At thru hike 2011

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#1

Hello everyone! So glad I found this forum their is so much useful information it is insane! I’m 19, and I plan on thru hiking the AT starting in June. I completed a section hike thru the AT during an outward bound course my parents sent me to when I was about 15 years old… I would like to depart sooner but due to financial reasons I’m going to need to stay in detroit a few more months to gather supplies.

Just a few questions before I make my departure:

  1. How can I schedule to leave my car in Georgia when I begin hiking?

  2. I’ve read alot about people using shelters. Is it smart to totally rely on shelters to sleep in or will a tent be mandatory? I’m going for the lightest load possible.

  3. I’ve also read alot about the controversy of firearms on the trail, I carry a glock normally in my hometown for protection and would love to bring it along. However, I would rather just bring a knife just in case. Is a knife the better option?

  4. I remember hiking Mt. Mousalake (i think thats how its spelled) How does that mountain compare to some of the other peaks? I remember it was quite the physical challenge and want to see what I’m up against.

  5. Should I prepack mail drops or just head into town for groceries? (which I dont mind doing)

  6. Whats a good preventive measure to prevent ticks and lyme disease on the trail? As i’ve read much about how it’s common to AT hikers.

  7. I remember having the worst blisters of my life on my feet, whats your remedy to cope with this unavoidable tactic on the trail?!

Thanks to everyone who responds, This has been a big dream of mine ever since I got a little taste of what the AT was like and I plan on doing some real soul searching while I’m out there.

Bless,
James

James

#2

Hi James,

  1. Leave the Glock and the knife in Detroit. Don’t carry the weight.
  2. Buy your food as you go. Your taste buds will change as you go and local resupplies are easy on the AT. Ship your maps/guide books ahead to a few POs.
  3. Wear trail running shoes, not boots. Walk 5 miles a day in those shoes before you start your hike.

Good luck and enjoy.

bowlegs

#3

  1. You can’t depend on shelters as they could be full when you get there. I recommend a light weight tent or hammock. I use a tarp tent I made myself out of nylon.

  2. I agree with bowlegs on the glock. There is no need for it on the trail and it is not worth the weight. Do carry a small pocket knife though. You never no when you need it to open a bag or cut string ect.

5)pre package vs. shopping in town is up to you. Seems to be alot of people shop in town. I like to send mine.

  1. make sure your shoes are a size larger than normal. This allows room for your feet to swell as your hiking and they don’t get cramped. Wear a liner sock under your wool sock. This helps reduce the friction created as your walking. The liner sock will wick the moisture and kind of stick to your feet allowing the friction created to be between the liner and the wool sock. Carry some mole skins or a small amount of duck tape just in case you do start getting blisters. Wrap some duck tape around a trekking pole or nalgene, don’t carry the roll.

Good luck and have fun.

Pacemaker

#4

Hey bowlegs, why trail runner vs. boots? I used boots on my section hike and they were fine, maybe a bit heavy… but fine. I’ve read numerous storied about people wearing trailrunners and them falling apart a month later.

Also, if I start in late july and hike SOBO, will I have enough time?!

James

#5

Boots a great for section hikes. They brace your ankles, provide support, but they also restrict motion. Restricted motion over several months add up to potential stress injuries. Stiffness of the boots also equals blisters. Trail runners are like sneakers with heavy tread. Also, lighter weight trailrunners help make for bigger miles. Being young and in good shape you could make it to Springer by early Winter starting in late July. You should find a way to post regularly on TJ so we can keep track of you and offer some trail magic when you are in our areas. Have a great hike!

Gabby Art

#6

Also, boots will break down on a long hike like the AT. You should expect to run through 3 pairs of boots. I recommend that you buy the replacement trail runners during town stops along the way. Have your feet measured each time. That way you will have an accurate fit and allow for the change in the shape of your feet. I expected my feet to get longer on my 2004 hike but they actually shrank and got wider. I wore trail runners and never got a single blister. I did sprain my ankle on the NY/NJ state line but just kept walking.

Gabby Art

#7

Starting in June you may want to consider starting in Maine or doing a flip flop part way up. Starting in Maine is harder due to bugs, high water, and harder terrain right off the bat. If you hiked Mooselaukee you hiked a mountain harder then anything down south.

Big B

#8

Weight, weight, weight. For me, the only downside of shoes is less protection from sharp rocks. The bottoms of your feet get really bruised the first week but that goes away. Use some sole inserts like Dr. Scholl’s for a couple of weeks then throw them away after your feet toughen up. Shoes last from 500 to 1000 miles so you’ll need several pairs for a thru hike. Also, with shoes you just walk thru creek crossings with them on. They’ll dry out (sort of, kind of) in a couple of hours.

My curret shoes are New Balance 850 trail walkers. They’re a little heavier than trail runners but have slightly more padding in the sole. Also, New Balance shoes come in 4E widths which I need.

Yes, feet really swell up during a long hike. Ditto what Pacemaker says.

bowlegs

#9

If you plan on doing the entire trail, it would be ideal to leave your car at home and fly or take the bus down to N GA. Shuttles can be arranged to get you to the starting point.

You’ll definitely want to carry a tent or tarp b/c there will be some nights the shelter will not be available for whatever reason. I preferred the shelters too, but was glad on more than a few days when I had to put up the tent. There’s a bunch of tenting spots with no shelters along the trail that were superb you’ll want to experience.

A small knife is all you’ll need out there to use as a tool. The trail is safer than anticipated, it’s a tight knit community that amazes many people every year you’ll find is friendly and looks out for one another.

The Whites are the toughest climb out there, in my opinion, even when we were in super hiker shape, going from 15-20 miles per day right down to 7 miles that first day up Mt Moosilauke. It wiped us out, but our legs adjusted w/n 2 days and were able to handle the 3-4000 foot climbs much better. The mountains in GA were tough only b/c we weren’t in shape at the time. Everything else in between are still challenging, but you recover quickly since you’re in good shape after 4-5 weeks.

Your choice on the food resupply. My opinion, the town stops are easier and less stress than all the prep and planning of mailing food, unless you need to keep a special diet.

With ticks, just remember to check yourself every day while in camp when the weather gets warm. Most people I knew that got Lyme didn’t check themselves regularly. But most of those people were back out on the trail w/n a few days of rest and medication. It shouldn’t be a show stopper, just a delay.

And I second the liner socks for blister prevention. I wore liners with a pair of wool socks the whole trip and didn’t get one blister. But I also wore my hiking shoes a lot before the trip, during my pre-trip training to get my feet prepared. Definitely work early on getting them toughened up.

It’s awesome you’ll be able to do this trip, it does develop your perspective on a lot of things living the simple life for a few months, and you’ll never forget all the hikers and supporters you’ll meet along the way! Good luck to ya!

Blue

#10

Thanks bugs! I appreciate all the advice!

james

#11

There is a middle ground; I started out my '89 hike with hi tec lightweight boots; then my folks sent the wrong pair & I got painful blisters with heavy boots halfway up the trail. Had i known about Asics & other ultralight trail runners, i would have been making even better mileage. I never used anything else but trail runners on the cdt & did quite fine, granted I am light on my feet & the trail was less rocky than the AT. The most important thing to remember, is use 2 pairs socks with all boots, but most hikers only use liner sox with trail runners… if you use 2 pairs with trail runners, you get blisters, just like if you use 1 pair with boots. 4 years ago it was still impossible to find trail runners in australia, I couldn’t even find decently priced joggers! (I tried in Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Canberra, & Melbourne)!!!

gingerbreadman

#12

  1. The shelters usually have room, except for shelters near the road on the weekend nights when inconsiderate
    groups like to hike a mile in & claim all the space.

  2. I carried a Tennessee Toothpick for bears, but if a murderer comes a calling, the best defense is an offense, jump the blastard becuz chances are you can’t reach your gun in time.

  3. Expect ridiculous amounts of up & down as the AT groups liked to go every peak, bald, or hillock… they may even have to as the appalachians are so settled. Also, only half of Pennsylvania is loose rocks!!!

  4. While I prepacked & had mailed many of the supplies I used, due to being a health food vegan; you can do what I did on the CDT & shop bigtime at the big towns/cities where there are large supermarkets/healthfoodshops & forward drift boxes to the tiny towns/serstagros/PO’s… for example I shopped in Bozeman,MT for the entire Montana/Wyoming parts of the trail… sending a big box by parcel post to towns I knew I would be able to spend a day or 2… then forwarding part of it priority to tiny town PO’s 200 miles or more ahead where if I arrived on a Saturday, I could write a postcard to the PO to forward my priority package for free to another stop about 200 miles ahead…I call it leapfrogging because I usually pick up a package about every 100 miles so I don’t send a box to my next stop, but 2 stops away.

  5. Check your crotch, underarms, legs, but most especially have a friend check your back for ticks. In Australia, my tent was covered with hundreds of hungry leeches swinging in a circle to sniff the air for my CO2 I guess. You better check your sock zone in leech country; but they are easy to flick off with a fingernail.

gingerbreadman