Question about hitting 500 miles on the AT and feeling nothing, when mile 100 wrecked me
I crossed 500 total miles on the Appalachian Trail near Damascus last October and honestly felt flat, while my first 100 miles out of Georgia had me crying at every overlook. My buddy who has thru hiked twice says the middle chunk is just a job you walk, but everyone online swears every mile gets better. Does the hype fade for most people after the first big milestone, or did I just plan my food drops badly?
Most people who say every mile gets better are the ones who quit before the middle and never had to find out. The flat feeling is normal because your body has adjusted and the scenery in Virginia and Tennessee just looks like more woods after a while. Bad food drops would make you tired, not numb, so this is probably just what the long haul actually feels like.