How Often Can U resuppy?

[Swordpen]

I have a lot of severe arthritis, & would like to hike, but would only section hike.

I guess I have 2 questions because of my inability to do more so...

1. Whats the easiest section to hike (I am thinking of doing 20 miles over 1 month, yes the arthritis is that bad). I am talking the flattest area.

2. I can only carry 3 days of food, so will need to resupply every 3 days. Is there any stretch of the AT I can do the above 20 miles in 1 month, resupplying every 3 days?

Thanks so much for your replies, I really appreciate it, & would help me fufill a dream for someone who is pretty beat up.

[Donde]

I would look at Shenandoah National.

[WingedMonkey]

I have a lot of severe arthritis, & would like to hike, but would only section hike.

I guess I have 2 questions because of my inability to do more so...

1. Whats the easiest section to hike (I am thinking of doing 20 miles over 1 month, yes the arthritis is that bad). I am talking the flattest area.

2. I can only carry 3 days of food, so will need to resupply every 3 days. Is there any stretch of the AT I can do the above 20 miles in 1 month, resupplying every 3 days?

Thanks so much for your replies, I really appreciate it, & would help me fufill a dream for someone who is pretty beat up.

It's encoraging to see that you want to get out in the woods for more than a day hike.

You might get more ideas of where to hike if you can give a general idea of how far you think you can go in those three days.

Resupply points are based more on distance than days in your case.

[Teacher & Snacktime]

Maryland is pretty flat...and very easy to resupply...you can also do the slackpack option offered by Teahorse Hostel in Harper's Ferry to make a 3-4 day Maryland hike even easier....

http://www.teahorsehostel.com/Local_Attractions.html

[Swordpen]

Hi All

I have been looking at maps & such of places you all suggested, thats why I haven't replied yet.

I can probably only do 2-3 miles a day, sigh. So if could I resupply somewhere every 3 days (& make sure theres water around I could treat?) This would be again, for only 20 miles over 30 days.

Thanks so much for your help!

[max patch]

I think what is going to work out best for you is to park your car at a trailhead, hike SOBO as far as can in a day, camp, and then hike back to your car. Next day repeat the process starting NOBO. Then drive to the next trailhead and start all over again.

[bigcranky]

It just occurred to me that if you can hike 3 miles a day, then you can hike 20 miles in 6-7 days, with one resupply in the middle. That opens up many more possibilities where you can get dropped off 9 miles south of a resupply spot, hike to it, resupply, and hike 3-4 more days to the end.

It would be much harder to do a very long hike while requiring resupply every 10 miles, though.

[Teacher & Snacktime]

You need to hike in a location that will allow you to camp wherever you want, either that or very carefully preplan all your overnights (hostels, camps, shelters, shuttles to places). Look for an area with lots of road crossings if shuttles need to be an option (CT. PA, MD) or open camping. I've done some similar research for 5-8 mile stretches and decided on both MD and CT. Good Luck, take it slow and enjoy!

[illabelle]

Water availability will be a critical limiting factor. There are many places where water is farther apart than just 3 miles. You might have to carry 2-3 days of water. That will be heavy and consume a lot of space. I don't know how feasible this would be, but maybe you could buy a liter of water from fellow hikers as they pass by. If they understand your limitations, I'm thinking many would probably just give it to you. If you can solve the water problem, it will open up more possibilities. For example, I've heard Pennsylvania is kinda flat, and also kinda dry.
Good luck to you.

[Dogwood]

SNP. want more ideas for yourself lokk at an AT elevation profile and correlate it with possible near by or easy to get to resupply pts. grab some icy hot, salonpas or tiger balm for on trail