Things no one tells you about thru hiking l Post Appalachian Trail Video Series

Hello! My name is Bad Bat, and I recently COMPLETED the Appalachian Trail. If you want to tag along on my outdoor adventures, don't forget to subscribe!

Instagram: @badbathikes

#filmora #appalachiantrail #thruhike

[danielkutcher]

I attempted a thruhike on the AT this year. I hiked alone most of the time. A couple of times, I partnered up with someone who had a similar pace, but only for a week or two. I turned 70 in July and got off trail with a meniscus tear from a slip and fall in the mud in New Hampshire in late September.
Type 2 fun is REAL!
The emotional roller coaster is real!
"Accidents" are, unfortunately, very real! 😮
The push for miles is real!
I got so much support from so many people! I felt that I let them down when I left the trail, even though I left because of injury.
I didn't do food shipments to post offices. I bought dried foods at markets along the way, enjoying the challenge of putting together a different menu every time I shopped. I cooked "town food" in every hostel with a kitchen. I often led the effort to do group dinners there whenever I could, and there was always extra for hikers who just showed up. It made my day making theirs.
Walking alone was good. Camping and eating with others was better. Friendships made around the dinner table were instantaneous, genuine, and lasting.
I didn't complete the journey, but I enjoyed the 💩 out of it. I will try again as soon as I heal up.
Tinker, halfway, 2023.

[susanb]

And this is why people rooted for you Badbat.

[Bohonk]

Things no one told me about afterwards:
*Hiker hunger continues for months after your hike. Amazing how fast your old weight returns
*The feeling of having cotton balls stuffed between your toes lasts for over a year.
*The urge to head directly to the small packaged food section of a grocery store lasts months.

[karenfarrell]

Out of the gate you had me laughing…”nobody knows anything” … all great info and you are a gem 🌻

[thecreativecountrycrafter]

Wonderful video! So glad you felt everyone rooting for you! I sure was! I still am as navigate this new trail life has taken you down and I know you will make it! You're may favorite!

[alisondickinson]

This is spot on! Good job.
Even with people around you on the Trail, ultimately you hike alone. I found myself thinking long thoughts about my past and struggling with many of those memories. A few times I wept as I walked, weighed down by bad decisions, lost loves and family, things I said or did that were not unforgivable but unforgettable, at least for me.
There was also this shock going back into “civilization” and finding out about current events, as though you thought time had stood still.

[ericgamble]

This was very interesting, very informative, & very cool! At age 74, with a body slowly falling apart, am still camping & doing day hikes. Discovered your channel only very recently & have been watching your series from the beginning. Grew up near the trail in VA & greatly enjoy seeing places from my earlier life. YOUR videos are wonderful. Love your positive attitude & constructive comments. Keep up the great work!

[worklesstrekmore]

I absolutely love your honestly while on trail and off. I have watched 100's and yours continues to be 100% truth. Last spring I hiked 400 miles and let the mind chatter and straight ups and downs take me off. Im going back in the spring to pick up where I left and complete the journey, with a different mindset of course. Thank you for being authentically you.

[JeffJensen]

Virtually every thru-hiker does this type follow-up video, but none that I’ve seen have been so entertaining and enjoyable. And as far as everyone rooting for you? I think it’s safe to say that you’ve had, and still have, 5k+ people rooting for you! Even after your thru-hike is done your videos are a highlight of my week - and always leave me smiling! ❤❤❤❤❤

[amynapier]

Love this. It's very true about sense of distance. People make fun because walking long distance is not a big deal when they want to hop in their cars to get somewhere in less than a mile.

[isabellakathleen]

Love, love, love to hear everyone is rooting for you!!! I am planning an A.T. thru- hike nobo in 2024.

[lisamiller]

I am so happy you out there still making videos! You kept it real!

[carolczina]

Love it, your perspective is simultaneously familiar to us home watchers and dreamers, and also charmingly unique. Keep us in the loop.

[rebeccarossi]

Love this - definitely want a video on biggest regrets while hiking and what you would do differently if and when you re hike. I hiked in 2000:and again in 2003. Will do it once more for sure ~ I love your videos because so much has changed and so much has stayed the same

[edwarddemedeiros]

You are absolutely correct that people making videos only show the highlight, show the happy trail. Thank you so much for the most refreshing trail video I've seen in YEARS!

[TeeGreen]

No sense of time? You just described my life as a retiree! 😂

[coastalfarmhouse]

BB do a video about how your diet/eating has changed since coming off the AT. Do you crave your fav snacks you ate on trail or are you sick of them? Is your body reacting to more/less calories now compared to calories/foods on AT? Weight gain? Continue to lose weight? Etc. I hope my line of questions make sense.

[watch-Dominion-]

excellent video. About Type 2 fun, in early 2012 a bunch of us hiked from Lake Pedder to Cockle Creek in Tasmania, and every day was a solid wall of waste-deep mud, dense scrub in all directions with only a narrow barely-visible path, and it never stopped raining. I was so glad to have my oiled canvas long coat with me for that. I was barefoot for most of it, as were a few others. We got lost a few times, had arguments, and three people had to fly out halfway due to illness & injuries. Every night when we reached a camp spot, it was like finding an island in the middle of the sea of mud. Each morning when we stepped out onto the trail we were hit with the 10 hour pain to get through. But every moment of that hike is still burned into my mind as the most real time of my life. Senses were heightened, and by the end I felt like I could keep going forever. Great hikes really come down to the people you do them with, I've found.

[direwolf_adventure]

Thanks for the tips and encouragement. I step off in March 2024, and this was sooo helpful ❤

[forrestwhite]

I’m glad for your continued updates and love your attitude. As the saying goes “your attitude determines your attitude”