Beginner Section Hiker

[Dire Wolf]

Hello
As the title says I'm new to backpacking. I have a passion to start section hiking this year. I live in Ma and is looking to start with the CT/MA sections or just one this year. I'm in good shape and will have about 10 to 14 days. My question is being a beginner is it feasible to attempt both in the alloted time or try just one. CT is about 51 miles and MA 90 miles. I dont know the terrain or how many miles I can expect to do a day as a beginner. Thanks in advance.

[illabelle]

Dire Wolf,
Not sure what you mean by "the allotted time". If you asking whether you can do them both in the same year, absolutely! If you schedule allows it, why not? Husband and I did most of Massachusetts (N Adams to GB) in October 2014. Compared to other parts of the AT we've done, I'd say it's in about the middle as far as difficulty. We haven't done CT yet, so can't comment on it.
Sounds like you need a trail guide. If you don't have one yet, let me recommend http://www.theatguide.com. (http://www.theatguide.com/) It is unbelievably useful. Lots of good info at www.appalachiantrail.org also. Another that everybody seems to use a lot is www.atdist.com.
Let us know what we can help you with. :)

[GoldenBear]

> My question is being a beginner is it feasible to attempt both in the alloted time
> I dont know the terrain or how many miles I can expect to do a day as a beginner

The second statement makes answering the first question an impossibility.

Some beginners do the entire A.T. in their first try at backpacking.
Others give up after less than 24 hours.
You'll probably fall somewhere in between these two.
But nobody -- and certainly no-one here -- can know what will happen.

When I did my first real backpacking, I over-estimated my expected pace, with truly bad consequences.
www.whiteblaze.net/forum/entry.php/583-Based-on-my-choices-from-a-week-ago-I-nominate-myself-for-quot-Bonehead-of-the-Year-quot
But I survived. And continued on. Mainly because REALLY I wanted to do this.
You might. Or might not.

141 miles in ten to fourteen days is a do-able pace, even for someone as slow as I am.
Whether you'll avoid the mistakes such as the one I made, or survive the inevitable trouble, or endure the psychological toil we all face; is impossible to know.
You might quickly fall apart -- I've seen that.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/entry.php/8192-Hit-a-dry-spell-Part-2
You might find this the greatest experience of your life -- you'll find PLENTY of that here.

There's only one way to find out: just get out there and try it.

If you screw up but want to continue, admit your mistakes and come here for advice.
If you decide this isn't for you -- find something else. We promise we won't jeer.
If you succeed, come back here and share your experiences.

In any event, best wishes for many blessings.

[FlyPaper]

Hello
As the title says I'm new to backpacking. I have a passion to start section hiking this year. I live in Ma and is looking to start with the CT/MA sections or just one this year. I'm in good shape and will have about 10 to 14 days. My question is being a beginner is it feasible to attempt both in the alloted time or try just one. CT is about 51 miles and MA 90 miles. I dont know the terrain or how many miles I can expect to do a day as a beginner. Thanks in advance.

Seems doable in that time, but many underestimate the effects of hills, rocks, and the weight of a backpack. And who knows what kind of weather you'll get?

I'd just suggest a fallback plan. You could set out to do the whole distance, but have a way to adjust your plan mid hike in case you find the distance to aggressive to be fun.

[full conditions]

Hello
As the title says I'm new to backpacking. I have a passion to start section hiking this year. I live in Ma and is looking to start with the CT/MA sections or just one this year. I'm in good shape and will have about 10 to 14 days. My question is being a beginner is it feasible to attempt both in the alloted time or try just one. CT is about 51 miles and MA 90 miles. I dont know the terrain or how many miles I can expect to do a day as a beginner. Thanks in advance.
I think its pretty important to do a couple of weekend shake-down hikes well ahead of time - both to see if you have the right gear (and to learn how to use it) and to better judge what kind of distances are the right ones for you. Get the ATC maps for that section and start looking at the elevation profiles and as you do your shake-down hikes compare what you're seeing on the profiles with your own experience. Even a few day hikes on the AT in your area is better than nothing. Its always hard if not impossible for a bunch of strangers on the internet to give someone advice on what sort of mileage to take on. That said, I see your age is 45 and you say you're in good shape so my hunch is that what you are proposing is pretty reasonable - it looks like you're looking at a schedule of somewhere around 10 - 14 miles/day in a region that is less difficult than many other parts of the AT (although I do remember some serious little climbs and descents in both states) with lots of good camp sites and resupply points. My last bit of advice is to do your best in picking an ideal time of year (late summer or fall for New England?) or at least avoiding more challenging seasons. Best of luck to you.

[Dire Wolf]

Thanks all for the sound advice. I'm going to start with just the CT section this year.

[Feral Bill]

Thanks all for the sound advice. I'm going to start with just the CT section this year.
Of course, if you are having fun and have the time, you can resupply and keep on walking for a bit.

[Kerosene]

As a relatively new section hiker in the mid-70s, probably carrying 40 pounds as a fit teenager, I covered MA & CT in 14 days over two section hikes. A few of those days were half-days, but 14 days from North Adams to the CT/NY border should be doable if you're in halfway decent shape and know what it feels like to lug your pack up and down mountains for 10 hours a day. If either of those don't describe you then I'd probably target something closer to 17 days of walking.