Calling all AT thru hikers...

[sli74]

A note on experience:

I was floored by the number of people on the trail who had NEVER backpacked before. I thought something like thruhiking the AT would begin as weekend trips and grow to be a passion because that is how it happened for me but not so . . .

I also found that there was little to no correlation between previous experience and completion of the thruhike. I believe this is because the AT as a thruhike is more of a mental challenge in many ways than anything else. Don't get me wrong, I definitely saw a difference in experienced hikers and their level of comfort during the early weeks. We did a lot of "educating" early on with fellow hikers (now good friends) on the trail who had never even hiked before. There were quite a few people who had never even dayhiked before starting their hike (and some of them even finished).

There were a LOT of questions that some of the people without experience had but there were enough of us with prior hiking experience and enough town stops with outfitters early on to help them along. It was actually a lot of fun watching those beginner become experienced backpackers right before your eyes.

Really, it is just walking . . . we've all been doing that a long time now. The hardest part is mental . . . particularly when your body feels beaten and the weather is dampening your spirits, it is remembering the good stuff (which 99% of my thruhike was good stuff).

I would love to talk to him about the AT, these days I have to try NOT to bore those around me with AT talk, there aren't enough people in my immediate vicinity who want to keep hearing about it . . . hahaha
It is a trip of a lifetime that he won't soon regret or forget.

 

[MindlessMariachi]

experience is nice, but honestly, you'll get all the backpacking experience you need in the first two weeks. it's the mental part that's more important to completing the hike. lots of people (with all levels of hiking experience) step off springer mountain and start talking about how great it'll be when they get to maine and tell everyone how they thru-hiked the AT. those people overlook all the steps in between and tend not to finish. thru-hiking is not really like a weekend backpacking trip. it's more like going to live in a new city for half a year.

 

[sli74]

A couple of thoughts on gear:

I read somewhere, I think in the Thruhikers Handbook, that if you ask 2 thruhikers their opinion on gear you will get 3 different answers, so all the following advice is just one woman's opinion and he should make choices that are best for him.

We were hardly lightweight on our hike, mostly because we started and ended in cold temp months but you can't go wrong with having the lightest gear you can afford. How much money one spend on gear is very personal and I knew people on the trail who had borrowed from friends or "acquired" all their gear along the way from hiker boxes.

If money isn't too tight though, I would suggest making some well informed choices on the BIG 3, backpack, sleeping bag and shelter. Getting the lightest most efficient BIG 3 he can afford will help him keep his pack weight down while being comfortable. I am a gear addict and so choosing the right gear was one of the fun parts of the hike for me. Most of my "big" items remained unchanged but we did play with different stoves and water treatment options and water carriers, etc. I would love to talk gear with him if he is interested. The best advice I can give for gear is also the best advice for the trail overall . . . stay flexible and dynamic. Also, I would try and send something home almost every 3 weeks or so, if I didn't use something atleast every other day (with the exception of emergency gear), I sent it home.

 

[chinooktrail]

This is all such great advice, along with the book and web site etc... suggestions!

I got him a tent for Christmas, I hope it will be the right choice for him. And it is even from a New Hampshire company!

If not right for the AT at least he can use it everywhere else!

http://www.nemoequipment.com/nemo08-nano-tent

I really like the idea of him making a wicked lightweight stove, he is a very practical kid. I also worry a little about his eating on the trail, he is not a big eater at all, and I try to tell him he will need to eat a lot more calories while doing the AT, or hiking and backpacking in general. Not sure if that is really true or if it is an 'old wive's tale'... But in general he leans toward the 'stick figure' body type.

I suppose thats where his folks and Grandparents and I come in, sending him a lot of good food to his 'drops'.

Well, this is a year and a half away, so he has time to read and watch and listen to as many suggestions as he wants!

Thanks again!

 

[RoySwkr]

Thru-hiking the AT is the single best thing I've ever done in my life!!

Why not do the PCT ?

 

[sli74]

Why not do the PCT ?

That is the current "eternal question"
I am not Stinkyfeet but she may agree?
Wish I were independently wealthy or atleast didn't have the rest of my "real life" coming at me fast cause I would be on the PCT next. Long Distance hiking rules !!!!

 

[GBKDalton]

Before my hike I had read A Walk in the Woods, On the Beaten Path, Woman and Thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, Walking the Appalachian Trail, Long Distance Hiking: Lessons from the Appalachian Trail, Walking Home, There Are Mountains to Climb , Walking with Spring, and As Far as the Eye Can See. As Far as the Eye Can See was probably my favorite of the titles. Other titles I've heard of include A Walk for Sunshine, AWOL on the Appalachian Trail, and In Beauty May She Walk. It seems a lot of books go with the familiar tale of how inexperienced the author was when they started and how funny it was, which I did not relate to. Sells more copies I guess. Like others I was stunned by how inexperienced a lot of people were-I considered myself experienced but not incredibly so, but I was one of the most knowledgeable people out there.

I lurked on Whiteblaze almost constantly.

I'll also pipe in about gear-make sure his boots are fitted by someone who knows backpacking and, even better, knows long distance hiking. Even if he already owns a pair of boots I would look at them carefully. This isn't a day or few days or a week-this is four to six months and he'll be hiking in them every day. Little fit problems rapidly turn into big trouble. If he regularly gets blisters in one place tailor the type of boot to avoid that trouble. The only major piece of gear I had to replace immediatly on the trail was my boots. I had backpacked with the same little niggling trouble for years, it was just that this time my feet never got a break, never got to heal.

And now I will preach about insoles as well-if you get a ring around your heel, it means your superfeet are too small for your heel. Those blisters took months to fully heal, because again they never got a break-all I could do was cover them well. I wound up with custom insoles at trail days. They were worth every penny.

 

[sli74]

Before my hike I had read A Walk in the Woods

BARFIGHT !!!!! Is that you? Hey, it is such a small world . . . you apparently work at the same place as one of my closest friends who is also on VFTT. She called me the day you two met at orientation and even before she could say anything . . . I think she said "Boy, do I have something to tell you. You'll never believe" and I knew what she was going to say.

Did you summit with Earthbound and Hot Tang? I lost track of the dates people finished since those last few registers were full or missing. Anyway, glad to see you posting on here and maybe we'll see you on the trails.

sli74 (Hot Cheese)

 

[GBKDalton]

Yes, it's me- (BarFight)

Yes, it's such as small world. I did run ino Toecozy (sp?) at work, couldn't believe it when she said she knew the two of you. Hopefully I'll see you guys sometime, as she's offered to hike with me a bit this winter if we can work out times (I have little winter experience).

I think I summited the day before you-September 25. Beautiful day, the day before the big storm started to hit. Earthbound and crew were several days before me-they were hauling at the end, and I was on a set schedule so my dad could climb with me. I wound up taking it easy through the hundred miles. There were a ton of people at Katahdin stream before we left.

 

[Early Bird]

You all are just so awesome!

I would love for him to meet up with some people who have thru hiked and listen to your tales first hand, if anyone is interested. He will not be starting until sometime in 2010.

Hum, maybe this fall I can get time off, and sneak him out of school and we could hike the Long Trail as a primer... any thoughts?

I am still compliling a list, so keep those suggestions coming!

I think hiking the Long Trail as a primer is an awesome idea. First you learn a ton from the At hikers you meet in the first 100 miles of the LT/AT. Secondly you get a chance to try out you gear and what works for you. I thru-hiked the LT a few times before getting the time to hike the AT. Of course, I'd be up for a day hike or overnight next summer to share some trail talk. What could be better! If you contact GMC (Vermont's Green Mountain Club) they set up prospective LT hikers with mentors.