Then there are the people, some locals, some former hikers, who want to help by leaving water caches in established places, usually near road crossings.

"They have a little guest book, so you can write and thank them," he says. "That happens all the way up, especially in California. It's cool. You'll be hiking along in the desert and you'll come to a spot and there'll be a cooler there, with some drinks in it. That's the best."

Guidebooks to the trail note many of the water caches, some of which have been there for years, but hikers are warned not to depend on them, particularly if a lot of people are hiking the trail. The caches can be dry when a hiker gets to them.

This explains why Towne left a bit early; most start on the traditional kickoff, the last weekend in April, but he started a week earlier to get a jump on the crowd.

But the crowd—a relative term in this case—has its own pleasures, says the talkative Towne. Especially after hiking for several days alone.

"You go through some stretches by yourself, especially early in the season," he says. "Day or weekend hikers aren't really out until June, and you'll go three or four days without seeing anyone. After a few days, you start getting a little lonely, and the first person you see, you want to talk their ear off."

He purchased a radio in Oregon and took advantage of his elevation to sample local radio stations. And, he says, the solitude is a nice change.

Sometimes you can just shut your mind off and walk," he says. "It's peaceful to not have any distractions."

When he did want to communicate with people, he found it pretty easy.

"I journaled every day," he says. "I had a device called Pocketmail, like a Blackberry, but not a phone. It stores your e-mails as you write them in the mountains, then you dial an 800 number on a pay phone, and it sends your e-mails. I had about 50 people on my distribution list.

"Then there's trailjournals .com, so you can put your journal right online. I'd eat dinner, read the guidebook, write in my journal and go to sleep."

After walking the first 400 miles alone, he met an Australian with whom he walked about 500 miles, and later he hiked with two women through much of the Oregon and Washington sections of the trail. His girlfriend came up from Berkeley to hike a section with him, though at his pace of 25 to 30 miles a day, it was difficult for her to keep up.

An active person, he didn't do much training for the trail. "I went with the theory that the first 300 to 400 miles train you for the rest."

Still, he lost about 20 pounds off his 5-foot-8-inch frame, weight he said he didn't have to lose. He recommends it as a great weight-loss idea, though.