my husband and i are planning to hike the southern long trail in sept. we are fit, have smaller hikes under our belt. but this will be our longest hike to date. what distance can we reasonably expect to cover per day and still enjoy the ourselves? we want to cover as much ground as possible as our time is limited to 2 weeks, but we want to have fun doing it. thanks for any info you can give.
carol
Many people say they are fit, when in fact they can’t hike several 10 to 15 mile days in a row with a pack on without experiencing extreme pain in legs/feet.
I think hiking with a pack is one of the most strenous forms of exercise known to man especially when you are climbing up a mountain side with the pack on.
Your body will tell you what your mileage should be. Expect to be very sore for a few days/weeks even if you are “fit”. You can be fit, yet not used to hiking 10 to 15 miles a day with a pack on so you will get sore and stiff. But it all passes. Best thing to do is walk the stiffness off daily, but don’t try to push it.
I would suggest setting no mileage goals. Just let it happen. Take is slow and enjoy the hike and life. 5 to 10 miles a day might be all you want to do, maybe even less.
See you out there. :cheers
Maintain
When my husband and I use to section hike the AT we found that 8-10 miles was basically what we ended up doing. We would have a long lunch break and get o camp early. However, this allowed us time to sit and enjoy. After all it was vacation. If a shelter was a little further we usually went to it as that was usually the water source. – If you are a shelter type couple you may paln for every other shelter, but have your tent so you can be flexible once out on the trail. Good Luck and enjoy. Sue/HH:girl
Hammock Hanger
I hiked the “southern LT” a month ago. If you are refering to the southern 100 miles or the portion shared with the Appalachian Trail. I hiked it in 7 days, but only a couple of those days weren’t full hiking days. The terrain is much more gentle than the mountains to the north or the whites in new hampshire. There are plenty of “flat” miles and easy strolling. There are also a couple nasty long climbs such as Stratton Mtn, Bromley mtn, Killington, the descent and ascent of Route 9 near Bennington and many short steep hills. There are tons of shelters in this section so you can plan days of short or long duration and not have to worry about camping restrictions.
I was in generally good shape but started with a fairly light pack (25 lbs with 3-4 days of food and 2 quarts of water). I had also previously hiked this section.
I’d think 8-12 miles is an obtainable goal for this section coming out of the gate.
Enjoy its a great one!
A-Train
Carol:I agree with most of the posts.I hiked the Long Trail a few years ago and think 10 MPD(Miles Per Day}is about right.Lots of Shelters along the trail but I would at least take some type of shelter,e.g.,a tarp in case the shelters are full, which I dont think will happen.September in probable the ideal time to enjoy the trail
OLD & IN THE WAY
I am hiking from Davenport Gap south to Dicks Creek Gap N to S on the AT. The mileage is 168 miles and I am trying to attain this in 9 days. I have gotten my pack weight for 9 days of food and 2 liters of water to 30.6lbs. Is this an attainable goal? I am in fairly good shape but have a lot of determination.
BIRD
100’s of people die every year in the Grand Canyon cause they think they can keep hiking on the 12 mile trail to the bottom cause its so easy, right? But all to soon find out that the hike up is to strenuous in the 100+ heat of the afternoon now. Ask the park, they hear it all the time, they evacuate dayhikers by the thousands every year. this is the Reality, I use as my example that’s all. I got thousands too, to think about as a all happy hiker, right?
So my point is Elevation, it cuts my mileage in half and high himidity makes its worst, so it would make sense to read a topo map before you go to. You might only do 5 miles and be dead tired cause of elevation and humidity and now worst, no water anywhere, that’s 8 more miles on the map. And also I have found out a single hiking pole like a Leki works wonders on my knees on the down hike where things arn’t so graded.
That’s a long stretch of miles to go without refueling Bird. I would catch my food for that far even if if I had to satellite my outfitters plane to drop me food on the Old Canol Trail in Canada. Just a example for the not so faint of heart, OK? But you should be able to find some place to catch half you food load on that section, that way I could break my pack weight like yours down to 22 or teens pounds [I don’t know] and man the weight savings will make a difference the whole 168 miles and maybe have xtra food to throw away at your catch or drop at the half way point to. 
Greg
Agree completely with Greg.
Flat land or downhill you can hike with a pack confortably at a 30 minutes per mile pace. Uphill however you must add 30 minutes per each 500 feet of elevation. So that can easily double your hiking time to hike a few miles up a mountain.
Throw in the temperature and the humidity and you’ve got a killer hike to hike say five miles.
There are people who physically destroy their bodies (knees, feet, legs) trying to thru hike each year. Yes, determination goes a long way to completing a hike, but stupid “never say die determination” can destoy you knees and they will be destroyed for the rest of your life so you will hobble around. Also it can get you killed or having to be evacuated by the rangers (if they happen to find you).
So try to be a little smart about it. Read the topo maps and plan your hike, get in shape, and don’t just count on your determination and “never say die” attitude elsewise you might.
See you out there. :cheers
Maintain
hey bird, I think I did the smokies in like 5 days. I did the NOBO hike and hiked out 27 miles the last day. I would bet anything is doable, but I would caution, that I find that during my hike, I walked right by so many nice places to hang out that I will have to go back and revisit them. That will be nice too…if…and I do mean if, I ever get around to it.
I would guess by now that I have hiked enough to know, as a beginner, that there is more to hiking than miles and I would guess, no matter how strong or strong willed you are, I would prefer to hike less and enjoy why I am out there more. Folks like Maintain, gave me some ideals to live by out there. He quotes often, never go too far, too soon, too fast, or something similar. I would modify it now to never go too far or too fast…period! BTW maintain, I thought of you often. Sure wished we could have gotten together along the way.
Oh, to prove a point to myself, I snuck out and hiked a small bit of PA during the 4th of July week just to see if after all my hiking hubbub, if I really enjoyed it. Heck yeh. I even climbed out of Palmerton on the evening I would leave, just to say I did. So even with big straight up elevation changes, you can possibly do more than you imagined, and in this particular case, I enjoyed the physical demands I put on my body, but I will probably never ever push like that again. It is fun while it lasts…so why not make it last.
Hope to see you out there. and just a side note, my guess is that 1st SOBO day is gonna make you rethink your lofty goals.
burn
Give yourself plenty of extra time on the days you summit Glastenbury, Stratton and Bromeley peaks. Stay in the hut on Bromely, and be sure to visit the firetowers.
Killington Peak is an uphill pull too, so be be sure to allow enough time to go up the truly eye-popping rock scramble (a short blue-blaze) to the peak. The view is totally worth it. (Bring your wallet too, I spent like, $6 on a cup of coffee, a milk and an ice cream bar. But, coffee and ice cream never tasted so good.)
Reward yourself for a job well done with a shower and Guinness Irish stew with real homemade soda bread at the Inn at Long Trail at Sherbourne Pass, your trip terminus.
Ten miles a day is a reasonable goal, especially if you take breaks. Even if you travel only a mile an hour due to terrain of unfitness, you have plenty of daylight to do that in. Carry as little food as possible, sending a box ahead to Stratton Mt. (if you call ahead, they will ship it up to the hut), resupply in Manchester Center. Water supply was decent in the southern half, a little dryer past Inn at Long Trail.
Have fun - and plan on doing the tougher but more spectacular norther section in the future.
LiteShoe
My bf and I have hiked the LT north of App Gap to Canada over the last couple of years, and next week we’re hiking north from the Inn at Long Trail to App Gap. How does the terrain in that stretch compare to what we’ve already done? How’s the water in that section?
Thanks!
doughgirl
I just got back from Vermont yesterday. Finished up by doing the 40 some miles I couldn’t make last fall from Rte 4 to Lincoln Gap. That part is definitely gentler terrain than north of Lincoln Gap. The steep pull yourself up ledges and ladders and heineous trail that exists north of there is not part of this section.
Lincoln Gap to App Gap is the high elevation part over the ski areas. That’s a semi-rugged stretch, Mt Abe is rocks and ledges and steep and going back down into App Gap, ditto, some ladders. In between the two gaps you’re going up and down to 4000 feet, some on ski trail and most in the woods, contouring near the ski areas on the west side. We did this on a snowy wet day so I have limited memory of the specifics. It was our downfall last autumn.
Water?? ha! the trail is a river right now. You could slither along like a snake and drink as you go. Seriously, water isn’t an issue except that between the two gaps mentioned earlier that is higher terrain. You can fill up at Battell, there’s a good running flow near Glen Ellen Lodge off trail, if you stay @ Stark’s Nest there’s water down the Catamount Ski Trail (quite a ways, but the only running water around), I believe Theron Dean is traditionally dry.
Good luck, see the other thread by the SOBO who just bailed for a few weeks. The trail is one muddy, overgrown, muddy, mess right now. I was not impressed. Take your waders and bring lopers.
Bluebearee