Maybe some of you resent thru hikers can help me with this. I thru hiked the trail a long time ago. Most of my nights at the shelter were spent alone. If I were to start a NOBO hike about May 1st how often would I be the only person at the shelter?
Jeff
You would be behind a lot of the NOBO’s, but would probably catch some of them based on your previous hiking experience.
Don’t expect that you will be spending a lot of time alone in shelters during the summer months. Quite a few start late and you have those that linger behind the crowds, take side trips which slow them down, etc.
Also a lot of section hikers thru out the summer, boy scouts, AT Trail maintainers overnighting at shelters, hiking clubs, college kids hiking and partying, etc.
I would not expect most shelters to be crowded, but I would expect a little company each night, maybe one or two hikers/section hikers. Weekends/Friday/Saturday can get crowded with weekend hikers and section hikers.
So don’t expect crowds at the shelters like the March/April NOBO’s will have, but do expect some company----and be prepared to tent or tarp if necessary (college kids/boy scout troops, etc).
See you out there. :cheers
Maintain
You will likely find a lot of solitude starting at that time, with weekend and section hikers mainly being what you run into.
There were still a few people starting in late April/Early May, but the main group will be at least a few weeks ahead of you.
I went home for a couple of weeks in Damascus this year, and, starting April 13th, came back to Damascus about the time I would have made it there if I had started in early May. I ran into a few hikers, but had the trail to myself most of the time.
bearbait
I hike the western trails, dine in the camps/shelters and then wander off a mile or so and set up my hammock for the night. An hour of socializing is about all I can take and solitude is my prime objective…
stump
Jeff, I started May 6th this year. I was alone the first night and it was another few months until I spent another night alone. There will be plenty of thru-hikers during that time as many of the college students are just getting out of school. One of the great things is because there aren’t as many hikers as you would find in Mar and Apr you really get to know almost everyone. I found that I had met about 90% of the hikers that were within a couple days of me. However, I did not complete the entire AT and you will probably find that the farther you go the more the numbers will thin out.
Sleepwalker
I imagine that most thru-hikers just adjust to the different degrees of solitude they face. A couple of years ago I hiked the Bibbulmun Track in Australia (600 miles) and only shared a shelter 5 out of 35 times. I just got used to it and it felt a bit like having a personal summer house. In fact, I once went 4 days and never saw a soul. That felt kinda liberating as I recognised how rare and valuable an experience it was, especially coming from Britain, where we have 60 million people cooped up in a shoe box… But, I never begrudged anyone else turning up and it was goood to see them.
The traffic on the AT in mid-March, when I will be starting, does put me off a little as I imagine it detracts from the Wilderness experience. However, I still reckon it’s possible to be creative and live large at the shelter when you’re feeling in the party mood and tent/tarp it deep in the woods when you want to get away from it all.
Rick Bayley
I hope to someday hike the AT, and solitude would be my preference. I reconize starting late is the best way to achieve that. So how late in the year can I finish at Mt. Katahdin? If someone can tell me that, I can then detemine my latest start date based on my pace.
Clay Farris
I started April 18 in 2002 and was alone my first night, on Springer. But poses another story…
I finished Oct 13th and had a lot of solitude. I went hundreds of miles from central VA to MA without meeting anyone new, and that was hiking with and around the same group of maybe 2-10. I easily could have been alone at shelters had I struck out on my own and not stuck with the same two guys most of the time, but we weren’t looking to be that alone. I hiked alone during the day easily 95% of my whole hike. I welcome the chance at night to socialize and mingle with others, I liked my trail family! I wasn’t out there to do this solo 24/7. I never had a full shelter until VT when the LT hikers bumped up against us NOBO’s. You won’t have a problem with crowds, even in the Shennies or anywhere in the height of the summer. Groups in NJ, but other than that, this trail is way more solitary than people give it credit for.
Clay-that’s a long and involved question/answer. I finished with people who started in March, April and May and was passed in Gorham NH by a guy who started in June.
You can’t spend the night in Baxter SP after October 15th, but you can still summit on a non Class IV or V day (maybe even III) after that, as a day hike in and out of the park. ZipDrive finished in November on his hike in the late 90s! Don’t let people tell you it can’t be done. But people slow up in New England, I was catching and meeting new people all along Maine - there were major groups finishing just ahead of me. Shoot for after 10/15 and you’ll be alone. If the weather starts to close in, you can always flip up to K, summit it and then head back to where you just left from (Caratunk, Monson, wherever).
Bluebearee
I started my hike somewhat late this year (on April 23rd) and finished on Oct. 5th, and there were only two nights total where I had a shelter all to myself.
Wolverine
How about starting earlier? I started Jan 13, 2002, and was alone for most of Jan and Feb. After that I often had comnpany at the shelters, but often did not, too. Good luck
bluevist
How late you start and still finish depends of course on your average pace. But, let me give you some things to think about.
First, Baxter State Park closes for camping in Mid October, around Columbus Day. Katahdin is frequently open for climbing after that, provided that it is safe to do so. The Rangers close the summits whenever there is ice on the upper elevations. So, if you pick your days, it’s usually possible to summit as late as the end of October. That’s your deadline.
Second, some people do a leap frog or flip flop in order to summit before Katahdin is closed for the season.
Third, the typical thru-hike takes 5 1/2 months. Now, according to a survey done by Roland Muesser of 1989 hikers, the typical thru-hiker also takes 24 days off. So, if you reduce the number of zero days, that’s one way to do a thru-hike in fewer days. According to the same survey, 90% of thru-hikers require at least 21 weeks to do the hike. So, you better allow at least 5 months.
Generally speaking, very early May is about the latest you would want to comfortably start a thru-hike. If you start in late May, then you will probably need to hope that the weather holds, or you go faster than the average hiker.
On the other hand, 90% of thru-hikers take less than 27 weeks to do the trail. But, do hikers that have more time take more days off? I don’t know.
Peaks