Talk:Appalachian Trail

From Wikitravel

I removed the following URL http://members.aol.com/visitnj/ from New Jersey. It links to a website that covers that state's portion of the Appalachian Trail. The site has interesting content but some links, including significant site pages, are broken, so I do not think it is the best quality website to link to from a Wikitravel article. But it might help someone writing this article. -- Huttite 04:45, 1 Dec 2005 (EST)

[edit] Walk?

I've added the content that is currently under "Prepare". I included walking as part of the preparedness and am not sure that the stuff that I wrote about walking should be moved to the "Walk" section. If someone feels like researching various pre-AT regimens that specify exact distances and the speed at which one should increase I feel the "Walk" paragraph would be more for them.

[edit] Bear Mountain - Harriman

Not a biggie, but Bear Mountain State Park and Harriman State Park are technically not the same park. --Wandering 12:58, 13 November 2007 (EST)

I have never been there, but that is the way it is reflected on the National Park Service map-So that's what I entered, feel free to amend it to a more accurate description if you like. 2old 13:41, 13 November 2007 (EST)

[edit] Direction

Just a quick suggestion—any itinerary-style content should probably be in order from south to north, as that is the direction that 99% of the thru-hikers take for seasonal/weather reasons. --Peter ^Talk 15:21, 14 November 2007 (EST)

I agree, but the strip map runs N/S, I thought it best to keep them both the same direction for those doing research. My main idea was to link the cities in Wikitravel to the article. I thought about turning the map 180, but then the print will be upside down. I think the map will fit the list, when done, but I fear the map will then be too big. If we want to remove the map, I could reverse the direction. 2old 09:33, 15 November 2007 (EST)

Well Peter, I thought about this last night, and looked at a variety of other sites on the subject. The thru-hikers are in the minority, to the tune of less than 400 per year. The vast majority of hikers choose to make shorter day or multi-day treks along portions of the trail. My intent with the list of Cities/Parks was to connect the dots, or other Wikitravel destinations, for the purpose of access and lodging for the majority of visitors. So, for the time being, and as I continue to research the subject and reflect on it, I think I will leave it as is. I have been looking for information regarding those who used the AT as a migration route. 2old 11:02, 16 November 2007 (EST)

I don't think anyone ever used the trail as a migration route. Peter is right about the heading north bias of through hikers but 2old is right that most AT hikers (that includes me!) usually just do a section here or a section there and that the number of through hikers is quite small. For some reason, I always think of the trail as N-S, can't explain why though!--Wandering 16:12, 16 November 2007 (EST)

Fair enough, I don't think I noticed just how l o n g that map is. And in any rate, if a thru-hiker can't figure out how to read those destinations from bottom to top, they probably aren't cut out for the preparations that a real thru-hike would require. But if we ever try to break things down into a week-by-week itinerary (and I'm not sure we should), it should go south-north, as the only people who would need that information would be heading north. In any rate, I'm convinced you're right about keeping the "destination" list running north-south, to match the map. --Peter ^Talk 17:39, 16 November 2007 (EST)

Well, I think I have done all the damage I can to this article, so I shall move on. Could find no evidence of AT being used for migration other than animals/birds. I am considering doing the downhill parts of the AT sometime. 16:35, 19 November 2007 (EST)

May you damage many more articles! :-) --Wandering 19:52, 19 November 2007 (EST)