The famous Appalachian Trail is 2,190+ miles of scenic views, freezing nights, and sweltering hot days. The path runs between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. From south to north, the trail passes through a total of states: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
The Trail is free to walk along, although it does pass through a few parks which charge fees or require permits to camp out.
A recent article in Philadelphia Inquirer got us talking about infamous journey that thousands of people embark on every year. The newspaper’s feature was about the tough terrain hikers endure during the stretch of trail through Pennsylvania. The 229 miles through PA have been nicknamed “Rocksylvania,” a.k.a. “hell,” “the meat grinder,” “the ankle roller,” a place where hiking boots go to die.”
But there is a positive spin to this nightmare! We learned that to conquer the nearly six-month adventure, true trail connoisseurs also partake in a series of different silly challenges.
MMR listeners told us about one challenge that takes place along the most dreaded section of trail in Pennsylvania. After hearing about this challenge, it made us interested in what other dares accompany the trail.
Some are sanctioned challenges, and some are only word of mouth (or word of Reddit, blogs, etc.) Read on and maybe get inspired.
