Planning my first (annual) AT Section Hike

[WesArnold]

So a little history on myself: I'm 30 y/o. I'm a hammock-backpacker. I've been backpacking around home for about 3 years - doing hammock-camping for almost a year. I've thought about it and studied the AT on and off for the past year and have decided that March 2015 I'm going to do my first week long leg of the AT. My 20 y/o nephew who often goes backpacking w/ me will be going too.

I'm wondering if any of you guys who have done this may have any words of wisdom or links to gear you didn't have but wish you would have had; route recommendations, places to see, places to stop, etc. Really just looking for anything that might aid me in pulling this trip off without a hitch.

Over the next few weeks and months I'll be getting my gear all together in a list with weights and what-not for you guys to look at (and tell me how awful my kit is...lol) I've never weighed everything all out like that before - mostly because I've only ever done 2 night trips. I'm not "super-ultra-light" but I consider myself a light-weight hiker. I'm figuring that 6-7 days of hiking will be much different than a half day on day one, 1 whole day on day 2, and the half a day on day 3 - as my weekend trips are accustomed to being.

If you guys wanna see some pics from past adventures I've been on check out my extremely amateur blog: adventureempires.blogspot.com

I'm OCD about starting at the beginning and ending at the end. So I'll be going Northbound starting at Springer Mountain. Right now I'm up in the air about choosing the stopping point. Both Unicoi Gap and Dicks Creek Gap have been mentioned as good stopping points depending on the mileage I can do per day.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Looking forward to this!

[rafe]

Best of luck to you. It's a grand adventure.

[Odd Man Out]

I did my first AT section last July. Planned 71 miles in 6 days, but after 4 days I had to take a day off due to knee pain. Then I slackpacked the last day. If you are doing a week (7 days), you might want to plan on resupplying in the middle so that you don't have to carry all your food (I probably carried too much food). I found that despite all my planning, I wasn't very successful at estimating how many miles per day I would hike, so I would plan on not having a fixed plan, if possible. I know know that make the logistics for a section hike a bit tricky. If you are flexible with the amount of time your have, that would help (I didn't have any time flexibility - I had to be at the airport early on day 7 to catch my flight home). As for gear, I came home with a wish list of things I might like to change for next time, but I think my list wouldn't apply to anyone except me. I spent too much time before hand worrying about having all my gear "just right". I eventually decided that I just needed to get a gear kit that works, and based on the last hike, will adjust for next time. Since you've been doing weekend trips, you probably already have a gear kit that works for you, so big adjustments probably are not necessary, and since you are planning a section hike every year, you'll have plenty of time in the future to adjust for your needs.

[slbirdnerd]

I started section hiking NOBO last year (sort of) and did a total of 98 miles this year. It. Is. Awesome! I suggest using The AT Guide and WB, of course, and you're probably already on HammockForums.net. Read some books, ask your questions, and go and have a great time! (But March? Are you sure? Brrrr!)

[LittleRock]

As you said, it depends on how many miles/day you want to do. If 10-12 miles/day is enough, then Dick's Creek Gap is the perfect spot.

I did 12-15 miles/day for a week on my first section hike and ended up at Deep Gap Rd, just north of the GA/NC border. Wasn't too bad except for the 15 mile day with the roller coaster hike from Blue Mtn to Tray Mtn at the end.

[bigcranky]

The week long section starting at Springer is a great hike in March. There will be a lot of beginning thru-hikers on the trail, so shelters will be somewhat crowded, but there are plenty of places to hang hammocks along the trail in Georgia. The weather can be pretty cold - I would be prepared for lows in the 20s, anyway, with highs anywhere from the 40s to the 70s. It can get very windy along the exposed ridge lines with no leaves on the trees, but on the upside there are great views almost everywhere.

Dick's Creek is a reasonable week-long trip, assuming you can hike for 7 or 8 days and drive the other 2. I would highly recommend staying at The Hiker Hostel the night before, and have them drop you at Springer after a big homemade breakfast. You can leave your car there and they will pick you up wherever you finish. Great folks and very reasonable.

Having hiked this section several times in thru-hiker season, what I usually see is people bringing way too much stuff, not too little :) The one thing I wanted last time was a lightweight fleece pullover. I had my down jacket for camp, but for hiking all I had was my long sleeve base layer and a wind shirt. Normally that's fine down to about freezing, but with very heavy winds and highs in the 30s the first day I was darn cold. Oh, do bring sunscreen and a wide brimmed hat. There are always lots of very sunburned hikers on the trail in March -- no leaves and high elevation = lots of UV exposure.

Have fun!

[HighLiner]

Fabulous journey. I finished this year after 20 years of sectioning. You will get incrementally better and smarter after each trip, always looking forward to the next hike. Good luck.

[daddytwosticks]

Definitely bring sunscreen. I've done that part of the trail at that time of year several times. They will probably be all sold out at Neel's Gap. :)

[Rain Man]

Wes! I see you made it from HF to WB. Both are great places to ask questions, share info, and enjoy the time that goes into planning hikes!

It was great to speak with you yesterday. Feel free to call again any time. Always fun to talk hiking and hammocking!

Hope to see you in the woods some time.

Rain:sunMan

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[WesArnold]

Wes! I see you made it from HF to WB. Both are great places to ask questions, share info, and enjoy the time that goes into planning hikes!

It was great to speak with you yesterday. Feel free to call again any time. Always fun to talk hiking and hammocking!

Hope to see you in the woods some time.

Rain:sunMan

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Thanks Rain Man! Enjoyed speaking w/ you as well. Very knowledgeable. Hopefully I will see you at one of the TN hangs. Not going to make the one on the 24th, but I'll be watching for others.

[WesArnold]

Say, what's a ballpark estimate on the shuttle services? How does that work?