What
3012 is a personal project that evolved from a hypothetical question: “When I hike the Appalachian Trail, how many times will I trip?” (I have been known to stumble from time to time.) Over my 6 month, 2190 mile journey, I gathered a large amount of data and transformed it into visuals and infographics. 3012 trips by the way, if that wasn’t clear by now :)
Why
At my core I am a very curious person. Once I stopped giggling to myself over the absurdity of the question, the gears in my head really started turning. How many times will I fall? How many times will I roll my ankle? Which ankle will I roll more? What animal will I see the most over the entire trip? Once I started I could not stop, and once I began recording information the more motivated I was to see the outcomes!
How
One day at a time, one trip at a time, one spider web walked through at a time, I recorded data into several small books. Day after day these data added up into a larger, clearer picture of my progress, decision making, and stability. It was one of the most fun personal projects I have ever worked on, and love revisiting it over and over to find new ways to look at and interpret my data.
Background
The Appalachian Trail, when I hiked it in 2017, was 2189.8 miles long. It runs along the spine of the Appalachian mountain range from northern Georgia to central Maine, and along its way winds, almost unnecessarily, through 14 states. People from all walks of life, all ages, and all levels of physical ability attempt the journey every year. Some hike it in one go, some section hike it (completing the trail in smaller bite sized chunks in or out of order over time), and some go as far as they want to go. The most beautiful aspect about long distance hiking is the way it can be approached and adapted to what you need it to be. The trail can be a physical test, a mental test, an emotional test, or all of those rolled into one. Everyone will experience the same rocky, muddy, twisting, ascending and descending path in their own unique way. Everyone will also trip a lot!
Parts of the trail are very “smooth”
Some parts are… less smooth
And some, are just out for your knees!
Day in and day out I kept track of my data points as I walked. At the end of each day I would record all the relevant points in my log (anyone who saw me doing this would typically tease me for carrying such unnecessary extra weight).
At the start of the trail in Georgia, I carried a small notebook with me in my hip-belt to tally any relevant sightings (or let’s be honest here, falls). It didn’t take long for me to just simply keep track of everything in my head, because as it turns out, you have a lot of time to organize thoughts when you’re walking for 10 or more hours a day. You also come up with unique ways of keeping track of milestones throughout the day: if I happened to have an above average tripping day and made it to 21, that was blackjack!
By the end of the trip I had 2 small notebooks filled front to back with data, and proof that my handwriting just completely degraded over the 6 month journey.
After all the data were plugged in, and I figured out how badly I messed up my body and how often I splurged on a hotel room, it was time to time to transform those data into graphics so the world could better understand my pain...accomplishments!
It took 194 days to complete the hike through 14 states (13 represented below as it’s easier to combine NC and TN because you cross the over the boarder between the two multiple times). Most nights I slept in my tent, however, as you can see, other times I treated myself :)
It would have been naive to think I would get through this adventure unscathed. There were a lot of tumbles, a lot of “forgetting” to wear sunscreen, and a lot of bugs.
Ouchies
When I was dropped off at the visitor center at Amicalola Falls in Dawsonville, Georgia, my backpack and all its contents weighted 45lbs (that’s on the heavier side). As the days and miles passed, some of my trinkets proved to be of less use and were shed or shipped away. Items would break, clothing would leave and return as the weather changed, but when the trail came to an end, my pack weighed 23lbs (still overweight by some peoples’ elite standards)!