Originally Posted by rifle
OK,so who here has walked the damn thing? This is the A trail and I've walked from NC thru Va and the only thing I came across was a stray dog and a small pot patch



Your experience is statistically [bleep] meaningless. I've hiked a couple hundred miles of the GA/NC AT and most of the Benton McCaye Trail. I carried a pistol every step and will do so next trip. I don't expect to get mauled but neither did this guy:

http://m.missoulian.com/news/state-...ca4df02-010b-11e2-8f2f-001a4bcf887a.html

Black bears in the Bob are bad asses just like black bears in GA can be. I've seen WMA signs made out of thick metal (like highway signs) lagged bolted 7ft off the ground with the top corners bent down like a paper airplane. They do that out of boredom.

In the GA counties the AT runs through there are probably a dozen bears killed WAY over 350#, with a few near 500# every year.

I've skinned out an 8ft Hinchinbrook AK brownie and a small 200# GA blackie. Even that little blackie was one powerful looking beast when I peeled the hide off of him.