re: AT Thru Hikers Jack & Bob Ross From BR

quote:

---

And with the gear drops (uber and internet) that everyone uses it's not as if you're weeks off into wilderness. Plus knowing the weather like we do now it'd be easy to drop off the trail and hitch to a hostel.

---

Fair enough. My through hike was back in 2008, so the gear and tech wasn’t nearly as good as it is today. For us, if you needed a food resupply, you were walking or hitching a ride with a stranger into a town. And we had no good way to get a weather report. I’m sure Uber and satellite phones are game changers for hikers.

As far as the Smokies in winter, I’ve heard enough horror stories of people getting stuck in a shelter in a snowstorm at 6000 ft to make me think twice before I’d attempt it. Even with modern weather apps, the weather in the Smokies is notoriously unpredictable and can change with very little warning. I hope those guys make it out okay, good luck to them. But there’s a thin line between adventurous and stupid.