this out of any great love for me. He did it because he'd habitualized me as his food source and he didn't want to be separated from his food source.

All it takes is feeding a bear ONE TIME and they will return to you time and time again for more food. This is why the AT has 'bear boxes' to protect hikers food from bears.

Many decades later I went to the zoo that had gotten Peter. I was absolutely shocked (as were his keepers) when Peter (now a full grown adult male) immediately recognized me and came running in my direction. After all those years, he still recognized me as the food source I'd been when he was a cub.

Why did the black bear above keep hanging around that family's cabin? Because they set themselves up as its food source. The problem with that is that now that wild bear will think it can approach any humans to be fed! And this presents a danger now to anyone who encounters that bear if they don't feed it.

You can rent bear bags or bring your own when hiking the AT to suspend your food from a tree to deter bears in search of food from entering your campsite. Black bears typically feed at night so you don't want them hunting food in the pitch dark in your campsite. Bears have very keen eyesight and especially night vision because they do hunt/feed at night. We don't...so the bears have the upper hand if we encounter them at night.

However, the above video also demonstrates what I was saying earlier about your reaction determines how the bear with react in an encounter with you. The family at that picnic table is completely relaxed in the bear's presence, they're not displaying any panic when the bear comes up to the table...and you can see its reaction.

It calmly and patiently sits there and waits for its PB sandwich, making no aggressive moves whatsoever. They're relaxed so the bear is relaxed as well in its demeanor.

One more thing: A bear will make a huffing sound when encountering humans. This is what a black bear huffing and clicking its jaws sounds like:

Bears have their own language and this huffing and jaw popping means 1 of 2 things:

a. The bear is curious about you

b. The bear is giving you a preemptory warning that it is mildly annoyed and/or stressed.

Normally, once the bear's curiosity about you has been satisfied, it will quit huffing and wander off into the woods.

If the bear is stressed, simply very slowly back away from it to give it its space while continuing to talk to it in a calm and non threatening manner.

It's when a bear starts growling or roaring that signals its about to go into aggressive behavior - in which case you grab your bear spray and prepare to defend yourself. When hiking the AT always have your bear spray where you can grab it quickly and easily if need be. Again, DO NOT RUN. Stand your ground while slowly backing away. A black bear will typically make 3 to 4 fake charges at you to back you off if it feels threatened by you. Black bears are not risk takers and have little desire to get into it with you. But they will do these fake charges, growling and roaring to let you know BACK OFF!

Don't be fearful of this huffing and jaw popping they do. Most often it's just a sign they're simply curious about you.

When hiking the AT talk, sing or just generally make noise to alert the bear you're in its vicinity and give them a chance to amble off before you even encounter them. Many hikers will attach bear bells to their backpacks that jingle as they hike to warn bears off. Best Bear Bells of 2025