Thru Hike the AT

“It's looking like this may be a good year for me to do it. Anyone else considering it? I'd want to start in the North an come South.”

“I'd love to but I can't swing the time off. I think I'm just going to have to just drop out of everything and just do it.

Hopefully soon.

FYI- This week I hitched a couple of southbounders at Fontana Dam. They started in June and expected to be done on Dec. 4. They said it was definatey the way to go to avoid the crowds.”

“That's what I thought too I've hiked some of the AT after the crowds have gone an not met one other person so thats my direction of choice. I'm just gonna drop everything an do it if I wait for the "Right Time" it will never come”

“I gotta wait about 20 more years before I can do my Thru-Hike.
Have fun!!”

“I am on scedule to do it not this year, but next year. There is a possibility that this year may happen, if I can get my loan paid off by the end of this year. But then I would not be able to go until May. So it looks like next year for me. I am a tad bit excited whaen I think about it.”

“It will be at least 10 years for me, I think.

You ought to do it now, Centavo, while you have the opportunity.

I am insanely jealous that you even have the option of considering it! Do it!”

“Hey Adventuregirl, I wouldn't be leaving till May that's another reason for North to South”

“Good Luck centavo. If I ever find myself in position to do it, I will not hesitate to give it a try.”

“You May run into snow that early up there in Mainiac.”

“ha ha, this is like that commercial where those people are doing "extreme" sports or something, and these other people look at each other, get back in their SUV, and drive away...”

“I think i will do all my hiking after college, before I start a real job.

How long does it take to hike the trail that goes acros the country

How long does it take to hike the pasific crest trail??”

“I figure I'll get most of the "Bad weather" out of the way in the beginning for me Bad =cold then I'm not really in a hurry the weather at this end stays good enough all fall.”

“Good Gawduhmighty y'all, tis killin me to read of a thru-hike coming up, specially somebody elses!! For starters now, I ain't no pro at thru-hiking and won't pretend to be, but since I thru'd the AT in '92 I can be of some help. There's a "Ginny" here too that thru'd that year as well, altho we missed each other summers in NH or ME we guess. Centavo, you won't be in shape enough begin hiking easily at the start, but try your best to be as close to that as possible. You are starting in the toughest terrain of the AT, and will have some snow for sure. If my memory serves me aiight, Baxter Park don't open til May 15, so if you start before that, you'll hafta add a 2-day hike just to get to Katahdin Stream Cmpgrd to begin your thru-hike. Supplies are fewer and farther in between in the ME section of the AT, as you are starting with the Hunnert Mile Wilderness. There's an AT thru-hiking webpage somewhere, check it out. Since the early 90's AT hiking has become much more popular, and I think that now several hunnert ppl attempt a southbound hike each season now. Likely, you can hookup with one or a few and coordinate a startup together. Great luck centavo, I am indeed envious.

Tea, brutha, the likelyhood that you'll be in a position to do a thru-hike after college is damn near zero. Unless Mommy and Daddy is gonna pay for your college up front, or agrees to pay your school loans after college, youz gonna have too many responsibilities to take 6 months off for "a little hike". And that don't even take into account the likelyhood that you'll wanna move in with the first splittail that gives you a little! (I know that in itself is pretty far-fetched LOL, but IF it were to occur, no thru-hikes for you dude.) I took 2 years off from schooling between highschool and college, where I worked to save up the $$ for the trip, planned it, packed my boxes for de mail, organized it, and then proceeded to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

To summize fer ya Tea, if you have debts or a woman, chances are tiny as a microbe of a thru-hike after college. Just my 2 cents brutha... something to at least thank about.

As for "the trail that goes across the country", that'd the American Discover Trail, bout 5k miles. Most of that is presently on roads and bikeways, I'd not suggest that. Both the PCT and the AT take on average 6 months. The PCT is about 300 miles longer, but physically is not as demanding as the AT (from friends that have done both of'em). Ginny could better inform ya tho, as she's done'em both. Mebbe she'll chime in here sometime.

Adventuregirl, you GO! I'm certainly envious of you both. I still have the spring 'itchies' after all these years, hehe.”

“What he said --
Except that most PCT hikers do the trail in less time despite the greater distance (2768 vs 2167 miles) because of the snow. (Can't start too early because of snow in the Sierras, can't start too late because of snow in the Cascades.) We did it in 5 months 3 days. Could have finished sooner, because the trail was mostly easy walking, but we wanted to make it last. We were in no hurry to come home. My first AT hike was 5 1/2 months, my second almost six months. (Not because it was harder, I just wanted to stretch it out as long as possible.)

As to the AT - starting in Maine in May the problem will be black flies and mud. Both can be very bad in early season. Have you considered flip flopping? (i.e. starting in Harpers Ferry and hiking north for 3 months, then flipping and hiking south?) Then you start in relatively easy country, in spring, reach Maine in full summer, and then finish up in the south in the fall. Not a bad way to do it.

The ADT is basically a bike path - follows roads with no shoulders, has really long stretches with no water, and goes from city to city -- not a good hiking route. On the other hand, some day I'd like to do the North Country Trail plus the Pacific Northwest Trail and connect the two via roads. That would be about 7000 miles. But that will have to wait until I retire.”

“I flip-flopped the AT once.. *gryn*”

“No TD, she didn't say flip-flop on the AT. Falling trying to get to it doesn't count!”

“Dang, I thought I qualified!”