Advice from the experienced to the younger one

[khaynie]

Good posts above.

BTW, your display shows you only being 16. Are you Doogie Howser (before his latest announcement of course), or were you home schooled? At 16 I was in the 10th grade and I had a hard time getting a pass to take a whiz...much less a 5-6 month pass to hike the AT.

Either way good luck! Did you ever decide on an axe?

[hopefulhiker]

Drink lots of water.

[Boat Drinks]

Hey y'all.

As most of you may know, i am almost ready to start my first thru-hike. Only 9 days to go before i'm off on the trail. I was just wondering if any of you more experienced hikers could give me some advice before i start?

Lord loves a workin' man;
don't trust whitey;
see a doctor and get rid of it.

Good luck!!!

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Paul, you've received a lot of good advice. I'll add some I gleaned from reading Troll, Anchor and Oblivious' journal - be flexible, communicate with everyday with your mom about where you plan to stay the next night, and don't hike together all the time. (For those who don't know, Paul is Blissful's 16 yo son and they are hiking together). Your mom has been on this earth quite a while longer than you and is likely a pretty good judge of character - take her advice without a lot of kibbitzing if she tells you to avoid a certain person or group.

[Footslogger]

Hey y'all.

As most of you may know, i am almost ready to start my first thru-hike. Only 9 days to go before i'm off on the trail. I was just wondering if any of you more experienced hikers could give me some advice before i start?

======================================

Just pace yourself, listen to your body and be thankful for the opportunity to be "out there" at such a young age !!

'Slogger

[superman]

Keep your sense of humor. There may be times when you will wonder "what in the hell is going on....This wasn't in the brochure!" That was what some of us said in 2000.
If you are hungry you can eat. If you are cold you can get warm. If you are broke...go home...which proves that money can buy happiness. Enjoy

[Paul Bunyan]

Good posts above.

BTW, your display shows you only being 16. Are you Doogie Howser (before his latest announcement of course), or were you home schooled? At 16 I was in the 10th grade and I had a hard time getting a pass to take a whiz...much less a 5-6 month pass to hike the AT.

Either way good luck! Did you ever decide on an axe?

Well, i was homeschooled, so i'm a bit ahead of some other people. I actrually did my first symester at my local community college last fall. I am getting excited, though.

About the axe, well, i am considering carrying a big plastic axe up katahdin, but for the rest of the trail, i have my Paul Bunyan award patch. See the link below, its the patch near the top. I will probably tape this too my pack.

http://meritbadge.com/awd/paulbunyon.htm

Keep up the great advice.

[Lyle]

What an opportunity! Being able to do a thru hike at your age is a true privilage. Remember to be grateful, even when you a miserable.

Others have given some very good advise here, I won't repeat other than to say:

NEVER make a major decision on continuing or tossing it in when you are uncomfortable or hurting. Get yourself to a hostle, motel, shelter, get comfortable, then consider your options. Also, take at least a week from when you first consider quiting until you actually do. In other words, make no hasty decisions when you are down.

ENJOY and best of luck!

Lyle

[MrHappy]

I'm sort of repeating what Lyle said, but the best advice givin to me was from Zero and Crutch. Zero taught me about "HALT"... it stands for "Hungry Angry Lonely Tired", and means "Halt! Don't make a decision." Make permanent decisions when you are feeling good. If it's absolutely terrible and you really feel like going home, go into town and get yourself a big steak (or some other comfort food... it's different for everyone). Take a zero day. At the end of that, if you still feel like going home, well...

Never decide to go home:
in the morning
when it's raining
when it's been raining for a few days or more
when you're hungry

I didn't even "go home", I decided to take a two week break, and one week into it I already wish I had just kept going.. It's probably good that I didn't because the situation I was getting myself into wasn't a safe one, but I can't wait to get back out there!!!

[Lyle]

I like that Mr. Happy. Very consise, and soooooo true. I almost blew the best year of my life by making a quick decision when I wasn't happy while hiking. I'm so glad I came to my senses!

[the_iceman]

If you have extra food please cache it in a secure location and PM me the location so I can save on resupply!

[mountain squid]

Don't forget the sunscreen.

Good Luck and see you on the trail,
mt squid

[REBELYELL]

I Don't believe I qualify to hand out advice.but I've heard one tip that keeps bouncing around my noggin.Never quit on a bad day.When I heard that I knew I'm gonna make it the whole way.Leaving Wed. on Trailways.Shold br in Gainesville before noon Fri Good luck to you.Oh yeah.listen to your mother!

[emerald]

Joshua,

I'd like to give you a few guiding principles for you to consider before you depart, to think about as you begin your hike and to hold onto as you journey toward Katahdin. What you are about to undertake is really quite simple. Reduce the task to its most basic form and deal with it on those terms. Too many make it harder for themselves than it needs to be and turn what ought to be an enjoyable experience into something it need not become.

I'll have more for you this weekend when I have more time to devote to it. Until then, read or read again Warren's 1-page book linked here. Read 1-12 near the top and reflect upon how these challenges will manifest themelves in the course of your hike and how you can incorporate the strategies mentioned into your own hike. Be mindful of those concepts that resonate most for you especially in the first few weeks until you have established a routine and gain some momentum.

Get ready, get set, it's showtime!


Shades of Gray

[Bravo]

Don't always listen to your mother. If you do what will you 2 fight about aout there.

You're 16 too. You probably know more than her right now. Enjoy it. It slips away fast.

[maxNcathy]

Stay close to your Mom and help her up the big hills as she is getting quite old.
Sandalwood

[moondoggy]

"Don't always listen to your mother. If you do what will you 2 fight about aout there."

But relish the time you're spending with her!!!!!!!

[SalParadise]

make sure you pick the right friends. it's not to say that there are a lot of bad people on the Trail (just the opposite), but from what i've observed from a lot of the younger crowd of people, it can often be easy for younger people to get sucked in to a group, and possibly the people can be a bad influence, or it will suck you in to the party atmosphere way too much and you can tap your hiking funds pretty quickly and even lose the motivation to finish the Trail at all.

really admire you, though. i only wish i had the ambitions and the courage and even the though to attempt something like this when i was your age.

[emerald]

Being able to do a thru-hike at your age is a true privilege. Remember to be grateful, even when you are miserable.

Never forget what has been posted above. This opportunity you have been given is an incredible gift from your parents and the entire A.T. community that many others will never have.

I believe you have also been blessed with a determined hiking partner and support person at home who are committed to going the distance, whatever it takes.

You are wise to have banked what I gather is much of Virginia as this will put you farther north and at higher elevations by the time summer heats up the middle states.

There are many things working in your favor that others who succeeded in the past did not have working for them. I think your chances of standing on Baxter Peak this August with your mother are likely better than many of not the majority of hikers this season at the outset, but still there are no guarantees that come with this undertaking.

You must earn every remaining step and when you make it the entire way, only then will you have earned it and you will know then what it means to have earned it in a way only those who have earned it do.

[Paul Bunyan]

Thanks SG, that means alot.