View Full Version : March/April 2016 start
Hi all. I'm not a woodsy person, having grown up on a barrier island and spent my career on the ocean but have been hiking small sections of the AT for the past 2-3 years in the Va area. Back in Fl now. In any case, I retire summer of 2015 so earliest start date would be about March/April 2016. Please be patient if I am in the wrong place for this question, but just wondering if anyone is thinking about starting in Georgia about then. I know it is early but wanted to put it out there. Not asking anyone to hike with me as my guess is I will be much slower then anyone else, just wondering about company now and then in the first part. My attributes are, I am a planner and I almost never quite anything once I start. If I failed in the attempt it would be because my knees or something gave out. I don't mean to sound arrogant and hopefully it doesn't come over that way. I only mention it because if some does start about the same time, they would find I am a positive, motivated person. Thanks for any reply or advice I may receive.
Welcome aboard. I doubt that finding company is ever a problem on the AT. The opposite might be a problem.
Good luck and have fun.
Wayne
Sent from somewhere around here.
Old Hiker
06-07-2014, 14:02
Hey, Jake !! Welcome to WB !
I'm in Tampa, planning for my 2nd attempt: 29 Feb 2016. Twisted/sprained/cracked ankle stopped my first try.
I was doing 8 miles per day at the start - very slow compared to everyone else, but the mileage was gradually picking up. I was even passed by a young lady with a sprained ankle in a soft cast. Sheesh.
Planning is part of the fun - so is going through all the gear that DIDN'T work for stuff that works BETTER. So is knowing what to get rid of to cut down on pack weight. In my case, packing my fears: i.e. too, too, too much food.
Sift carefully through all the threads, ask questions, ignore the snarky comments and trolls and enjoy your planning.
By the way: I've priced an Amtrak ticket from Tampa to Gainesville, GA (closest to a shuttle service for the Trail). $460 with two (2) LONG stopovers on the way, or $600 to DC, 4 hour layover, then down to Gainesville, both ways in a sleeper car. That's the way I'm planning for now.
Ricky&Jack
06-07-2014, 14:11
Here you go.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?92009-any-class-hikin-in-2016&highlight=2016
Nobody has posted there since january. But feel free to post in it, to get the conversation going again.
he.who.forgets
06-07-2014, 16:44
Hey Jake! Fellow Floridian here planning for an April 1, '16 thru
Old Hiker,
This sounds interesting. I retire in the summer of 2015 and will just be waiting and getting organized to start. I thought Feb may be too early in the season but I would rather leave earlier than later. Though it is very early in the process, I will just say that my wife will be driving me to Ga when it is time to go and she will probably meet me at the first in-town stop for me to make changes. There may be an oppertunity to save you a few bucks there if we can work something out as we plan. In the hiking I have done so far I have used a tent. Just bought a hammock though to play with over the summer. Thanks for the shout back.
Here you go.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?92009-any-class-hikin-in-2016&highlight=2016
Nobody has posted there since january. But feel free to post in it, to get the conversation going again.
Thanks Ricky&Jack. Very much appreciat the link.
Hey Jake! Fellow Floridian here planning for an April 1, '16 thru
He.who.forgets. I like the name, fits me as well. Thanks for your reply. For me, I would be concerned that April would be too late of a start, though the weather would probably be a bit better sooner. As you can read above on my response to Old Hiker, my start date is not yet set and I also know that schedules can be changed very easily this far out. At age 33, you will adapt to hiking a whole lot quicker than me . . . . but I may be able to stay within 200 or 300 yards or so, for the first 100 yards or so. :)
HelloNeiman!
06-09-2014, 16:07
Hey Jake, I am planning a March 2016 northbound hike as well. I posted in the other thread mentioned here, but i'm looking to ease my wife's troubled mind about hiking solo and would love to coordinate/meet others going at that time. I probably would hike 10-15 a day but wouldn't mind starting out at the same time and keeping an eye on things for each other for the first few days.
Hey Jake, I am planning a March 2016 northbound hike as well. I posted in the other thread mentioned here, but i'm looking to ease my wife's troubled mind about hiking solo and would love to coordinate/meet others going at that time. I probably would hike 10-15 a day but wouldn't mind starting out at the same time and keeping an eye on things for each other for the first few days.
Sounds good to me. My goal is to start at 10 a day +/-. I will keep posting periodically as I get closer. For everyone, please keep this in mind, it would be great to have a few people to start with. I am sure we will stretch out but it would be a nice way to start.