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A living map of our Appalachian Trail section hikes since 2003 — plus a trip planner anyone can use. Built from Roby's Section Hike Tool spreadsheet, Chris's trail diary, the official ATC trail centerline, and historic weather records.
Raw miles lie: 10 flat miles and 10 miles over three balds are very different days. To compare them we use Naismith's Rule, published in 1892 by Scottish mountaineer William W. Naismith and still the backpacking standard: allow 1 hour per 3 miles, plus 1 hour per 2,000 ft of climb. Rearranged into distance:
So a 10-mile day with 3,000' of ascent = 14.5 effort-miles. Climb is computed from real terrain elevation sampled every 0.2 mile along the trail, in the direction hiked.
Fine print: Naismith ignores steep descents (knees disagree), pack weight, rocky footing, and the hiker's own engine. The 1960s "Tranter corrections" adjust for personal fitness and fatigue — and yes, that number drifts as the decades roll by. That's why the planner suggests a pace from recent trips, not the all-time record: group pace and Father Time both count.
Format: 47-68 (50-65)* — the first range is what we recorded on trail (?? if we didn't); the starred range in parentheses is the historic weather record for that night at the camp's coordinates (Open-Meteo ERA5 archive).
🛖 shelter · ⛺ campsite/tentsite · 🛏️ hostel · 🛒 grocery/resupply · 🎒 outfitter · 🍴 meals · ⚪ road crossing · 🚩 planned start · 🏁 planned finish
Hostels and resupply south of Harpers Ferry were researched against 2026 listings (WhiteBlaze Apr-2026 hostel list, The Trek, local news — including Hurricane Helene closures/rebuilds); each pin says whether it was seen operating in 2026. Where we could pinpoint the actual building, the pin sits on it and a red dashed line traces the road in from the trail; otherwise the pin marks the closest trail point. North of Harpers Ferry, lodging/grocery pins come from an older guidebook. Either way: call ahead.
Zoom in to reveal them: shelters + resupply/lodging appear first, then campsites and road crossings. Shelter tooltips include the distance to the next shelter each way.
"Potential shuttles" come from the 2026 ATC/WhiteBlaze shuttle list and outfitter sites. Unverified — always call ahead.