View Full Version : Long Section Hiking
ShadowSoul
03-28-2016, 19:18
Mid April - Mid May, I am planning to take a long section hike, hopefully between 150 and 200 miles. I am just curious about others who do long sections. Do you plan it out meticulously (miles per day/shelters/resupplies) and follow it as closely as possible? Or do you just walk (with a little planning)? If you do plan it out day by day, does it typically end up working out that way or do all your plans just go to hell?
I find myself sitting here writing out "my plan" over and over, but wondering if I am just wasting my time. I could be mowing the grass after all.
Thanks for for any input.
lonehiker
03-28-2016, 19:27
I am currently doing the PCT in long sections (450-650) miles. I approach it with a basic resupply plan but then let the days unfold as they will.
JohnThe Snail
03-28-2016, 19:31
Hmmm, thinking and planning about hiking vs mowing the grass? Doesn't sound like a waste of time to me :)
I know how much time I've got (how many days) and where I'd like to get to at the end of that time. I rarely make detailed plans for anything more than a day or two ahead. Shelters and campsites are almost entirely negotiable. The "long term goal" is the next town stop or critical road crossing or end-of-hike.
jimmyjam
03-28-2016, 20:00
I take enough food to get to the next resupply point. I budget about 100 miles per week. The rest I wing- its part of the adventure.
I used to over plan, more enjoyable and sensible to roll with the punches............that said, I average about 13 miles per day over 10-14 day hikes so overall the planning is pretty easy. I also tent so the old days of shelter hopping are over so I never know where I will wind up every night. As long as I have water I am good to go..........typically hike until about an hour before sunset.
Hikingjim
03-28-2016, 20:39
Depends on how much time I have, but I prefer to not have a rigid schedule. I find HAVING to do big miles seems to take forever. But if i don't have a set goal, big mileage may happen effortlessly.
I spend a lot of time researching the resupply and other cool stuff along the way though. I certainly don't want to pack 7 days food and find out there's a restaurant and store at day 3.
I just had this exact issue come up. I'm doing a section hike and the hostel I was going to stay at part way through was telling me that they "strongly encourage booking a date" and it would be busy...... and I just don't want to do it. I'll pass it up if it's full.
Sandy of PA
03-28-2016, 21:14
I plan my start date and location, then walk until I feel like going home. Normally about 400 miles.
hikernutcasey
03-29-2016, 15:56
Everyone's experience is different I guess and variables definitely play a roll as well. My experience is a little different in that I section a week at a time due to vacation restraints. Since we do 7 to 9 day sections I find myself planning it all out from start to finish. It's part of the fun of an upcoming trip for me. Also, I don't want to miss something like a chance to get a soda or see something cool so I do it to make sure I hit all the good stuff.
However, with that being said it's just a guide and it doesn't mean we stick to every detail of the plan. Inevitably, circumstances dictate changes to the plan such as weather, water sources, full campsites or finding the perfect campsite with a view before you planned to stop. I plan a lot but I also roll with things once out there. Just like to know all the options ahead of time:)
LittleRock
03-29-2016, 16:07
+1 to what Casey just said - make a plan, stick to it if you can, but don't force yourself to carry out every detail or else it stops being fun.
illabelle
03-29-2016, 16:41
I think our longest section so far was about 84 miles. This year we'll do the HMW + K, somewhere around 115-120 miles, for which we've blocked out 10 days (we're slow, and we want to do the Gulf Hagas Loop). Since we are flying, it is important that we don't miss our flight home. I have planned our daily mileage and where we will camp each night, so that I am confident the plan meets our capabilities. However, I am in the process of identifying alternatives for some what if scenarios: what if Baxter State Park says we can't climb Katahdin the day we want to? What if we underestimate the difficulty and start running out of time?
So basically, I plan in detail for the "preferred" hike, and then adjust as needed on the trail. If we were doing a 250-mile hike, I would do the same, but with more need for alternate endings.
dudeijuststarted
03-29-2016, 16:54
If this is your first AT section hike, consider just seeing how far you can get and take in the experience. For instance, when I got started with AT hiking it was all in the Northern VA, MD, PA region. Our group had distance goals but we always had a friend somewhere within reasonable distance to get us off trail or back to our car should we not reach our destination. Looks like you're in Georgia so the Springer-area shuttle system could provide some support for you if that is where you'll be hiking.
Now that I have the knee equivalent of Louis CKs "incurable sh**y ankle", I set the bar low and relax.
I think our longest section so far was about 84 miles. This year we'll do the HMW + K, somewhere around 115-120 miles, for which we've blocked out 10 days (we're slow, and we want to do the Gulf Hagas Loop). Since we are flying, it is important that we don't miss our flight home. I have planned our daily mileage and where we will camp each night, so that I am confident the plan meets our capabilities. However, I am in the process of identifying alternatives for some what if scenarios: what if Baxter State Park says we can't climb Katahdin the day we want to? What if we underestimate the difficulty and start running out of time?
So basically, I plan in detail for the "preferred" hike, and then adjust as needed on the trail. If we were doing a 250-mile hike, I would do the same, but with more need for alternate endings.
When are you planning that? The gf and I are starting in BSP and headed South for two weeks at the end of August.
OneDoesNotSimplyWalk
03-29-2016, 17:13
Me and my girlfriend are new at this, but we plan out out sections pretty meticulously (Even the 35 mile we did last summer). I figure it's good to have a daily goal to motivate us to keep up a good pace. This year we're doing a 70 mile and 50 mile section, so I've got several pages itererary. We only have a certain number of days set aside and we park a car where we plan on exiting, so we have to follow some level of a schedule lest we have to go a day without food. :D
MuddyWaters
03-29-2016, 17:22
I like to plan maildrops, because its easy, and i hate shopping. I will plan 17 mpd, 6 days per week. 100 miles per week. Usually do more though. I dont want
To have to though, i want mileage "plan" i can make easily.
The value detailed planning isnt the plan. Thats worthless by day 2. Its the learning process, you educate yourself about your options beforehand, so you are prepared to wing it on the trail. Nothing wrong with it, you dont have to stick with it.
The value detailed planning isnt the plan. Thats worthless by day 2. Its the learning process, you educate yourself about your options beforehand, so you are prepared to wing it on the trail. Nothing wrong with it, you dont have to stick with it.
As my buddy Lou says, "Eggsactly."
Another Kevin
03-29-2016, 18:30
My longest hike so far has been 138 miles. I planned it fairly meticulously, but with the understanding that 'a plan is only a plan.'
Because I didn't know how I'd hold up on a section that long, I planned the 8-12 miles that appears to be the received wisdom for what to plan if you're not a long-distance hiker. I found that the particular trail that I was on was easier than I expected, and 12-15 would have been a comfortable pace. I adjusted, although most of the time I just took more pictures, wrote, swam, or just lallygagged rather than pick up the pace. I planned in detail because the trail I was on is fairly remote, and there are only two good resupply points. In fact, there were two 40-mile sections that had no roads or any way out shorter than the trail. One one of them, I didn't see anyone for a couple of days.
I carried a map, a guidebook section and a homemade route card for the hike, so I had the information at my fingertips about campsites, shelters, trail and road crossings, and so on. If I decided to replan and say, "8 miles was too short. I'll push on to the next campsite," I could immediately decide where that might be and where the following day's mileage might leave me. I think I stayed at my planned campsite a little more than half the time. I say "campsite" because even at empty shelters, I tented nearby. I dislike mice. I think I slept at a shelter once during the trip - because I decided I wanted a fire after a day of hiking in sleet.
I do a lot of 3-4 day weekends, so I'm accustomed to planning them out. I essentially treated this trip as two 4-day weekends, hiking town to town, plus a 6-day carry in the middle. I was able to shower and pick up a few snacks at a campground 1.5 days into the 6-day piece. I zeroed at both town stops and did short days on the first day of the trip and the first day out of each town. My shortest day was a 6.5-mile "near-o" coming out of a town and my longest was a 15.6-mile pull with a motel room and a maildrop waiting for me at the end of it. I knew from the guidebook that it was easy, and my body was telling me that I could push on.
I probably "should" have planned more aggressive mileage. As I said, it would have been comfortable. But I had a good time dawdling. Knowing that I "had" to make the miles to catch a motel reservation might have spoiled it for me.
ShadowSoul
03-29-2016, 19:08
Thank you all so much for the great advice. I have done several smaller section hikes (25-50 miles) but this one will be my first with a resupplies. I think that's why I am most nervous. Physically, I average about 12 miles a day in the mountains and have done that for a max of four straight days in a row. I know I can do it, just getting jittery. So basically with all the great advice, I'll keep planning with the understanding that it may or may not work out, but at least I'll have plenty of options already worked out. The dandelions are really pretty in my yard.
illabelle
03-29-2016, 21:36
When are you planning that? The gf and I are starting in BSP and headed South for two weeks at the end of August.
Flying up Friday, Aug 26, hope to summit K Aug 27. Maybe we'll cross paths! :)
Flying up Friday, Aug 26, hope to summit K Aug 27. Maybe we'll cross paths! :)
We are going up the 20th, I think. That week has been flipped a couple of times now because of work conflicts that I can't remember off the top of my head :confused:
illabelle
03-30-2016, 08:53
We are going up the 20th, I think. That week has been flipped a couple of times now because of work conflicts that I can't remember off the top of my head :confused:
Well in that case, maybe you could work on getting that escalator finished before we get there. :D
lonehiker
03-30-2016, 09:42
It goes without saying that section hikers that are on a time schedule would need a bit more planning. But to plan every campsite is probably overkill. Average miles per day between resupply is more than sufficient. Anything more than that is just someone enjoying the process of planning. And, some enjoy the planning probably as much as the execution. I remember a whiteblaze member with an elaborate spreadsheet with details extending to the number of sheets of toilet paper for each maildrop. I spend a couple hours preparing a basic resupply strategy. Then the only real planning is during the evenings I will look a day or two ahead in the guidebook so as to know what expect. I also spend a little time the night before a resupply to analyze food availability for the next section, then plan my meal buying accordingly.
I am starting at Springer on 4/19...only about two more weeks to wait! I have 5 weeks to walk north. I have not bought a return ticket back to FL. I have looked at the AWOL guide and roughly selected where I think I'll stop for the first few nights, then a resupply at Neal Gap. That's as far ahead as I am looking now. I will always plan a couple of days ahead and just shop at convenience or grocery stores after this first resupply. This is my fist section hike and all my gear is new. Last time backpacking was in Boy Scouts and I'm now 50. My concern is going out too aggressively and suffering a lot of muscle and joint pain. I plan to start slow and then taper.
lonehiker
03-30-2016, 14:05
You are 50 so you're going to have some muscle and joint pain even it you go out slow. The key is to not go so hard, whatever that may be, and injure yourself.
I've done a lot of AT section hikes, up to 470 miles (27 days), and generally at least two weeks long.
It's good to plot out your days and food stops, especially if you need to catch a plane at the end.
Leave a written itinerary with someone responsible.
Decide where to send packages.
Then be flexible when hiking.