View Full Version : Future Thru-Hike Tips
Happy Friday everyone!
I am planning for my first thru-hike after years of general backpacking. Now that most of everyone has finished/ is finishing the 2016 AT journey, I want to ask a broad question to those thru-hikers (NOBO, SOBO, Flip Flop, etc.):
From your recent experience, what did you learn on the trail that you would share to those who will be starting their journey next year?
It can be simple suggestions too, such as pony up at each water source, get off the mountain during the blizzard, unbuckle your pack at the fords, leave an itinerary under year car seat, etc. Because sometimes we need to be reminded of the little things. If you forgot to do so, there's a good chance someone will too. There is already so much information that comes with general backpacking and now we have to add on thru-hiking logistics.
To help keep this thread a little easier to read, I have several main topics and suggestive sub-topics below to which you can share your wisdom under (feel free to add your own):
General Advice
Something I wish someone would have said to me before/during the trip
If I had to thru-hike again, this is how I would do it differently
Gear
You would recommend that is usually not suggested (underrated gear)
It was not as hyped up as you heard it to be (overrated gear)
Unexpected failures and how you dealt with it
You ended sending back home because you barely used it
Should've bought earlier on
Health/Safety
Safe practices that kept you healthier than your companions
Dealing with wildlife (black flies, skeeters, snakes, shelter mice, etc)
Food/Water
How much water you thought you needed and actually needed (besides the fact there was a drought)
Most delicious food to add to your resupply box (or buy)
Navigation
The accuracy of maps and guides
Places you can easily take a wrong turn
Schedule
Would have started the first day earlier/later
Would have woken up/went to bed earlier
Towns/Sections
Places you would have mailed a box instead of buying
Places must stay in or stay longer
Again these are just suggestive topics, you do not need to answer all of them (but if you do, then more power to you). Thank you in advance for helping us newbies and making this community great. See you on the trail!
I will start it off with a few of my own, and just so that everyone can see what I had envisioned for the replies.
General Advice
With all the advices that you see here and on other sites, don't take them to heart. These are just few of the many possibilities that could happen. They are still helpful though. Still, be prepared with your own backup plans and ready to adapt when plans change. Do what works best for you and just start walking.
Gear
I have a rain jacket that was bomb proof on the West coast, but hiking bits of the AT in the humidity made me realized I needed something with more ventilation. So now I have a Packa that lets the air flow better.
I used to sit on logs and stones with no problem. It was only until I bought the Z Seat did I realize what I was missing. For the extra ounces, it is worth the comfort.
As am past thru the only advise is: Have enough time, 6 months. Have enough money $6,000.
Get your teeth cleaned and checked before heading out.
All the 2016 AT SOBOers and Flip Floppers aren't done yet. Besides, some are still shell shocked attempting to re-acclimate to non LD trail life.
goldielocks
10-01-2016, 22:27
As am past thru the only advise is: Have enough time, 6 months. Have enough money $6,000.
Did you spend a full $6,000 in 6 months? Did you have any additional gear or replacements that were factored into that number? Also, how many days in town do you approximate were included in that $6,000?
(QUOTE/)
Gear
I have a rain jacket that was bomb proof on the West coast, but hiking bits of the AT in the humidity made me realized I needed something with more ventilation. So now I have a Packa that lets the air flow better.
I used to sit on logs and stones with no problem. It was only until I bought the Z Seat did I realize what I was missing. For the extra ounces, it is worth the comfort.[/QUOTE]
Humidity is always an issue on the AT. I found as others have that I got just as wet with a jacket on as I would have with out one! When temperature allows I just hike on without one. When there is a chill to the air, beyond the heat my exertion creats, I will put the jacket on.
As far as a seat goes, I still sit on logs and rocks but I bring a butt sized piece of carpet padding to sit on. Very lite and packable and the foam is closed cell so it won't act like a sponge. Fold it over, and you have cozy for boil in bag meals. Also works as a door mat to kneel on getting in/out of tent for me.
Happy Trails!
Take more "normal" food with you. Towards the end I kept a loaf of bread tied to the outside of my pack. I used it to make peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese (with precooked bacon) and sometimes carried a small can of tomato sauce, pepperoni and mozzarella and made grilled pizza sandwiches. Carry 1 meal worth of "real food" out of town and eat it for dinner that night...its a bit of balance between carrying better food and staying lightweight.
Did you spend a full $6,000 in 6 months? Did you have any additional gear or replacements that were factored into that number? Also, how many days in town do you approximate were included in that $6,000?
For the last 15 years, since my thru in 2001, I have been a caretaker at the cabin at Upper Goose Pond. The cabin is located 1540 miles from Springer. Thru the years I have made it a point to talk to the many thru-hikers who have stayed at the cabin. Many are on the verge of getting off the trail fore lack of funds. Many are about to leave because their hike is taking them longer than anticipated and are running out of time.
At the age of 66 years old I had a successful hike, so I must of done something right. I didn't keep an accurate count of what I spent. I went into town every 4 to 6 days. stayed at a motel or hostel, at a couple of meals at a restaurant, washed cloths and resupplied. I brought a new tent, and sleeping bag along the way.
I was able to hike doing moderate miles and taking a "0" when I needed one. I was on the trail for 201 days.
Most hikers who try to do a thru on the cheap or in 4 months just don't make it.
just enjoy the hike one day at a time. Don't get too caught up thinking a 'thru hike' is the end-all goal to life's happiness. It's a noble goal, and worth trying. But later I think you will look back and think more about the people you met on the trail than how many days/months you took to hike the trail.
Listen to Grampie. he is wise. It is very easy to spend 6000$ on the trail. That's one thousand per month. Besides You WILL eat at restaurants and the occasional (or more than occasional) hotel night can do wonders for the spirit. As for six months... well many if not most hikers do the trail in around 5 months but that means consistent mileage and minimal time off. Doing the trail in less than five months is a really fast past and personally I'd think you'd miss out on parts of the experience. Besides.. why rush something that is once in a life time for most folks?
Christoph
10-02-2016, 13:22
Clean yourself often and daily. Not only for going into town and smelling bad, it also gives you a chance to check for ticks or any unusual bite marks that might go unnoticed.
Take your time and enjoy your hike. Don't get caught up in doing long miles and miles each day. You'll do more as your body adjusts from just being out there doing it.
If you don't finish your thru attempt and end up having to get off the trail for whatever reason, don't look at it as a fail. Even 100 miles is quite notable for someone who's never LD hiked before.
Don't take gear choices too seriously (to a point). Do good research and try it out first. Set up in the rain in December in your back yard. What works for someone else may not always work for you.
Have a little extra money set aside (or budgeted in) and be prepared to replace gear, send some home if you have too much, or even buy something along the way. A thru hike doesn't have to be 10 thousand dollars and some have spent a bare minimum, but enjoy yourself in town and eat and rest well when you get the chance or just feeling not up to the next days task.
Finally, not every day is going to be a blast. There's going to be down days when you're missing the family at home, wondering why the heck am I STILL in only in VA!, and normal day to day home life happenings you're going to miss (good or bad, stuff always breaks when you leave it seems). But overall it'll be worth every difficult step. If you don't make it all the way to Maine (or Springer for the SOBO's), remember you DID NOT FAIL. A thru attempt is a pretty tough challenge for most of us. I didn't finish, but I sure can't wait to try again next year!
This also applies to a thru-hike:http://tinybuddha.com/blog/40-ways-to-live-life-without-regrets/
Be present. Live in the moment. Enjoy the journey; it really isn't just about the destination. Hike with gratitude. Laugh often including at yourself. Hike in love, peace, goodness, kindness, understanding, faith and joy. Address negative mentality by seeing what there is to be excited about and grateful for. Change your mental perspective to one that empowers others and yourself. Find positive meaning in everything. Know thru-hiking is not just about hiking. You own the hike. You own how you present yourself. Contribute to others for other's benefit while thru-hiking. Know you will not need to or possibly can know everything about hiking to happily thru-hike the AT. Know you need to be flexible and will have to adapt as every thru-hiker experiences unplanned for events. Observe. Learn. Consider. Adjust. Keep going forward enjoyably.
Take care of your feet. Spending time to dial in everything going on with your feet and what happens to them and getting the sleep system right pays handsome dividend on a thru-hike as virtually always you will either be in your shoes or in your sleep system. Getting a good night's sleep and taking care of your feet are important to your well being on a thru-hike.
soulrebel
10-03-2016, 07:35
Go Alone, Stay Alone for the most part. Have $10k if you've never been on a long hike/$6k if you have. Have an additional $3k-$5k saved up for your return. Only hike half of it. Walk toward home aka do the far sections first. A common fault of the modern hiker-Hiking way too hard-trying to get there (hint: you're on the trail so job well done), too fast-too far and not enough food or alcohol, strong desire to recharge devices to 100%, use a toilet, eat food they didn't have to prepare. Solution: walk normally, take tastier food (pack-it gourmet rocks!), a battery pack, and a general towel bath or jump in a creek daily-goes a long ways. The rest is just walking between enjoyment and perserverance.
Wow I didn't realize a thru cost that much. I was originally told it would cost about $1.5 per mile (~ $3000 total.) Now I'm reading it's double that, at the minimum. Very helpful tips everyone.
Tipi Walter
10-11-2016, 09:32
Thruhiking Tips? Datto listed everything humanly possible to consider before, after and during a thruhike of the AT. See---
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/118123-Datto-s-Top-Ten-Tips-for-2017-AT-Thru-hikers-In-Planning
Holy moly 14 pages. Looks like I have some reading to do. Thanks!
If I had considered much less done all that people advised on White Blaze and elsewhere before my AT thru-hike I may have never gotten on the trail or died from a brain aneurysm attempting to. At some point you have to just go understanding unforeseen events occur on everyone's hike, in everyone's life, and NO one NO one knows or needs to know all there is to know about hiking to safely and successfully thru-hike the AT. Even as one who never did a LD hike you'll start realizing so many opinions start repeating themselves. Embrace your hike and be patient knowing you can and will evolve, develop as a hiker and a person on your hike. That's good.
Tipi Walter
10-11-2016, 12:39
If I had considered much less done all that people advised on White Blaze and elsewhere before my AT thru-hike I may have never gotten on the trail or died from a brain aneurysm attempting to. At some point you have to just go understanding unforeseen events occur on everyone's hike, in everyone's life, and NO one NO one knows or needs to know all there is to know about hiking to safely and successfully thru-hike the AT. Even as one who never did a LD hike you'll start realizing so many opinions start repeating themselves. Embrace your hike and be patient knowing you can and will evolve, develop as a hiker and a person on your hike. That's good.
As Lone Wolf always likes to say, it's just walking.
Hike your own hike.
To me, that means: don't let peer pressure rule you. It's fun to hike as part of a group or with a friend, but if you find yourself wanting to travel faster or slower, take fewer stops or more stops, etc. -- don't be afraid to go your own way.
Go Alone, Stay Alone for the most part.
This would be my advice to anyone that is serious about hiking the entire trail. I just finished up two weeks ago and I will tell you that I was blown away by the amount of yellow blazing that I saw. It wasn't just the party crowd, it was mainly people that explained that they had to catch up with friends and their trail family when they got behind due to illness or a brief family obligation. I know these are people who didn't start the trail thinking they would be skipping sections.
There are always new and interesting people to meet on the trail, different bubbles to experience, and there is nothing wrong with being comfortable with your own company and spending time in your head.
turtle fast
10-17-2016, 18:45
It's important to have a home contact as well. Someone to keep a rough track of where you are in case of a family emergency back home.
As far as cash goes, many do hikes for less than $6,000...but you need to be strict in your spending.
josh_ATL
10-25-2016, 02:45
General Advice
Something I wish someone would have said to me before/during the trip: It's not something I wish someone had told me, but rather I got my hopes up with everyone telling me that Virginia is flat!" Probably heard this a few times a day from Springer to Damascus. The trail however, is NOT FLAT!!!
If I had to thru-hike again, this is how I would do it differently: I would have started with my gear since instead of buying new stuff just to trade it in on more gear until I got to where I wanted to be.
Gear
You would recommend that is usually not suggested (underrated gear): Buff!!! Platypus bags, last much longer than the Sawyers that come with the filter.
It was not as hyped up as you heard it to be (overrated gear): Merrell Moab hiking shoes. I wear these to work everyday, but hiking in them tore my feet up and put me off the trail for a couple week.
Unexpected failures and how you dealt with it: Ran out of alcohol when I only had cook meals and was still 40 miles from the closest village.
You ended sending back home because you barely used it: Fleece pullover. I never used it, but then the day I sent it home temperature dropped into the 20s over night. It would have been nice to have a few nights, but my puffy jacket did ok.
Should've bought earlier on: Gossamer Gear Kumo 36L pack. Awesome pack. I went through 3 different other packs before I finally bought this one. My far the most comfortable pack I've ever hiked with.
Health/Safety
Safe practices that kept you healthier than your companions: Wash your hands with SOAP every chance you get. Hand sanitizer will only get them so clean.
Dealing with wildlife (black flies, skeeters, snakes, shelter mice, etc): Got a few mosquito bites through my hammock, saw a couple timber rattle snakes, saw mice get into peoples food bags, even on the bear cables. I kept my food in ScentLock bags in a contractor bag at the very bottom of my pack. I've ben hiking the southern portion of the AT for over a decade and have never had problems with bears. They usually run off before I can even get my camera out.
Food/Water
How much water you thought you needed and actually needed (besides the fact there was a drought): I usually never carried more than a liter of water at a time. Mainly because it's heavy. I even did it through Virginia in the early summer after it hadn't seen rain in a while. I was always able to find some, but there were a few times I was seeing stars from being so dehydrated.
Most delicious food to add to your resupply box (or buy): Smoked salmon with cream cheese and green onions on a bagle. Sharp cheddar and smoked sausage on Ritz crackers. Hummus with broccoli/carrots/grape tomatoes/cauliflower, and toasted pita bread.
Navigation
The accuracy of maps and guides: Tried not to pay attention to them while I was hiking. I could figure usually out about where I was, or how far I was from something by keeping track of time. I averaged 2-3 miles an hour. I highly recommend the National Geographic set of waterproof AT maps. I didn't have them, but a friend I was hiking with shared them. The maps definitely helped us figure out where various blue blazed trails hooked back up with the AT. I'm really glad I took a few of the scenic trails. For every other bit of navigating myself through the woods, I used the AWOL guide, along with the Guthook app. I highly recommend both as well.
Places you can easily take a wrong turn
Schedule
Would have started the first day earlier/later: I was really happy with my March 26 start date. It worked out very well. I got to the NOC on the very first day the dam was opened upstream. I ended up getting into Damascus a couple days before Trail Days. I'm sticking with the same start date when I do it again.
Would have woken up/went to bed earlier: Neither, my body adjusted to coming up with the sun, and going to bed as it went down.
Towns/Sections
Places you would have mailed a box instead of buying: I did half and half, and that worked out really well for me. I would get all the expensive stuff mailed to my instead of buying a $5 bag of gas station beef jerky, and I would resupply in stores along the way so I could pick up the cheap stuff like ramen and potatoes. I would definitely recommend sending resupplys to Neel's Gap, Franklin and the NOC to try and see if mail drops are even worth it. You'll definitely be stopping at these 3 places and you can bounce or hiker box anything you don't want
Places must stay in or stay longer: Four Pines Hostel, Quarter Way Inn (EAT DINNER with TINA!!! AWESOME COOK!!!) Howard Johnson in Troutville/Daleville (AWESOME POOL) Budget Inn or Penny Pincher Hostel in Franklin, NC, Check out Outdoor 76 while you're there. The guys there are awesome if you want new shoes. Flying Mouse and Devil's Backbone Brewery are definitely cant miss spots. While you're in the smokies, get off at Clingman's Dome and hitch into Gatlinburg. Cool tourist town with free moonshine tasting everywhere! Broken Fiddle and Crazy Larry's hostels in Damascus are awesome!