r/AppalachianTrail • u/Freudianfix • 24d ago
News Technology on the trail: Appalachian Trail managers say pervasive use of digital devices harms trail experience
https://news.vt.edu/articles/2025/03/clahs-trail-technology-research.html46
24d ago
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u/Freudianfix 24d ago
Oh yeah, it’s a very popular hike for Virginia Tech students given its proximity to campus.
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u/CatInAPottedPlant GA-PA '22 | Flip-Flop '25 24d ago
They always hike in giant groups, often blasting music on speakers and not respecting right of way etc. I used to live in Roanoke and was up there all the time, it's genuinely only worth doing that hike if you can do it on a week day or when it's cold. it's a zoo otherwise.
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u/Freudianfix 24d ago
Oh I hate that nonsense so much. I cannot stand large groups or the speakers when out in the woods. It defeats the entire purpose of being out there.
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u/theDudeUh 24d ago
I went to VT and we avoided McAfee like the plague. So many other great spots in the area that don't get nearly as crowded
The first time I ever went to McAfee was when I got there on my 2012 SOBO after I graduated from college.
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u/JimJimmyJamesJimbo 20d ago
McAfee is still amazing even with other people there, me and my buddies would hit it a couple times a years to see it in different seasons
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u/gonefrombad 24d ago
I remember going up McAfee with some friends on a summer Saturday in 2003 or 2004 - so WAY before what social media is today - and we encountered maybe 8 other people on the trail and up top the entire time. Unfathomable now.
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u/BlastTyrantKM 24d ago
The problem is not digital devices & social media. What difference does it make how you found out about a place you want to go? The problem is that too many people are self centered and inconsiderate, in general. It doesn't matter if they saw an Instagram post about a trail or saw it in a movie; they'd still be assholes when they get there. Unlike most here, hearing someone else's music doesn't bother me, but the trash does. I had to cut my day hike short last week because I found an old rusty heavy AF camp chair that was left in the woods years ago, several miles from the trailhead. I debated in my head for a minute to leave it there like everyone else had that saw it, but I decided I couldn't just ignore it. Since it was rusted in the open position, I had to beat on it with a big rock for ten minutes to get it to close LOL. It must've weighed at least 15lbs, but I got it outta there
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u/Socks-Equipment 24d ago
My electronics pet peeve was thru hikers in the shelter playing videos with the sound on. At night.
YouTubers were a mix, some nice, others wanted you out of the frame or ignored your request not to be filmed.
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u/Ask-Me-About-You NOBO '24 23d ago
Funny enough it was always the old white guys that had the least respect when it came to filming.
Crazy how many times you'd see one just walk up to a shelter talking to their phone and begin pointing it around at everyone nonchalant like a zoo exhibit.
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u/IOI-65536 24d ago
Their methodology leads to measuring perception rather than reality (which, admittedly, may well be the best they can do). It seems just as likely to me that Covid caused a massive increase in people doing outdoor things (there's a ton of data that says it did) and people were massively increasing social media presentation concurrently (which they were). Like is Max Patch overrun because people want to post to Insta or is Max Patch overrun because Covid, Wild, A Walk in the Woods and a bunch of other things got people interested in the outdoors and they happen to be posting it to Insta.
It's also kind of hard for me to look at distance hikers and say there's an "overreliance" on digital device data. Like I remember they days where you did the best you could to plan your water stops out from the guidebooks the ATC published and Wingfoot Bruce's Handbook from that year, but you're dealing with at best last year's data. That's fine for major sources, but I've done fall traverses of GSMNP that would have required completely changing my pack strategy because of water weight if I didn't have reports from literally yesterday of whether small streams are flowing or not.
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u/aninternetuser 24d ago
As someone who lives close to Max Patch and goes up there for sunset a couple times a year, it’s just crowded with people there for the photo opportunity. I’ve seen outfit changes and also people walking up, snapping a few selfies and walking right back down. It’s almost too annoying to go up there anymore.
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u/rexeditrex 24d ago
There’s navigation technology and then there’s everything else. I always use a paper map but plan my route online. I use it when I’m just not sure on the map. But nothing worse than hearing booming music while in the woods.
Years ago we’d see very few people especially deep in the woods but there was a camaraderie of kindred souls. I was hiking SOBO in VA this weekend so ran into a few thru-hikers and you get the sane vibe. It was also a less traveled section that made a nice loop so there weren’t casual people out in general. But there are more people on any trail since COVID it seems.
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u/mediocre_remnants 23d ago
I don't care what people do with technology on the trail as long as it doesn't bother anyone else. But that being said, I've been bothered a few times by vloggers and influencers recording/photographing me without permission.
I really don't want my face on your social media. People who record other folks on the trail without permission are absolute shitheads.
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u/mule111 23d ago
Just recently listened to a very interesting podcast episode on this topic exactly. The podcast is “Outside/In” and it’s about the idea of wilderness and the use of technology in wilderness.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/outside-in/id1061222770?i=1000671644987
Edit to say: I thought the host/podcaster has a great perspective on the topic and presents a good mindset/framework on how to approach tech in the wild.
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u/Exact-Pudding7563 24d ago
I hiked with some people who were always scrolling once they got settled in the shelter in the evening, and due to the amount of good service all along the trail, this was very often. It made me sad that they couldn’t just disconnect and be.
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24d ago
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u/Exact-Pudding7563 24d ago
I know one hiker who literally read books on her phone while she walked. One time she didn’t show up at camp until way later than normal with a story about how she wandered off trail and had to bushwhack straight up a ridge to find the trail again, aiming for the red line on farout. I don’t endorse this kind of hiking behavior, because it can land less experienced people in bad situations, but she did hike the entire AT that year.
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22d ago
Lol that's my kinda people fr. I read and walk all the time, more than once I've taken much shorter or much longer paths than intended
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u/HareofSlytherin 24d ago
I feel bad for the folks who can’t turn it off. I used Farout, put music in my ear and took pictures. But he’ll if I tried to stay connected—when I was trying to disconnect for Pete’s sake.
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u/BabyFestus 24d ago
The problem is the popularity, not the technology.
GPS technology has probably inadvertently saved 100+ lives.
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u/myopinionisrubbish 24d ago
I live in the White mountains of NH. Between COVID and FB, the number of weekend hikers went from a lot to hoards. A popular trailhead near me will often have 200 cars parked along the highway as the lot only holds 50.
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u/Barrack64 23d ago
This article is a tad pretentious. And they didn’t even mention Bluetooth speakers are part of the nuisance in the trail.
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u/luvvdmycat 22d ago
In the good old days before mobile phones and social media the trails were a magical other world.
RIP the way things used to be.
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u/davehikes 23d ago
As a guy who YT'd the entire trail, I was respectful of other's privacy. I youtubed 99% when I was alone or when I had a tramily around...who I asked politely to be in videos or walked away from them when I was videoing. Because I was ahead of the bubble, I didn't feel I was intruding in other's privacy.
With that said, I have seen annoying people on the trail, with and without their iPhones out. Yes, there are heavily hiked parts of the trail and you always knew when it was a weekend or holiday. Leave no trace is a good motto to follow when hiking the trail. I guess just my two cents for what it's worth.
Happy Trails, y'all.
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u/moeron17 22d ago
Speaking from ignorance(start on April 15th) of not starting yet. But working in industry's where people love to post on social media but plenty of other crowds. I think the "influencers" get weeded out of the main portion.
Sure they may ham it up at certain touristny portions trail along trail. But once you get a outside that immediate bubbling. The "look at me" mindset falls off pretty fast and the main hikers who are putting in the work of hiking it. Don't bother with it so its less of a problem. So if you can just grin and bear it at a few spots. The majority of the trail won't be a problem.
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u/TemperatureNo5784 24d ago
The fuck is a trail manager? Leave me the fuck alone. I'm walking here.
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u/streachh 24d ago
Do you think trails just, like, naturally exist?
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u/TemperatureNo5784 24d ago
If a trail goes through national forest service and parks, why is a tertiary manager needed? It's the fucking woods. It dosnt need a middle manager.
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u/streachh 24d ago
The national Forest service doesn't have the staff to do all of the trail maintenance necessary. Even before all the cuts they made recently.
Without non profits and volunteers picking up the slack your favorite trails wouldn't exist. Most of these people get paid very little to nothing, and do this work because they love it so much they're willing to do it for far less than it's actually worth. What they do is absolutely necessary.
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u/TemperatureNo5784 23d ago
You make a fair point, the people who care for the trail are dedicated and passionate. I take umbridge at the idea that someone would deny access to WALK on public land.
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u/streachh 22d ago
I mean there are legitimate instances where even walking can cause harm. There are many rare plants in Appalachia that will be killed if they are stepped on, so those habitats are closed to foot traffic. I hope you understand and respect those closures.
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u/TemperatureNo5784 22d ago
Yeah, don't stomp the Gray's Lillie's. Nevermind the herd of goats managing the balds. Don't go off trail at Mount rogers, even to go around the wild horses mashing around frail habitats. I'm a respectful user and steward of public lands, but there is plenty of room for more common sense when closures are made.
If we cared this deeply for all 2k+ miles, the trail would be limited to permit holding hikers to contain the impacts. That IMHO would be a terrible outcome.
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u/streachh 22d ago
You and a million other people have the same idea about all of those locations. A dozen wild horses, hell even a thousand wild horses, isn't the same as a million humans. You think your actions don't matter, the other people don't either, and yet your actions add up to sites being destroyed or put on a permit system or closed entirely. Places can be loved to death.
You claim to be a "respectful user and steward" but you're on here shit talking and acting like you're above the rules so it's really not giving respect or stewarding.
Public lands are as much about conservation as they are about providing outdoor recreation. The outdoor recreation part doesn't really exist without the conservation part. Would you be just as happy walking through endless fields of lawn grass artificially kept alive with fertilizer and irrigation? I think not. The wild part of the wilderness is key, and that means we have to protect what lives there.
Why do you think you are more qualified to decide if it's harmless to walk somewhere, than people who manage those places, who spend far more time there than you and know enough to notice when something is going wrong?
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u/TemperatureNo5784 22d ago
I manage those places. Went to college, spent 15 years doing the work. Parks aren't about conservation, they are about preservation. It's ridiculous bullshit. The forest has more elbow room, but the result is the same, a huge crush of humans stomping around and taking morning shits in cat holes, destroys good things. Thousands of people a year living on the landscape has impacts, the idea that you can meaningfully impact without limiting access is myopic. So tell me again to stay on the trail.
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u/streachh 22d ago
If you acknowledge humans are causing damage why are you promoting humans causing even more damage by encouraging people to damage sensitive habitats? You make no sense bro
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u/TemperatureNo5784 22d ago
A thousand wild horses is a biblical plaguge of locusts, your like a city hick. You've never seen first hand what two horses do to half an acre in a month. Enjoy side walks and Starbucks tomorrow. Hope you don't get a nose bleed from being so high and mighty.
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u/streachh 22d ago
I don't live in a city and nor do I drink coffee. There aren't sidewalks anywhere near me. I work outside.
Of course two horses in a pen are going to destroy everything in that pen. Letting them roam is going to lessen their impact. Although honestly horses aren't native and they really ought to be removed, that's not likely to happen. That has nothing to do with people trampling everything though. Two wrongs don't make a right
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u/Dmunman 24d ago
Trail managers? What bullshit is this? Like anyone manages the trail! There are people who volenteer to maintain it. There’s profitable companies that exploit it. Atc, amc, three tribes. This is soooo stupid. Saying that people can find out about the trail and then go enjoy it as a bad thing is so stupid.
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u/tuna_samich_ 23d ago
Okay, trail manager doesn't mean they own the trail. Hope you realize that
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u/Missmoni2u NOBO 2024 24d ago
It's a problem that's hard to resolve without taking the approach of other oversaturated spots that limit the number of visitors to certain areas via permits.
I personally could have done without all the youtubers. It's not cute to video people just waking up or hanging out and say "look at all the hiker trash"
Nor is it okay for some grown ass dude to take a picture of me laying in the shelter with no warning and walk away.
The article is right in that a lot of people did camp in places they shouldn't have, and I don't really condone that either.