# the appalachian trail



## Bamafan4life (Jun 28, 2011)

I've been wanting to do this ever since I was young and now that I'm nearly out of highschool I'm thinking about hiking it when I graduate. As that will be the only time ill probly ever have in my life to do it. So I got one question can I carry a gun with me for protection? I'm wanting to take a kel tec 2000 rifle with me if I go and I'm talking about all states


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## Dr. Strangelove (Jun 29, 2011)

Congratulations for having such ambitious plan, and you're right in thinking that right after high school is probably the best chance most people have to hike the AT.  I wish I had.

I'd forget about the rifle, there are just too many federal/state/local jurisdictions to go through.  Some places allow firearms, some don't.  When you start doing your research for the trip, you'll see that you'll have much more to plan and worry about than carrying a rifle along.


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## stu454 (Jun 29, 2011)

You won't be able to legally carry a firearm through the entire trail, IIRC.

A good knife and some pepper spray are about all you could get away with, I think.

And you're right about doing it now, before the responsibilities take hold.


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## TAS (Jun 29, 2011)

Go for it but leave the rifle at home.  You will want to save every ounce of weight possible when backpacking.  Do it now, when wife kids and responsibilities begin you won't have the time.


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## seeker (Jun 29, 2011)

By the end of two weeks, you'll be cutting the corners off your food packages to save weight.  Then you'll cut your toothbrush handle off to save another 1/2 gram.  No don't take the gun.


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## walkinboss01 (Jun 29, 2011)

I agree with Seeker. It would be too heavy. Most everyone that I've ran into on the trail are good people, but there is always a chance of a "nutjob". Get some pepper spray and a good knife.


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## frogtoad (Jun 30, 2011)

I agree about with the others about the gun... don't take it.  The chance you might need it are extremely slim.  Every state has it's own laws and regulations concerning carrying guns.  The chances of running into a dangerous nutjob human are also extremely slim on the trail.  You are smart to hit the trail while you are still young, hope you have a great hike!


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## holton27596 (Jul 1, 2011)

NOPE! When you hit the yankee states they will lock you up and throw away the key if they catch you with a firearm. Lirberal Vermont is about the only exception.


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## jason4445 (Jul 1, 2011)

Here are some incidences that happened on the trail in the 80's and 90's.

In 1988, a man frightened two women off the trail and shot them, killing one, in south-central Pennsylvania. Stephen Roy Carr was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He acknowledge at the time that he shot the women because they were gay. 

They were the eighth and ninth people killed in the past two decades along the Appalachian Trail. "In three of those cases, they were double-murders: six incidents, nine murders," the ATC's Brian King was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

Two years later, a man and his fiancee were shot to death as they slept in the Thelma Marks Shelter on the A.T. south of Duncannon, Pa. Paul David Crews is on death row after being convicted for their murders.

    In May 1981, a man and a woman hiking from Maine to Georgia were killed in a remote cabin near Pearisburg, Va. Randall Lee Smith, who pleaded guilty to lesser charges, is again up for parole in September. A Wisconsin woman was hacked to death by a hiker with a hatchet in Tennessee in April 1975; her attacker died in prison. A 26-year-old man was killed at a shelter in Georgia in May 1974.

    In 1995, there were 15 homicides in national parks, which cover 83 million acres, the National Park Service said.


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## Wes (Jul 3, 2011)

1000's of people have hiked the trail without incident.  Find yourself a hiking partner (someone you can stand to be with for a long time) as you are more likely to need help with a sprained ankle. 

Start planning now, go to REI, ask questions, read lots of books and internet sites, take some practice runs of long hikes, find information from people who have done it. When it comes to stuff to take...less is more.


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## McBeeVee (Jul 8, 2011)

I don't know about Tennessee, but the AT is posted at the North Carolina state line with a no firearms sign. Besides that, as others have said, the extra weight would really suck. 

When are you planning on leaving? I have a couple of friends from out west who are doing the AT next year.


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## Dough (Jul 8, 2011)

AT is probably the safest place in the world.  It's more an attitude than an actual place, great friends, great times, great  memories.
If you are concerned with bears or people, the gun will not be handy.  It's just a walk in the woods.
i have hiked Approach trail to Davenport (through Smoky Mtns)  and Maine (100 mile wiolderness) if you have any queations or concerns.
also wheck out whiteblaze.net and search for guns,  lots of discussion there.

doughNut


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## green46 (Aug 6, 2011)

Forget the gun.  Find a good hiking buddy to go with you and do it.  You're right about now being the time.  I wished I had through hiked it when I had no responsibilities.  Good luck.


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## Resica (Aug 7, 2011)

holton27596 said:


> NOPE! When you hit the yankee states they will lock you up and throw away the key if they catch you with a firearm. Lirberal Vermont is about the only exception.


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## irocz2u (Aug 7, 2011)

get u a  good  2 pice  fishing  rod  for  some  fresh  fish


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## yaknfish (Aug 7, 2011)

Read "A Walk in the Woods", by Bill Bryson.


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## Maggie Dog (Aug 8, 2011)

I vote for not reading" a walk in the woods"
IMHO I don't like his writing at all, he dislikes southerners and he is not an outdoor type person. The type of guy who would wash his food dish in the spring. 
Note: the book cover gives his lack of knowledge away, A brown bear, not a native species of the Appalachians.
I was a through hiker in 1975. I lack 700 miles that I hitchhiked around. so I never claim to have hiked the whole thing.
Read a good book, "The Complete Walker" by Collin Fletcher.
How to prepare to hike long distances, not a looser book.
Sorry, just my 2 cents. 
Leave the rifle at home, get a North American Firearms, 22mag


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## stick-n-string (Aug 8, 2011)

Ive only hiked about 200 miles of the AT and i promise you do not wanna carry a rifle with you! You wanna carry as little as you can get away with! 
Most importantly have good boots that are broken in good BEFORE you go and have clean socks! You deffinetly wanna take care of your feet!


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## SigEp614 (Aug 10, 2011)

stick-n-string said:


> Ive only hiked about 200 miles of the AT and i promise you do not wanna carry a rifle with you! You wanna carry as little as you can get away with!
> Most importantly have good boots that are broken in good BEFORE you go and have clean socks! You deffinetly wanna take care of your feet!



I second this.  Carry as little weight as possible while still having the essentials.  As for a gun, I carried my KelTec .380 just to make me feel better.  Its small enough where the weight wasn't an issue.


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## cheeber (Aug 10, 2011)

I would also recommend the book "A Walk in the Woods" for humor and to get a sense of what you are up against.  The Author does have a bit of a pompous attitude about southerners, but can be taken with a grain of salt.

I also highly recommend "Just Passing Thru" (http://www.mountaincrossings.com/justpassinthru.aspx).  Which is a group of short stories written by the individual that quit corporate life to buy and run the hiker supply store / hostel at Neels Gap.  Name of the store is Mountain Crossing.  It’s a group of short stories that 15 to 45 minutes to read each, so if you’re like me it’s easy to pick up and put down + pick it up again 2 weeks later.


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## huntmore (Aug 12, 2011)

and don't go during the blizzard of the century!!!


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