Population Control on the A.T.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy Association (ATCA) introduced voluntary self-registration for the Appalachian Trail this year to try and relax the toll of overcrowding. Overcrowding has only negative consequences on the trail: shelters are crammed, vegetation gets trampled, and, to put it plainly, there’s just aren’t enough spots to poop.

Between March 1 and April 1 as many as 50 hikers set out each day from Springer Mt. in Georgia. Although the ATCA is hoping to avoid the crowded, party-like atmosphere this can create, they are more concerned by the fact that the trail simply isn’t designed to support such a concentration of hikers.

Given the popularity of the 2015 long distance hiking film “Wild”, the ATCA is anticipating even more problems of overcrowding. Enter self-registration. Registering on the ATCAs website allows prospective hikers to anticipate crowded start dates and adjust accordingly. Bonus: hikers who register also get a sweet little tag with the A.T. logo and the 7 Leave No Trace principles.

So I registered our hike last week: May 12, Springer Mountain, baby! To me, it makes perfect sense. Nobody wants regulations or, heaven forbid, a trail cap and nobody wants overcrowding, this provides a solution.

We’re starting our hike in mid-May because it’s the week after I finish school, but the lucky fact-of-the-matter is that it’s necessary for the well-being of a beloved trail. I hope to be one of many hikers inaugurating this shiny, new system.