Trek Dirty to Me: 37 days until I start hiking the longest hiking-only trail in the world, and let's talk about protection on the trail for a minute.

If your head went into the gutter, we’re not going to talk about that kind of protection. Weirdly enough, one of the questions that I have been asked the most regarding my upcoming thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail has been regarding how I intend to protect myself from dangers on the trail.

Let me begin by saying that I have been in far more dangerous locations in this world than I will be on the Appalachian Trail. I am aware that a tragedy occurred last year on the trail that made national and global news, but it should be noted that it was as big of an anomaly as can occur. The chance of being murdered on the trail is about 1 in 20 million.

I had a much better chance of getting taken down in the 2008 desert outside of Damascus, or in the particularly sketchy bus stop I was stranded at in the heart of one of Johannesburg’s most dangerous areas. To be fair, I have an infinitely better chance at being murdered in my home town of Indianapolis than I do on the trail. I am not worried about this particular issue.

I am not worried about being assaulted on the trail. Again, the Appalachian Trail is remarkably safe corridor, and people just generally don’t fuck with me in the first place. So this is not a concern of mine.

Black bears are like giant raccoons and will typically scatter if they see or hear me on the trail. I plan to practice safe food storage with my Bearikade Weekender bear canister and Leave No Trace principles while in camp. Thus, bears do not worry me.

I have gone 39 years of my life without being bitten by any sort of snake (despite quite a bit of black and king snake wrangling that I did as a kid), particularly the few rattlesnakes and copperheads and black mambas and cobras and brown snakes and red ring black snakes that I have come across. I have been knowledgable in venomous snake bite first aid since before I went through puberty. I don’t plan on my relationship with snakes changing with this hike.

Finally, I have a solid plan to ward off ticks and mosquitos, both of which pose the greatest health and wellness risk to me while on the AT. I assure you that Dr. Mom and I have this covered.

With all of that being said:

1. I do not plan to carry a gun with me on the trail. It’s heavy and frankly impractical. It is going to stay in a locked safe in Indiana.

2. I do not plan to carry bear spray or human spray on the trail. It’s heavy and unneeded. I feel like I am more likely to discharge it into my own eyes anyway, so I will be skipping it for the time-being and reevaluating this in a year when I prepare to travel through grizzly country in the northern part of the Pacific Crest Trail.

3. I do not plan to carry a large knife. My tiny Leatherman multitool will suffice as it has for the past 15 years.

4. I will have means to defend myself in the unlikely scenario that I must do so. I will be ‘armed’ with two pointy carbon fiber trekking poles that wield well. There is a forest of long thin sticks. There is the kickboxing. And I do know Kung Fu.

So don’t fret. I’ve got it covered.

-AJ

As you wish.

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