We humans are pretty ritualistic creatures. We crave routine and seek out the familiar. When we start to pass these behaviors down through enough generations, we start calling them traditions. Every culture has its own traditions, including the community that surrounds the Appalachian Trail. Hiker traditions and customs can be hard to understand for those on the outside, but that’s not surprising. Life on the AT is almost the exact opposite of what most people in the U.S. consider “normal” life. We hikers are a quirky group of people, indeed. Sometimes we can’t even explain why we do what we do, but there’s something kind of fantastic about that.
Here is a list of some of the most popular hiker traditions on the Appalachian Trail. It’s true not every hiker participates in them all, but that doesn’t make them any less amazing. Some of the traditions may seem fairly obvious, but for those new to the Appalachian Trail, you may consider partaking in a few of them on your own thru-hike experience.
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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