Appalachian Trail Thru-hiker Study
In 2000, I spent six
months thru-hiking the 2.000+ miles of the
Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. That was a
life-changing experience for me, and from the time I
finished, I knew things just were not going to be the
same from that point on. I made a promise to myself that
every five years, I was going to do "something cool." In
2005, that "something cool" was paddling down the
Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers with my partner, and
now wife, Jessica.
Following my thru-hike, I went to graduate school at Ohio
University. After two years of living in a home-built yurt,
going to classes, and leading trips, I wrote my thesis
under the direction of Dr. Matt Zuefle on "Motivations of
Long-Distance Hikers on the Appalachian Trail". In 2004, I
entered the PhD program at North Carolina State University
to study under Dr. Roger Moore. I am currently "on hiatus"
with the program, but intend to go back once "life things"
settle down more.
I am conducting this study of thru-hikers as part of my
continuing interest and research on the Appalachian Trail.
It is adapted from Roland Mueser's 1989 study, my own
thesis, and other related literature. As you well know,
much has changed over the last 18 years, and it is my hope
that this study will be helpful in contributing to the body
of knowledge related to the Appalachian Trail and its
users.
Over 560 thru-hikers completed the thru-hiker survey
conducted online from May - September, 2007. This
represents over one million miles of thru-hiking
experience. I am now in the process of analyzing the data,
and I presented the early preliminary results at the
Appalachian Long Distance Hiker
Association's
2007 Gathering.
If you would like to receive results of the study, or have
any questions or comments, please feel free to
contact
me. For the
latest news and updates on the study, be sure to check
out our blog.
Thank you,
-John Pugh ("Johnny Swank", ME-GA 2000)