What to Do While Hiking the Appalachian Trail
7 Tips for Thru Hiking the Appalachian Trail
Thru hiking the Appalachian trail is no easy feat , and like with any thru-hike there is a lot of planning involved earlier you can even get started. How will you break up the hike? How will you stock upwardly on food? What is the best food to bring? Where will you camp? And those are only the things that you retrieve of right off the top of your head, what about all the things you didn't call up of! Well, in today'south post nosotros have brought on fellow outdoor adventurer and thru-hiking expert, Greg Seymour of the "Appalachian Trail Tales Blog", to give the states his seven best tips for planning a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, and we hope that by the terminate of this mail you will feel better prepared and gear up to accept on this ballsy American thru-hike. To larn more well-nigh Greg, cheque out his bio at the bottom!
"I'k going to hike the Appalachian Trail."
More and more this argument is finding its way onto prospective wanderers' saucepan lists or muttered by individuals seeking a bridge across the gulf of one life result to the adjacent. Thru-hikers are, by and large, in transition: from higher to workforce, married to divorced, or in me and my wife's instance, from Costa Rica expats to repatriation to the U.s..
This trend has been propelled past the popularity of ii best selling books, Wild by Cheryl Strayed and A Walk in the Wood by Pecker Bryson. Each glorifies the concept of walking on a whim. Hiking some long trail, in the cases of the aforementioned authors the Pacific Crest Trail or the Appalachian Trail (AT for short) respectively, in order to workout ones' life problems.
The stark reality is only 25% of those who set out with the intention of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail complete their quest. The term "thru-hike" means to trek the entirety of a long trail in any 12 consecutive months. My wife and I completed the 2,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail in 2017. We trudged up and clambered downward mountain after mountain, through 14 states, taking over 5,000,000 steps (have that Fitbit fanatics).
We were an unusual demographic for the feat:
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First, we hiked in our mid-forties when nigh aspiring thru-hikers are in their twenty'due south.
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Secondly, were hiking as a couple. Information technology'due south hard enough for one person to dodge ailments, injury, and fatigue, never listen two.
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Finally, in all our life leading up to our hike, simply once had nosotros camped exterior for more than two sequent nights. In one case.
Despite the odds, we made it. Nosotros went from backpacking neophytes to experts in half a year.
So without further ado, here are 7 tips that will help you prepare for an Appalachian Trail thru-hike:
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ane) Define Your Purpose for hiking the appalachian trail
I know what y'all are thinking … I am going to walk the Appalachian Trail, that's my purpose. Duh. Aye, merely there is a distinction betwixt hiking on the AT and completing a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Both are wonderful activities, the later even so takes focus and countless tenacity.
It's important to admit what exactly it is you are signing upwardly for when yous make up one's mind to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. It means hiking viii to 12 hours a solar day, half dozen or vii days a week. It means hiking in all types of atmospheric condition – rain, extreme heat, and possibly snow. It ways climbing and descending superlative gain and loss equivalent to 16 Mount Everest summits . It means being away from all that is normal and sleeping in a tent or hammock for five to 7 months. And, it ways having achy basic and sore feet every day of your hike and for months after. My wife and I agree, thru-hiking is the hardest affair, both mentally and physically, we have ever done … and it's awesome.
For us, our purpose was to walk to and top the mountain in the above photo, Mount Katahdin, Maine. The only "outs" we gave ourselves was if one of us incurred a serious injury or there was a family emergency at abode. Otherwise, we weren't stopping. Knowing and stating your purpose will aid you forge ahead when your body aches, all your gear has been wet for days, and yous are simply tired of walking.
There is a popular travel maxim that states, "It'southward the destination not the journey." This works if you are taking a vacation to some afar land, simply not so much for completing a thru-hike. It is true on a thru-hike you will meet incredible people, see wondrous sites, and district with nature, but if you focus solely on the journeying, you will never consummate your goal. Let's compromise and say, "Information technology'due south the destination AND the journey."
two) Ready the Way & Test your Appalachian Trail thru-hike Gear
Want to know a muddy little hush-hush? There actually is no way to train for hiking up and down mountain afterward mount ten hours a day for six months other than hiking up and downwardly mountains x hours a twenty-four hours for six months.
You can't really plan to hike the Appalachian Trail either. Well you can, simply you lot volition be thwarted. It might exist weather, an injury or but plain fatigue just your plans volition alter over the 2,200 miles of trail y'all must traverse.
You tin, however, set for this journey. Many of the points that follow are "preparing" blazon thru hiking tips simply let'southward commencement with the obvious. Y'all need to get to know your gear and utilise information technology in agin conditions.
At that place is no way to know that your rain gear is going to fail unless you lot go out in the rain and use it. There is no manner to know if your backpack is going to crusade you shoulder pain or rub your waist raw when laden with 30 pounds, unless y'all – you got it – hike many miles with a total pack. The same goes with shoes and actually all the other gear y'all will need on your trip.
For example, I recollect checking into a hotel in Hiawassee, Georgia, but 52 miles into the journey, and seeing hikers strewn nigh all nursing foot issues caused by improper footwear and overuse. Had the hiker walked miles in their shoes with a total pack before they started they could have switched to a better plumbing equipment shoe and prevented nearly of these injuries, some of which were debilitating.
Then earlier you head out, exist sure to test your gear, and get recommendations from others who accept gone earlier y'all on the best Appalachian Trail thru-hike gear list.
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iii) Appalachian Trail Mileage - Plan to beginning low & work up to higher mileage days
This grooming tip goes hand in hand (or is it foot in boot) with the terminal tip. You must have a plan to gainsay "race day" adrenalin. Runners will know what I am talking about. Starting a race out too fast and bonking as you get toward the end.
On a thru-hike the ramifications are much more serious. Starting the Appalachian Trail out as well fast tin cause irrecoverable injury. Information technology tin can happen then easily, you make friends with a group and you all desire to stick together. However, they want to practise big miles and you don't want to disappoint them, so yous end up hiking the showtime 20-mile hike of your life. Cardiovascularly you are great, simply you shred your feet, get shin splints or a stress fracture. If this does non end your hike you volition need to, at a minimum, take several days off. Nosotros saw hiker after hiker drop out considering of injury caused by high mileage early on.
It's my opinion that the average hiker should start a thru-hike in good, but not slap-up, concrete condition. The reason is simple; the majority of hikers practise not have mountains to train on. Therefore, fifty-fifty if they are fit and can run a half-marathon or walk 20 miles in flat Florida (or any other non-mountainous country) their body volition become destroyed if they try the same mileage up and down mountains conveying a total pack.
Subsequently one month on the trail, fitness levels normalize – everyone is now a long-distance hiker. For at least the first 3 weeks the novice hiker needs a mileage programme.
Our Appalachian Trail Mileage Programme:
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First Week - No more than eight miles per mean solar day
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Second Week - ten miles max per day
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3rd Calendar week - 12 miles max per day
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Fourth Week - 14 miles max per solar day
That was the plan, in reality we really stretched out the 12 mile per day schedule an additional week – our bodies told united states of america to, and we listened.
I credit this low mileage plan (along with getting to know our gear beforehand) with allowing usa to complete the trail injury costless. Non fifty-fifty one cicatrice betwixt my wife and I.
4) Money Matters - Hiking the Appalachian Trail Toll
Yous might be surprised how much it costs to hike the Appalachian Trail and wander around in the wood for half-dozen months. Everyone has their own view of the type of hike they would like to have merely a rough budget can be arrived at. The number that is thrown around most oft is $1,000 a month for on-trail expenses. This does not include cost of gear or getting to and from the trailhead.
It's non just Appalachian Trail nutrient to fuel day subsequently day of hiking that one needs coin for. The occasional hostel or hotel stay, laundry, and calorie laden, beer-guzzling diners out in town are all of import to a long-distance trekker's sanity. As well at that place may be expenses back at domicile, car insurance, health insurance, prison cell bill, etc. Finally, remember what information technology is you are doing, hiking in rough terrain in inclement weather condition. Your body and gear is going to suffer. Money should be set aside for gear repair/replacement and doctors visits and extra hotel stays should y'all become ill or injured.
There are many reasons why a prospective thru-hiker quits and lack of money is at the very summit of the list, later injury. Being financially prepared for this trip of a lifetime is imperative.
5) Have a Support System & point person while you hike the appalachian trail
One aspect of a thru-hike frequently disregarded is a support person non on the trail. While many thru-hikes are accomplished without a point person, we found having my wife's mom handle postal service back and forth eased our trip.
So, how exactly does a support person help? I'll give y'all a few examples.
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Transport them no-longer needed weight from your pack- Most northbound (NoBo) Appalachian Trail hikers start in Georgia in March. Weather condition during this time of twelvemonth can be unpredictable and hikers need winter clothes (additional layers, gloves and cap, etc.). Once the NoBo hiker hits Virginia they no longer need common cold weather clothes until much later in the trip. Having a point person gives y'all someone to receive your wearing apparel when you send them home. Believe me, you will love having iii or 5 fewer pounds on your back.
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Receive mail and clothing back when needed - Yous support person tin can also mail you your wearing apparel back when information technology is time to head into the White Mountains of New Hampshire. This is where the majority of thru-hikers retrieve their winter-wear.
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To ship newly ordered gear that needing replacing - Since it'due south hard to know exactly what boondocks you are going to be in on a certain date it's proficient to have a indicate person to receive gear that had been bought online and then that they can pinpoint delivery. My wife and I each bought an extra pair of shoes earlier our trek and Jen'due south mom shipped them out when we needed them.
On a side annotation, it'due south non the smartest idea to pre-buy shoes. Yes, you will wear out several pair (we went through 3 pair of trail runners each), but your human foot is likely to change over hundreds and hundreds of miles and you might decide you hate the shoes you lot bought.
You tin can see the value of a support person at home. It simply makes things easier and you can end up saving money, as yous don't have to buy gear from outfitters servicing desperate hikers.
6) Other tips for hiking the appalachian trail - the case for bringing engineering
I believe there are several excellent reasons to apply smart-phone technology when you are out in the wilderness.
Outset is the gloriousness of GPS. On our Appalachian Trail thru-hike nosotros used the paid app called Guthooks . The app was our trail map, guide, GPS, and planner. We could come across how much acme gain the adjacent mountain was going to be or look up the telephone number for the adjacent day's hostel stay. One phenomenal feature of the app is user-enabled comments. You can get real-time updates on water sources, shelter conditions, or even things like noro-virus outbreaks and bear activity.
Next, a smartphone can replace many other actress items. We used our iPhone seven Plus to take photos and video our unabridged journey which we were documenting daily for our YouTube channel. The telephone replaced an eReader and while it might sound crazy to read after x hours of hiking I did apply it for that. The phone allows you to go accurate atmospheric condition information from various apps and websites. The smart-phone replaces an MP3 actor. I normally preferred the audio of nature but occasionally I needed some extra motivation to get upwardly a difficult mount. Oh, in case you didn't know, no i likes your music selection as much equally you practice – use your ear buds.
And finally, this one is going to cause tomatoes to get thrown my way. There is value in staying connected to Social Media while on trail. I know, I know, but I have a rationale. My wife and I met then many people online while we were researching the trail that when we started we knew hikers that were ahead of u.s. and behind us. Similar to real-fourth dimension comments in Guthooks we were able to get intel about the trail from our friends ahead of united states of america and give information to those behind us. This was done mostly through Instagram and Facebook.
If you want your hike to be a Social Media detox or yous take a moral objection to engineering science on the trail just hike on by and ignore this whole section all together.
7) Allow yourself Time before and during your appalachian trail hike
It's time to wrap upwardly this article about preparing to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail by talking about that precious article we telephone call time. Having enough of it earlier and during a thru-hike attempt can save you coin, frustration, and potentially fifty-fifty your hike.
Nosotros had decided a year and a half in accelerate earlier nosotros set out to conquer the AT. Nosotros were living in Republic of costa rica when we decided the trail would be a bully transition dorsum to living in the U.s.a.. We weren't quite sure what our next adventure would be later on the Appalachian Trail, but we could figure it out over half-dozen months of hiking and talking about it.
Not only did a year and a half give united states time to wind down our time in Fundamental America it helped us in multiple other ways likewise. We could wait until the gear we wanted was on auction. Lightweight gear durable enough to withstand half dozen months of corruption is expensive. By having time and shopping wisely, we were able to cut our gear costs by well-nigh 45%.
Considering nosotros had time, we were able to try out our new paraphernalia in similar environments to the AT. Nosotros lived in the mountains of Costa Rica'due south central valley and we could walk out our front end door and climb mountains similar in difficulty to what nosotros would experience on the trail. Nosotros really had a blast (enter sarcastic font here) during the rainy flavour trying out all our equipment. Information technology was subsequently a soggy eight mile hike that I chose to switch from hiking boots to trail runners. Trail runners dry much more quickly and are lighter on the feet. I call that a win.
Lastly, having time allows y'all to save for the type of hike you want rather than force your hike to fit the coin y'all have. The departure could be hike catastrophe. For instance, say a snowstorm hits on Roan Mountain in Tennessee (similar it did for us) and you take to hole up in a hostel for three days when you simply had money for one. Then, back on trail, a huge tree limb falls on your tent (like it did ours) breaking a support pole and ripping the thin sil-nylon to shreds. Just two small things – that can easily happen – tin bust your budget or cause the residue of your hike to be miserable because all you tin beget to eat, fifty-fifty in town, is Ramen noodles.
In a like way, information technology'southward wise to give yourself longer than you think it will accept to hike the Appalachian Trail. The bulk of AT thru-hikers take 5 to vii months. We calculated conservatively we would take six months and gave ourselves time and money for seven. Fifty-fifty though nosotros had 2 unplanned sections where we took 3 days off each nosotros finished our thru hike of the Appalachian Trail one day shy of 6 months.
Long-altitude thru hiking seems to be a trend these days. A prospective hiker decides they want to hike the Appalachian Trail, and by god they are going to do it, and every bit presently as possible. And … that'south 1 way to exercise it. But, if your goal is to non only start but too finish a thru-hike, giving yourself plenty time to ready for and complete the epic claiming will give you the all-time hazard of reaching your goal.
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