A newbie in need of some help

imported
#1

hey , first of all I’m not from the US and most towns/places you mention are unfamiliar to me.
I think I need to first do some reading before i go on planning so if anyone has a good online guide \ journey diary or any recommended stuff that will help intreduce a newbie to the AT i will really apreciate it.

And another question about starting dates and where to start
i will probably be able to get to the US only in june and will have to leave in the beginning of october
i know i won’t make it through the whole trail but i sure will like your advice about the best starting point and direction for me for those few months.

Thank you.
Yevgeni.

Yevgeni

#2

Yevgeni, if you plan to spend 3 months on the trail you certainly need to plan. Read as many journals as you can to determine the gear you will need. Starting in June you will likely only need summer gear which is light. Depending on your hiking experience, you have several options. You could start at Springer and hike north to Harpers Ferry. It will be hot and buggy and the foliage will be thick in the south. My choice would be to start at Harpers Ferry and go north to Maine. Maryland and PA are easy except for the rocks. You will get to see the NH and ME which are the best parts of the trail as far as I’m concerned. However, even during the summer you will need warmer gear in NH and ME. Getting to hike any part of the trail for three or more months is a luxury for most people. As they say if your lucky enough to be out on the trail then your lucky enough. You can look at my 2009 AT hike under the name nedthefed, however, there are plenty of other journals. Stumpkocker is a legend on the AT and I pretty much took his advice. Good luck and I’ll be out on the trail starting at Springer around May 1st. Nedthefed

Ned

#3

I second all of what ned wrote. Read a number of journals from this site and you will soon become familier with all the names of places. I would also suggest the northern half if you are starting in June and you may want to consider going southbound from Maine. On the plus side you will be going through the most spectacular parts of the AT right off the bat. On the negative Baxter State Park is a lot harder to get to then Harpers Ferry or Deleware Water Gap which is another good starting place. Also Maine can be very buggy in June as you will be walking through the black fly and Mossie season and you will be starting on one of the most rugged parts of the trail. Any way that you decide should be a good trip. Good Luck.

Big B

#4

If you start at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia (which is about the half way point), you can fly to Washington, DC then take an Amtrak train straight to Harpers Ferry.

The Appalachian Trail goes right through Harpers Ferry (along the Potomac river and nearby canal). Easy to find.

Also, many other AT hikers will be in the area at that time of the year, so you might get some help starting out.

To familiarize yourself with the trail’s path and towns, it’s fun to get the trail shown on Google Earth.

Lastly, it will hot and humid in June. Be prepared!

Jason

#5

how hot is it gonna be in june-september?
i’m actually from israel so have some experience with hot and humid but still don’t really like it since i sweat my ass off with a backpack on me even if the temeratures are quite low…
another thing i wanted to know is abput the views:
is the northern part better in terms of nice views and open areas?

the gear i have so far is an osprey 58 kestrel bag
asolo powermatic 400 boots( is it to heavy for the trail?)
and i plan on ordering tarptent squall 2
maildrops will be a problem for me so i need to know how hot should i pack in terms of raingear and hto clothes for the whole trip and should i get some othe pair of shoes or this one will do?
and about the shape you have to be to start the trail, i do have some experience walking with gear on me (everything from 20 lbs to over 100 lbs) from the army but am currently not in that great of a hiking shape and plan to do more and more hikes the closer june is
if i start in moderate shape in the middle of june when aprox should i finish at Maine ?( from harpers ferry or anything earlier on the trail if you recommend so)

Yevgeni

#6

Half of Pennsylvania is rocky, so perhaps boots might be an asset, of course many a hiker uses trailrunning shoes, changing them every month or so. new jersey is surprisingly scenic as it is in the hilly corner of the state. There’s lots of fruit to eat in Conn/Mass on old farms etc… (high bush blueberry etc…) as well as scenic hilltops… New Hampshire is most scenic & you may well need some winter gear, even in august! Maine is wild, but lots of clearcut logging criminals mar the trail area. I found it rainier in the south than N of HF; but ur results may vary. Have you done the Israel trail?

gingerbreadman

#7

How good of shape are you in? If you are in decent shape, or will be by the time you start, and you put in decent miles, you will run the risk of being done with the 1012.8 miles to Springer before your 3 months are up if you start at Haper’s Ferry and head north. Of course, you could build in zero days and some sightseeing days to stretch it out, if you want. There are LOADS of sightseeing possibilities in the PA/NJ/NY stretch (D.C., Gettysburg, NYC just to name a few). You could build in 20 zero days and still keep the daily mileage down to 14.5 average (assuming 3 months = 90 days). And, you won’t need “cold” weather gear in Maine in August (of course this depends on ones definition of “cold weather gear”. Being from Michigan, it ain’t “cold” until it is single digits F). You WILL want to stock up on few extra layers.

Good luck and remember how much you paid for this advise!

Bob

Bob Martin

#8

You might notice i said “cold weather gear” in regards to New Hampshire, where in August as I summited Mt. Washington was a below freezing hurricane so a neophyte without a reservation at a hut or a good map & skills could easily die of hypnotherapymia (pun intended). Tallyho!

gingerbreadman

#9

First of all are there any good tear shops around harper’s ferry or anywhere I could go through to buy tear before I start ? Because allmost everything here is very expensive . So any recomandations?

About the cold gear , I was thinking about microfleece shirt+a good fleece+not to heavy hard shell which would also be my rain jacket.
Do you think that would be enough ?
What about a sleeping bag would a 0-C/30-F bag be enough?

I know those questions are for the tear room but as long as we are on the subject…

yevgeni