View Full Version : Help with Thru hike
Stands With Wolves
05-11-2008, 16:01
Hello,
I have been stalking these forums for a while now and am wondering if anybody can just give a basic list of what it takes to do a thru hike. I understand and have look at thousands of tents, backpacks, stoves, etc.
I also have read about the bear issue. Bag or don't bag. Whats the real story? (LW need not reply since you have never hiked the whole trail)
What does it take to just take the leap and do it?
Has anybody done this?
Thanks for your interest.
SWW
Hello,
(LW need not reply since you have never hiked the whole trail)
SWW
LOLOLOLOL That is just hilarious!!!
Are you a troll?? This place just cracks me up sometimes....
Two weeks from today...., right about now, I'll be sitting at the Homeplace and getting ready to hike to Harper's. Now that deserves a banana....:banana I'll have to get my entertainment elsewhere.....that deserves another :banana:banana
Appalachian Tater
05-11-2008, 16:30
There are plenty of gear lists in the gear forum as well as articles about gear in the articles area.
I bear bag or box if equipment is available or it is in a high-bear area like NJ. Otherwise, I sleep with my food in my tent so I can snack in the middle of the night.
Once you decide to hike, everything will fall into place as you start making arrangements.
Stands With Wolves
05-11-2008, 16:45
I am just a average guy who owns his own busineess and found this site by mistake and have watched it for months now.
I am ready to take the leap and do it but from what I see on these forums,
Either your on one side or the other............
Does anybody just hike because they can or want to...........
do I have to have view to on whats right and wrong to hike?
as for your your Dancing Bananas..........
Yes I looked at LW for a long time now and at first took his advice.
Then I did a search on his posts and realized by the dates that he could never have spent more than three days away from a computer or at least access to one.
SWW
I don't get it. Are you ready to leap into hiking or into posting on this website???
You're on one side or other of what???
Everybody just hikes because they want to or can
Everybody has a view on everything
What's your hang up with LW??
To answer your original question, most people don't jump into it, they usually take it just one step at a time.
And as for the bananas....:banana:banana:D
hopefulhiker
05-11-2008, 18:52
If you are going to thru hike I would concentrate on going with as light equipment as you can be comfortable with.. Concentrate on your gear first, then get a pack that will just barely fit it all..
I personally would be prepared to hang a bear bag every time if necessary.
It took me about four months of intense planning to get ready for my thru hike and then I just did it!
CrumbSnatcher
05-11-2008, 18:56
Hello,
I have been stalking these forums for a while now and am wondering if anybody can just give a basic list of what it takes to do a thru hike. I understand and have look at thousands of tents, backpacks, stoves, etc.
I also have read about the bear issue. Bag or don't bag. Whats the real story? (LW need not reply since you have never hiked the whole trail)
What does it take to just take the leap and do it?
Has anybody done this?
Thanks for your interest.
SWW
your trail name should be stands with (some) wolfs,just joking. why ya bagging on lonewolf for. he's just a straight shooter that doesn't sugarcoat much...he has alot of trail miles and firsthand knowledge of the trail,along with jack,warren and a few others...come to think of it there always bitch'n at each other too. what does it take to leap and do it? 3 to 5 thousand bucks. assuming you already have your gear. (plenty of threads coving all the issues) what kind of gear do you already have and when are we going?
ChinMusic
05-11-2008, 19:12
Does anybody just hike because they can or want to...........
SWW
I would be kinda hard if you can't or don't want to..........
CrumbSnatcher
05-11-2008, 19:14
people hang thier foodbags in the shelters,on cable systems(fool proof)bearpoles in the SNP,and bear boxes in some locations. i like to carry a 50 ft. piece of light weight rope i've even used my foodbag as a pillow(not recommended in grizz country) day to day and location will be different situations you know what to do when the time arrives...
glacier48
05-11-2008, 19:57
You questions seem simple but the answers are very complex. I have working 6 months towards hitting the trail. I am sure others do it with less preparation and some do it with more.
There are so many variables that affect everything, the kind of tent, how much money you have and when and where you start. How much experience you have is a big factor.
Reading is your best bet. Whether this web site, books or emailing others. Find an experienced hiker and talk in person if you want to cut down on time.
Please don't let any arguing or negative feelings on this site affect you, your hike or your use of this site. It seems everyone is passionate about hiking and they don't always get along. Even in arguments comes answers and more complex relationships. Use this site for information on hiking and building relationships with fellow hikers whom you might run into. The overall feeling of this web sit is positive, information and supportive.
Perhaps you could ask specific questions one by one in order to get specific answers. There is alot of expert knowledge here.
Enjoy,:sun
Glacier
Blissful
05-11-2008, 20:55
LW has actually given some really good advice and has gone out of his way to shuttle hikers for practically nothing. As for other posts, well, that's what makes WB interesting and not boring. :)
BTW - lots of people who have never hiked the whole trail also give good advice.
As for getting ready for a thru hike - read the articles. And sometimes you have to just try stuff to see if it will work for you (which is why many of us have multiple gear items). You'll get a thousand opinions on gear. Read other gear lists too and see what this year's hikers are taking. It will at least narrow it down some.
4eyedbuzzard
05-11-2008, 21:00
What does it take?
6 months of time off and $6K which should cover equipment, transport, and basic trail money. You'll need 2 good pair of socks, shoes, some nylon clothing, a pack, a sleeping bag and pad, a tarp or tent, and a stove. That's the easy and fun part - buying gear. You could even buy it all the day you leave at REI outside Atlanta on the way to Springer and have perfectly fine gear.
But then ya have to actually make those 5 million steps and not quit when you are cold and wet, hot and wet, hot and dry, eaten by bugs, when your pack breaks and your tent leaks, when your shoes delaminate, when your blistered or injured, when you just can't eat one more friggin' noodle... and the biggest one - when you just plain get bored with it all. 80% of those who start don't finish. A few don't have the physical capability, a few are natural quittters, a few get injured. But most simply find out that hiking for months on end isn't as enjoyable as they thought it would be. The thrill wears off. The romantic notion that was thru-hiking turns out to be a real bitch of a girlfriend. They're no better or worse people as those who complete a thru-hike, but it just isn't for them. Many find that sectioning is much more enjoyable.
As for LW. I've never met him. I don't always agree with him. But from what I know he's hiked a LOT more miles than most people ever will and he has a lot of trail smarts and common sense. Sometimes people find him overly direct in his comments. Just his way. Hiking is a full contact sport. Wear a cup.
BipolarStroller
05-12-2008, 10:47
(LW need not reply since you have never hiked the whole trail)
What does it take to just take the leap and do it?
Has anybody done this?
SWW
It's bad JuJu to anger the AT gods,
and if you think you're meeting people you don't care for on whiteblaze, wait till you actually get on the trail, you're smart to do research before "leaping" and lucky there is a website where AT veterans (like LW)can give you advise, instead of having to figure it out on your own!
Good luck, and the only advise I can give you is filter your water and beware of fence jumpers.
sofaking
05-12-2008, 10:55
your trail name should be stands with (some) wolfs,
lone wolf pack of one...
Jason of the Woods
05-12-2008, 11:45
You can plan all you want and you will still change things. As far as a bear bag I would suggest it. We saw a bear and had them in camp before we got out of GA this year. Better safe than sorry.
paradoxb3
05-12-2008, 12:05
I have been stalking these forums for a while now and am wondering if anybody can just give a basic list of what it takes to do a thru hike. I understand and have look at thousands of tents, backpacks, stoves, etc.
- :welcome check out the prep articles here. that helped me more than anything i think.
I also have read about the bear issue. Bag or don't bag. Whats the real story? (LW need not reply since you have never hiked the whole trail)
- thats your decision. i've bagged in some situations, not bagged in others, and not had any encounters either way. personally though if a bear wanders into camp for food, i'd rather him be knawing at ropes 100 ft away than on my hammock ropes 2 ft away. as for slamming other WB'ers in a first post, as a general rule, you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. :D
What does it take to just take the leap and do it?
- 6 months of nothing else better to do, a few K in the bank, and the will to get off the couch.
Has anybody done this?
-yeah. a few hundred per year.
ofthearth
05-12-2008, 12:35
Hello,
I have been stalking these forums for a while now and am wondering if anybody can just give a basic list of what it takes to do a thru hike. I understand and have look at thousands of tents, backpacks, stoves, etc.
I also have read about the bear issue. Bag or don't bag. Whats the real story? (LW need not reply since you have never hiked the whole trail)
What does it take to just take the leap and do it?
Has anybody done this?
Thanks for your interest.
SWW
I love it!!!! Just about the time I get tired of everybody complaining and being not to civil (me included - the trail magic thread for example) and going off the deep end, up pops a post like this. It sort of puts things back in perspective :welcome
If SWW is a troll there needs to be more trolls
jersey joe
05-12-2008, 13:29
Just get some gear and go...you don't need very much planning...it's just walking.
CrumbSnatcher
05-12-2008, 18:16
lone wolf pack of one...
nothing wrong with that,i'm my own best company most of the time. and yes i know the meaning of LONEwolf...thanks for the help,but i'm very smart. spelling b champion runner up third year of third grade:D
sofaking
05-12-2008, 18:28
nothing wrong with that,i'm my own best company most of the time. and yes i know the meaning of LONEwolf...thanks for the help,but i'm very smart. spelling b champion runner up third year of third grade:D
lone wolf pack of one...
i don't need a compass to know which way the wind shines-mr. furious