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i'm starting in springer in march. i'm 52 and this is going to be the biggest thing i have ever done in my life. i've read and researched. i'm afraid that i don't have enough knowledge - and i'm just afraid. i've bought the right equipment (i'm under 30 lbs) what else should i do?
Jack Tarlin
11-09-2006, 23:26
You should relax! Everything will be fine.
In the meantime, welcome to Whiteblaze. There's lots of good information here, and plenty of good people.
You have plenty of time between now and March to learn about what you're planning to do, and this is a great place to start.
But the most important thing to remember with your planning, is to prepare as much as you can, and get informed. But eventually, you just have to let things happen......trust me, you'll be fine.
hammock engineer
11-09-2006, 23:26
You will be fine. Read up here. Check out www.trailjournals.com (http://www.trailjournals.com) . That way you can learn for other people's hikes. I only had basic knowledge when I started my AT planning over a year ago and very little experience. Now I have a little more experience hiking, but I have learned a lot from everyone else's experiences.
I'm starting March sometime too. I'll see you out there.
Skidsteer
11-09-2006, 23:33
:welcome to WB dsg.
Best of luck on your hike!
Lone Wolf
11-09-2006, 23:35
i'm starting in springer in march. i'm 52 and this is going to be the biggest thing i have ever done in my life. i've read and researched. i'm afraid that i don't have enough knowledge - and i'm just afraid. i've bought the right equipment (i'm under 30 lbs) what else should i do?
Just start walking. There's plenty of outfitters and other hikers to help you out for the first 500 miles +. No biggie. Really. You'll be fine.
Jim Adams
11-09-2006, 23:41
dsg,
you'll have a great time. i was 49 on my last thru and i'm doing the PCT this year at 54. personal message me and i'll give you my number. i live in Belle Vernon!
geek
Footslogger
11-10-2006, 00:38
i'm starting in springer in march. i'm 52 and this is going to be the biggest thing i have ever done in my life. i've read and researched. i'm afraid that i don't have enough knowledge - and i'm just afraid. i've bought the right equipment (i'm under 30 lbs) what else should i do?
========================
I was 53 when I set out from Springer in 2003. It wasn't the "biggest" thing I had ever done i my life but it was right up there.
If you've done the research you most likely have the knowledge you'll need to succeed.
A little doubt is normal but there is no need to be afraid.
Just wait for your start date and then start walking. Keep an open mind and adjust to things as they develop.
Take it one day at a time and enjoy your hike.
'Slogger
warren doyle
11-10-2006, 12:23
dsg,
Another option to reduce your fear and increase your confidence for your upcoming AT thru-hike is to attend the ATI session in December (15-18th). We have about ten 2007 AT dreamers enrolled right now. For more info, visit the website below.
Happy trails!
i'm starting in springer in march. i'm 52 and this is going to be the biggest thing i have ever done in my life. i've read and researched. i'm afraid that i don't have enough knowledge - and i'm just afraid. i've bought the right equipment (i'm under 30 lbs) what else should i do?
Walk daily, rain or shine, with that pack on. Do as many overnights -- and week longs -- as possible before you leave.
And oh yes, as Jack and others have said, relax. Most any gear will get you to Maine. Earl Shaffer hiked the trail three times with World War II Army surplus gear.
Earl was in his late 70s on his last walk north from Springer. The elderly crowd thins out after age 70, but there are scores of folks in their 60s. ( I "celebrated" my 64th birthday two weeks into my hike in 1993.) I'd head south again next spring, except my wife wants to do some traveling before we get old, and I've gotten quite busy trying to preserve land in my home town and as buffers to the narrow Appalachian Trail corridor in Maine.
Anyone inclined to help in the latter effort need only open:
www.matlt.org
Weary
Jack Tarlin
11-10-2006, 18:49
dsg:
Between the thousands of people here at Whiteblaze, along with information you can find at other useful sites such as www.trailjournals.com; www.appalachiantrail.org and www.aldha.org, as well as information you'll find elsewhere, especially by corresponding or meeting with former thru-hikers, I think you'll discover that there's a wealth of useful information out there available at no cost, and that there are hundreds of former thru-hikers who'll happily answer your questions, and give you advice or suggestions
for free.
There's no need to pay to learn about thru-hiking.
Save the money for your trip!!
i'm starting in springer in march. i'm 52 and this is going to be the biggest thing i have ever done in my life. i've read and researched. i'm afraid that i don't have enough knowledge - and i'm just afraid. i've bought the right equipment (i'm under 30 lbs) what else should i do?
Your doubts only show that you are somewhat sane and have thought your way through things, which puts you in better shape than alot of the people you will meet in Springer. In reality, the hardest step I took was on to the airplane to Atlanta, that was the moment in my head that the entire trip became a real thing and not just a mental exercise.
To help alleviate the nerves, practice with your gear a little.
Pick a nice cold, rainy night to set your tent up and camp in your back yard (in the rain) and get some practical experience in keeping things like your sleeping bag and spare clothes, its not as hard as you imagine to set some of them up under their own rain fly. Believe me, finding a full shelter after a cold, rainy day on the trail will make you thankful you figured this bit out.
Cook a couple of meals on your stove to get familiar with it.
If you can get yourself warm, dry and fed the first few nights... The rest will fall in to place nicely.
max patch
11-10-2006, 20:30
dsg,
Another option to reduce your fear and increase your confidence for your upcoming AT thru-hike is to attend the ATI session in December (15-18th). We have about ten 2007 AT dreamers enrolled right now. For more info, visit the website below.
Happy trails!
SPAM ALERT.
Are you the guy I met at the Gathering??
Anyway, I'm the same age as you and one thing I would do is to exercise daily. I think that after 50, exercise becomes more important to a potential hiker. Younger people may tell you that exercise is not that important, but remember they are younger. Any exercise you do is going to help some.
It gets dark early this time of year so you may not be able to get out to walk every day. If you haven't already done so, I would join the Gym and just do whatever you think is fun. I like to hit the heavy bag and do it in a way that's aerobic. Be careful not to pull a muscle just before your hike starts.
The only thing that will prepare you completely for carrying a heavy pack up and down mountains is carring a heavy pack up and down mountains. Still, every exercise you do will count for something. It may not count for a lot but it counts for something. If you do enough of these little something's it can add up to a lot. And that can go a long way to help you get through those first difficult make-or-break days on the trail.
Panzer
hike on
I'm 53. Age doesn't matter much. The important things are to remain flexible in your expectations and daily goals. Go out there with the attitude that if you aren't able to cover the miles you originally expected, or find you have to alter your original plans, that doesn't mean that you have in some way failed. What it means is that you are learning, and now your chances of completing your hike have increased.
Also, be warry of having too rosey of mental image of what the hike will be like. It WILL be beautiful, rewarding, inspiring, comforting, and just plain fun much of the time, but it will also be extremely challenging, uncomfortable, tiring, and downright depressing some of the time. This is true no matter what your age or experience level. Make sure you don't make decisions about your trip during these latter times - you'll probably regret it if you do. After all is said and done, when looking back at the "miserable" times, they can usually be some of the most rewarding!
Reading some of the trail journals will help you understand what daily life will be like.
I agree, you will learn anything you didn't know to start with soon enough - if you maintain a flexible attitude.
Relax, keep reading, and plan to have a blast!
handlebar
11-11-2006, 16:30
i'm starting in springer in march. i'm 52 and this is going to be the biggest thing i have ever done in my life. i've read and researched. i'm afraid that i don't have enough knowledge - and i'm just afraid. i've bought the right equipment (i'm under 30 lbs) what else should i do?
DSG, If you haven't already done so, you should do some overnights using the equipment you intend to start out with. There are plenty of options within a reasonable distance from Pittsburgh. Also, good advice to try setting up your tent as if it were raining.
I'm 61 and completed my thru Oct 3rd having started out Mar 15. I did training hikes with my kit when I volunteered for the AT's RockyTop trail crew the fall before my hike in GSMNP. Before I set off in March, I took several 7-mile hikes in the local park with my full pack. I think that helped me get a good start.
As I anticipated my hike, I got lots of good tips here as well as by reading the 05 hiker journals on trailjournals.com.
Good luck to you. It's a great experience.