Moving my hike up a year

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#1

I have been planning to thru hike the AT in 2007, sort of savoring the long term planning, waiting till March 2006 to really start cooking (I plan on cooking/dehydrating all of my dinners) thinking about the gear I still need to buy (new tent and pack and I know what I want to get for that) thinking about but not actually planning my mail drops yet, well here is the issue, just tonight the possibility of my hiking the AT in 2006 has come up - so I could leave in 4 months instead of 1 yr and 4 months! can I get ready that fast? do I want to go this year? 2007 has been in the planning for several years now, it makes me a little anxious to think of leaving so soon! is it possible to get all my planning done in just 4 months? (am I being totally ridiculous about this?)
thanks for any advise

HeartFire

#2

Although I understand savoring the planning process, I think four months is plenty of time to prepare for an AT thruhike. There may be moments where you’ll wonder if you can possibly get it all done in time – but that happens even when you have years to prepare.

For my first AT hike, I had about five months to seriously prepare - it was more than enough time. I bought the guidebooks, marked them up, bought my gear, trained, packed - and still had time to get nervous. My second AT hike, I had three weeks. It was hectic, but I was packed and stored in two. For the CDT, we had three years - more than enough time to memorize the guidebooks (not quite, but almost), but the last month was still insane because we had been taking our time since we had so much to spare. In January we still hadn’t started packing, our training was half-hearted, and I really wondered about our commitment to the hike. In March we got serious. We left in May. For the PCT we had the period between ending our CDT hike and starting for the PCT - about five months. We would have left in two if the weather had allowed.

Reality is, getting ready for a long hike isn’t that difficult. Buying gear can take some thought - or it can just be a question of buying what you can and dealing with the possibility that it isn’t ‘perfect’. (My AT gear wasn’t great - but it got me there.) Training can make your first weeks much easier - but you have four months to get in shape - that’s enough. Buying the guidebooks and figuring out a resupply strategy only takes a couple of weeks, if that. Do you have to dehydrate enough food for six months? Why not just do selective maildrops with your food, and buy the rest as you go. It’s much easier – especially if you have limited long distance hiking experience so don’t know whether your tastes will change after weeks on the trail. It happens to many, if not most, hikers.

As to whether you want to go - well that’s up to you. If you aren’t emotionally ready now, you may not be next year either. If you don’t really really want to be out hiking, then don’t do it. But if you yearn for the trail - then do what it takes to get out there.

I had the opposite problem: on at least two of my hikes, I was emotionally ready to go long before it was financially feasible to do it. Almost every day between April and November I thought, “I wish I were hiking.” Or “I can’t wait to be on the trail.” We started our countdown at about 500 days - now there are only 145 to go - and I still can barely stand the wait. I know how much we still have to do - a house to pack up and 10,000 details to take care of - but one way or another, we’re going hiking.

And just remember - you had it in your head to hike in 2007. You still can. But you can also hike in 2006 - and then either go back the next year, or go hike the PCT in 2007.

Ginny

#3

one thing you could consider to help w/ your planning would be to forgo mail drops. there are plenty of places to buy food along the trail. if you do a search here, whiteblaze, or trailplace you will find this issue discussed.

for me I hate planning something that big so far in advance. plus, you might not want what you send yourself later on down the trail. there are a couple place mail drops would be helpful, you could have those mailed from home, or you could mail them yourself from the trail. if you do decide to use mail drops, to save on money postage use flat rate boxes. postage is only $7.70, regardless of weight or destination.

lastly, check out Baltimore Jack’s resupply article at whiteblaze. he plans on updating it for 2006.

good luck

jerm

#4

You can absolutely plan a thru-hike in 4 months or less. I say go for it! Completing the AT was always in the back of my mind and once I decided that '05 was the year for me, I had just over a month to do the actual planning. I had most of the gear already which helped a great deal and I only planned a few maildrops. Other than that, the most time consuming task was organizing finances/bills and transportation to Springer.

If I were to offer any advice, it would be not to overplan. This will probably be one of the most flexible endeavours you will be able to undertake–use it to your advantage. Don’t set yourself up for disappointment by having too many plans…something will inevitably not turn out the way you anticipated and it has the potential to put a damper on an otherwise perfect day. You don’t need to “train” as the trail will whip your butt into shape within a few weeks. Just go for it, don’t look back and get ready for a life-altering summer!

Wildcat '05

#5

when i was thinking about hiking, i planned a zillion things. most of them never happened, and i got tired of prepackaged foods including candy of every shape and size.

now, when i want to go, i wash out my camelbak and get something at the mini mart, i’ll get to the next resupply. there is a lot of food you can buy for $7.70. why buy postage. there are maybe 3 places you would absolutely want to have a maildrop. everywhere else can be preference. even the worst resupplies have something.

when it’s all said and done, being able to adapt and live in the moment is all that will be important.

the long distance hikers know that it all hinges on something as simple as a shoe string, but isn’t that the joy of it.

PS:best advice i ever heard, Ginny! hey wildcat! jerm

burn

#6

about his rotten teeth. If you wanted to hit the trail tomorrow all you need is a few days of food, your gear and follow the white painted thingies. In retro, its that easy. Mail drop to Fontana.

Bushwhack

#7

Thank you all for your advice, I haven’t made my decision yet, but will in the next 2 or 3 days, I’ve always been curious about peoples attitude about mail drops and getting tired of what you send - I can make a much larger variety of dinners and dehydrate them than I would find at stores along the way! I have at least 30 different recipies for dinners (I dont’ eat that much variety at home!) Also, I am vegitarian, so there is a lot of stuff along the way that I won’t eat. That being said, as I have never long distance hiked befire, I guess I’ll find the truth of this during my hike.

I have one obligation that may keep me from hiking - I promised my niece I would make her wedding gown, (I do this professionaly) she is getting married in August. If I can weasel my way out of this then the way is clear for my hike.

HeartFire

#8

in october of 2000 i got home from work one day to find that they’d cut off the free cable that i’d been watching for the last year and a half. my first thought was, “crap. what am i going to do now?”

i decided that maybe i should pick up a book and learn how to read. that first book was about the AT. i picked up a second book about the AT and was sitting at the laundry mat one night-about half way through it-when it hit me: i’m going to hike the appalachian trail.

twelve days later i’d quit my job moved out of my apartment and was standing on springer mountain.

i was young and dumb back then and didn’t have a clue as to what i was doing, but i still made it 500 miles that year. a serious illness brought off the trail in january of 2001. i hadn’t planned on getting sick, but i had planned on lots of other things as i hiked.

it doesn’t matter how much you plan and save and prepare- when you take that first step on your hike, everything will change.

so, like everyone else said, go for it.

grizzly adam

#9

When the chance come to thru-hike you take it. By waiting another year you may not have the chance even if you plan for it. I say just do it before live intervenes and puts off your hike for a few more years.

Darth Pacman

#10

check out Lipsmackin’ Vegetarian Backpackin’ for some great recipes. you’ll love the springer mountain pesto pasta. in fact, i turned grizzly adam onto it this summer on the jmt.

and, if you have not bought maps yet take advantage of the The Famous Guidebook Special from the atc.

jerm

#11

If you are into vegetarian recipes, due to a friend of mine, I put up sections on my outdoor cooking website that is vegetarian/vegan. Scroll about a third down, past the low sodium section.

http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/lowsodiumvegetarianveg.htm

sarbar

#12

sarbar, are these in your new book? i can’t wait to try these out. also the low sodium recipies i have forwarded to my dad.

jerm

#13

Hi Jerm,
Some are in the new book, I put my favorites from the website plus a ton of new ones. I had a guy ask me about the recipes over on whiteblaze, and what I told him is this:
Any recipe calling for boullion, a person can use vegetable boullion, and any recipe calling for hamburger one can use TVP in small size :slight_smile: Same for chicken…just use the larger TVP.

The low sodium recipes are my current thing-I was put on a severly low sodium diet last month…my goal now is to do a heart healthy/body healthy/low sodium cookbook for outdoor people. I was disgusted that the huge libary system here in King County, WA had a whopping 15 books on low sodium! I have started meeting more people with health issues that hike :slight_smile:

sarbar

#14

Sarbar, I’ve been to your website before an copied it all donw’, thanks,
Pretty much after reading the 2 cookbooks by Linda Frederick Yaffe - the backpacker gourmet and Hig trail cookery, I’ve found that you can dehydrate pretty much any one pot meal and soups. I’ve done quite a bit of this in the past and havne’t found a recipe yet that didn’t rehydrate well.

ok, so all I need to do is stop being chicken and call my niece, and then the road is clear,

Darth, Your comment about next year hit home - I will take the oppotunity when its here!

Heartfire

#15

Tell your niece that off the rack is so much more stylish :smiley:
Hehheh!!

sarbar

#16

Sorry Grizz, I couldn’t let you get away with watching free cable any longer, call me a whisteblower or whatever you will, i had to do it.

I have a similar story to Grizzly Adam, leaving for Springer at a moments notice back in the fall of 2001. Planning stuff isn’t for everybody ya know.

Burn, email me baby.

Cheers

Cheers

#17

Anyone who knows Grizz knows he’s the master of impulsiveness, grand adventure, and serendipity–3 traits that come in quite handy while long distance hiking.

Cap’n