Let’s talk about rules for a minute. Rules help maintain order, and in a chaotic environment like hiking the AT rules help keep people civil. There are well known trail rules (or etiquette) such as always use your red light at night when possible to avoid bothering other people, and downhill yields to uphill (unless the uphill needs a break anyway which is often the case). I’ve come up with a set of my own rules to live by on the trail to help make it a more orderly process for me, so I thought I’d share them here.

• Always stop to look at the view. It so easy to get stuck staring at the trail.
• Stretch: before, during, and after hiking.
• Pick up any trash you see on the trail. I pick up a ton of trash every day. My left belt pouch is exclusively for trash. Most of what I find is the corner of a candy bar or granola bar wrapper. I draw the line at picking up tissues, TP, bandaids, or other potential biohazards. Sometimes I have to adjust my trash scanning algorithm when I discover I keep picking up flower petals or bird poop. It makes me sad that other people don’t really stop to pick up trash; I guess they either just don’t see it because they are so accustomed to it or they just don’t care.
• Brush your teeth twice a day. I hung with one fellow whose name I won’t mention who admitted 3 weeks in that he hadn’t brushed his teeth since he started. Oof.
• Show respect for your single set of hiking clothes and fold them nicely before bed no matter how dirty they are. I do have a separate set of sleep clothes that I always change into before bed consisting of a cotton shirt, boxers, and a pair of socks I only wear to bed. In addition to being more comfortable it helps keep my sleeping bag clean.
• If the thought crosses your mind to stop to eat, get water, fix your shoe, take a break, etc. then you must stop and take care of that and not just keep going.
• Don’t wipe sweat from your face, itch your nose, or adjust your crotch while hiking with poles in your hands or you may end up almost giving yourself a black eye, bloody nose, or worse. It might seem more like common sense than a rule. Don’t judge.
• Go dry uphill and rehydrate downhill. Otherwise I just sweat profusely and drink a ton of water.
• Have slightly more weight on your shoulders going uphill and slightly more on your hips going downhill. It helps to keep me centered, and when it’s dialed in just right I can feel myself pick up a little speed like how a sailboat feels when you get the sails set just right.
• Store one trekking pole under the vestibule on each side of the tent. That way no matter which side the bear comes from I’ve got a pointy stick.

I’m sure this list will evolve as I make more mistakes and learn more important lessons. In the mean time I hope it has given you some insight into my daily rituals and maybe even a little chuckle.