What to plan early for

[Spiritual Pillgrim]

I had two long section hikes shot down in 2005 from circumstances beyond my control. Now I want to try a thru hike in 2006 (if things work out like I hope).
I want to plan a March departure.
:-? What can I do now for planning purposes?
:confused: Is good pre-planning really needed?
How soon should I dehydrate some chow?
How many mail drops is typical? (I plan to do 12-15 miles average. Maybe I should change my trail name to Slo-N-Easy. If I'm really fesity I might knock out some 20 mile days).
Is an alcohol stove really that much better than a white gas stove?
What is a ball park cost if I resupply on the trail and have town days about once a week? (I already have all the gear that is necessary)
Is taking along a data book or thru hiker companion book needed?
Any other wise bits of info?

[Alligator]

One batch of a dinner yields about 4-5 hiker sized meals. It's your regular run of the mill dehyrator with 5 circular trays. I have to check the food over a course of several hours 6-8 maybe? It's not something I do on a weeknight. Say you took 150 days to complete the trail. That would be around 30 batches of food. If you plan on sticking around the house, you might be able to do 2 batches a day. If I was thruhiking, I would get a second dehydrator and really get cooking. You have Dec, Jan, and Feb or about 14-15 weeks. Start now.

[smokymtnsteve]

I have a dog named TAZ :eek:

he had the end of his tail bit off and then He bit the end of his tongue off..:eek:

but he is a good leader.

[SGT Rock]

I had two long section hikes shot down in 2005 from circumstances beyond my control. Now I want to try a thru hike in 2006 (if things work out like I hope).
I want to plan a March departure.
:-? What can I do now for planning purposes?
Put some gear lists together. Decide not to do many mail drops, and do some shake down hikes.


:confused: Is good pre-planning really needed?
No, but it can't hurt.


How soon should I dehydrate some chow?
Depends on what you want and how much. I would make about 10 pounds of my favorite Jerky and leave it at that.


How many mail drops is typical? (I plan to do 12-15 miles average. Maybe I should change my trail name to Slo-N-Easy. If I'm really fesity I might knock out some 20 mile days).
Who knows? Plan for 100 miles a week and go as fast or as slow as you want.


Is an alcohol stove really that much better than a white gas stove?
For a March start of the AT, yes.


What is a ball park cost if I resupply on the trail and have town days about once a week? (I already have all the gear that is necessary)
Figure about $5K.

Is taking along a data book or thru hiker companion book needed?
No. But it can't hurt.


Any other wise bits of info?
Keep asking questions.

[Maxwell_Allen]

Although some of my recomendatoins may be on the extreme end of things, ill take a shot at it...

As for prep and planning the best thing to do is to play with your gear before you leave. Set up camp and sleep out side, even if its just in the backyard, under all sorts of weather conditions. I carried a "rain jacket" I just assumed was waterproof for way too long , first good rain (Erwin) and it soaked through in 1.5 hours. Not so cool, wish I checked it out first.

As far as book planning, Not much is needed, you will probably get off schedule after a few days anyway. Familiarize yourself with the trail towns, so you have a general idea of location when you hear rumors.

I dehydrated some stuff, sent two mail drops- Fontana dam and Atkins VA. I coulda bought from fontana, but I wish I sent one to Bear mtn/Fort Montgomery in NY. I mainly relied on grocery stores, they are almost always easier, you can get what you want in the correct quantities.

I just worked out a bunch of stats that i'd like to share here...
14 miles per day average. I resuplied my pack with food 37 times over 156 days, for an average of 4.2 days between grocerys. Thats not entirely accurate cause there were 13 Zero days in there, 6 for traildays. I spent $760 on Trail food and $610 on Town food. Also $570 on repacement gear on the trail- Hammock, shoes, socks, leki poles, etc...

Yes, you will want to carry either wingfoot, or the ATC databook and companion.

For stove info www.thru-hiker.com and SGT Rock's sites both have good info on why Alchohol is better than gas. I used an oldschool Mtn Dew can stove, and had no problem finding fuel.

Have a great Hike, I Hope to be out there with you in 2006.
4-Cheese

[Footslogger]

I would tell you to focus on your gear/clothing well in advance. Get what you think you might need and use it several times in preparation for your hike. Tweak, refine and reduce it to just what you need and nothing more. That alone will save you ounces/pounds in your pack and the weeding out process while you're actually hiking.

Second I would read as many articles/posts here on Whiteblaze about resupply alternatives and come up with a plan or philosophy. Decide what your budget, appetite and patience will tolerate in terms of pre-packaged mail drops versus buy-as-you-go.

Third and last I would suggest that you accept up front the fact that once you hit the trail a lot of things will change and all of your pre-planning may well go out the window.

Bottom line is that planning in advance of a hike is worthwhile in terms of occupying your mind so that you don't go insane with anticipation. But, once your actually out there the most enjoyment comes from just taking it one step/day at a time and just letting it happen. Trying to make a distance hike follow a script involves more discipline than you could ever imagine.

'Slogger

[MisterSweetie]

Keep asking questions.Best idea yet, thanks Rock. Usually I am too afraid that questions I might have are too stupid or answered too many places, and people who have knowledge to answer them are tired of doing so. So thanks for that! (not that this is my topic, but anyway...)

[chris]

I would first look at resupply points. The ALDHA Companion is really helpful for this, as are the various articles here on whiteblaze. Next, I'd spend a lot of time backpacking and hiking. That is about all the planning you'll reallly need to do. For example, you'll get comfortable rigging a tarp (if using) or a hammock (ditto) and see why an alcohol stove is better for distance hiking than a white gas model (but not, necessarily, than a canister model). Try hiking in trail runners. Get strong. The rest will follow. A thruhike will look reallly intimidating until you actually set off and start doing it. However, as many will tell you, there isn't that much to it in the end.

[Spiritual Pillgrim]

slogger, are you a friend of Bill W?

[Seeker]

Best idea yet, thanks Rock. Usually I am too afraid that questions I might have are too stupid or answered too many places, and people who have knowledge to answer them are tired of doing so. So thanks for that! (not that this is my topic, but anyway...)

that's one of the wonderful things about private messeges... i've had several people approach me 'off line' and ask my opinion on stuff... and i've done the same with folks here who seem to have experience in an area i'm 'weak' in.

so ask away.

[SGT Rock]

well the thing is, there are many questions people ask that others also want to know about and there are things I never even throught about until someone else asked them. I would hope as much of the discussion and questioning can be done on the public forum for the benifit of many.

[k4kam]

Taz1,

A couple suggestions:

1- Take your equipment to Mountain Crossings at Neel's Gap in Georgia. Ask them to do a backpack check. They'll go through your stuff and (usually) help you reduce your load. Plus, they will help you to organize your stuff.

Winton Porter did mine a few months ago. It was well worth the trip from my location in Gainesville, FL, probably about the same distance from your location in Southern Pines.

2 - My wife was working on dehydrating food for me, but then I found Enertia Foods on the web. I've been buying all my hiking foods from them now. Dehydration, yes. Freeze-dried, No!

And a bonus - since "we" put the dehydrator away, we might even make 39 years of marriage. She had enough to do in her life without running the dehydrating operation!

http://www.trailfoods.com/

John "K4KAM" Warne

[Jack Tarlin]

Taz--

I think you've got some great advice so far, especially from Rock.

A few quick comments: Most contemporary hikers rely a lot less on maildrops for re-supply than in years past. There are really very few places on the Trail where it's a good idea to have food sent to you; in less you're on a specialized diet of some sort (vegan, kosher, no salt, etc.) I think you'll be surprised at the availability of food while en route. Another advantage of buying en route is the savings in postage, as well as there's less chance you'll get sick and tired of the food that's in your drops. (You also won't be dependent ofn small-town Post offices and their varied hours of operation). Most folks don't know in February what they're gonna like to eat in September, and a lot of folks who buy their food in quantity ahead of time end up regretting it. The major Trail guides and handbooks, as well as this site and others, will provide a wealth of information on re-supplying; distances/days between re-supply spots, etc. The "Articles" section of Whiteblaze has a good deal of this sort of info.

Also, I think it's possible to have a great hike for well under $5,000.00. It mainly depends on how much time you spend in towns and to what degree you indulge yourself once there. Most folks I know have great hikes on three to four thousand dollars.