How One Noob Preps for A 2014 Thru

[Crusinsusan]

Thought others might like to follow along with my follies for prepping for a 2014 thru on a blog. Hope it will be useful for other noobs to see how I stumble through getting myself and gear ready. I've just restarted it with this newest adventure. Just a normal, never-backpacked-overnight-before, person giving this silly idea a go.

Hope you enjoy it. See you next year.

[shelb]

You might want to check out and/or subscribe to Blissful's hiking blog. A past Thru-hiker, she is now a Ridgerunner along the trail. She just did a section-hike at the start of this season and posted information today that would be valuable for any new AT Thru-hiker.

http://blissfulhiking.blogspot.com/

[Crusinsusan]

Thanks Shelb! Will check it out.

[TurboPants]

I am also preparing for 2014 and your blog was pretty helpful already in 5 minutes of reading. Will be interested to read more about how your plans change as next year approaches. Keep us posted!

[Venchka]

Prepping in Florida: Find the tallest building around. Run up and down the stairs. Repeat. Repeat again. Repeat daily.

Wayne

[Crusinsusan]

Turbo...thanks; and as soon as I figure out my camera phone, i'll be posting pics of the stuff I've got.

Ven...lol...I use bridges. It's all I've got nearby.

[Venchka]

Turbo...thanks; and as soon as I figure out my camera phone, i'll be posting pics of the stuff I've got.

Ven...lol...I use bridges. It's all I've got nearby.

Bridges work. I used to live in New Orleans. Nothing in a flat, sea level location can really prepare you for the mountains. No worries! After a week in the mountains, I felt better every day.
Good luck!

Wayne

[hikerboy57]

as far as training for the hills, nothing will prepare you except hiking hills with 30 lbs on your back.
best advice, take the first few days nice and slow, let your legs and body adjust to carrying the weight. after about a week or so, you'll begin to get stronger every day.its not a horse race, or as grim from uncle johnnies put it"its not the first mouse that gets the cheese,its the second."

[Crusinsusan]

HB..lol, ya. I'm wide open on the hike. If I don't finish, I'll just have at it another time. I'm all about slow and steady.

[SoloSonya]

Are you going solo? I am in the same situation as you. Never backpacked and wanting to do a thru hike next year. I'm 42 and I'm a little worried about striking out on my own. At least in the beginning. Are you possibly up for some company in the beginning?

[hikerboy57]

Are you going solo? I am in the same situation as you. Never backpacked and wanting to do a thru hike next year. I'm 42 and I'm a little worried about striking out on my own. At least in the beginning. Are you possibly up for some company in the beginning?

if you start in march or april , you'll have plenty of company at the beginning, and a very caring trail community that wants you to succeed.ive seen more than a few this spring with little or no prior backpacking experience and they were doing just fine. others with more "experience" gave up and went home. do your homework, dont start too early, and you'll do just fine.

[Crusinsusan]

Are you going solo? I am in the same situation as you. Never backpacked and wanting to do a thru hike next year. I'm 42 and I'm a little worried about striking out on my own. At least in the beginning. Are you possibly up for some company in the beginning?

Solo (that's you're name, right??!!), I'm a solo person, and that's the way I like it. If you read back on my blog to my solo travels rving around the country, you'll see how great it was (at least for me). HB is right too, about the numbers of people doing the trail in early Spring. I, and I suspect you (and most, since most hike solo), will be walking along and meeting up with people at the shelters that we spoke to at lunch.

I too, was very concerned about living in an rv alone, but since it turned out to be one of the greatest things in my life, I want to continue to do wacky solo adventures. I think you'll surprise yourself. There's a HUGE confidence factor that comes with living life on your own terms and taking care of the things that need taking care of (you know, s**t comes up, must be dealt with, so you do, cuz you're it girl!). There's a quiet confidence (as someone said somewhere) from such things.

Don't worry...but if you do, feel the fear and do it anyway.

[Glenn Gordon]

I'm a newbie heading out solo NOBO mid/late March. Starting to train and get gear together here in Maine. If you're on FB there is a group Appalachian Trail Thru Hike 2014 thats really helpful. Hope to see you all on the trail.

[Venchka]

Susan,
Have you spent the night in a tent yet? Is there a campground/state park/National Forest campground nearby where you can practice? Load your pack. Park the car away from from your campsire. Walk to your campsite. Maybe take the long way around. Fetch your own water. Cook a meal. Pitch a tent/hang a hammock/DON'T GO BACK TO THE CAR FOR SOMETHING YOU FORGOT! Like a pizza or a sundae.
Looking at the calendar, maybe you should wait until Halloween to do some 1 or 2 night practice camping out of your backpack trips.
In the meantime, hit the roads or trails with your backpack and gear as often as possible. On your non-pack days, walk/run/bike to get some aerobic exercise.
Good luck.

Wayne

[tenlots]

It works to put your full pack on and do the elliptical. Keep working at it. Helps me do mountains. Take 10 mile walks. Last month prior to hiking, do 10 mile walks with full pack. Sometimes can only do 20 minutes, keep doing it.

[Dogwood]

Susie Q again like the blog but it's very gear prep focused. Can you give some specific details about how you are prepping for what goes on between your ears during a thru-hike? For starters, what mental traits do you think a wanna do a thru-hike hiker needs to have to complete their anticipated thru-hikes? Given the AT wanna do a thru-hike drop out rate of nearly 9 in 10 how do you propose to put yourself in the BEST possible place to complete a AT thru-hike?

[Crusinsusan]

Glen...well, I'm sorry, but FB is against my religion. See ya in '14.

Ven...I can't count the number of times I've slept in a tent; but will admit that the only non-car camping I've done is kayak camping. And I hadn't stowed and ice cream. I swear. :P Next week (I hope), I set out to do a whole bunch of stuff I love, and expect to be doing it for a few months: bike camping; kayak camping; hiking; backpacking overnight and more. Gonna get outta FLA to beat the heat and hit all sorts of trails: water/bike/foot. When I get back, and the weather is cooler, I'll slap the pack on and just hike around here (up the bridge...and down...up...and down).

Dog...the blog follows me: I'm gearing up (get it???) to set off for several different sorts of trips this summer, to get me and the gear set up for the AT. So, it's gear focused because that's where I am now. It's about a person doing stuff. And I make no bones about not knowing what's ahead. I'm okay with that. As far as "what it takes" to do a thru...I have no idea. It's easy to say things like "this" or "that", but frankly, I think readers (everywhere reading anyone's similar blog) will have to decide for themselves "what it takes".

I don't do advice (well, sometimes I do, but not "life" advice, 'cuz I've only got my moccasins to walk in), but I'm willing to talk about where those shoes take me, and how. And I can't do that until I've done it. Ya know?

[Venchka]

When you said that you hadn't backpacked, I didn't know about the kayak and biking. If you can ride or paddle all day, set up camp, cook, sleep and do it all over again tomorrow, you're good.
Escaping the heat is all I think about.

Wayne

[lanternknoll]

Just an FYI for the future. I spoke to Amicalola Falls yesterday and the $5 fee to leave a vehicule while you hike the trail ( I guess up to 6 months) will be changing soon. I was asking about parking for training hikes this fall. If anyone has more info please post it. I'm in Fl and will be starting some 2-4 day trips in Oct this year.

[q-tip]

If you are interested, I have an extensive UL-Lightweight Summer-Lightweight 3-season Gear Lists with weights and costs-a food spreadsheet with nutritional info, and a suggested book for physical training-PM me if these might help, Good Luck-I still love the planning......