Questions about section hiking the AT..

[waskelton4]

Howdy crew..

I've done a very small amount of backpacking in the past pretty much exclusively while I was in Scouting. I have somehow lately decided that I really would like to start back up again and the more I think about it and talk about it doing a section hike of the AT seems like something i'd like to do.

I don't have any desire to get this goal accomplished quickly.. but think this would be something that some friends and I could do over quite a number of years taking maybe two trips a year.

on with the questions..

What would be the best way to approach this? I'm thinking that starting in GA would be the best for us because it is the closest end of the trail to us although I also hear it has some of the most difficult terrain in it.

Are there any posted lists of the possible different sections to hike at a time? Or maybe a list of the different landmarks and shelters along the trail and the distances between them?

Or maybe my post will display the fact that I know pratically nothing about the AT and I'll get the help I really need.

Thanks all

Will

[Seeker]

welcome... i'm just a poster, btw, nobody 'official'...

section hiking the AT is very popular. it may not have the same 'status' as completing a continuous thru-hike in some circles, but for those of us with kids, jobs, and other such distractions, taking 4-6 months off isn't possible. i've only done parts of the smokies, when i lived nearby. (wish i'd done it in college, but i had obligations then as well).

you'll find a huge selection of people on this site, of all makes, models, ages, colors, and sizes... and with it, opinions/facts/advice, similarly varied. it's a great place to learn, share, and ask.

there are guides and handbooks that list everything you've asked for, published by the AT conference (or is it now 'conservancy'?), and some by independent publishers. i'm sure this post will spark some response on the different ones. these are updated annually, as the trail changes, and if you look at the forum directory, there are all sorts of subject discussed here, including updates to the latest shelter conditions and status of water sources.

again, welcome...

[trippclark]

Will,

Your situation sounds familiar. My outdoor experiences too were mostly through Scouting (Eagle Scout, O.A. Vigil, Philmont, 11 years summer camp staff, etc.). In 2000 a friend of mine through Scouting and I decided to hike a section of the A.T., and then another, and now we have about 25% of the trail done and a whole lot left to hike.

We have typically tried to go about 4 times per year and can seldome get out for more than 4 days. That'll have to change, however, as we get further from home. Right now we are still about 4 - 5 hours travel time each way, so that is not too bad.

As far as a "way to approach it," there are limitless ways, but I'd be a proponent of starting in the South and heading North. If nothing else, it makes it easier to keep up with what you've done and what remains as opposed to having lots of disconnected sections. That has worked for us anyway, but you may choose differently.

Lots of guides exist, most noteably are the "Companion" produced by ALDHA, which is a nice publication for sale or for free download from http://www.aldha.org; and the "Thru Hiker's Handbook" published by Dan "Wingfoot" Bruce. "Wingfoot" is a polarizing figure on this forum and others, but most will admit that he puts out a good guidebook (As much as I disagree with his politics and temperment, I personally prefer his guidebook and its format). This book, like the companion, is available at many Outfitters or you can get it from Wingfoot at http://www.trailplace.com. Either of these books will go a long way towards answering lots of the questions that you have.

Yes, I found Georgia's terrain to be rather tough. I wondered allowed often if they ever heard of a switchback. However I enjoyed every single step (well, almost). I often wonder, however, how much of the "toughness" of Georgia was because I had minimal backpacking experience and my pack was 15 lbs heavier than it is now. My guess is that if I did Georgia again now, it would not seem as "tough" as before. I speculate that there will be somewhat of a "reality check" anywhere you start for the first few outings until you get your gear worked out, settle into routines, and get used to hiking again.

Tripp

[Spirit Walker]

How you approach it really depends on where you are located and how much time you can devote to this section hike. Their is a certain satisfaction to doing the trail in a linear fashion, but it really isn't essential.

We have friends who live in PA. They began by hiking the trail through Pennsylvania as dayhikes and on weekends. Then they went to an ATC Biannual Conference. There are usually a series of hikes on the AT at those meetings, and sometimes someone will organize a weeklong backpack on the AT. (Simplifies the transportation logistics.) They were able to hike long stretches in Georgia, Mass. and Maine through the ATC meetings. Then they decided they were serious about sectioning the trail, so they began to do an annual spring hike in the south and a fall hike in the north. Because of job restrictions, they could only do a week at a time. It took about 10 years, but they did finish the trail in its entirety.

I have met section hikers who had longer vacations who hiked one month every year, starting in Georgia and working their way north.

I couldn't do the trail that way, spending 5 or 10 years hiking nothing but the AT - there are too many other parts of this country I want to explore - but if the AT is important to you, go for it. Not everyone has the freedom to quit their jobs, leave their homes and do it in one go. I know how lucky I've been.

[Spirit Walker]

Oops - there, not their. Why can't we edit?

[Alligator]

Buy the maps with guides from ATC. They will provide you with all the best information for deciding how far to hike. The guides are generally very detailed. By one at a time, so in case they get updated while working towards completion. Certainly take a look at the Companion or Wingfoot's guide. These provide more information on services though. As a section hiker, I tend to already have everything I need with me when I start, although for week long trips I do consult the Companion.

Start at the closest point, which for you would be the GA terminus, Springer Mt. You will at least have the order similar to a thru. Section hikers have incredibly variable paces and timeframes, a list of sections would be unusual. The maps and guides come in sections though. You really just pick up where you left off.

[Big Dawg]

What's up Waskelton4!! Welcome to Whiteblaze!! Lots of great info here. Alligator said what I would have. Lots of guides out there, but the ATC guides/maps are the ones I've used, & they give you all you need. I would start in GA as well, if I were you. Yea, some tough terrain, but worth it!! I started back in Oct 2000 on my 1st section hike,, a 20 mile trip, took 3 days, & total pack weight was 60 lbs, including food & water. Way too heavy, thinking back. This is part of the reason GA was so tough for me. I've learned over the past 5 years & 314 miles that lowering your pack weight makes the trip much more enjoyable. If you already have all of your gear, great,, but if you still have stuff to buy, my suggestion is to try to find lighter alternatives. As a section hiker, you get to choose the distance youy want to travel, & coordinate it w/ road crossings, etc. Welcome aboard, & enjoy your hikes! Watch out, this website can become addictive.

[stickman]

Waskelton4, welcome aboard the site. I'm also a section hiker for now, though I hope to thru as a retirement project one of these years. Anyway, one key aspect to section hiking is deciding just how much of a section to hike at a time. There are probably various ways to decide (and I'd like to hear from other section hikers how they do it) but I pick an approximate distance, based on how much time I have for a hike, then use one of the guides (I like Wingfoot's guide, even though he is a polarizing figure to many) to identiy a specific ending point for my hike based on the proximity to a road and a ride. I generally park my car where I can get a ride to the trailhead, and then my son and I hike back to the car. For example, to do the Smokies I parked at the Big Creek Ranger Station and hired Mr. Pigthen to drive me down to Fontana Dam to start the hike. I figured out where to park and who to hire from info in the guide, which is one of the main values of the guide for hiking in an area you aren't familiar with.

One other thing is that I always start a new hike at exactly the spot where I ended my last hike. Actually, I sometime flip flop, that is, hike from point A to point B one hike and then from point C to point B on the next one, so I can park at point B and hire the same guy locally for two successive hikes. If you are hiking with friends and can use two cars, it might simplify your logistics.

Anyway, I hope you have some great hikes, and look forward to meeting you on the trail one of these days!

Stickman

[Spirit Walker]

The only downside to doing a flip as Stickman said is that if you have to shorten your hike for some reason (weather, injury, etc.) it can be hard to fill in the short gaps between. You may end up doing a bunch of dayhikes to fill in five mile sections here and there. BTDT.

[trippclark]

I wondered allowed often if they ever heard of a switchback.

Oops - me too Spirit Walker -- aloud not allowed!

[Alligator]

The only downside to doing a flip as Stickman said is that if you have to shorten your hike for some reason (weather, injury, etc.) it can be hard to fill in the short gaps between. You may end up doing a bunch of dayhikes to fill in five mile sections here and there. BTDT.

This has happened to me, but is hard to really call. You would have to be approaching a section that you already did, then need to bail. It is not always convenient to go in one direction, based on roads, shelters, etc. I'll give an overview of my some of my thought processes for Stickman.

I have a good idea of how many miles a day I can cover, on average, based on season. For summer, I can do about 15-18 miles a day as an example. I take the low number 15 and multiply it by the number of days I'm hiking. First and last day count as 1/2 days. This is a rough guide to how many miles I will travel. Then, I look at the map. My first day, (1/2 day), I want to camp near water. Near a shelter is preferable, because as a section hiker, they are often empty . Doubly so in winter. Then I look ahead on the map, and find the next camping spot one days travel ahead. I'll take a good look at the profile map to watch for significant ups or downs >500 ft. It's the ups I find the most important. I expect some gains, but maybe around 2500-3000' in ups, I may scale back a mile or two. Is that 3000' climb in the morning, at the end of the day? If it's flat, I may add a couple of miles. Then I have my second night's stop, repeat process. Last day is a 1/2 day in order to drive home. I may make this a 3/4 day if I think I can do it easily. But careful on the drive home, you'll be tired! There's also the overall trip to consider. Did I put too many big mile days in a row?

Last thought is that campsites are somewhat plentiful on the AT, especially if you maintain extra water capacity and camel up a mile or two before you wish to stop. Except when it's dark and you really want to stop. Then the hammock pixies start whispering in your ear, if you had a hammock you could camp here, you could be sleeping in the trees if only you had a HH, a restful night's sleep, right here on the hillside....

[Big Dawg]

Then the hammock pixies start whispering in your ear, if you had a hammock you could camp here, you could be sleeping in the trees if only you had a HH, a restful night's sleep, right here on the hillside....

Those daggone hammock pixies,,, I'm now obsessed w/ ditching the tent & gettin a Hennessy Hammock,, cause I've seen so many cool places to camp that only a hammock would go. And I'm tired of listening to all those hammockers talk about such an awesome nights sleep in the woods.... I WANT IN. Can't wait to join the hanging crowd!!

[Tramper Al]

Hey,

I am a (regional) section hiker and I make no apologies for it! This is the way I want to hike.

As far as estimating your pace, I think that after even one day hike this will come quite naturally for you. Based on the mileage and elevation gain that the maps and guides tell you, you will make fine adjustments for your pack weight, the weather forecast, your level of fitness at a particular time, and so on. Build in a little spare time for exploring and use that if you find you are running a bit slow on a given section. It's really not hard to estimate your pace once you get started.

The ATC map/guide sets are indeed the place to start for planning your trips. You may never need anything else, as they'll give you all the mileage, shelter, road crossing, and parking information that you could ever need. Delorme state atlases are very handy for finding those road crossings.

Particularly for section hiking, though, let me recommend this book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

There are different volumes for different parts of the trail, and I used the two New England volumes for my New England section hiking. These books tend to have very detailed descriptions of scenery, wildlife, plants, a little history, etc. Some people don't want this in a guidebook, and you might consider this book more sort of background reading before you set out. My New England volumes, however, also have elevation profiles and estimated times for each day- or overnight section hike, both of which I found quite useful. Your pace will not be the same as the author's (conservative) estimate, but you will quickly learn how your compares.

I insisted on hiking in one linear direction, but people differ on this, so whatever works for you is great.

Finally, let me suggest that you consider completion of the AT through each state as an interim goal. I found it very satisfying to walk border to border through a full state by section, as if I were closing out chapters in a great book, one at a time.

Good luck and have fun, regardless.

[waskelton4]

Group, Thanks so much for the replies..

I'll have to check out all these links and books in a little more detail soon.

Since I have been browsing around this forum for a week or so I've read a few posts where folks talk about "the purists" and all the hardcore folks and what these folks think. I haven't yet read a post from any of theses folks they talk about though.

I have, though, had similar experience with folks in the running world. (I just picked up Triathlons this year and have done 3)

I'm not really concerned about any status acheived by my hiking.. I just wanna get out in the woods. I do, however, like the idea of slowly creeping my way up the AT from bottom to top. I like the idea of making that linear journey and hopefully will be able to find enough large blocks of time to be able to complete this goal. I also really like the Border to Border Hiking mentioned by Tramper Al.

This all being said, After the first couple of trips if I haven't learned enough to keep myself comfortable then it probably won't be all that fun so I guess that is where I go from here. Finding comfort on the Trail.

I'll check out the ATC guides (anywhere to get them online?) and these links and books...

Thanks again everyone!

Will

[trippclark]

I'll check out the ATC guides (anywhere to get them online?) and these links and books...

The Ultimate A.T. Store is at http://www.appalachiantrail.org

http://www.atctrailstore.org/ takes you to the store's "front door"

Maps and guides by state are at

http://www.atctrailstore.org/catalog...id=1&pcatid=45

Be aware that members of ATC get a discount on purchases from the ATC Store

The guides and maps are very nice to have. I buy the official maps to take with me, but I print my own guides for each section from the Maptech A.T. program which has the full text of the guides on CD. The positive in this is that it is cheaper and I can print and carry just what I want and delete what I do not want. The downside is that the Maptech program uses 1999 data, which, while probably 98% accurate, does fail to include re-routes since 1999, so I have to research each section to see if there have been any re-routes. This program is now $50 and includes maps and guides of the whole trail. It is at

http://www.maptech.com/land/appalachiantrail/index.cfm

I would emphasize that I think this is a good compliment to other sources mentioned earlier, but not a replacement.

Tripp

[Heater]

Howdy crew..

I've done a very small amount of backpacking in the past pretty much exclusively while I was in Scouting. I have somehow lately decided that I really would like to start back up again and the more I think about it and talk about it doing a section hike of the AT seems like something i'd like to do.

I don't have any desire to get this goal accomplished quickly.. but think this would be something that some friends and I could do over quite a number of years taking maybe two trips a year.

on with the questions..

What would be the best way to approach this? I'm thinking that starting in GA would be the best for us because it is the closest end of the trail to us although I also hear it has some of the most difficult terrain in it.

Are there any posted lists of the possible different sections to hike at a time? Or maybe a list of the different landmarks and shelters along the trail and the distances between them?

Yeah. Jack Tarlin did a breakdown of the trail into Five parts for resupply. There is also a list of the shelters and mileages on the same page. Lotsa good stuff in the article section of this site. Follow the link below.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/index.php?page=content&t=7754

Or maybe my post will display the fact that I know pratically nothing about the AT and I'll get the help I really need.

Thanks all

Will

Welcome to WB.

[Heater]

Welcome to WB.

Sorry about the formatting above. No editing anymore on this site.

Here's the info in case you lost it in the formatting.

--

Yeah. Jack Tarlin did a breakdown of the trail into Five parts for resupply. There is also a list of the shelters and mileages on the same page. Lotsa good stuff in the article section of this site. Follow the link below.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/index.php?page=content&t=7754

[littledragon]

Hope your section hiking goes well- I am also a sectioner. I just finished the 100 Mile Wilderness! I injured my knee about 70 miles into the hike, but I made it through (thanks to a brace I was loaned); Katahdin, though, will have to wait.

Posting here has helped me locate a hiking buddy or two. Doing sections is tough- hooking up with a buddy helps, in terms of planting cars, etc.
Enjoy the trips- you will be very glad that you have begun this adventure.

[Kerosene]

Okay, as best I can tell I may actually be the longest-running AT section hiker on this board. I started hiking sections as an Eagle Scout in the early 70's, along with a few scouting buddies, knocking off most of the Mid-Atlantic states that were within driving distance of central Jersey. In college I did a few longer sections, plus a thru-hike of the Long Trail, to extend my coverage from coverage from Duncannon, PA to Killington, VT. The summer after I graduated and before I moved to Michigan for a job I ended up talking my fiancé into joining me for 110 miles from Duncannon to Harpers Ferry (she hasn't hiked with me since). I convinced my younger brother, who did the Long Trail with me for his first backpacking experience, to join me for Shenedoah National Park in the mid-80's. The next 15 years or so went towards MBA, house, family, career, etc., until I finally got so antsy that I re-dedicated myself to finishing the AT before I croaked. I've now done every blaze from Atkins, VA to Glencliff, NH, plus Georgia; mostly in 1-week sections of 80-140 miles (mileage depends on season and travel logistics).

Section hiking is difficult because of the logistics, the cost of getting to and from trailheads, trying to get in shape, and re-learning many of your techniques each time (it takes me more than an hour to break camp the first few days I'm back out!). It's easier than thru-hiking in that it is less psychologically demanding, you can push your body a little harder because it doesn't have to hold up for 6 months, you can afford that motel in town because you're still employed, and it's usually easier to bail out if needed and come back next year.

Personally, I found Georgia to be much easier than the Mid-Atlantic states, but that could also be because I've cut my pack weight by 40%. The climbs and descents don't bother me nearly as much as a rough trail bed, which slows me down and tires me out.

I like the idea of moving north in consecutive, contiguous sections, but just realize that it will become more and more costly to get further north in the future. If you're serious about twice a year (my wife only concedes me one week a year), then think about mixing it up. Do one section down south in the Spring, hiking north with the thru-hikers. Do your second section up north and hike south, ideally timing it to pass some of the same thru-hikers you started north with.

The big drawback of section hiking is that you will never be a part of the long-distance hiker community that forms each year. However, it was neat to be able to teach some folks (who asked me for help) in Georgia, and when I pass going southbound they appreciate my insights on water, shelter, and climbs that they will be encountering.

Feel free to send me a PM (click on Kerosene above) and I can share past trail journals, the sections I've done, advice on logistics, etc. If you can enjoy point-to-point backpacking, then I think you will really grow to love the AT. I can still remember something about almost every backpacking day I've ever done, because you get to replay them in your mind when you get back home (it drives my wife nuts).

Best of luck!

[atmuttley]

waskelton4

Been section hiking the AT since 2001 933 miles done, approx 2 weeks /yr.
every year i change and adapt to new things. keep weight down, spend the $ on lightweight if you can. we are moving north bound, started @ springer, now have 1 gap @ shenandoah to pick up approx 80 miles, but otherwise done just past harpersferry.
first find your pace per day, 10 miles, 12,15 then find a section and hike it. We have a car dolly, drop a car off at 1 end, drive to the begining and hike to the car, saves on shuttle $.
many changes over the years, back surgery this year (fused with rods) kept me to day hikes between roads with a day pack only. got 125 miles only this year but in 1 long week. normal carry pack with 7-8 day supply don't get that many miles in a week, but was a different way to hike the trail .
my pack weight has been cut by 50% so now the hills are not so hard but georgia abou killed me!
good luck
enjoy
find your pace and hike it... keep going back each year
atmuttley