FIRST TIME BACKPACKER // Appalachian Trail // MY EXPERIENCE 

Very well put together. Thank you, Elsa.

What an amazing journey! Thank you for sharing it with us. And a video well made. I love the music when you encountered the tourists lol. Good job Elsa. You did it! Both the 42 miles hike and editted an amazing video ❤️❤️❤️

I always take something away when I watch your videos!

if you come back this way again. at the southern terminus, hike the BMT rather than the AT. starts at springier also. 300+ miles. through 2 wilderness study areas. touches jyoce kilmer forest, one of the last prime evil forest in the east. has some of the very last american chestnut trees. can also do the AT/BMT loop 542 mi. figure 8 right back to your starting point. i live adjacent to a bear reserve, i have to laugh at everybody worrying about them so much. good video.

Seeds give you energy even when you just hold them in your hand. Good job on the tree nuts. They have stored energy. Thoroughly enjoyed this video as I do most of them. Thank you for sharing as always.

Yeah, maybe they only will eat one and get full. Very nice vid, thanks.

Cave, fire + sharp stick= so very 20,000 BC haha. Rudimentary.

@@tomjenkins2742 The secret is to not be on the edge of the group.

@@slappy8941 or hike with a least one person who run slower than you

@@@jeanbonneau6711 or wear a bear costume

Yeah this is a great video, we love backpacking.

Tim Knaak yes I agree

This is so true! I stopped my cable subscription 3 years ago and haven't looked back👍

It's a global trend.

Honestly, there's so much more compelling content on RU-vid than any television production.

Didn’t see it like this but now that you mention it I sounds like the narration of a 16 wishes movie 😂

You're alls awesome amazing smart wows wezzz indeed beautiful ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ we love you're video!! Thanks 😊😊👍

stay strong you got this

🤍🤍🤍

Get well soon buddy 👍

Sending you well wishes and prayers 💛🙏🏽💛🙏🏽

I hope you got your “ cancer free” feeling by now sweetheart ❤️❤️

Nut butter*

@@Strawberrypersonoffixial Nut

And yet I'm still not sure which one I am

They are so innovative honestly

who said this when??

I ALWAYS want to go on a hike.

I'm in, where do we start!

I’ll be in the smoky mountains on Sunday! This videos getting me hyped!

Y’all have never hiked a day in yalls life😂. She makes it sound a lot better than it actually is out there

@@fletcherhi131 sounds like you're the one who's never been on a hike in your life. At least no a real hike. Otherwise, you'd know better.

I know, isn't that awesome?!

@@ElsaRhae OH WHAT you replied so quick! i only just now found your channel and it's really fun to watch! i've been in scouting for 8 years now and am a venture company president so your channel is really fun to watch. :D

​@@arctic_angel7408 Always stay strapped in the woods

Jade thank you so much, Jade. 💕

Audio books, by Else and Barron. . great voices! Yup

Totally agree!

I agree!

Agreed, I really enjoyed this.

I hate that.

HSP your right .she seems a bit touchy .

@@hgzmatt Yeah, but when she's literally described it as 'ego is in the air' you know that that's not the case.

There's a lot of ego on the AT. That's why there's even a saying to address the un-requested advice: "Hike your own hike."

@@zuzanajedlickova9581 I got that saying from hiking the AT. But it's not strictly my own, Francis Tapon has a book about his backpacking experiences, primary from the AT. Francis Tapon.com/Books/Hike-Your-Own-Hike/

Well said…

Sleeping pads being one of your specialties, could I bother you for your top three recomendations?

What's a "green vest"?

Second the recco on a sleeping pad

i used a sawyer squeeze for my entire 5 day wind rivers trip, it worked great!!

@@austinfreiburger9095 REI outdoor stores employees wear a green vest as part of their uniform. I hope you weren't being sarcastic haha.

She’s so good about admitting when something doesn’t go the right way or doesn’t turn out as expected. Very humble.

Yes, I liked that too! Got a chuckle each time, while nodding my head.

Ive watched this video like 5 times and each time I watch it I love it just as much as the first, this is my favorite RU-vid video maybe ever.

I call those people 'twats'

@@tallyrobinson9438 (snort laughs)

@@tallyrobinson9438 omg...me too. Funny how shocking it seems to be coming from a female. Love the reactions. (I call 'em like I see 'em!) 😂

@@tallyrobinson9438 ?

I mean.... he wasn’t wrong. gear surveys for thru hikers consistently show the mini squeeze is really obnoxious to use and disliked. otoh the standard sawyer squeeze is much more performant.

Cheers

LOL

Hell yeah! You gotta start somewhere, and once you do: it’s aaaalllll good :)

If I learned anything from my military experience is that Drill Sergeants yelling at you will make you walk like never before. So yell people into walking, not out of walking

Huge difference between friendly advice and offering tips you’ve learned than gloating how much more prepared you are. Not sure how that makes anyone feel better. I would be the crazy person sharing my food etc cause I would feel badly being more prepared.

Túrin yessss

Just adopt that long-distance unfocused stare.... wait for a break then mutter vaguely "Oh sorry, I drifted off there for a min..." and walk away to get busy with your pack or something. They like to have a captive audience, but you choose where to place your attention, don't let them sap your mojo.

Rocky Mt spotted tick disease and Lyme disease are no joke

Schiehallion is a lovely hike. Hiking in nature really helps me manage my anxiety, there’s something about it that really calms me and reminds me to calm the hell down and just enjoy myself for a while. I hope things improve for you!

I’m glad you’re still here ♥️

I get hikers high sometimes when I'm in a perfect cadence going up a mountain. Somehow it feels so good all of a sudden. You just wanna keep going in this rhythm.

IShallNot BeSilent I’m SO glad to hear this feedback. Thank you so much. It was weeks and weeks of work!!

My thoughts exactly, although yours are way more eloquent!!

@@kellyvankirk2332 I have to agree! Beautiful video and wonderfully written notes left behind. I wanna go hiking and bring my 4 teenagers along for the amazing journey I know it'd be!! 👏💗👣👣👣👣

Do you still go on the paved trails in the Smokies? They are some beautiful one's.

Omg this broke my heart, I can relate, not personally but my mom when she was 18yrs old got hit by a drunk driver and was in s full body cast, her whole vertebrae was smashed and she has a metal rod in place and will walk with crutches for the rest of her life, shes the strongest person I know but it breaks my heart she cant expierance life like everyone else, and the asshole that hit her never paid for what he did 😥...sending u some love and positivity from CT 💞

It's never too late. Follow your dreams so you won't regret the life you lived.

Rose, I hiked the PCT for 6 months this year and saw a lot of people in their 60's, 70's, and a few in their 80's hiking. Unless you have a specific medical reason you can't hike, I say please don't count yourself out yet. It's never too late.

I know someone who climbed Everest in his 60s. He trained for 4 years, just one day at a time, and doing smaller climbs.

@@jennm8893, I was an avid backpacker, canoer, some climbing but never did the entire trail but 100's of miles in different states, crossed the country and backpacked the most beautiful treasures we have here, deserts, some of the PCT, continental divide, etc, etc. 6yrs back I fractured seven vertebrae racing dirtbikes. I will have those memories for the rest of my life but I miss the trail/journey of the unknown, every day! I would solo more towards the later yrs which was most exciting. I still work hard to stay mobile but those days are gone. Honestly, when I go to sleep I do not know what the next day will bring, the standard daily pain or the excruciating life-sucking pain. I'm not looking for sympathy but it felt relieving to put it in writing. Memories, oh, sweet memories. Anyone have a working spine in their garage? All those still backpacking, keep me in mind on the trail, Peace!

@ Rose, I was thinking the same thing!

Yeah! No one ever showed me that. Great advice. Getting up and running in the morning is tricky but he made it sound really relaxing and low pressure.

This was a great comment, thank you!!

Highly recommend Fireball Whiskey, a soft body flow of cinnamon warmth.

The GU Energy Refillable Flask for Sports Nutrition Energy Gel it is reusable and never had one leak while on ultra runs. Personally i would do the whiskey but i like the way you think.

Jello shots might work in them -- made with tequila of course

Plastic miniatures !!

I hope ali and Stacy see all these recommendations! 🙌🏼 thanks you guys

Kimberly you can do it!! Make it your goal to travel or backpack at least one place this year. No matter how small of a trip. Are you in the US?

@@valerieblomquist1253 Yes. I live in new york city, but I only have $300 and I don't have a job yet lol

Kimberly well the biggest national park in the US is just north of you, you heard of the Adirondacks? There’s also the Catskills mountains near you too. Those are both really cool and have many miles of hiking. Idk how much a bus ticket or transportation would be but you could make $300 stretch! Or try finding a job!! Best of luck to you❤️

Kimberly also I would really recommend you go with at least one buddy. Be safe out there

@@valerieblomquist1253 Thanks, I'll try to research those. But unfortunately, it's difficult to find someone who wants to go hiking or even traveling with me. I just recently moved to nyc and I haven't met someone who I'm comfortable with enough to go hiking with me. My family is also really busy and we rarely have time off from school/work at the same time.

Wildwood Vagabond I’m so, so glad you enjoyed it!!!!

I can almost hear Barron saying “It puts the lotion in the basket!” He’s not creepy, he just sounds like the dude from “Silence of the Lambs”

Considering the trail attracts hikers from all over (Oregon and Missouri in this case), his options were limitless as the entries in the journal/notebook didn't include names and addresses. I muted the video and reread the entry using a laughable Boston 'chowderhead' accent, then again using a ridiculous Brooklyn accent, and a third time using an annoying California accent with ample vocal fry and upspeak. All amusing and just as absurdly exaggerated as Barron's take. Good gnat and sleep tat. ; )

At 52 years old I agree 100%. That's why this year we are going to get our asses off the couch, away from the desks, and outside more!

Word

I could never do city life.

I’m a really outdoorsy person but I might be weird with this but I can find peace in the city like Chicago and new York in the very early morning it’s cool and calm but then around 9-10 that goes away quick

yeah as much as i love living in a city you have to retreat to nature every once in a while

Try Homemade Wanderlust she hiked the AT and the PCT and has some great videos.

Kraig Adams style is cool

Gatewood Brown has great videos & awesome editing, but he is more kayak/camping.

Vivi Lee check out Adventure Archives

Watch Lars Monsen.

I think they just want to help with all the experience under their belts.

You just need better shoes than they had. Wearing sandals is just calling for injury and injuring your ankle while hiking is not fun.

I got a message from someone here asking about Tanka Bars but I couldn’t find the comment to reply to so I’m posting it here. Tanka Bars are available from Amazon and Walmart as well as many health food stores - but, if you want to know more about the folks who started it, check here at the following link for the Real People, making Real Food. All the rest are non-Native imitators. www.tankabar.com/cgi-bin/nanf/public/main.cvw

IMO Epic Bars have a dog food esque taste. Going to give Tanka Bars a try

@@BillNealElkWhistle - Excellent. Thanks for sharing. Will check them out.

Tanka bars are great...love 'em. Weren't available when I was young and backpacking, darn it.

@@mackmcnasty27 yes, that's what I thought,....they tasted like what dog food smells like. Not even my squirrels would eat it! LOL

He was trying to help, say if you hiking and had a tarp with a hole in it and a guy offered you a new tarp to borrow would you call him rude for offering you a more expensive tarp?

The squeeze is much better.

@@danielnichols1823 He was trying to show off his high dollar filter. Ive met a lot of them hiking. They do it for all the wrong reasons. I own that filter, its fine. That guy is a douche.

​@@danielnichols1823 True that would be really nice of him, if he were offering to let her borrow his filter. I think this situation was more like: you're hiking with a cheap tarp and a guy walks up to you and tells you his tarp is better, then walks away lol. bit more annoying then.

Depends a lot on how he put it but IMO squeeze is not great, used it for a long time on the PCT before I switched to a befree and I will never go back.

Smith & Wesson Try not to kill anyone with your paranoia.

Story of my life Everytime we go camping 😂

Same. 😂

That’s because you’re a paranoid schizophrenic

Well there is a lost shelter it doesn't exist on any new map..it's was decommissioned becuse of murders that happens in like the late 70's .. I forget what trail it happen on but there's a vid on youtube

People like that just really p*** me off. I tend to believe they are trying to mask their own insecurities.

@Jason Bordeau Your opening sentence say's it all for me. There's an area in the mountain's I enjoy hiking into. I only go in about 2 miles or so, depending on my energy level. I like to setup my tarp, have a small fire if there are no restrictions, read, practice on a skill I'm trying to acquire. Take a nap! Simply put, enjoying one more day out. I was approached by two "younger" male's earlier this year that questioned why I didn't walk further, my selection of backpack, my stove was too heavy and I should get such and such. You get the picture. I just smiled, thanked them for their input, wished them well, then off they went. Smiling smugly with themselves. I usually keep to myself, and have little to say. I'm not stuck up really, but I learn much more by listening than I do by talking. I watched them as they walked away, and wondered, if they make it to my age, 69, and part of their story is having to survive a stroke among other things, will they be so full of themselves? I actually let it discourage me for a bit, but I realized it's my story and journey. I'll live it the best I can, and hoped those two will learn a few things along their journey. Be safe. Happy trails. Roger

So Mr. Filter Man wasn't wrong... it's not that great of a filter for the AT (though I own one and use it on the trail)... I think it's more of his approach of communicating that may have been offputting... or sharing to begin with. If she wasn't interested in learning more about filters, no need to push his knowledge on someone else.

@@OneNvrKnoz I prefer the standard Sawyer filter for every trail I've ever been on. The Mini isnt the fastest or the best out there, but it is more than adequate for a 4 day trip on the AT ha.

@@TheSyntheticOmega Completely concur!

How did it go? I'm thinking about doing the same thing, but everyone Ik says it's crazy to plan such a long hike for my first.

how big was your pack??

@Elle P. How did it go? Got any tips? I'm heading out next month!

I've never camped in my entire life lol but would love to go camping with you ❤️

Katherine you sound wise. Learn and build up to such a serious trip. I learned a lot at the bwca. Get a mentor and a hiking partner. There is hiking club s everywhere.

Elsa yy are so e and tough.

Was eticks warm up helpful.

Hiking is amazing it's really helped me with my PTSD.

😂😂

Yes! Exactly this!

I loved Eric's warmup advice as well, and will refer back to it if I ever go backpacking again!