View Full Version : Pace and Start Time
I'm 19 years old and plan to do a north bound thru-hike with 2 friends in the spring of 2009. I'm in good shape: 6'00"; 165 lbs; active (My friends are of similar build). My base pack weight is around just over 10lbs. We're needing to finish the trail by mid-august at the latest. How soon should we start? How should we pace ourselves? at the beginning specifically? (daily milage)
fiddlehead
04-12-2007, 23:06
April 1st is a great time to start. To finish by mid-august, you will have to probably move a little faster than the pack. But at your age and with the low weight you'll be carrying, that won't be so hard if you can limit your time in town.
Town's tend to be a vortex that is hard to get out of, so that'll probably be harder (leaving) than the trail itself. (as long as you really need to finish by mid-august, it's a shame to rush such a great adventure)
The bubble for starting is a little earlier these days but, since you're from a hot climate (San Antone) you may not like the snows you will most likely get sometime between springer and Damascus. hence my later recommendation.
Above all: have fun.
The numbers I'm going to use to answer your question are taken from "AT Hiking Rates, Section by Section," (in the article and post #28 of the accompanying thread) which you can find on the left hand side of the WB home page. It's based on a study of NOBO completing thru-hikers who kept a thorough journal at trailjournals.com.
If you leave April 1 you give yourself 4.5 months to complete a thru-hike, and if you leave March 15 you give yourself five months. Completing in 4.5 months would put you in pretty elite company, as hiking speed goes. These days around 20% of hikers intending to thru-hike actually do it. Of that 20%, only about 12% complete their hike in 139 days (about 4.5 months) or less. So you and your hiking partners would have to be among the earliest finishing 2.5% of hikers (including all those who don't finish) who set out from Springer. You would be among the first finishing 25% of completing thru-hikers (and 5% of all hikers) if you took five months or less, so you might think that timeframe to be more likely. Of course being young and in good shape and carrying only 10 pounds base weight improves your odds. So make your own judgments from there.
As to pace, a typical completing thru-hiker taking 5.5 months takes about 10 miles per hiking day in the first 75 odd mile section to the Georgia border, 12 miles per hiking day in the next 85 miles or so to Fontana Dam, and 14 miles per hiking day in the next 390 miles (approximately) to Damascus. So if you were on a five or 4.5 month pace you need to add a mile to three miles per day to each of those sections (in miles per hiking day) to be on pace to finish by the time you want.
Take one or more zero days per week, and you will need to hike even more per hiking day. Take very few zero days and you can lessen a bit the miles per hiking day you need to cover. Start before March 15 and you buy yourself more zero days or a slower pace. Start after April 1 and you need to cover more ground per day.
Sorry to throw so many numbers at you, but your question can have so many variables that it's hard not to.
(Oh, and :welcome to WhiteBlaze. One tip for a newbie: you don't need to post the same question on multiple forums. Most users look at a listing of all the "new posts" and see all the threads on all forums that have new posts since they last visited.)
thanks much! the numbers were what I was looking for
I'm 19 years old and plan to do a north bound thru-hike with 2 friends in the spring of 2009. I'm in good shape: 6'00"; 165 lbs; active (My friends are of similar build). My base pack weight is around just over 10lbs. We're needing to finish the trail by mid-august at the latest. How soon should we start? How should we pace ourselves? at the beginning specifically? (daily milage)
I don't see how you could be adequately prepared for conditions you can reasonably expect to encounter in April with just over 10lbs. of gear, but then I'm not a gear-head. Please refer to WhiteBlaze.net threads on weather and heed the advice of those who claim to have done what you propose.
It's seems to me you seek to do something improbable, but not impossible. Although a start date later than April 1 would be otherwise desirable, I'd suggest you get under way by that date. Allowing 2 weeks for zeros and wiggle-room, what remains is 122 days or just under an 18 mpd average overall.
You might easily consume 1 of those weeks prior to Damascus due to lower daily mileage output as you adjust to the demands of A.T. hiking. Your daily mileage could easily rise as the terrain flattens out and days lengthen increasingly toward central Virginia.
You may also require and desire less zero days through the middle portions prior to Glencliff, New Hampshire. You'll want to watch your time, as you will have little for lingering.
I'd recommend reading Bone Pac's journal (http://www.trailjournals.com/kenberry). His hike in 2006 with an earlier start date was somewhat shorter. You will likely find much useful information therein.
mweinstone
04-13-2007, 06:57
calibrate your internal spedometer to .5 minnesota smiths per day and you should do fine. i allways start with a pacehorse. ms is the best i ever met.damascus is the place to race. not before. and start times cant be calculated anymore due to weird weather. start any time.
SGT Rock
04-13-2007, 07:10
I'm 19 years old and plan to do a north bound thru-hike with 2 friends in the spring of 2009. I'm in good shape: 6'00"; 165 lbs; active (My friends are of similar build). My base pack weight is around just over 10lbs. We're needing to finish the trail by mid-august at the latest. How soon should we start? How should we pace ourselves? at the beginning specifically? (daily milage)
Please don't take this wrong, I only want you to succeed and have a good time, BUT I only say this as someone that has been doing some lightweight hiking for a few years...
How long have you been backpacking? If you have been doing it a while and whittled your pack weight base down to 10 pounds for spring hiking and believe you could safely hike the AT in spring, then it would seem you would probably know this question about pacing and such.
On the other hand if you haven't done a lot of hiking and have a 10 pound base, you may want to get some advice about your packing list. Trying to go with a 10 pound base and not having some good skills or strategies could be a recipe for a really bad time.
Again, please don't take this as sharpshooting. You could be a great hiker. I just feel I ought to ask.
10 lbs.! I'm impressed.
Will you please share the list of what you've got and weights? That would be helpful and interesting - sure hope you have an awesome hike :)
I'm 19 years old and plan to do a north bound thru-hike with 2 friends in the spring of 2009. I'm in good shape: 6'00"; 165 lbs; active (My friends are of similar build). My base pack weight is around just over 10lbs. We're needing to finish the trail by mid-august at the latest. How soon should we start? How should we pace ourselves? at the beginning specifically? (daily milage)
So, if you're tall and fit, you ought to be able to average 15 miles a day without too much trouble. I'm reading a journal right now (David Miller, "Awol on the AT", 2003) At age 41 he's doing 20+ mile days, routinely, day after day. But he's battling blisters and foot injuries like crazy.
You're two years away from your start date. Plenty of time to research this, read lots of trail journals, do your own practice and section hikes. Nobody can really answer this question for you. Yes, certainly, fast hikers have done the AT in less than three months. I figure the young "speedsters" can do it in four months. But that's all idle speculation. You won't know till you get out there and do it.
Some have asked of gear. I'm expecting my pack to be around 10lbs without food and water.
I'm planning on getting all new stuff this summer so as to keep light on the trail and also give me time to make sure the gear is right before I start my thru-hike in '09. This is what I'm looking at. I do not have alot of experience with ultralight backpacking but I feel that it is important if I'm needing to go fast. Feel free to criticize, give suggestions or even burst my bubble completely ... I have plenty of time to rethink things before I leave.
North Face Hightail +15 Sleeping Bag Long -- 32oz
Therm-a-Rest ProLite 3 Sleeping Pad ---------20oz
ULA Circuit Bag--------------------------------------33.3oz
Lunar Solo Tent --------------------------------26.5oz
GO Light Trek Poles ---------------------------2.6oz (one)
ULA Amigo Pro Gravity [water] Filter ---------------- 7.5 oz
Princeton Tec Blast Flashlight --------------1.5oz
GSI Ultralight Backpack Kitchen ------------3.2oz
MSR Titanium Titan Kettle -----------------4.58oz
GO Torch stove, stand & windscreen -------- 1.95oz
2 Liter Platypus Resevior & drink tube ----------1.3oz
8lbs 6.43oz in total
some things I left off of the weighter list for any of the following reasons
1.)I consider the weight negligible
2.) the articles are being worn most of the time and not be in my pack
3.) I'm not carrying it because my hiking partners are
(I’m guessing this stuff will weigh under 3lbs altogether based upon http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=132311)
Jacket, Pants, extra pair of socks, bandanna, clothes on my back, shoes on my feet, sweater, gloves, union suit, lighter, trashbag, toothbrush, toothpaste, compass, pen & paper, first aid kit, repair kit, duct tape
SGT Rock
04-13-2007, 18:26
I think you may want to evaluate what you are calling negligable. There are a lot of things you may want to carry yourself because you or one of your friends may end up not wanting to go the whole way, get sick, or whatever. It seems to be general guidance (not a flat-ass rule) by most people that try to go as a group that you stay self sufficient in what you carry. Also, you may decide that not carrying clothes in your pack saves you weight, but you may want to changethat because you can really kid yourself about what will be in your pack for bulk and weight, then find out you are uncomforable trying 15-20 mile days wearing all that. So my reccomendation is you start from the stand point you need to pack everthing except the shoes and socks, shirt, and shorts you are going to wear - then weigh everything else and make sure it fits in your pack. I think you will probably find that for the temperatures you may encounter that 3 pounds of extra clothing and such is probably not enough. But hey - everyone is different, I could be totally wrong.
Good luck.
Programbo
04-13-2007, 19:11
19 years old and in good shape?..Carry some more gear and have a more enjoyable trip
Kaptain Kangaroo
04-13-2007, 22:16
Hi,
Just thought I would share my experience from my thru-hike last year as I had a similar time frame as you. I started March 3 & finished July 12, so just over 4 months. I am not a super athlete & not an ultra lite hiker, I was 38 years old & had a good level of general fitness at the start. I carried a base weight (ex food & water) of 22pounds at the start & 18 pounds at the end after changing to warm weather gear. I did not feel that my hike was at all rushed. I took 8 zero days (including 3 to go back to Damascus for Trail Days and one day of trail maintenance at Kincora). I hiked very consistent mileages between 15 & 22 miles every day. Never really did big mile days ( a couple of 26's was about it).
Four months is easily achievable if you...
1. Get fit before you start
2. Carry sensible weight
3. Hike consistent days (this helps avoid injury too)
4. Don't take too many zero's
Good luck !
Kaptain Kangaroo