The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has started posting the numbers of hikers from this year. They are not completely accurate counts, as not every hiker registers at all, or any, of these places. I will only copy the Northbound numbers here:
Northbound Hikers at Springer Mountain, GA (beginning): 2,700
Northbound Hikers at Harpers Ferry, WV (almost halfway): 1,130
Northbound Hikers at Mount Katahdin, ME (end): 385 *The ATC is still counting completion reports.*
I did register at all three places and here is my ranking:
Springer on March 19: 506
Harpers Ferry on July 1: 838
Katahdin on October 15: 779
You can see how many people starting after me passed me. I liked my pace though as it allowed me to explore more of the areas I went through, and I met a lot more hikers instead of staying with the same bubble the whole time.
I recently received my completion certificate and 2,000-miler patch from the ATC, and an additional completion certificate and patch from ALDHA:
Another hiker this year, Seven, created a documentary of many of the thru hikers he came across on the trail. Here is a snapshot of some of the people I met while hiking:
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