Packing on the AT

C

CanDo

Joined
Mar 10, 2006
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Hello,

In 18 months, I'll be setting off on the 2200 mile Appalachian trail from Georgia to Maine. How best do you think I should go about carrying a gun? By that point, I'll have at least a FID card, and at most, a concealed carry license in my home state of MA. Would it be a very bad idea to bring a handgun along if it's very accessible but out of sight? I don't plan on anyone but my hiking partners knowing of it, but we all know how word can get around. Do you forsee any major problems or would park officials be cool with it? Is there anything I can do at the federal level that would help?
 
Geez. Be careful. So many laws, in so many states. And some of those hardcore AT guys don't even like seeing knives.
 
You can not legally carry a gun in any national park. If you get caught with it, you can potentially lose your right to carry a gun forever.
 
CanDo said:
Hello,

In 18 months, I'll be setting off on the 2200 mile Appalachian trail from Georgia to Maine. How best do you think I should go about carrying a gun? By that point, I'll have at least a FID card, and at most, a concealed carry license in my home state of MA. Would it be a very bad idea to bring a handgun along if it's very accessible but out of sight? I don't plan on anyone but my hiking partners knowing of it, but we all know how word can get around. Do you forsee any major problems or would park officials be cool with it? Is there anything I can do at the federal level that would help?
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Although I would probably do it, I can not urge you strongly enough to NOT carry a firearm if you plan on thru-hiking the AT. The chance of you getting in legal trouble out-weighs by far the chance of you actually needing the firearm. You will have to make up your own mind on this one though. It is your life and liberty.

As for the AT. From your post it seems you are planning a north-to-south thru hike. Is this correct? It is definitely more challenging doing it in that direction. I've often thought that if I was going to do the whole AT at once I would like to be different than the rest and do it from Maine to Georgia. Way to go and stay motivated.
 
You will have problems in the National Parks, New York, and perhaps others. You can get a permit that will cover most states except New York and of course the national parks. I would get a canister of Bear Spray to stay on the safe side. I know how you feel, but the laws are not going to change any time soon, and you are bound to run into people along the way and someone will eventually see it.
 
Well, that's rather disheartening. I'll be doing a lot more reading and thinking on the matter - maybe a handmade caplock pistol is the way to go; even in MA, they're not classified as firearms. More research...

Eyegor, I initially liked the idea of No. to So., for the sake of being different, but pretty quickly changed my mind. This is basically because I'd much rather finish on top of a mountain in New England than in some woods in Georgia. It'll be much more fun and easy to stay motivated in the mountains than in the hot, flat, buggy lands of the south.


A little bit of research turned up this sort of thing:
Besides it is a fact that if one would bring a gun it is more likely to be used against the owner and others in your hiking group than being an effective weapon against an attacker.
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A fact, eh? Go ahead and prove it. It's scary that people with this mentality are supposed to be leading our nation.
 
"A fact, eh? Go ahead and prove it. It's scary that people with this mentality are supposed to be leading our nation."

I don't know of any studies that have been done specifically on hiking groups but that idiotic old saw has been around for many years concerning guns in the home. Dr. Gary Kleck of Florida State University set out to prove that theory and ended up proving the exact opposite and was scientist enough to publish his results and admit he was wrong. This was in the mid eighties when FSU was consistently one of the top three (and frequently number one) colleges of criminology.
 
Get used to it. I was on an ultralight hiking forum once and was astounded to see a guy being attacked for carrying a SAK. They said it was a weapon and wasn't needed!!! What the hell? More reading and more shock. Nobody carried a knife!! Taboo even!
 
in NY a cap and ball pistol becomes afull fledged pistol when accompanied by ammo,powder,caps,or all three in a loaded condition. You can not stay legal and carry on the full trail. Of course staying legal and staying safe are decisions only you can make for yourself. Look at alternate/improvised weaponry and DO take a self defense course. Even a 1 day private course with someone who teaches "street fighting" will go a long way in keeping you safe. A nice stout walking stick and a little training will get you through most encounters. That and stay alert to folks around you.
 
Bill,
Thanks for the info on NY law.

Fiddleback,
Fiddleback said:
Get used to it. I was on an ultralight hiking forum once and was astounded to see a guy being attacked for carrying a SAK. They said it was a weapon and wasn't needed!!! What the hell? More reading and more shock. Nobody carried a knife!! Taboo even!
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I think that carrying 1.5 lbs of 17" khukuri would be well worth it just to run into a couple of these guys :)
 
CanDo said:
Bill,
Thanks for the info on NY law.

Fiddleback,

I think that carrying 1.5 lbs of 17" khukuri would be well worth it just to run into a couple of these guys :)
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LOL. I admire your zeal. But I recommend a nice lightweight mora, and a SAK. JMHO. I mean. carry a walking stick so you can beat off the do gooders and all. But a Khuk is heavy stuff bro.
 
Simple strategy, strength in numbers.

A few of my co-workers when I worked at Eastern Mountain Sports were through hikers of the AT. I asked them about security on the trail and they said it was congested at times and very solitary at others. When traveling through "rough" areas or sketchy parts of the trail, they hiked with friends they met along the way. With 2000 miles, you have plenty of time to be by yourself. Be smart and latch onto groups if possible or at least look like a member of a group when traveling in a questionable area.
 
Farnsrocket,

People mostly, but rabid animals or psychopathic bears are out there too.

savagesicslayer said:
Ever consider a hawk? Light and not to expensive and you can play it off as your camp ax.
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A good suggestion as well. I'll be doing a lot more hiking this summer and that should give me a better idea of what I am capable of packing and of what I want to be packing. Two or three weeks into the trail, I may be carrying different things than when I set out...

My definitive list so far:

~Mora 510
~Leatherman Charge XTI
~Sleeping bag and pad
~Army Firesteel

Good thing I still have 18 months! So far there is one person going with me, and maybe one or two more will join us, so that should help out a lot as far as splitting up gear such as cooking equipment.

I'll probably end up revolving SD tools in and out depending on the terrain, how I'm feeling, and local laws. Maybe in lieu of a handgun, I'll just wear a "I <3 my Glock" T-shirt :).
 
Careful- there are different legal definitions that even include pop guns. Ours reads any device that expels a projectile by expanding gas. That about covers them all.:) regards, ss.
 
I agree to stay in the law. If I was going to carry though I would carry my airweight J-frame. I usually keep it holstered in my pocket and can index it easily enough without anyone being the wiser. Low capacity, low power, but I did use it in defense of my life against a pack of wild dogs and it was instrumental. I never go unarmed on the trail now.

I agree that a stout walking stick is a great idea. That and an easily accesible fixed blade may be more than enough, back that with pepper spray and I think you should be fine.
 
And who knows savagesicslayer he may actually use it as a camp axe ;) The walking stick/pole sounds good to me, go check out a kung fu, Chinese style self defence class they sometimes use a pole and very effectively.

I've heard about this trail and from all reports you'll be popin' into towns all the way along so I'd keep as legal as you can, also from a long walk point of view go light it's better in the long run for your body and when you get to the end you'll still be able to walk!!!! :)
 
Sorry, i don't post much, but thought i would contribute here...

I hiked 1000miles of the AT in 2002..i carried a locking folder and the smallest sak-the one that goes on keychains. i never really needed anything else. i used the folder rarely and the sak for little things like cutting fingernails, getting splinters out, toothpick, ect...

personally, i wouldn't take a firearm on the trail just because of the weight....every ounce seemed to matter when i was hiking. i was a fairly experienced backpacker when i left, but every time i had a chance i was mailing things home that i decided that i could do without.

i only saw one confrontation when hiking..and that was at the yearly festival in Damascus, VA....and it wasn't between hikers...just angry drunks. And i only felt uncomfortable once or twice and that was when hitch hiking into towns and it was nice to have a knife handy.

...on a side note-...the only time i almost crapped my pants was in the Smokies...i was fixing breakfast one foggy morning and this guy wearing a camo poncho appeared out of the fog. well, the wind blew away his poncho as he was walking up to the shelter and i saw that he was carrying what looked like a machine gun...

before i could crap my pants, he told me he was a park ranger...he was hunting wild boar with some type of modified AR-15 that had a suppressor (sorry don't know much about firearms, but the rifle looked really smooth)...anyway...he was hunting these pigs at night along the AT, shooting them and dragging them off the trail for the bears to eat. we ended up talking for a while and he was a nce guy.

sorry for the long post, just thought i'd throw in my 2cents and a funny story. best of luck on the trail, its a great experience.

Aaron
 
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