Young man Planning Thru Hike for 2013

[Andrew Rautio]

Im 25 year's old, im planning on hiking the appalachian trail from start to finish, Im looking to start Next March to May, I have the means to be able to start from the north or from the south i was wondering if anyone had any ideas on from which direction would be best to start?
In order for me to do this not only do i need to plan this hike but in preperation for this journey i will be warping my body in to top phyiscal condition, Right now i am 25 years 325lbs and 6ft tall, come March 2013, i plan to be 100lbs lighter and will be 26 years old and ready to hike the trail, also for those that have done the trail what kind of cost are we talking to complete it from start to finish with minmal comfort would be? i was thinking between maybe 3,000 should cover it.(not counting gear)
Also if anyone is interested in maybe joining me on this journey i would not be akin to say no.

[treesloth]

Hey there Andy, I guess I should welcome you to WB since I'm the first one here.. I'm a newbie myself. That said, I've seen literally dozens of posts about this subject and the same questions you are asking. You can find the answers to all of them here (on Forum searches, and on the site in general), and elsewhere on the internet for sure.

Or maybe some kind soul with more time than myself will answer these questions for you. I would, but people here already have.. hundreds of times over. believe me. :-) Good luck on the physical conditioning beforehand, and stick with it!

[Andrew Rautio]

It all seems very exciting.

[Feral Bill]

.
Besides searching this site, start out on shorter trips. If you are in south east NY, there are lots of posibilities on or near the AT. If you start building experience and fitness now, you should be ready to go come spring.

[max patch]

If you want to leave between March and May you will be hiking North. Katahdin is closed until conditions are favorable; which is generally sometime in late May. You want to avoid Maine anyway til late June because of the black flies. BTW, the best time to start a NOBO thru IMO is between April 1 and 15.

[Datto]

Quick suggestions:

If I were you, I'd plan to have more money available for your AT thru-hike. More like at least $4,000 or more. Also, if you northbound the AT starting at Springer Mountain, GA (the southern terminus of the AT), make sure you have half you money still available when you reach the southern Connecticut line. Things in New England are way more expensive than down south it's not uncommon for people to underestimate their costs and run out of money before Maine.

Also, you'll want to get more mentally prepared for the rigors of a thru-hike so things don't come as such a shock to your head as well as your body. To do this you may want to overnight hike more than once per month (leave Friday, come home Sunday evening), and then get at least one one-week hike under your belt. Also, go regardless of weather -- on an AT thru-hike you'll be hiking for days in the rain, snow and or sleet so the more experience you get beforehand by hiking in the rain, the better you may be mentally prepared.

Also, very important. Make sure you have your life straightened out before you start your AT thru-hike, particularly relationships with important others (wife, kids, significant other, parents, supervisor). This will go miles to helping your mental state while you're hiking. The biggest challenge for most people is mental rather than physical when thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Finally, make sure you bring your sense of humor to the Trail. It will go a long way to helping you enjoy your time on the AT.


Datto

[Datto]

Below is a quote from my "Datto's AT Thru-Hiking Tips" article that I wrote and posted on Whiteblaze here:

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/cont...ru-Hiking-Tips

One guy I'd started with on Springer was planning to lose 70 lbs by the time he left the north end of the Smoky Mountains. He'd lost about 40 lbs by that point in his hike and when I saw him coming down from Katahdin (yeah, strange that I saw so many people in Baxter State Park that I'd started with on Springer Mountain more than six months earlier) he thought he'd lost the 70 lbs. He sure did look skinny!

Datto

[Hike4Life!]

Losing 100lbs before march might be a little ambitious. I would just work on committing to a healthier diet and exercising 4-5 times a week. A more realistic goal is 40-50lbs. You will lose a ton of weight during your hike. I thru hiked last year and started at a hefty 297lbs, six months and 11 days later I summited Katahdin weighing in at 205lbs. I lost almost a pound a day for the first month before my body adjusted to the extreme exertions of thru hiking.

I spent ~$7000 on my thru hike including gear. While it can definitely be done cheaper it is much more fun to have some extra cash to spend. It is no fun when you get into town with a group of hikers on a limited budget. Like Datto said you are going to spend much more money up north then in the south. Those $4 breakfasts and $20 hostels rates will be long gone by the time you reach Connecticut. I can't tell you how many hikers I saw up north who tried to start out on a limited budget but were broke and scrambling around trying to find some extra cash for the last 500 miles. After hiking for days in a cold rain you will spend more then a few zero days in towns where money can disappear quickly.

I also agree that you should do a few weekend hikes with a full backpack. I would intentionally pick a rainy weekend so you understand what its like to walk all day in the rain just to get up in the cold morning and throw on your wet hiking clothes to do it all again. During our first session of multi-day rain we lost a ton of thru hikers who were not prepared mentally and physically for hiking in bad weather.

Most importantly, as one of the bigger hikers on the trail the physical exertions of thru hiking was difficult, especially during the first month, however, the mental exertions far exceeded any physical pain I experienced on the trail. Enjoy the solidarity of thru hiking the AT but keep a healthy mix of hiking with partners and groups. This will go a long way in a accomplishing your goal.

[Firefighter503]

Welcome Andrew. Like others have said, starting between April and May, you will most likely be right in the middle of the pack (the closer to early April, the more people you will be around). Get out and hike now as much as you can, and barring that, get on the treadmill and walk at a good incline/pace. When you start, keep the days short (shelter to shelter. Seriously.) or risk injury like plenty of others. The weight will come off no problem. Even skinny guys were dropping weight big time.

[Andrew Rautio]

I thank everyone for all there input and guidance and im looking foreward to attempting this hike. im planning a weekend hike for this upcoming weekend.

[HikerMomKD]

I thank everyone for all there input and guidance and im looking foreward to attempting this hike. im planning a weekend hike for this upcoming weekend.

Welcome Andrew!! We'll be cheering you along as you prepare for your hike. I wouldn't worry about the weight loss as much. Do what you can to get physically fit. Whatever you do, don't get discouraged about your progress. Just hiking the trail will do everything that you need it do as far as getting you into great physical shape. Just take it slow, if you aren't where you wanted to be when you start out.

I think "Heartbeat" was hiking in 2010 with my daughter, he had lost a lot of weight by the time he hit Erwin, TN. If you go check out trail journals, I think he had some pretty inspiring journal entries.

Yay, I'm so excited for you!!

When you reach Central VA, just let me know, I'd love to meet you in 2013. In the meantime... Hike On!!

[Drybones]

Im 25 year's old, im planning on hiking the appalachian trail from start to finish, Im looking to start Next March to May, I have the means to be able to start from the north or from the south i was wondering if anyone had any ideas on from which direction would be best to start?
In order for me to do this not only do i need to plan this hike but in preperation for this journey i will be warping my body in to top phyiscal condition, Right now i am 25 years 325lbs and 6ft tall, come March 2013, i plan to be 100lbs lighter and will be 26 years old and ready to hike the trail, also for those that have done the trail what kind of cost are we talking to complete it from start to finish with minmal comfort would be? i was thinking between maybe 3,000 should cover it.(not counting gear)
Also if anyone is interested in maybe joining me on this journey i would not be akin to say no.

If you haven't lost that 100 lbs dont let that deter you, you'll lose it quickly on the trail. I dont remember the exact numbers but I met a guy about 15 days or so into the hike that had lost something like 30 lbs already, and I believe he said he was at 316 at that point. I was 6'1", 175 and lost 12 lbs the first 3 weeks. You'll get all kinds of answers about the money. I depends on whether or not you spend a lot of time in town and how fast you hike. Met one hiker three weeks into my hike that had been on the trail over two months...but he was having a good time.

[Papa D]

Start backpacking now- learn to do it - let the weight come off - sounds like you have a lot to learn before you just DO a thru-hike:

1) Diet
2) Excercise
3) Take short overnight backpacking trips and learn how to do what we do
4) Let the weight come off slow and sustainable
5) keep at it
6) Learn about the trail

Enjoy the process - good luck

[Low Step]

You will be hiking North, and that's good. I hiked South in 2010, and had to deal with a few extra obstacles, such as length of the day, isolation, and having to go through New Hampshire and Maine first. You should plan your trip so that it's centered around the longest day of the year: June 22nd. Personally, having already hiked the trail, I would start on April 15th, and head North. It seems like that would be the ideal situation. It can be done on $3,000, just don't spend a ton at the beginning. Make sure your pack weight is low, and have a great time!

[Spokes]

Here's four of the best links to bookmark and peruse as you start planning:

"Step by Step Guide to Walking the AT" by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in PDF format:

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/docs...StepByStep.pdf

10 page article on hiking the AT from Backpacker Magazine. Full of useful tidbits like trail ettiquette and a fabulous summary of what to expect in each of the major section. Ignore the popup!

http://www.backpacker.com/november_2...inations/12530

A tried and true cold weather gear list from pack guru Winton Porter. Add a trash compactor bag as a liner. Gloves and fleece beanie are givens. Tweak the list to go even lighter in summer. Again ignore the popup!

http://www.backpacker.com/november_0...s/12659?page=4

I like 10-K's gear list too since it is so weight conscious. He uses AquaMira as his water treatment option when he decides to treat (most thru hikers do):

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...=1#post1327664


Lastly, remember, no matter how many smiling faces of hikers you see in all those trail journals photo galleries understand the Appapalchian Trail is no cake walk. In fact it's damn hard. You'll understand what I mean when you reach New Hampshire.

Cheers!