Appalachian Trail

[Mark24688m 0]

Im trying to plan a hiking trip for next summer on the AT but Im not really sure where to start. Anybody have any experience here? Tips, suggestions are very welcome!

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[csubl 0]

Have you read "A Walk In The Woods" by Bill Bryson?

[-Scatter- 0]

I was a thru-hiker in 2000 and did a 100 mile section about a month ago, in addition to a 170 mile section before my thru-hike.

The Smokies and the Shenandoahs are both great places to do a week section. Vermont is gorgeous if you've got a couple or three weeks.

You'll need a pack. Get a good pack. I use a Gregory Z55 for summer trips. You'll need a sleeping bag - what kind depends on where and when you're going. You'll need a water filter. I use a katadyn hiker. You'll need a stove. The gas cannister stoves are the easiest if you're a beginner.

Leki poles are a must if you value your knees. I really prefer trail running shoes over boots for summer travel. Again, easier on your joints.

The typical beginner mistake is to overpack, but that's something you'll learn by experience.

Cotton kills. Nothing in your pack should be cotton. Not clothes and not equipment. Not even underwear.

[Squeak 17]

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Cotton kills. Nothing in your pack should be cotton. Not clothes and not equipment. Not even underwear.

Care to elaborate on this for me?

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[sv3n 0]

here's a couple of good books:

http://www.amazon.com/Browns-Wilderness-Survival-School-Handbooks/dp/0425105725/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-2663605-0086429?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186307817&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/Browns-Guide-Edible-Medicinal-Plants/dp/0425100634/ref=pd_bbs_sr_8/002-2663605-0086429?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186307817&sr=8-8

http://www.amazon.com/Browns-Nature-Observation-Tracking-Guides/dp/0425099660/ref=pd_bbs_9/002-2663605-0086429?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186307817&sr=8-9


or you could attend a class:

http://www.trackerschool.com/

...and you're in violation of your face!

[CSpenceFLY 1]

PsychoBob has hiked a lot of it. Send him a PM.

[eeneR 1]

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Cotton kills. Nothing in your pack should be cotton. Not clothes and not equipment. Not even underwear.

Care to elaborate on this for me?

Cotton does not wick moisture away from your body, leaving you prone to chafing and flat out uncomfortable. There are tons of great manufactures who make clothing that is moisture wicking. This stuff gets it off your skin, and to the outside of the garment to evaporate.

Wet clothes will make you either over heat or get cold. Cotton is the WORST for this.

There is a further explanation for this, I am just not awake yet

She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

[-Scatter- 0]

Cotton's non-wicking properties are part of it. The other part of it is the only reason to be wearing clothing while hiking is for insulation. Dry cotton works well for this purpose. Wet cotton is no longer insulative. Wet synthetics do not lose their insulative properties to nearly the same degree, and they dry MUCH faster.

If you're hiking in jeans, a tee shirt, and a cotton sweatshirt in 40 degree weather and get hit with a freak thunderstorm, you are in serious trouble. If you're hiking in all synthetic clothing, just keep moving. You might get uncomfortable, but you won't get hypothermia.

Polypropylene is good, capilene long underwear makes a great thermal layer, synthetic fleece is okay, nylon is fine. Even wool has its uses. I knew one guy who hikes in 100% polyester work shirts. Don't carry cotton.

[selbbub78 0]

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Cotton kills. Nothing in your pack should be cotton. Not clothes and not equipment. Not even underwear.

very important rules to live by!!!!

You should try to decide how long of a duration of a trip you want, and what part of the trail you want to see. You need to figure out how many miles you want to hike every day and figure out a route that you're interested in taking. Also, if you decide to do a LONG trip, since you don't want to over pack, it's sometimes easier to have packages sent to towns that you are going to be going through. Just plan your trip in order to get to the towns at that particular time.

I've done a lot of shorter hikes on the Appalachian Trail as have some others, so feel free to ask questions!

CReW Skies,
bubbles

"Women fake orgasms - men fake whole relationships" – Sharon Stone
"The world is my dropzone" (wise crewdog quote)
"The light dims, until full darkness pierces into the world."-KDM

[Mark24688m 0]

What do you think about Maine? Is it possible to hike for 1-2 weeks without doing the entire 281 miles though the state? I know its supposed to be some of the hardest hiking though the entire thing but I think I can handle it.

[cloudseeker2001 0]

I know its supposed to be some of the hardest hiking though the entire thing but I think I can handle it.

HAHAHA! Famous last words of the long lost hiker!

"Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance,
others mean and rueful of the western dream"

[SARLDO 0]

Give me a call when you get lost. Mountain SAR is my specialty. I like the shenandoah state park section of the AT but have yet to hike the whole thing. Good luck and be prepared before you head out, I was only kidding, you don't want to have to call me.

"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest" ~Samuel Clemens

MB#4300
Dudeist Skydiver #68

[DFWAJG 4]

You absolutely MUST read Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" before you start your journey. You will be laughing your tookass off with Katz's antics!

[-Scatter- 0]

If this is your first many-day trip, I'd strongly advise against Maine. A three day trip in Maine would be great. When you get to about a week is where things start going wrong, you get blisters and your joints hurt and you've packed the wrong things and you might also be four days away from any help. If you run into trouble in the Shenandoah, for example, you can hitch a ride on Skyline from any point on the trail within a few miles of walking. Maine is terribly lacking in outs. If everything goes well, no problems. If something goes wrong, you may not have the experience to get yourself out of it. Whatever you do, DON'T try the 100 mile wilderness as your first major trip.

New Hampshire is more dramatic and in some ways a tougher hike, but the accomodations are much better for the inexperienced. My favourite section of the trail is still Vermont where the AT and the Long Trail are together. That's a nice one to two week trip depending on how fast you are. Once it turns east again it gets less interesting. Its also not crowded like the Whites or the Smokies can be.

I think I could probably survive jumping a canopy loaded up at 1.5:1, but with ten jumps there ain't no way I'm actually going to TRY it.

[Peej 0]

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Have you read "A Walk In The Woods" by Bill Bryson?

it's one of the best books i've ever read

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

[ryoder 1,401]

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Even wool has its uses.

Just now I was reading an article by a guy who was writing about a bush pilot he knew:

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Last year I called him from Denver. I bugged him enough and he agreed to teach me. He said to bring plenty of wool clothes -- bush pilots don't wear fleece because it melts to your skin when it catches fire.

Comforting thought.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Broke 0]

Do not go alone

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[Vallerina 2]

My best friend hiked over half of it last summer, and she had a really great time at trail days in Demascus, Virginia....I believe she recommends that everyone go to it. Her favorite view was "Max Patch."

I'm also not sure of the type of clothing she wore, but apparently, she could wear the same shirt for several days and not smell bad. I'd like to buy those shirts for everyone I know.

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[eeneR 1]

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Do not go alone

Actually quite the contrary, I know lots of people who have gone and done the full AT alone. There are tons of people on various stretches of the trail. However DO YOUR RESEARCH on where the check points are etc.

She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

[cloudseeker2001 0]

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Do not go alone

Actually quite the contrary, I know lots of people who have gone and done the full AT alone. There are tons of people on various stretches of the trail. However DO YOUR RESEARCH on where the check points are etc.

I have done a lot of back country hiking alone, all of it in the 4 corners area.......it is a little dangerous, but the the idea is to not get into trouble to begin with........Last year I met a guy who was hiking from Mexico to Canada and he had not eaten the last of his "real" food and was two days away from his mailed food box. I cooked him chicken and rice and gave him a poptart and he was in heaven. I did not give him one of two cokes I hiked in with me!

"Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance,
others mean and rueful of the western dream"

[cloudseeker2001 0]

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Cotton's non-wicking properties are part of it. The other part of it is the only reason to be wearing clothing while hiking is for insulation. Dry cotton works well for this purpose. Wet cotton is no longer insulative. Wet synthetics do not lose their insulative properties to nearly the same degree, and they dry MUCH faster.

If you're hiking in jeans, a tee shirt, and a cotton sweatshirt in 40 degree weather and get hit with a freak thunderstorm, you are in serious trouble. If you're hiking in all synthetic clothing, just keep moving. You might get uncomfortable, but you won't get hypothermia.

Polypropylene is good, capilene long underwear makes a great thermal layer, synthetic fleece is okay, nylon is fine. Even wool has its uses. I knew one guy who hikes in 100% polyester work shirts. Don't carry cotton.

I like wool and cotton-but not heavy cotton. I have found synthetics to be uncomfortable and they can really become rank after a few days! I had to put my synthetic socks in a plastic bag so they would not contaminate the rest of my pack!

"Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance,
others mean and rueful of the western dream"

[-Scatter- 0]

See, I don't have to worry about my clothing stinking up my pack, because I don't carry any clothing at all that isn't part of my layering system. No changes of anything. Well, one spare set of liner socks if its more than a week... Underwear? We don't need no steenkin underwear! Smartwool is nice if you're really concerned about the stinky. You can smell thru-hikers well before you can see them. Its inevitable, so why carry the extra weight?

If you're on the AT and you're in one of the more trafficed parts, you're okay going alone, because you're never really alone. Its very much a community, especially thru-hikers. You'll get adopted by someone in a day or two.