New member 1st post....got an odd question

[Walking man & Spider]

It's been 50 years since my first and only hike on the trail. Did the first 170 miles back in 1966 and always wanted to finish it but just never got the time. Anyway I am retiring March 1st and plan on starting a thru hike shortly after that. I offered my wife the opportunity to join me but she thinks she's too old. She just isn't interested. She did say she would like to come up from time to time and assist with resupply's, rides into town and maybe do some day hikes. I haven't mentioned this to her yet but I have been searching the internet for maybe some places where she might be able to do some extended stays, a few weeks at a time.

I thought maybe monthly cabin rentals would be a little less expensive than motel rooms but all I am finding online are luxury cabins. Since it would only be her or maybe her and her sister she wouldn't need a luxury cabin, just simple accommodations. Does anybody know of any places along the trail that might fit this bill?

[Mr. Bumpy]

Rent a small RV? A week here, a week there?

[kayak karl]

Hotels are not that expensive ???

[MuddyWaters]

It's been 50 years since my first and only hike on the trail. Did the first 170 miles back in 1966 and always wanted to finish it but just never got the time. Anyway I am retiring March 1st and plan on starting a thru hike shortly after that. I offered my wife the opportunity to join me but she thinks she's too old. She just isn't interested. She did say she would like to come up from time to time and assist with resupply's, rides into town and maybe do some day hikes. I haven't mentioned this to her yet but I have been searching the internet for maybe some places where she might be able to do some extended stays, a few weeks at a time.

I thought maybe monthly cabin rentals would be a little less expensive than motel rooms but all I am finding online are luxury cabins. Since it would only be her or maybe her and her sister she wouldn't need a luxury cabin, just simple accommodations. Does anybody know of any places along the trail that might fit this bill?
She cant stay in same place for 3 weeks and have anything to do with you for more than a few days really.

Buy a used class B or C RV, let her follow you sounds good. Sell it when done.

[Slo-go'en]

As you have found out, any kind of weekly or monthly vacation rentals in the mountains, in the summer, near the AT is going to be top dollar. And there seems to be plenty of people willing to pay it. Most likely you have to book well in advance to lock in a place too. What if you don't make it that far?

I think the best you can manage without it becoming a major expense is if she only came to visit for a couple of days at some key points. Then there is the small RV idea, many couples have done that.

[Greenlight]

Buy a nice RV, and use her as your support


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[IslandPete]

I'm in the process of finishing up a thru hike with my wife and dog. We used an RV and second vehicle the whole way, mostly to avoid hitching/road walks/hotels with the dog. We drive one north, and hike back to the one we left. Anywhere from one day slack-packs to one week 100 miles. It's worked great for us! Provisioning, alternate gear storage, ability to dodge weather, and you get to see not only the trail with everybody else, but all the small towns along the way. Like two trips in one. If your wife would like the trip, but not the hike, this might be the ticket?

[jjozgrunt]

Try AirBNB we tried it for the first time when in the USA for 6 weeks in Aug/sep and loved it. You can filter for self contained places and a lot offer discounts for weekly and/or monthly rentals. We could not have spent 6 weeks in hotels, so it worked for us.

[Alleghanian Orogeny]

I agree with the suggestions about purchasing an RV, only what I'd look into is a small, lightweight popup or other camper trailer. If you happen to already have a suitable tow vehicle such as a small SUV, crossover, half-ton pickup, or even a minivan, you can find a trailer which would be readily tow-able behind it. That way you'd have the camper set up for a few days at a time while you "hike towards, alongside, and beyond" the campground, and the tow vehicle is your shuttle from one daily stopping point to another for a few days at a time. When the drive gets too long, pick up and move the camper forward. For longer times between visits, she can probably find a place offering short-term storage of the camper such that she needn't haul it all the way back home and back out to the next visitation area.

There are around 400 AT/road crossings from Springer to Maine, and most are readily accessible by conventional vehicles. Similarly, there are NF and commercial campgrounds within a reasonably short distance of AT/road crossings over much of the trail.

AO

[garlic08]

One word of caution about vehicle support. It's possible you may end up supporting the vehicle. I witnessed one thru-hike ruined (on the CDT) because of mechanical problems. Even when the RV worked, the hike pretty much centered around the machine (one driver, two hikers).

When my wife hiked the AT solo, I flew out a few times for a week at time to support her. I rented a car and rented motel rooms. I found things to do around Damascus, Gettysburg, and the White Mts.

Good luck in your endeavor. Great story.

[cmoulder]

If your wife likes to car camp, perhaps get a very comfortable, glamp setup and plan to use campgrounds as base camps.

[peakbagger]

There is almost always a Walmart close by the trail usually just on the outskirts of trail towns. With very few exceptions they are camper friendly and many open up early to allow the campers to use the facilities. There are usually USFS campgrounds along the way although less so in the middle Atlantic , the big issue is that many are primitive without hookups. The big hassle is if you use the toilet or the shower in the camper then there is need to find dump stations and that can be hassle in rural areas. Note, there are some folks who apparently don't find this a problem as I encountered more than few rural parking spots along the AT where someone had obviously run a hose into the woods and dumped a tank. Over my 10 years of sustained sectioning I met a couple of hikers a year that were camper supported. They tended to hike away from the bubble and many were not opposed to flipping around the trail to miss unexpected trail conditions.

One caveat is that the AT is quite accessible south of the Maine border, once you get into Maine, there are a lot more long dirt roads that are less amenable to large campers. They can be planned around but it means a few multiday backpacks (just like the Smokies).

[colorado_rob]

I had an over-use tendon injury a couple years ago and supported my wife along the CO trail for a while, it worked out GREAT! Of course this was for a much shorter overall duration, but your wife could do this off and on as she sees fit with her fun-factor and such. There are so many cool places to visit along the AT for her when/if she gets bored following along with you.

Anyway, basically in our case I met my wife every night for a while at road/trail crossings, but for safety and peace of mind, she did carry a lightweight tent in case any given day she didn't make the next crossing (she always did though).

We have a truck-camper setup, and I personally recommend something similar vs. a cumbersome tow-behind RV. OR a small motorhome/conversion van setup for her and her sister. Just nothing towed, IMHO.

On the flip side, when I hiked the AT, my wife joined me for three 100-mile-ish sections (smokies, whites and 100-mile wilderness). I realize this probably isn't an option given how it sounds like you wife isn't an overnight hiker.

Somehow, make this work!

[hobby]

pm sent.........

[perrymk]

Check out the book The Don's Brother Method (https://www.amazon.com/Dons-Brother-Method-Thru-Hiked-Appalachian-ebook/dp/B01K7XHN4A/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1507573252&sr=1-2). It may have some ideas that you could use.

[JJ505]

Also you might check out fisherman type cabins (usually have beds, kerosene lanterns, water, and possibly a privy). As well as state and national parks cabins (same accommodations). I think an RV would be more useful, but car support is possible, just not easy. There is a guy who hiked the whole thing and never slept on the ground. Of course he did hike it TWICE.

[Lynnette]

HI- First does she have a car? If so, it looks like you and she are homebased in Florida which makes Damascus a great place off the interstate to spend a day and a hike together that she can drive to. Wood chucks hostel. If she gets there before you hike in, its a safe fun place to stay while she waits for you. That is is you are hiking from Springer Northbound. There she can bring u some clean socks.... A beautiful place to just hike without the overnight backpack would be Grayson highlands just north of Damascus. Start this by going to your AAA for maps of all the states the AT runs thru and highlight the trail neon colors. Then pick accessible cities. and places where the trail crosses roads and look in the trail guide for the hostels for overnights. Have fun.

[JJ505]

If she is interested in car camping or RVing, this book might be useful. Have not read it, it has only two reviews-- both good: https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Appalachian-Trail-Rv-Sort/dp/1441425799/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1507689929&sr=8-4&keywords=RV+appalachian+trail

Also you might look at AT parking access. It's extremely detailed. http://appalachiantrail.rohland.org/

[Hikes in Rain]

I have that book, and use it with our RV. I need to give it a third good review; been remiss in Amazon reviews. We're doing the same kind of thing that's been suggested here.

[Starchild]

You said you have not mentioned that to her, that should be step one. Get her feedback and see if she even likes the idea first, or perhaps comes back with her concept of how it would work. It even does sound to me perhaps a bit selfish to expect her to do that, because she is relocating but you will not be there, being physically closer in this sense does not really help, and she should be the one choosing the accommodations and location around what she would like to see.

It also adds a lot of logistics that IMHO a thru hike is better without. It becomes somewhat complicated when people have to plan to meetup. It is nice to see loved ones and friends while on trail, but to me it works better usually when it is a treat, not a everyday thing. Usually the meeting up will involve zero days or neros and take one off trail, or on a much shorter hike with them. They will not be able to keep up with thru hiker pace, and the trail calls to you, and you will feel it's tug when you are away from it.