>>444835Yeah I'd done a decent amount of hiking before the AT. It was usually week long trips or so, nothing like the 6 months it took me to thru-hike.
I started the trail alone (most people do), but quickly made a lot of friends. Trail community is close knit and people are generally pretty cool and like-minded. I usually would hike by myself though (like my alone time) and meet up with friends for lunch and at the end of the day.
Hardest thing to deal with was probably being in town with my dog. I'd have to tie her up and leave her places when I went to resupply and the like. Other than, mechanical injuries were a pain in the ass.
Lots of non-americans were on trail in 2014. Mostly Germans. I hear there is a German documentary about the AT which would explain that.
