A good rule of thumb is to eat 2, more calories per day than you would normally eat. To put things into perspective, consider these three categories of base weight the weight of your backpack not including food and water, because how much consumables you carry will vary in each section. Let your support person know where you will be on the trail and when you will be in that location. Give them a call at certain checkpoints so they know where you are in case of an emergency.
Your support person can also be the one to call when you need a resupply box sent to a specific location on the trail. A recent study of AT thru-hikers confirmed that people who start with a better fitness level measured by VO2 max , lower body-fat percentage, and lower weight overall are more likely to be successful.
So increase your odds of finishing, decrease your risk of injury, and enjoy that first month much more by starting this training plan three months before your hike. Do regular aerobic workouts like running or cycling, but remember that nothing prepares you to hike all day like … hiking all day. Once a week, get in a five-plus-hour hike with a pack load equal to your AT weight. Go on at least one mile shakedown backpacking trip. Many hikers on the AT choose to use hammocks instead of tents.
On average, you will run into a shelter every 8. They are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Typically, the shelters are built in a lean-to style with a floor, a roof, and three walls. Most can accommodate at least six people; a few of the bigger, newer ones fit upwards of a dozen, often more. Shelters are usually located near a water source, and there is usually a fire pit and a privy nearby.
Some cons to sleeping in a shelter include the frequent presence of mice and the fact that shelters are usually located half a mile off-trail. You may ask why you should pack a tent or hammock if shelters are available. Below are recommended amounts for each category. Planning and budgeting wisely will save you a lot of headache and allow you to enjoy the wilderness stress-free.
The good news is that if you buy quality gear, this is going to be a one-time expense. Splurge on ultralight gear, and get everything right the first time. Check out the Appalachian Trail packing list for recommendations on essentials. Trail expenses include buying food and shipping food. At 70, I am slowing way down on the distance to travel to sections I have have not done.
I have studied your hike from NJ to Conn several times and just have not done it, yet. Great to hear from you Wayne!
That NJ to Conn section is a breeze. Just do it in sunnier weather than I had. Too cold and grim. Thanks for the advice. I can do sunnier weather…but what about the bugs? There has to be a sweet time to hike in the sun and without the black flies. Started section hiking the AT in Made it to Damascus last year, six trips. Twisted my ankle six weeks before my trip this year and had to canx.
I leave my car at my planned destination and shuttle to my starting. Just put away the gear and hit the road. By the way, Cracker Barrell double bacon cheesed burger is a great road trip meal after a long hike. Learned the hard way in Damascus. Hike to your car. I see a lot of Permethrin mentioning on your blog when it comes to bugs. Unfortunately I am allergic to that stuff the substance is also used in headlice shampoo , are there any alternatives?
Once dried it does not reportedly induce allergic reaction. Is this your experience? I was fortunate enough to be able to get the time off and thru hike the trail a few years ago. There are a few things that make thru hiking better.
First off, after a few weeks you get super fit, and can do big miles every day, if you so desire. If you are section hiking, by the time you approach that level of fitness, you are probably headed back to work or school. Second, thru hiking, you get to know about 50 people, that you get to see for weeks. Many of them become life long friends.
If it was a decent sized town, sometimes we would call everybody and all go out to dinner together. Lastly all the scheduling and arrangeing rides, and meeting people at x trailhead are all avoided.
Better for you perhaps. Too high school for me. Not a social soap opera. Philip, I enjoy your website and look forward to your weekly updates. I am in the midst of hiking the AT in 3 long sections. I hiked Springer Approach to Damascus in I am so looking forward to hiking the final third of the trail.
Mark, I just saw your comment. If you had it to do over again would you use those 3 sections? Would it be feasible for me to fly to near Damascus and Pawling?
Thanks so much for any suggestions, and congratulations! In ish I read an article in National Geo. The trail that is not on paper. Oh, how I long to be on it. Always something getting in the way. Thank you so much for this info. Looks like I will be there somewhere? Perhaps Tenn or Georgia in April or May to section hike. I agree completely with your advice. Hiking to your car has always been a far more comfortable trek. Shuttlers are great folks, but the best of scheduling can go awry, either by the shuttler, or the hiker.
Hiking solo allows a benefit of quietly coming up on wildlife that you might otherwise miss. Transplant from CO to SC and trying to get into hiking with the new climate. Any and all suggestions would be truly appreciated. Whatever is the most convenient for you to get to. The weather changes constantly.
It was a gorgeous sunny day with very little wind. The Cog railroad engineer was taking a break looking out from the observation deck. Since it took me 6 hours to climb MT Washington, I think it will take me more than the days you suggest for the entire range. We paln to do it in days weather permitting. The Appalachian Trail has had many books written about it but they can never give you the true experience.
This is life changing! Stretching And your life will be changed forever. When the hike is finished you will go home and nothing will be the same. What is considered an average miles per day pace. One to three per year. I read 16miles day was average. What is the weather like then? It will be the first time on the AT for either of us. He and I have hiked a few miles at a time max , but no overnighters. My legs were the only exception; instead they grew freakish, veiny, and equine.
Atop my head sprouted the hair of a gorgon. From my chin, the beard of a goat. If I reached back, I could feel my shoulder blades pushing through the threadbare fabric like budding wings. Most of us who embark on a long hike do so seeking change, buoyed by the almost-magical hope that we can walk ourselves into a new body or a new state of mind.
But when it actually takes place, the experience of transformation can be unnerving. I thought I looked normal, but to the world I looked like a newly rescued shipwreck victim. I just had a several minute debate about whether or not it was actually you. All who hike the Appalachian Trail undergo some form of transformation. Many thru-hikers seemed to relish the transformation, and even accentuate it: The guys tended to grow out their facial hair, while the women allowed their body hair to bloom.
One clever hiker took a selfie once a day, and then time-lapsed them into a single, mesmerizing second clip; in it, a lichenous gray beard sprouts on his face, like something in an Attenborough documentary. There was a certain romance to all this — on some level we fancied ourselves wild animals, despite our absurdly modern clothing and gear — but it was practical, too.
The human body has evolved to get all hairy and greasy and gross. Surprisingly quickly, your nose stops noticing what you smell like, and starts tuning in to the subtler aromas of the forest. One day while I was hiking, I remember catching a whiff of something alien floating on the breeze — a cloying chemical smell. Minutes later, a group of Girl Scouts came around the bend, and I pinpointed it: Herbal Essences shampoo. Following a long-standing tradition, each of us thru-hikers adopted new "trail names" to match our new bodies.
Most people were given their names by fellow thru-hikers because of something they had said or done: My friend Snuggles, for example, had a habit of snuggling up against other hikers in the lean-tos at night to keep herself warm; I was given the name Spaceman after my shiny ultralight hiking gear.
Others picked names in an attempt to shape new, aspirational identities for themselves. A tense silver-haired woman renamed herself Serenity, while a timid young man called himself Joe Kickass.
Sure enough, over time, she seemed to grow incrementally calmer, and he more audacious. Studies have shown that going for a nature walk reliably increases creative thinking. And indeed, each day as my legs warmed up, I found my brain would begin fizzing with ideas for stories that I wanted to write and questions I wanted to research. There is a long tradition of writers — Wordsworth, Kierkegaard, Rimbaud, Woolf, Solnit, to name only a few — who found and find inspiration afoot.
However, I quickly discovered that, because I was spending 10 hours each day walking, I was left with almost no time or energy to write. I took to carrying a small notebook in my hip pocket, so I could jot down ideas on the hoof. Only that. You are nobody. You have no history. You have no identity. You have no past. You have no future. You are only a body walking. Within the first week, I was surprised to discover that my sleeping patterns had also changed drastically.
Shortly after sunset, I would retire to my hammock and then read myself to sleep. Around 2 a. I learned to keep a book and a headlamp within easy reach, so I could resume reading until my mind grew groggy again. It was a wonderful state of mind in which to read — pleasantly quiet, slightly unreal, golden-lit. By the end of the first month, I started to have vivid, almost pornographic dreams about food — an obsession that would only intensify as the months wore on.
Studies have shown that on an average day, thru-hikers burn roughly 2, more calories than they eat. And thru-hikers, I can assure you, eat a lot.
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