View Full Version : Where is "the bubble?" Planning trail magic!
bullett2015
06-24-2016, 23:32
Hi everyone! I'm curious to see the progress of this year's thru hikers- I thru hiked last year and really want to get out and do some trail magic. I live in mass so I'm hoping to time it for when most hikers will be coming through.
I know everyone's location will vary ALOT but some idea will help me plan :)
I hiked the trail in a non-traditional way last year- mid May to late September, so I can't really go by when I made it to mass- mid August I believe. I think most hikers were probably about a month ahead. I was never in a bubble or around many thru hikers, and was constantly told I wouldn't make it by locals.. ;) anyways. Any info would be super helpful! Thanks!!
Pretty well dispersed by now, but I'd guess the center of mass is around PA or NJ or NY. A few have already finished, I think.
Most folks (northbounders) have been on the trail about three months, so they're a bit past half-way done.
Hikers do love the kind of trail magic you probably had in mind, but you might also consider some magic for the trail itself too. The local A.T.-maintaining club can always benefit from the passion and energy and experience of a recent thru-hiker. Here are some pages to check out: http://massatprojects.blogspot.com/ http://amcberkshire.org/files/at_committee/2016_Project_Schedule.pdf. You can go out just for a day to get a taste. You may not get quite as many direct and vocal thank yous, but the Appalachian Trail itself will silently thank you, and every long-distance hiker who passes by will thank you too.
Wish more hikers would "give back" to the trail in the form of trail maintenance...and the maintaining clubs really need young blood too !!
MEDIAN DAY ~~ MEAN DAY ~~~ LANDMARK
March 17............March 20...........Springer
March 25............March 28...........Georgia Border
April 1................April 5...............Fontana
April 28..............April 29..............Damascus
May 29..............May 28..............Waynesboro
June 9...............June 8...............Harpers Ferry
June 29.............June 27..............DWG
July 12..............July 10...............Kent
Aug. 5...............Aug. 2...............Glencliff
Aug. 15.............Aug. 12..............Gorham
Aug. 26.............Aug. 22..............Stratton
Sept. 9..............Sept. 4..............Katahdin!
If this year is like past years the middle of the thru-hiker bubble is almost done with Pennsylvania right now. That middle of the bubble will be passing through MA in the third week of July. You will see a fair number of thru-hikers starting around three weeks before and extending three weeks after these dates, though, so any time from now through early August you should see at least a dozen NOBO thru-hikers on a typical day at any given MA road crossing.
Puddlefish
06-25-2016, 10:03
I went on a day hike in NH Wednesday to test out my injured knee (which failed the rehab test :(.) I cleaned all the little bits of trash from the two shelters I crossed. When I arrived at the hostel, there was a group of about 12 hikers. I offered anyone a ride to the local pizza shop, since I had my car. One guy joined me, everyone else was quite content to just wait out the rain at the hostel.
In hindsight, the best trail magic I could have provided would have been to bring along a pair of pruning shears to clear away the overgrown pine branches that narrowed the trail to a one foot width.
I'm not sure there's really a bubble anymore. The people I rain into were a mix of flip floppers who started at various points and were heading north, and a single south bounder.
Just go for a day hike anywhere, see who you run into, be friendly, maybe offer to haul out their trash? Chances are that anyone still on the trail, has their resupply game down pat, and doesn't really need anything.
squeezebox
06-25-2016, 10:17
Trail maintenance gets my vote also. Doesn't have to be the AT.
Sarcasm the elf
06-25-2016, 11:22
Hi everyone! I'm curious to see the progress of this year's thru hikers- I thru hiked last year and really want to get out and do some trail magic. I live in mass so I'm hoping to time it for when most hikers will be coming through.
I know everyone's location will vary ALOT but some idea will help me plan :)
I hiked the trail in a non-traditional way last year- mid May to late September, so I can't really go by when I made it to mass- mid August I believe. I think most hikers were probably about a month ahead. I was never in a bubble or around many thru hikers, and was constantly told I wouldn't make it by locals.. ;) anyways. Any info would be super helpful! Thanks!!
Bullett, I see you are from Mass, it is shaping up to be a very dry year and I just heard that many of the smaller water sources in Southern MA are already dried up. If you live close to the trail and want to do some trail magic, consider water caches. They are going to he sorely needed soon unless we get a good amount of rain.
Slo-go'en
06-25-2016, 17:05
[QUOTE=Puddlefish;2076996
Just go for a day hike anywhere, see who you run into, be friendly, maybe offer to haul out their trash? Chances are that anyone still on the trail, has their resupply game down pat, and doesn't really need anything.[/QUOTE]
Pretty much every hiker appreciates a free, hot meal. But finding a good road crossing to do that at in Mass would be tricky. Maybe at the Shea Rebellion marker.
I just came back from an overnight a Gentian pond, (just shy of the NH/ME line) and there was a mix of NOBO and SOBO thru's and a few flip floppers there. I suspect there is a small, but steady stream of hikers just about everywhere now.
A surprising number of nobos in the White Mountains last week or so. Either there're a lot more aggressive hikers out front this year or just a larger overall number with the normal front end proportionately increased. Or maybe just an aberrant blip.
A surprising number of nobos in the White Mountains last week or so. Either there're a lot more aggressive hikers out front this year or just a larger overall number with the normal front end proportionately increased. Or maybe just an aberrant blip.
Saw 10 or 12 Sobo's yesterday on the section from East B Hill Rd and South Arm Rd outside Andover. They seemed to be enjoying Maine so far. Talked to one kinda grumpy dude who complained about walking uphill so he could go downhill and going downhill so he could go walk uphill. I can commiserate because the same thought was going through my mind.
cconat2000
07-03-2016, 21:23
I had a great time providing burritos to about 10 thru-hikers and section hikers in Harriman State Park in NY today. Rather than doing it at road crossings, I like to do it in the middle of nowhere where it's least expected.
Apparently the bubble is another few days behind these guys. They said water was hard to come by (some locals said it's much drier than usual, so you really need to stock up going into the park).
BTW everyone was super nice and friendly. Great to reconnect with the hiking community!!
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trailwobbles
07-15-2016, 06:55
You're know it's funny...went for a day hike last weekend up to Annapolis Rock south of Wolfsville Rd in MD and we must have seen 7 or 8 through hikers mid day, all pretty dispersed. Thought it was pretty late for them, but they kept coming! Is there a later bubble?
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