Hunter Lacomis decided to hike alone the almost 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail through 14 states along the East Coast as a personal challenge.
"Doing it alone kind of adds to it, and it's not really that dangerous, you know, my mom might think otherwise," he said, "but there are so many people out there that ... you have a good community and good support, so I've been enjoying it.”
The Bear Creek native took a respite from trail life in his native Northeast Pennsylvania miles after hitting the iconic trail’s halfway point in Michaux State Forest in Cumberland County. He celebrated his birthday on June 10 with his family.
"Ever since day one, I've been excited to kind of get closer to home, and like seeing the woods change too," he said.
Six days after he turned 30, he loaded up his 45-pound slate-blue backpack, said goodbye and trekked off towards Maine from Andreas in Schuylkill County.
Thru-hikers complete the entire Appalachian Trail — commonly known as the A.T. — in under 12 months. About one in three hikers who attempt a thru-hike complete the entire trail, according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. In 2025, 834 succeeded in that quest.
The conservancy is celebrating 100 years of existence this year.
'I have to finish it'
Lacomis’ uncles thru-hiked the A.T. about 20 years ago. They inspired him
He planned for two years before heading out. Lacomis saved up money, quit his job as an engineer and made accommodations in his life to be gone for six months.
"It definitely has to feel like the right thing to do. And it did, to me," he said. "I think I was prepared to take the leap pretty much. And you know, it certainly makes it harder to quit the trail because I quit my job, and like, I'm dedicated to doing this, so I have to finish it.”
A.T. thru-hikers either trek southbound or, the more popular option, northbound.
Lacomis started north at Springer Mountain in Georgia on March 4. He said he’s averaging between 15 and 20 miles a day. He plans to hit the end point, Mount Katahdin in Maine, by mid-August.
Life on trail
Lacomis is already tall and thin. He lost 13 pounds since setting out on foot, despite carrying a 20-liter bag of food.
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"I always have too much food, which is not a bad thing," he said.
Curly sand-blond hair sticks out of his Suskie Bassmasters hat. He chose to hike in sneakers instead of boots. They dry quicker and are lighter and easier on his joints. He wears shorts and a lime-green long-sleeved sun-protective shirt.
His life weighs 45 pounds, and it's on his back.
Inside his sleeping bag is wrapped in a plastic bag. He has his tent, a bag of clothes, toiletries and a water filter.
He said it took his mom some time to adjust to the fact that her son would be in the woods, hiking for six months. On the outside of his pack hangs a satellite transponder.
"I turn that on when I hike, and it sends my location up and keeps my mom in check,” he said.
And Crocs.
"It’s nice to take my shoes off at the end of a long day,” he said.
The goat
At some point along the around 2,190 miles, hikers stumble upon a trail name — a moniker they both become and are called by other hikers.
Lacomis got his trail name within the first 200 miles of the trek. He is known as "goat," as in a mountain goat.
"I was climbing up the mountain so fast they called me mountain goat," he said. "I just shortened it to goat, one syllable, nice and easy.”
He credits hiking in the Pennsylvania mountains for that skill. He’s embraced the name.
"Now when people say goat, I'm like, ‘oh, that's me’,” he said.
The Appalachian Trail is known for its “trail angels” who provide “trail magic” — people who have lived along the trail or either section-hiked and attempted or completed a thru-hiked the AT will offer food, water and rides.
For Lacomis that trail magic came in the form of Yuengling Lager and pie.
In Georgia, a man set up a pop-up tent and passed out the beer to the hikers. Further up the trail, during a cold, rainy morning, a family cooked hot pies for the hikers in a gravel parking lot off the beaten path.
"Hot food on a cold morning, just there's nothing like it," he said.
Lacomis says the angels offer the magic mostly out of the kindness of their hearts.
"Everybody has some kind of tangential relationship to the trail, and it's really pretty inspiring, and honestly, I can't wait to be a trail angel when I get done, you know, and provide trail magic,” he said.
Just do it
Most of Lacomis’ journey has been without music or podcasts. But he will put one on when he needs some motivation.
He hasn’t totally shunned technology while he’s on the trail. His cell phone is on.
"I've kind of purposely disconnected from, you know, some of the news and world events and things, which is nice, but it's not really realistic. But, you know, connecting with family and stuff is really handy," he said.
Lacomis has been in awe of the elevation of some of the mountains he’s climbed so far.
"The forest type really changes, so you get like spruce and fir that you really don't see anywhere else, which is really pretty neat," he said. "It's a notable difference when you cross that elevation, you come from like deciduous forest like this, and then it becomes all evergreens, so it's beautiful.”
He said interested hikers should try out short backpacking trips first.
"There are so many loops in Pennsylvania to try, but if you can do two nights, you can do 100 nights," he said.
Lacomis encourages anyone who wants to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail to do it.
"The kindness of the whole community is still just so overwhelming and hard to believe, and everybody from any background is all on the same page," he said. "We're all just trying to hike north or south, or whatever it is, and you know we're just all looking to the same goal.”
