Here are the most frequently asked questions about planning and doing our thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail:

These are updates to the FAQ's that Snickers wrote at the end of April:

I'm doing great!  This is truly the greatest experience of my life.

For the first time since Hiawassee, GA I'm carrying my knee brace in the first aid kit and not on my knee.  They've really strengthened up and I don't think I'll have any more problems.

I haven't had any problems beyond my legs adjusting to the strain.  I've actually gained ten pounds since I started!

I've been staying pretty close to Nets most of the time, besides that I've been seeing new faces everyday.  When Nets spent time in town with friends one weekend, I hiked 50 miles with Avlo, a student from Tulsa, OK.

I've met all kinds of people out here.  Back in NC we hiked with a 62-year-old lady named La Tortuga.  She's a retired marine biologist from WA.  Two other guys up ahead, Dragline and Emptyhead, carry only 25 pounds apiece.  That means they have to live without tents, a change of clothes, rain gear and sometimes even food. 

Another team that I hiked with, Crash and Scooby, have already hiked the entire trail in sections.  Crash is Scooby's father and they're from NH.

I've sent home a lot of winter clothes.  I traded in my tent for a tarp and changed to a lighter sleeping bag.  One of my friends, Shady Tree, sent home his stove.  For breakfast and dinner he eats Lucky Charms with a dehydrated milk/weight gain powder mixture.  I'm keeping my stove!

For breakfast I packaged cereal in ziplock bags with dehydrated milk.  All I have to do each morning is pour some water in it, shake it up and dig in.  This was Steve Endicott's idea.  For lunch we snack on all kinds of high calorie candy bars and wrap things in tortillas.  For dinner we do some type of pasta or rice and mix in just about anything you can imagine.  I carry a bottle of squeeze butter and use it in my dinners to add calories.  Most of us also carry daily vitamins because it's hard to get enough vitamin C and some others out here.

The day we crossed the Nantahala River was really rough.  I was with Nets, 4Runner, and Jeckyll.  We had planned a 7-mile hike to the first shelter.  As we climbed out of the river valley, a snowstorm blew in.  By the end of the day the snow and fog was so thick that we had to struggle to find the trail.  The white blazes blended in with the snow and drifts of snow piled up to three feet.

We finally got to the shelter and were displeased to find a blanket of snow inside it.  We set up our tents in the shelter, climbed into our bags and shivered.  But the next day the sun was out and we had one of our best hikes yet.

It has really warmed up.  Today I was able to go for a swim in a creek.  We haven't had much rain either.

When something great and unexpected happens out here, we call it trail magic.  Thru hikers from past years like to surprise us with sodas, food, or even rides to town.  Today we met an older man named Pops who was trying to walk off a heart problem.  I had been craving an ice cold Coca-cola all day, but the nearest town was 5 miles down the mountain.  Pops offered us a ride in his truck and even took us back up to the trailhead after we picked up a huge meal at Burger King.  He told me that if he could live long enough, he'd like to "start from Springer Mountain and see how far I can go."  I wished him the best of luck and we hiked on.

People have never given us problems in any of the communities we've hiked through, but their dogs have.  The AT followed one road for 1/4 mile and we had to walk past at least 15 big dogs there.  Some of them were chained, but others ran right at me.  I had to use my trekking poles to keep them off me.

Nets just found a spider the size of a small tarantula crawling around the shelter.  We've also seen a fox, some deer, mice, all kinds of birds, snakes, lots of wild turkey and a few other little critters.  In Virginia we walked through several cow pastures.  Last weekend Avlo and I were walking past two cows and a calf.  One of them decided to get protective and chase us across the field.  I'm sure that from a distance it was quite comical to see that lumbering beast try to run after two agile hikes, but it was pretty scary to be the target of a half-ton of hamburger on legs.  I don't think my trekking poles would have done much good in that situation.

I'm planning on an early or middle August finish date, so I'll have a few days to get ready for school.  Right now we're a little behind schedule due to the weather early in the hike, but we're quickly catching up.

Not a chance!  I'm having a great time and I'm amazed at how fast these months have gone by.  I treasure every moment out here.

Here's the original FAQ's from the beginning of the trek:

Well, we're not sure to tell you the truth.  It's been a lifetime goal for both of us since we were Tenderfoot Scouts, and this seemed like an excellent opportunity.

I think this is one of the most sane things we've decided to do in a long time.

2160 miles across the Appalachians between Georgia and Maine.

Click here to see one of our gear lists.

We plan on leaving February 14th and getting back in time for the Fall semester in late August;  about six months.

A through hike takes between 5 and 7 months to complete, we'd like to have as much time as possible.  Leaving early lets us have some leeway time in case we decide to duck out in town through some rough weather.  Yes it is quite cold in the mountains, and we are planning to be well prepared.

To write a letter to Steve, simply email steve@as123.com and Joyce Howard will make sure it gets printed and put in our next food box.

Yes, we're quite sure : )

Steve.

Rest assured, we share the same fears and we have been conducting extensive research into preventative measures for each.  It seems that the best advice to be offered against any of these dangers is the Scout Motto.

Got more questions?  E-mail: steveh at juggler dot net