Finally made the decision - I'm hiking it next year.

[Supernovasky]

So I've been researching the Appalachian trail for a few years now. I got my first exposure to it when I was working for the student conservation association in Massachusetts and met a few hikers that had stopped by our lodge for a little while. I did not even know of its existance before that, but they told me of this great trail that stretches across the country, that many people attempt to hike each year, and for hours, I listened to their stories about how their experience was lifechanging. I knew then and there that eventually I'd hike the trail.

Fast forward a few years, and I'm finally in the position to hike the trail next year. I am saving up money, I've got a pretty good job, and I'm ready to go ahead and do this. As of now it will be a solo, but if I find someone to join me in the next few months, that would be great.

Here are some things I could possibly use a little discussion on....

First thing, my long term girlfriend is very unhappy about this. She is worried about not being with me for months, and she is physically unable to do the hike herself. She doesnt have the motivation or the dream, nor can she really go long distances on her feet. She's having trouble understanding why I want to do this, and she's worried about her ability to find a place to live without me paying rent for 5 months. I told her I would help her as much as possible, but that this whole thing means a whole lot to me.

Second thing, I'm not sure what I need to do to prepare for this hike. I live in Louisiana, and the trail system here sucks. We don't really have any long trails. I routinely do a 5 mile hike in Mississippi, its the longest trail in the area, but its not really challenging nor do I feel it prepares me for the AT. I did 11-12 mile hikes in the Berkshire mountaisn in Massachusetts... I really, really feel like I am capable of doing this (and it would take a WHOLE lot to stop me once I get on the trail).

Third, solo hiking vs group hiking... if I can't find a hiking partiner, how would you say Solo hiking compares to group hiking? I worry that the lack of a partiner will drive me nuts, but maybe I'm off base on that. I have not done many hikes absolutely alone, most of the time I have at least one other person hiking with me.

Thanks for reading what I have to say, and regardless, I am extremely excited to do this!

[Joey C]

Congrats on the decision. Telling folks is one way to cement the deal. Not the fun of planning, preparing, and waiting to start begins!! Best of luck to ya!

[wvcurf]

Sounds like an effective way to end a long term relationship, whether that was your intention or not.

If it's not your intention, perhaps you could arrange for her to join you for sections of the trail since she can't stand the physical demands of the entire thing.

[DLANOIE]

The only advice I will offer about the AT for you. If you want to hike alone, you can. If you want to hike with a group, you can do that too. People hike at different paces and so it's real easy to go it alone or chug along with groups of people. Good luck with your planning and welcome to WB!

[Mr. BuffaloMan]

Don't worry about hiking alone. If you start in the spring and head north the only way you will be alone is if you try VERY hard to stay that way. As for preparation, you don't have to have much. I did my thru with zero preparation (I do not recommend this style of prep, however). Do whatever you can to prepare--regular hiking trips in all kinds of weather will serve you pretty well even if you are doing flat terrain. If you have hiked the Berkshires you have an idea of some of what to expect on the AT (you will still be suprised by something). The girlfriend thing might be tough. Just listen to what she has to say and hear what she means. Let her know what this means to you. See what happens. It is only 5 or 6 months after all.

[ScottP]

If you're in a rental agreement with a loved one, then you're pretty much stuck paying rent while you're on the trail.

[wcgornto]

For flat ground hiking training, a treadmill and a stair climber work well to an extent. Start where you are capable, work up to an hour and then increase the resistance and angle of incline while staying at an hour. Do this 4 or more times a week and you will have decent trail legs and lungs for the actual mountain hiking. Having said that, real mountain hiking has much more varied terrain, weather conditions, etc., and will work different muscles than the fixed apparatus. However, the fixed apparatus will greatly close the gap if you are consistent with it.

[Supernovasky]

Thanks for the replies, guys! Very helpful.

The rental agreement thing ends in 6 months. It is when her contract job ends and it is when we were planing on moving out of this place. I told her now so that way she would have plenty advance warning to make arrangements. Its up to her if she wants to take me back after I leave on the hike, I love her a lot, but I have learned up to this point in my life that I have my own dreams to chase and I cant put those dreams off for others. I do not want to die thinking I missed out on my chance to do this hike.

I'm making good money at my job, and saving up a lot right now. I want to have at least 4 grand saved for the gear and trip itself, and 2 grand saved to pay my bills while I am away on the trail. In just one month I've saved 2 grand, so I should be able to acomplish this easily plus some!

She's hurt about this though, like I said, its not the rental agreement thing, its me leaving to go on the trail. She just cant understand, at all, why I'd want to do this. My parents are not going to be happy either. They're going to complain that I am doing so well with my job and career and putting it on hold is irresponsible.

Its crazy how much of a backlash I am getting for wanting to do this. It will make summiting Mount Katahdin so much more pleasurable.

[hikerboy57]

Welcome to WB, home of unlimited opinions.
as far as your parents and your career path are concerned, chances are pretty good you'll be doing something altogether different than you thought you would some 20 years down the road from now, so just tell them that ifyou've already earned their confidence, that you'll have no problem getting "back into it" when you get back.
you're 23. so when would be a better time, when you have already established a going business ro career, and cant afford to take off because you're now married with kids, successful career, car pmt. mortgage, 2 dogs and a cat?
go hike! the world will still be there after you summit,your girlfreind will still be there if she really loves you. Its easier to break a 6 month lease than a lifetime commitment. and you may find your priorities,perspective and goals shift a bit after Katahdin.
Go hike.

[DapperD]

I think that it would be good to do the hike, and live your dream, but I also believe you need to make sure your girlfriend will be able to be OK with the rent and with her life's needs before you go.

[Trailweaver]

If you're doing well with your job, could you do it another year or so and save enough money to pay rent for your/your girlfriend's place for a year? That way you could show your support for her, and she could stay and work while you're gone, sending you packages and being supportive in that way. Would that not be a win -win situation?

To prepare for the hike, go do some long weekend trips and weed out the gear you don't use. Fine tune on lightweight gear. Also, since you don't have "mountains" in LA, you should find stairs (a stadium, building, gym, or whatever), and start "hiking" those regularly. Hike those stairs with your loaded pack, too, and if you can do it in the heat, cold, rain, so much the better.

As far as hiking alone. . . you're never alone for long on the AT. You will make friends and meet incredible people along the way. You can hike a few minutes, a few miles, a few days, or finish the whole thing with people you meet - it will be up to you (and them).

You will have the AT in front of you for years, and you can do it any time, but I will say this: it gets harder to do once you have a marriage, a career, a family, a house payment, etc. It also gets harder to do physically the older you get. You have a chance to do it now, and there are complications, but there will always be complications. You just have to decide which ones you want to deal with.

[Big Dawg]

Make it happen,,, you won't regret it!! You're in the perfect position to do so. Introduce your girlfriend to Whiteblaze.net, so she can experience your excitement through these forums/pics. Reading about other crazy AT addicts may open her eyes a bit.

[Supernovasky]

She was a whole lot more supportive today. She thanked me for giving her a lot of advanced warning and said it would be good for me to experience, and she would be behind me 100%. She just said that she cant come with me though and will miss me while I'm gone.

All I have left to inform are my parents, but I'm self sufficient anyway, I pay all of my own bills, so I'm not worried about them stopping me.

I'm SO excited about this now!

[ScottP]

Thanks for the replies, guys! Very helpful.

The rental agreement thing ends in 6 months. It is when her contract job ends and it is when we were planing on moving out of this place. I told her now so that way she would have plenty advance warning to make arrangements. Its up to her if she wants to take me back after I leave on the hike, I love her a lot, but I have learned up to this point in my life that I have my own dreams to chase and I cant put those dreams off for others. I do not want to die thinking I missed out on my chance to do this hike.

I'm making good money at my job, and saving up a lot right now. I want to have at least 4 grand saved for the gear and trip itself, and 2 grand saved to pay my bills while I am away on the trail. In just one month I've saved 2 grand, so I should be able to acomplish this easily plus some!

She's hurt about this though, like I said, its not the rental agreement thing, its me leaving to go on the trail. She just cant understand, at all, why I'd want to do this. My parents are not going to be happy either. They're going to complain that I am doing so well with my job and career and putting it on hold is irresponsible.

Its crazy how much of a backlash I am getting for wanting to do this. It will make summiting Mount Katahdin so much more pleasurable.

you'll need a lot more money.

Remember when you get off the trail you need enough to pay rent+security depost+ a few months expenses until you get a job.

Travel Expenses+gear is going to be 1,000-3,000 alone, depending on where you are and what you buy

[Mr. Toad]

There is a lot that I am tempted to say, but I'll offer a quote from someone much smarter than me instead.

"What you will regret at the end of life is not something you did but something you didn't do" - Mark Twain

[hikerboy57]

There is a lot that I am tempted to say, but I'll offer a quote from someone much smarter than me instead.

"What you will regret at the end of life is not something you did but something you didn't do" - Mark Twain

Noone has ever died wishing they spent more time at the office.

[bigcranky]

Hey, Super,

A couple of things that might help:

1. Read The Thru-Hiking Papers here. They do not provide any answers -- just a lot of questions, things to think about as you prepare for your hike. You might find a few things in there about talking with your GF and your parents about your dream. It will also answer all your questions about hiking alone vs with a partner. (Short answer: hike alone. Seriously. You won't really be alone on the AT as a thru-hiker.)

2. Preparation. Start running. You don't have to do marathons or anything, but just walking, even with a full pack, won't help in a flat place like Louisiana. The better cardio shape you are in when you start, the less the trail will kick you in the butt. (And it will still kick you in the butt. Carrying a pack up and down mountains at 4000 feet uses all kinds of muscles you don't even have at sea level. Don't worry, you'll grow them... )

Also, it would really help if you could do some backpacking overnights this fall. That will help get your gear worked out, as well as start with learning the general flow of hiking and camping.

Good luck. Be careful buying gear -- it's easy to overbuy, and to overthink it in general. There are a lot of helpful articles on the main Whiteblaze page.

Happy trails...

[swamprat]

So I've been researching the Appalachian trail for a few years now. I got my first exposure to it when I was working for the student conservation association in Massachusetts and met a few hikers that had stopped by our lodge for a little while. I did not even know of its existance before that, but they told me of this great trail that stretches across the country, that many people attempt to hike each year, and for hours, I listened to their stories about how their experience was lifechanging. I knew then and there that eventually I'd hike the trail.

Fast forward a few years, and I'm finally in the position to hike the trail next year. I am saving up money, I've got a pretty good job, and I'm ready to go ahead and do this. As of now it will be a solo, but if I find someone to join me in the next few months, that would be great.

Here are some things I could possibly use a little discussion on....

First thing, my long term girlfriend is very unhappy about this. She is worried about not being with me for months, and she is physically unable to do the hike herself. She doesnt have the motivation or the dream, nor can she really go long distances on her feet. She's having trouble understanding why I want to do this, and she's worried about her ability to find a place to live without me paying rent for 5 months. I told her I would help her as much as possible, but that this whole thing means a whole lot to me.

Second thing, I'm not sure what I need to do to prepare for this hike. I live in Louisiana, and the trail system here sucks. We don't really have any long trails. I routinely do a 5 mile hike in Mississippi, its the longest trail in the area, but its not really challenging nor do I feel it prepares me for the AT. I did 11-12 mile hikes in the Berkshire mountaisn in Massachusetts... I really, really feel like I am capable of doing this (and it would take a WHOLE lot to stop me once I get on the trail).

Third, solo hiking vs group hiking... if I can't find a hiking partiner, how would you say Solo hiking compares to group hiking? I worry that the lack of a partiner will drive me nuts, but maybe I'm off base on that. I have not done many hikes absolutely alone, most of the time I have at least one other person hiking with me.

Thanks for reading what I have to say, and regardless, I am extremely excited to do this!

Congrats on the decision, you are lucky. I had to wait until I retired this year. I will be hiking the trail next March. As far as the girlfriend, sorry i can not give you any advice on that one. Good luck with that!!! As far as your training , I live in Louisiana also. I am running the local high school bleachers to prepare. You should also google, Clarks Pond nature trail..it is located 20 minutes from Angola state prison in St Francisville. Believe it or not, they actually have rock waterfalls. Found it last spring. It is a good area to train, lots of ups and downs. Solo or group, either way you will be hiking with many others, that's why I decided to do the solo nobound when my cousin dropped out. Good luck

[Supernovasky]

I do Clarks Creek all the time! And I dominate it, its easy to me. Is that a good sign for my ability to hike the AT?

I only wish they allowed campign there.

Whereabouts in Louisiana do you live?

[swamprat]

Live on the northshore of lake pontchartrain. The wife and i did clark's last spring and I was amazed that had somewhere like that which was close to me. I doesn't get much flatter that the northshore!!