View Full Version : Spotting my car
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02-05-2008, 20:39
Thankyou to everyone who participates in these forums. Your suggestions are invaluable to persons beginning the process of a thru-hike. I can not thankyou all enough for all your advice and considerate suggestions.
I will start my thru hike in early March, I have prepared as well as I can without really knowing what I am preparing for. It concerns me to start this adventure without any trail experience.
My question;
Is it possible to spot my car at different locations early on to provide a safety valve? For the first 100 or 150 miles would it be helpful to have my car staged at an anticipated destination to help me adapt to the trail environment.
And if I did stage the car where would I finally store it when I felt my wings were strong enough to fly?
Any suggestions or comments would be helpful.
Respectfully,
Trail Name not determined
neighbor dave
02-05-2008, 20:43
:-?really! it'll set ya free!! if you have a car you'll have an easy out! dumpin' the buggy will put you out there and give you the feelin' of freedom. take the bus home if you really feel like bailin' but i think you'll make out just fine. go for it!:-?
_terrapin_
02-05-2008, 21:11
Since you asked: this sort of strategy isn't conducive to "success" by any measure. The car isn't going to help you adapt. It's a crutch.
Toolshed
02-05-2008, 21:39
I agree - If you think you are hiking "to your car" you might just end up hiking to your car.
I don't think that's a bad idea in principle... I mean, it's not that different than folks who have a friend meet them at certain points along the way to help with resupply logistics.
Plus, a lot of folks hitch hike into towns... sure would be more convenient to have my own car waiting for me instead. Plus a guy who wasn't familiar with what gear to take or leave could more easily have back up plans waiting in the car and offload unwanted gear into the trunk.
While I think the idea is valid... I have no idea how one would go about implementing such a plan.
Maybe park it in Hiawassee, GA and take a bus/taxi from there to the trail head at Amicalola State Park... Then the car will be there for you in 66 miles... but it won't be there again after that, and you'd have to research whether there is long term parking in Hiawassee.
Despite some advantages, it's probably far easier logistically to skip having your car on hand.
I recommend driving your car to local trails and pulling some weekend trips between now and when you start in March... that way you'll be past wanting your car around by the time you start out for the long haul.
There is always a chance your car will be broken into/vandalized if you just leave it at a trailhead for a long time.
Toolshed
02-06-2008, 08:43
Something in me says if you are not ready to let go of your car (Just in case), perhaps you are not really mentally ready to let go, and go.
SlowLightTrek
02-06-2008, 09:57
There was a couple this year that thru-hiked using 2 cars. Alot of slackpacking. Not for me but to each his own. I think they showered more often then me.
My advise would be to leave the car home. If you are serious, and determined than you don't need a car. It would be a great distraction from your hike.
If the idea of a safety valve gives you the security you need then I would suggest that it would be easier and probably cheeper to get back to Gainesville or further ahead to Knoxville and rent a car to get home.
Good Luck - gpk
Lone Wolf
02-06-2008, 11:56
Is it possible to spot my car at different locations early on to provide a safety valve? For the first 100 or 150 miles would it be helpful to have my car staged at an anticipated destination to help me adapt to the trail environment.
it is possible but it would be a pain in the ass. you're planning to thru-hike, not section hike, so take public transportation to georgia and just start walking. if you decide to get off, contact a shuttler (there's dozens of them)and get a ride to bus/train station and go home
Blissful
02-06-2008, 11:57
Welcome!!!
Agree, leave the car at home and set out on your adventure of a lifetime. Take it one day at a time. Don't go too fast when you start out. Use Neels Gap to help you resupply and redo your gear. Enjoy the experience, one mile at a time, one foot in front of the other. It's beautiful out there.
Shiraz-mataz
02-06-2008, 12:01
There's a great line by Capt. Ramius in The Hunt for Red October:
When he reached the New World, Cortez burned his ships. As a result his men were well motivated.
Consider the trail your "new world..."
Park the car in Maine, and then walk to it.
Toolshed
02-06-2008, 12:08
There's a great line by Capt. Ramius in The Hunt for Red October:
When he reached the New World, Cortez burned his ships. As a result his men were well motivated.
Consider the trail your "new world..."
Funny...... I cannot read that sentence in any other accent that Sean O'Connors
dixicritter
02-06-2008, 12:09
Take it from me... spotting a car takes quite the co-ordination and can be quite the hassle if you don't have someone to help you do it. Also from what SGT Rock said, he felt at times like he was just hiking to his car, not really on a Thru-hike. So we've stopped spotting a car now as it was just too much of a pain.
I think if I were you I'd listen to the advice of these others who have hiked the trail and really consider leaving your car at home. There are many many options if you decide to leave the trail... rent a car, take a bus or plane home, have someone come get you... etc. You won't be stuck is all I'm trying to say. :)
Best of luck to you!
Miss Janet
02-06-2008, 16:01
Drive to Erwin and pick me up and I will ride with you to get you on the trail... I have been there a few times. Then I will drive your car back to Erwin (338 hiking miles and just a few hours drive to any trailhead south of here) and park it. As you come up the trail and if you feel the need to get your car you just give me a call.
Now this sounds a little too easy... but I promise you I am not so quick to bring you a means to escape your hike. I can be pretty good at figuring out if you are "through" or just need some encouragement and maybe a new plan of attack. I wouldn't hold your car hostage and MAKE you hike to Erwin... but I think you would make it this far and then you could decide what the next move would be.
Lone Wolf
02-06-2008, 17:31
seriously. leave the car home. go walk the trail. one less thing to worry about
booney_1
02-08-2008, 23:12
In NC there will be many LONG stretches where there are no places to leave your car (or would want to due to potential vandalism).
The car would be more of a liability than a help. A lot of the smaller towns in NC and VA have bus service, so you if want to bail, it would be easy to take a bus back to where ever home is. Or at least a major transportation hub.
River Runner
02-08-2008, 23:29
The logistics of moving the car around from place to place would be a hassle and probably expensive, since you would need to drive it up ahead of you on the trail, then shuttle back to where you want to start hiking again.
Bootstrap
02-09-2008, 11:17
I think what provides some of the security you are looking for is trail towns. Get a copy of one of the AT guides, and you can see that there are places where you can get to a hostel and call people to come help you, or to catch a bus and go wherever you need to go in order to get your car or get home.
Maybe it would be helpful to have a "bail plan", a plan for what to do if you decide you can't or don't want to continue. It might also be helpful to think out what worries you the most and how to plan for it. And trying things out as much as possible ahead of time can also be helpful - sleep out with your gear in the back yard or in a nearby park so you are familiar with it before the hike starts.
So ... figure out what kinds of security the car represents to you, and see what more realistic ways you can find the security you need.
The car wouldn't be where you need it when you need it anyway. Period.
Jonathan
shelterbuilder
02-09-2008, 11:47
Although Miss Janet's very generous offer is probably the best that you'll get in terms of a compromise between what you suggest and what everyone else is trying to tell you, I think that if you haven't decided to "burn your ships", then you MAY NOT be motivated enough to do a thru at this time. The trail is not about convenience - much of it is about sacrifice. You need to be able to sacrifice certain things to the "cause of the hike", and having an easy bail-out is one of those things. That being said, bus and shuttle service IS readily available if it becomes necessary.
Besides, your car will be of little use to you if you arrive to find it vandalized!:eek:
Good Luck.
kenkittle
02-09-2008, 12:38
I have been hiking the AT since the eighties and used my car on all the hikes. I completed the trail between Springer and Gorham. the pros far out weigh the cons to me. I tried to leave my car in cpgrds or populated area's. I would hike a week or two than hitchhike back to it. I do not advocate this method, but it has worked well for me.
HAPPY HIKING!!
I met a couple leaving off the car, hiking in opposite directions. One would drop the other off to the north, then drive back to the south and start hiking north. The first person left off in the north would star hiking south. When they eventually met, they would pass of the keys and continue their hike in the same direction to play leap-frog with the car. So, anything is possible. But, my advice would be to leave the car at home. There are many places where you can easily get to public transportation or shuttle rides.
Leave the car behind. If you feel you need the security blanket of knowing you have an out, I suggest you take along the phone numbers of a couple of shuttle services. In Georgia, you can get a ride from just about every road crossing by the hiker hostel. The fact is, it is too easy to get off the trail in the Georgia. This reason alone contributes to why so many hikers do.
_terrapin_
02-11-2008, 23:08
Leave the car behind. If you feel you need the security blanket of knowing you have an out, I suggest you take along the phone numbers of a couple of shuttle services.
You can get that list (of shuttlers) from the ATC website. On my last several sections, I carried the appropriate portion of the list for the section I was on, and particularly for my expected end-point. It's come in very handy.