One week hike for beginner hiker

[ClutchFan]

Hi all, I'm new to overnight hiking, and have only done a few day-hikes in the past (Poke-O-Moonshine in upstate NY a couple of times, the Pinnacle in PA (Blue Mountain) once, Bear Mountain in NY).

I'd like to try a week-long hike along the AT somewhere. I'll be on my own, but would like to bring my dog with me. I read online that Maryland is one of the easier spots, and is about 40 miles. I'm not sure if that would take me a week. If I have extra time I wouldn't mind continuing into PA. I figure I'll hike until it's time to go back to work, and then rent a car and go home.

Anyway I'm just starting my research and thought I'd see if anyone has any advice. Maybe there are better sections to hike?

I'd really enjoy seeing nice views along the way. I don't necessarily need 10,000-foot peaks, just some nice scenery and a small peak here and there would be great.

I'll probably be going in early fall, maybe right around labor day, I suppose it'll be very warm weather at that time.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[ChinMusic]

Starting north from Harpers Ferry is pretty tame by AT standards. If you can arrange a ride back to the start, just head north and take it as it comes.

[LIhikers]

Let me suggest that you hike Pawling, NY to route 17 and then walk into Sloatsburg, NY. That's about 65 miles and you can get to both ends of that route by train and/or bus. Not big miles, which should give you time to travel on the first and last day of your hike.
If you do hike Maryland consider going southbound and spending any extra days exploring Harper's Ferry. There's a lot of history there as well as the ATC office.

[Feral Bill]

I assume that a dog on th bus or train is problematic. If you can get a dog sitter do the Pawling south hike. It's better to go dog less while learning the ropes anyway.

[FarmerChef]

A hike of MD is easy and there are lots of bailout options and frequent potable water sources. Hiking this section with a dog is not difficult (I've done it many times) but it will limit your options at the state campgrounds. Not to worry, just be prepared for it. Now, you might find yourself with extra miles on your hands with MD. If you're in reasonable shape and can hike for 5 or more hours, it's completely within the realm of possibility that you could average 10 miles per day. More if you hike longer during the day. This could put you up in PA if you go northbound.

If you started at Pen Mar and hiked southbound through Maryland it isn't outside the realm of possibility that you could hike past Harper's Ferry and all the way down to US50. You could easily get a shuttle there into nearby Front Royal to arrange for a rental car (if they wouldn't just drive up and pick you up.) That's a distance of about 75 miles. If you didn't think you could make it all the way to 50 you would have the option of stopping at Bear's Den hostel just south of Va Rt. 7 (major 4 lane highway) where you could arrange for a shuttle into Purcellville you can rent a car or take the shuttle all the way back up to Pen Mar.

[RED-DOG]

I would Reccomend to start in Harpers Ferry, WVA hike NorthBound to US 30-Caledonia State Park, PA that is ( 59.5 ) miles with plenty of EXIT points along the way just in case you have to leave the trail early this is an easy 7 day hike, and in my oppinion this is the easiest section along the entire AT, but if you plan to get droped off i would do this section SOBO get droped off in Caledonia state park and hike to Harpers Ferry because Harpers Ferry has an Train System you can go straight from Harpers Ferry to NY, either direction this is a very enjoyable and comfortable section to hike. Good Luck and Enjoy your AT experience.

[Yankytyke]

You could also do the Maryland section, then go the Catoctin trail. It's maintained by the folks that do the trial in this area. I find it a bit more difficult than the AT. If you do it at the end you'll have your hiking legs. You will need a shuttle though.

[ClutchFan]

Thank you everyone for the input and suggestions! I'm very glad to hear this is a relatively easy hike, since I'm certainly not a pro at this. It sounds like having my dog with me will be an issue but I'm pretty bent on bringing her, she's my companion : ) I have to do some research to find "dog backpacks" so she can carry her own food and water. I'm gonna go on weekend hikes a lot over the summer to get us both into better shape for it. I'd like to do at least 10 miles a day, that way I can see more of the trail.

The other issue is getting there and getting home. I'm thinking I'll try to do a one-way car rental, drive to my starting point on a saturday, and start hiking the next day. The bigger problem is getting home - it's hard (impossible?) to predict where I'll be by the following saturday. Maybe I'll pick a reasonable end-point, and if I get there early then at least I'll know for next time, and I'll hang out for a day or so.

I was thinking about a hike closer to home in NY area but I want to see someplace completely foreign to me

[ChinMusic]

NY is fairly rugged for the Mid Atlantic. It looks tame on a profile map but it's not tame. I have taken my dog on about 1000 AT miles. I am selective as to not put him in difficult situations. There have been three places where he refused to climb. All three were in NY.

[mascotkelly]

Hey there, I just got back from a 2 day 1 night training trip with my dog (with the goal of doing a 1-2 weeks on the AT) and it was not easy. We went on the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin. I had to cut the trip short because my ended up covered in ticks (Despite being on treatment.)

We walked 10 miles and made it to the shelter when I noticed a tick crawling on me. I then checked my dog and had to pull off 5 ticks, and that was just what I saw. I now had to face the fact that I was going to have to spend the night in a tent with a dog that I knew had ticks. I couldn't leave her outside because she could possibly wander off, an the bugs were so bad she would be eaten alive outside the tent. This resulted in me waking up twice to feeling something crawling on me, and picking ticks off me.

Needless to say it was a restless night. In addition I had to carry her water and food. I could not get her to drink as often as I would and I was concerned about dehydration.

I tried to hitch back to my car because I wanted to get her de-ticked ASAP. It was raining and no one would pick up a hitch hiker and her dirty dog, until the last 3 miles of my 10 mile walk.

So I am no longer planning on taking my dog on the AT. Being a beginner is hard enough. The dog just multiples it.

But my dog isn't your dog. I suggest doing a short trip to test your dog out like I did. Better to do it on a 2 day/1 night hike then to be 2 days into a week long hike and realizing...this sucks!

[mascotkelly]

Reading these week trip suggestions, does anyone here know about how far it is from Harper's ferry to the trail point near Harrisburg, PA? I have a friend near Harrisburg who has offered to help me get to/from the trail. I don't know if it's a decent start/stop point (no idea on the terrain). I was going to buy the Philadelphia map to try and figure it out, but thought one of you fine people might now!

[Yankytyke]

I'd put it at about 140 miles. Made it half way to Harrisburg so far. Fairly easy hike.

[Coffee]

Reading these week trip suggestions, does anyone here know about how far it is from Harper's ferry to the trail point near Harrisburg, PA? I have a friend near Harrisburg who has offered to help me get to/from the trail. I don't know if it's a decent start/stop point (no idea on the terrain). I was going to buy the Philadelphia map to try and figure it out, but thought one of you fine people might now!

If you have someone who can pick you up, I'd suggest ending the hike at Boiling Springs which is just under 100 miles from Harpers Ferry. That's where I ended my recent section hike starting at Rockfish Gap. I didn't have an opportunity to see much of the town but it is supposed to be a great trail town. I arrived in Boiling Springs pretty late (almost dark) and ended up getting a shuttle to a motel in Carlisle where I caught a local bus into Harrisburg the following morning.

[Trebor66]

If it was me I'd do the entire section in Georgia. Not only would this be a good 7 day hike with a rest stop in the middle (Mountain Crossings) but you would be able to say that you did the whole state section.

[Sno66nj]

Where ever you go, remember one thing, pack light


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[big-boy-cat]

If your dog isn't in hiking shape it will be pretty hard on it to lug food on its back and hike for a week without any prior conditioning.