Appalachian Trail Progress Via Garmin And Walk The Distance

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Recently I started the Appalachian Trail Challenge on Garmin Connect and every sstep I take counts towards the goal. The goal is to walk 3,500km, which is around 4.9 million steps. I have walked 652 km out of 3,500 so I have completed about 18 percent of the challenge. I am almost a fifth done.

More Than A Year

According to the pacer app I have taken 4.6 million steps in the last year, 2.6 million in the last six months. My average steps per day is around 15,146. According to this data it will take me just over a year to complete the AT at the current pace. As I look at this data the effort and goal seem futile. It means a year of wearing a Garmin watch, rather than other brands. A year of loyalty.

Forgotten Apple Watch

Yesterday for the first time in a while I forgot to wear my apple watch so the first walk of the day was counted by the phone, rather than the watch. The step count wasn’t affected.

Walk The Distance

https://www.walkthedistanceapp.com/
While writing this blog post I decided to look for other ways to track walking distances and I came across Walk The Distance. This application tracks your distance walked and displays it on a map of whichever thru-hike you choose.
I chose the Pacific Crest trail for a change. I’ve used it for a few minutes. I like that it shows the distance you have travelled on a map, rather than just theoretically. I like this because if I’m reading about someone walking the AT, the PCT, the Camino De Santiago or other walks I usually hear place names, and some are familiar, but I have no idea of where they are in time and space. With this app I do.
With the Garmin challenge you walk 4.9 million steps and the only moment you see anything is when you complete the challenge. With the Walk the Distance App you see it permanently, if you’re obsessive, or daily if you’re not.
https://www.walkthedistanceapp.com/about-us

And Finally

Taking half a year to walk from Point A to point B is not possible for everyone so by tracking walking progress with apps people are given the opportunity to go on a journey while continuing their daily lives. This gives people the opportunity to experience something new, by proxy.