AT Quiz Answers!

Alright all you bashful readers, we know you read the quiz blog because we have access to that kind of info (we've got spies everywhere), but it seems that only a few of you were brave enough to answer. Of those courageous few, we are officially proclaiming Littlefoot the champion. Congrats, Littlefoot! All of the answers are listed below.

1) There are roughly 165,000 white blazes marking the AT from Georgia to Maine. Volunteers all over the 14 trail states contribute to the blazing and maintenance of the trail.

2) At the time that we posted the quiz, we had hiked 531 miles. As of this post, we have hiked 587.

3) We have hiked in 4 different states - Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. We'll be in VA for about a month as about one fourth of the trail is in this state.

4) We have thankfully only dropped one item over the side of a mountain. It was only a quart-sized Gatorade bottle, but one would have guessed it was a prized possession if they had heard the way we shouted "Gatorade, noooooo!" as we watched it slowly roll down the mountain.

5) We saw 1 bobcat and we're pretty pumped about it. The bobcat is nearly as elusive on the trail as a clean-shaven, showered hiker.

6) We have seen 13 snakes, and Bearcub is nearly as big of a fan of them as she is of spiders.

7) We've seen 2 of those snakes trying to eat something alive. We saw one that had a lizard by the leg, and another was wrapped around a cute baby mouse. Bearcub was traumatized after that one. I admit it was a bit difficult to watch. Then again if a snake saw me eating wings he'd probably be a bit traumatized as well. Sometimes nature ain't pretty.

8) We have seen zero wild boar, so this answer is also kind of a bore.

9) It took 46.5 days for Jennifer Davis to complete the fastest thru-hike on record in 2011.

10) The AT goes through 14 states.

11) At the time of the quiz post, I had fallen twice and Bearcub had once. However, a few hours after that post, Bearcub evened the score with one of those slow motion falls where you know you're going down but there's nothing you can do about it. Luckily, the only thing hurt was her pride.

12) The highest elevation on the AT is at Clingman's Dome in the Smokies at 6,543 feet.

13) A liter of water weighs about 2.2 lbs. Since we start our hike everyday with 2 liters and drink most of it right before we get to the next water source, our pack weight can fluctuate by 4.4 lbs throughout the day without considering the weight of the food we eat each day (a lot).

14) Combined we carry about 4 liters or 8.8 lbs of water.

15) We are currently on our 3rd bear rope. We made a rookie mistake and got the 1st one stuck in a tree, and our 2nd one was low quality so we stripped it multiple times and had to replace it.

16) Combined we have lost 10 pounds of body weight. I've lost 10, and Bearcub has not lost any, but that's because she's gained muscle. We read that by the end of the hike, the men look like famine victims and the women look like super models. So far that seems accurate for us, but Bearcub already looked like a super model before we started. Brownie points!

17) At the time of the quiz post, we had been hiking 56 days. As of today, it has been 60 days.

Alright, I'm guessing that filled your appetite for tedious AT facts.

Until next time...

Guy Line