THE GAME

Applachian Trail places you in the boots of a hiker whose goal is to walk the entire length of the 2000-mile Trail from Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. Your journey begins in April as soon as the southern part of the Trail is clear of snow, and you must reach the northern terminus before the early snowfalls block the Presidential Mountain Range in New Hampshire.

Along the way, you encounter the same hazards reported in the diaries of hundreds of hikers. Some are natural hazardsprolonged heavy rain, late snowstorms, poison ivy; others are physical problemshypothermia, excessive weight loss, blisters; and still other problems involve difficulties with equipmenttorn raingear, worn-out boots, and broken zippers. It is not easy to complete the Appalachian Trail, but your chances of success will be better if you remember the following:

Careful planning is important. When deciding what to pack, you must make many trade-offsgenerally among comfort, weight, and food.
Your method of food supply has a great effect on the success of your hike. You must choose one of the following methods:
Bury caches of food along the trail. This has to be done prior to your hike and requires a great deal of planning.
Purchase food as you go along. This is the cheapest method, but requires time-consuming off-trail excursions.
Have a friend send food to post offices along the way. This is one compromise that works well for many hikers, but this method also requires a great deal of planning.
The nutritional value of your food is important. You must decide how many calories you want to replenish each day and how to get them from each of the five food groups.
Prepare carefully and deal intelligently with the obstacles you encounter, and five million steps later you can join the elite group of fewer than 2000 hikers who have completed the Appalachian Trail. Happy hiking!

