Plans/questions for 2015 hike

[eagleminded]

Greetings! Brandon here. This is my first post in the forum, I am new to researching the AT, there is much information available, deciding where to start has been a challenge for me. I am currently finishing a 6 month work exchange program at the Omega institute for Holistic studies in Rhinebeck, NY. I will return to my home in Florida early November. My plans for 2015 include planning, saving money, and training for a hike that will start in Georgia at the beginning of April and finish in New York sometime early September for the start of my next season of work at the Omega institute. My history with hiking is limited to day hikes, although I have always been a long distance walker, a physicially fit, determined individual, and an outdoors-man/camper. One of my main questions is estimating length of time it will take to hike this section of the trail. I would prefer to hike at a speed that averages 15 miles a day, with days to rest/enjoy the scenery sporadically. Any suggestions/ additional resources are appreciated. Thank you! Looking forward to learning more.

[Slo-go'en]

Easy enough to figure out. Lets say you hike to the Appalachian Trail RR station in NY, where you can catch a train into the city. I have no idea where Rhinebeck is, but from Manhattan, you might be able to get there. Details to be figured out later. Anyway, it's 1444.5 miles to the RR station. At 15 MPD it will take at least 96.3 days. If you leave Springer April 1st you will arrive July 7th at 3 PM. Well, sometime before the end of July most likely. If you have until September, you could potentially make it all the way - so long as you don't run out of money.

[eagleminded]

Thanks a lot for the advice, the extra time is exciting news.

[CarlZ993]

Here's the itinerary that I did. 152 days total. 12 zero days. 14.4 MPD. You can tinker with it to get to your desired 15 MPD.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Vq3wfR_I1vBnCQkuIrKKB_Kx0xdti_I8Tf37jA3gt1M/edit#gid=0

[dangerdave]

My first thought was, "A strong young guy like you could complete a thru-hike in that time frame."

I say go for it! You'll pass me somewhere along the way.

Watch out for Danger!

[Another Kevin]

Rhinebeck is easy to get to from anywhere on the A-T from New Jersey to Vermont. It's a short cab ride from the Rhinecliff train station.

If you decide, for whatever reason, not to do a thru, from anywhere south of the Hudson Valley, get a train to New York's PennStation, and you can catch Amtrak to Rhinecliff hourly.

From the Manitou train station north of the Bear Mountain Bridge, or the Peekskill station to the south, take Metro-North to Poughkeepsie and Amtrak to Rhinecliff.

But I bet you could at least finish Connecticut and most of Massachusetts. So another option would be to get on Amtrak on a 3:35 train in Pittsfield, change trains in Albany, and arrive in Rhinecliff 8 pm.

Of course train schedules might change between now and then, but Piitsfield has only one train a day in that direction, and it's always afternoon, because it's a sleeper train to Chicago. Albany has hourly service to and from Rhinecliff.

Farther north, there's bus service between Rutland and Albany that makes stops in towns near the trail such as Wallingford, Manchester Center and Bennington. There's also a daily train between Rutland and New York City that stops in Rhinecliff. Past Rutland, there's a bus line that links Rutland and Hanover along US 4 with stops in places like Woodstock and Killington.