View Full Version : Where to start
cameronjreed
12-30-2008, 16:18
I am planning an AT thru-hike for 2009. I have heard that it is best to start at the end of March or beginning of April. Not sure about that. Can someone clarify? Also, if that is the "best" time to start a thru, I don't have much time to get organized. Can someone point out a good starting point and plan to follow for preparations.
Lone Wolf
12-30-2008, 16:19
april 15th is a good time to start
Springer mountain March to mid april.
The later you start, the less frigid the temps will be. Although you can have snow pretty much anywhere in the southern mountains until May. Especially over 5000'. Lots of folks send home their winter gear in Damascus, VA before May 15, and freeze their tail off on Mt. Rogers.
I started March 7 and finished August 21. A later start will probably get you into the fall colors in New England.
Use the search engine here to find out info about any topic you have questions on. Just about any question you could possibly ask has already been asked. Of course, feel free to ask away. That's what the site is for.
Another way to plan, would be to go to TrailJournals.com and find a journal for someone that completed the trail who is about your age. It helps to find a journal for someone who shares some of your interests, or someone that you find interesting or inspiring. Read it. Find out what they did.
You can always post a gear list here and ask folks to critique it. You'll get some good advice - and some bad advice. I tended to take advice from people who had walked the whole trail already. Even among that population, there will be widely differing views on resupply, trekking poles, the best (fill in the blank), hiking with dogs, shelters, and almost any other topic you can think of. You'll have to sift the info you receive here.
Checkout the articles section. Some good stuff there.
Good luck.
cameronjreed
12-30-2008, 16:40
Is there a place on the net where I can get the guide books? What about the AT guide?
Lone Wolf
12-30-2008, 16:43
http://www.atctrailstore.org/
Jack Tarlin
12-30-2008, 17:34
Cameron:
*Go to www.appalachiantrail.org for maps and guidebooks (The section of their website you want is called "The Ultimate Trail Store").
*There are three A.T. guidebooks that come out each year that longdistance
hikers use both before and during their hikes, and it doesn't really matter which one you use. Of these, the two most popular and certainly the most accurate have been the Thru Hikers Handbook (see www.trailplace.com) and the Thru-Hiker's Companion(see www.aldha.org or www.appalachiantrail.org) The 2009 editions of these books should be available in a few weeks.
*Most Northbound thru hikers start their journeys between 1 March and 15 April, with the majority starting between 10 March and 5 April. Most folks plan on a trip lasting 24-27 weeks. But there's no "right" or "wrong" time to start. If you begin hiking in Georgia in March or April, you'll have plenty of good company, and should have plenty of time to complete your trip.
Good luck.