If you start off with the sole intention of successfully completing the AT, what is the best strategy? Is it a simple straight-ahead march south to north, bagging even miles without social distractions in towns and keeping zero days to minimum? Or is a flip-flop, getting about half done nobo, then running up to Katahdin (long before snows) and completing AT sobo? Or is it some elaborate section-here, section-there? Or something else? Thoughts please.
mcintyre
One foot in front of the other. Something like, left, right, left, right, left, right, etc, etc… You’re over thinking… I hate to sound like a Nike commercial but " Just do it".
Bubble Boy
Bubble Boy, it has been my experience with hiking and most other things in life that there are smart ways of doing things – and then there are some other ways – and so my question remains: are there smart plans & strategies that will increase the likelyhood of success by reducing the trip-stopping risks such as snow in October at Katahdin?
McIntyre
If you get to Katahdin by October 1st, you most likely will beat the snow.
So there’s a start… Make it a goal to summit around the first. You can start on Springer anytime in April and manage to do that. With plenty of socializing and zero days. I think the best way is to do it your way. What do you want to do? Do you want to socialize? Do you want to take zeros? To be honest, it will be hard NOT to do either of those things.
Bubble Boy
Was to arrive at Springer Earth day, ask for forgivness, and walk north. Afew maildrops alongst the way, spur of the moment motel stops, drinking binges, hey, neat waterfall, that kinda thing…as according to the stars, arrived in the Purest way that I could, upon Denali, oh, I mean Kathadin Sept. 27, 2005, or so the evidence suggests, and there are witnesses. After about 15 mile day avg, excluding 15 zeros…first taken in Damascus just cause I couldn’t just stop. Good luck.
fishngame
fishngame, you did the Katahdin thing on sept. 27, 2005? So did I ! I don’t remember you… Oh, wait, are you the guy I met a few miles north of Springer on April 23rd? Okay, I remember you. You’re the guy that followed me for five months… or did I follow you?
Bubble Boy
Before I started I researched & researched; planned and planned; bought & bought - then “forgot” it all & walked to Maine.
My strategy, once I got on the trail, was that my intention was to hike to Katahdin, Maine - but I planned stop to stop, town to town.
From Springer I felt that if I made it to Damascus I would make it to Katahdin. By Damascus you have adjusted to trail life, daily miles, become trail hardened etc.
I enjoyed my self, took my time, took several weeks off to visit my daughters, met wonderful people & did not get in a hurry - but walked past every white blaze - and made it just short of 6 months.
Best strategy is what works for you - HYOH - Be Safe - and don’t race.
Evil
Evil Eye
I don’t think their is a magic formula for success on any long hike. Evil Eye had the stratagey that worked for me. Treat your trip as a number of smaller trips. Your first goal should be to get from Springer to Neal’s gap and then the next resupply. By setting small goals you have a better chance of achieving them. Socializing and zero days are up to the individual. Just avoid the vortex in towns like Damascus. In the end you need to hike your own hike.
Darth Packman
Psychology is probably the biggest factor. If you enjoy the adventure day by day, you will almost certainly make it barring an injury. on the other hand, I’ve met serious athletes who looked at the A.T. as a challenge and couldn’t make it b/c they would rather be somewhere else. Happy Trails!
freebird
Dear mcintyre,
I agree with freebird that psychology is probably the biggest factor. Enjoyment of each day is the key. Having said that, here are some other thoughts.
Bring enough money; or have access to as much money as possible. Why? So you can eat what you want when you hit town, along with a beer or two; load up with what you want to eat in the forest; and grab an occasional room and shower.
Don’t be afraid to flip flop, either to escape the cold and snow of Maine; or to escape the heat of the south; or because your spirit demands it.
Truly, hike as lightly as possible, but bring along a book to read, a journal to write in, and a camera for pictures.
Take time off when your body requests it, either by exhibiting unusual fatigue, or any manifesting any sort of pain. Rest, early on, will set you up well for the long haul. Let your body adjust.
Eat natural foods on the trail, such as oatmeal, raisins, honey; fruit and vegetables; brown rice; and minimally processed food after that, such as dried milk, cheese, peanut butter and good bread. Make these your base foods and you’ll feel better; it’s as simple as that. And take vitamins every day; they do help.
Arrange your day such that you get to shelters early in the day, so you can relax, establish your position, do what you need to do (wash up, soak your feet, cook and eat your fill), and have time to meet and socialize with other hikers as they trickle in. Life is, after all, so much about the people you meet along the way.
Take days off, not only in towns, but in the woods, at shelters, or places that appeal to you. Resting in nature will quiet you, speed up your recovery, and free you by allowing all anxiety and concern to dissipate. Remember, there’s a reason people seek to get “back to nature” and as Thoreau said, to “Simplify, simplify, simplify.” Sometimes it’s best to just “stop” and enjoy the stillness.
Start early and allow at least six months for your trip. Be diligent about your walk; but respond to your whims as well. In your musings, consider that there can be balance in life, and experiment with finding your own personal balance as you go along. Remember, as you proceed in your adventure, that you are doing something that is not only statistically unusual in the grand scheme of things, but something that will cause you to grow and mature in a positive way, and benefit you all your life.
Remember to have fun. As you contemplate the mysteries of life, something for which you will have abundant time, remember that one of the proposed answers to the question, “Why are we here”, is: “To enjoy ourselves.”
Best wishes to you.
Conan
Conan
Seems as though most people already summed it up pretty well. First and foremost, as we all know…“hike your own hike”. That being said, I can add a little from my experience.
Before my hike I was super anal about planning. I literally wrote out an itinerary for each day, planned every town stop, every mail drop, every friggin shower. After a few weeks on the trail though, I realized that while it was nice having an overall plan…I’d rather make my plans on the fly. I would read my thru-hikers companion every night, and think about what I wanted to do the next day or so. Things just fell into place. I agree with the sentiment though that you have to make smaller goals and milestones. If you just go out there and say, “katahdin here i come”. It will be hard to stay motivated knowing it’s so far away. Set smaller milestones like: 1/4 of the trail done, or 1st PO stop, or next State Line, or next page in your guidebook. whatever. It will give you a sense of accomplishment. I carried the maps, and it was great each night looking at how far I walked that day.
Make sure too that you do have some reserve money. There’s nothing better when you are feeling really down, than to pamper yourself with a hotel room. I though it was a great recharger of both body and mind.
most importantly, remember why it is that you set this goal. Everyone has their own reasons, and you will hear a lot of them when you meet people. There will be mornings where you wake up and same, “Ugh…I’m miserable. why am i doing this again?”
I carried a small card in my wallet with a picture of katahdin, that I would pull out and look at from time to time. It sounds silly, but it kept me going sometimes.
anyway…that’s it i guess. Great replies everybody!
-lakewood
lakewood
Conan, great post! I think I’ll print that out and take it with.
All I can add is, “Love to walk.” There are lots of great reasons to be out there, but I can’t imagine completing a long hike without having a very deep love of walking. If you have that, you’ll make it.
Garlic
Great advice above. Just do not worry about daily miles or if you will make it. Enjoy your surroundings, listen to your body by never hiking when tired or sore, try to get an early start each day, enjoy the vistas, the fellow hiking trash and you will make it. So why bother to get stressed out about it for after all it is the journey not the destination that counts. Here is a motto to follow…Miles come with smiles and the groans will lead to home, by stealthblew;)
STEALTHBLEW
given the trailname and all 
Seriously, though, I study strategy for a living. The thing to remember is that planning is both essential and limited. Proper strategy for anything is necessarily flexible, with room for fairly broad adjustment of tactical application. But tactical success depends on preparation nine times out of ten.
Study the trail before you go (you have time yet, a couple of weeks looking over your maps and guides will do fine) then mail them off in sections to yourself and take it as it comes.
Make broad but realistic plans (i.e., have a rough idea of where you’ll be at the end of every couple of weeks to a month) and be prepared for them to be modified by whatever moves you. That’s the essence of good strategy, adapting to whatever the tactical circumstances are without losing your strategic goal. Beyond that, it’s all about what motivates you; you need to know what your strategic purpose is, because that’s what gets you 2,175 miles to Maine.
Strategic
the most important key to success is to have it in your head that you will never quit, that you are going to thru-hike and be successful.
4 our of 5 days you’ll either be in some sort of pain or just plain want to stop hiking, and what pushes you up all those hills isn’t your legs, but your mind.
0101
~ If you hike with a good jar of “knock em stiff” or moonshine well, you’ll have great success!
:cheers
KTR
Look up every once in awile. If you don’t, all you will remember after your done is rocks and a narrow path about 18" wide… having never seen the vistas, wildlife or smiling faces.
Oh yeah, one more thing. Stop and actually say a few words to those thru-hikers going the opposite direction! They are just like you - but neither you or they had the privilege of spending much time getting to know one another.
Spanky