Hiking Shenandoah, VA to Kent, CT - advice/tips?

[schwabat]

Hi everyone, lots of good information that I have been finding on these forums in terms of hiking.

Me and a couple college friends are planning a trip next summer from Shenandoah park (Waynesboro/Calf Mountain) to Kent, CT... approx. 600 miles, and we've got 2 months off from school, so that's 10-11 miles to cover a day, not including "rest" or "0-mile resupply" days...

We've all hiked/camped pretty frequently before, two of us being in Boy Scouts, etc. etc. so we feel like we've got that stuff under control. (cooking stuff, tents, water pump, etc.)

My questions are more about the best maps and where to get them, how to figure out which towns are best to resupply in, or anything strange or worthy of a detour along the trail between these points. I'm sure I could find a lot of this information if I search these forums long enough, but if someone could help me out a bit, I'd love it.

Also, best food for eating on the trail? It'd be preferable to not have to buy expensive dehydrated meals very often, even if it means carrying a little extra weight.

Happy Hiking to you all,

W.

[Teacher & Snacktime]

Sensible shoes

[schwabat]

Sensible shoes

Yep, first on the shopping list: New Shoes!

[QHShowoman]

Buy AWOL's AT guide and it will give you all the info you need about trail towns, points of interest, etc.

[Mike2012]

When are you departing?

[Slo-go'en]

Keep in mind those sections are ground zero for getting Lyme disease, so learn about tick prevention and removal.

As for the rest of it, get a guide book. For eight bucks you can join the ATC and then down load their pdf version to your phone

[schwabat]

We'll be heading out in Early May. Got AWOL's guide, already looks like it'll be a big help, thanks! Grew up in NY/CT so quite knowledgable with ticks/Lyme's.

Here's another question: are you guys bigger fans of mailing yourself supplies, or just buying as you go? I've heard people swear by both systems. My understanding is:

Maildrop: Pros: Know you get the supplies you want/need, less money worries while on trail, save time in town perhaps.
Shop as you go: Can get more perishable items, no timetable you're held to (mileage, etc.), not as intensive planning.

I'm leaning more towards buying as I go, as it seems like planning everything out ahead of time is just asking for delays/issues...

[Slo-go'en]

While hiking PA, we went off the trail and had lunch at a supermarket deli, convenient store or dinner at least a couple times a week. Heck, there are places where you can have food delivered! Any time you cross a road (and you cross a lot of them) chances are good there's food to be had not too far down it one way or the other. You can keep this up all the way through Connecticut. (and people wonder why they run out of money...)

[rafe]

As for the rest of it, get a guide book. For eight bucks you can join the ATC and then down load their pdf version to your phone

Did you mean ALDHA here, rather than ATC? I wasn't aware ATC had a downloadable guide, but ALDHA does.

As for the numerous services available at road crossings, I somehow managed to miss or avoid most of these north of the Mason-Dixon line. But I certainly did start noticing them the next week or two heading south from the M-D line, especially south of Harpers Ferry.

Jack Tarlin's resupply guide should have some info about this. (To the OP, you can find Jack's guide in the Home/Articles section of Whiteblaze.)

[4shot]

Maildrop: Pros: Know you get the supplies you want/need, less money worries while on trail, save time in town perhaps.
Shop as you go: Can get more perishable items, no timetable you're held to (mileage, etc.), not as intensive planning.

I'm leaning more towards buying as I go, as it seems like planning everything out ahead of time is just asking for delays/issues...

I think you understand the pros/cons of the issue. I too lean towards the "no hassle" factor of buying as I go. Especially on a "short" hike (say 2-3 months or under). On a thruhike, I started begging for stuff to be mailed from home as I was getting pretty much burnt out on the Knorrs, ramen,instant potatoes, etc...i.e. the type of food you usually come across on a resupply. The dehyrdated fruits, meals, jerky were a welcome break from "same old, same old" every day. By then, i knew what to expect in terms of my miles per day and I always had stuff sent to a PO in a town that I would be hitting in mid-week so I wasn't fighting the "get there by Saturday noon" thing. I don't like to hike under deadlines. Got enough of those in the real world.