View Full Version : Hi All, New to the AT and we're doing an overnight
Okay, first off I'm new to iking, have done basic mile to 4 mile day hikes, been a few years....we've been camping the past 6 weekends to get ready to hike the trail.
I realize all the posts I have read people are hiking for a week to longer...but we are heading out this weekend, tomarrow to head to DWG, parking and we are going to hike for a day, maybe a day and a half then head back. Two maybe three overnights. Friday Sat and possibly Sunday.
We have our gear and we are psyched to go!
The question I have is do we have to go a certain distance to be able to camp?
We wanted to do the Gap canoe thing but you are suppose to go about 14 miles total and we have no way to go back up the river. We have thought about parking one car somewhere and then dropping the other car at the start point..
We have gotten rid of the kids for two weeks so this is our big weekend.
IS there anything we should know?
Thanks for the info, also all the great stuff on the site!
mmm maybe I should reword and add to the question....
I'm 42 she's 39, we are a bit out of shape so our daily milage won't probably be that far...as I mentioned above to conoe and camp the DWG you're suppose to go 14 miles....
As far as hikinh goes I'm thinking we might be able to 5-7 miles in a day...
So we hike a couple of miles friday, we probably won't get too far, it's suppose to thunder and rain...and we have to drop off the mini in mahawah for repair..
so maybe three hours of hiking friday...saturday we can hike most of the day, make camp, then sunday head back. camp that night then finish monday morning...have to be in trenton by 3.
Is there anything we need to be aware of...can we camp in open spots or do we have to stay to the tent spots listed in the book and maps?
Also we are heading towards/into PA..
So with this added info is there anything we need to know or have a heads up about?
Thanks
Homer&Marje
08-14-2008, 16:51
Easiest thing to do is stay in the spots listed on your map. Sounds like your doing a couple day hikes and then staying out 1 night so that should be the easiest. Otherwise most parks allow camping 200 ft off the trail and 200 ft from a stream or river. With that in mind, read the trailhead info before you start hiking it will usually give you specifics on exactly this info and sometimes they have a pamphlet you can take with you as a reminder, Remember to hang your food bag and you'll be fine, sounds very doable.
Homer&Marje
08-14-2008, 16:55
And as a sidenote, if you're relatively new to hiking i'd try to stick to the 5 mile days for a little while, see how you feel, especially if you are doing a lot of elevation change, your body will burn an extra mile of calories for every thousand feet of change up or down. Remember to bring snacks, sugar, carbs, protein. And keep hydrated. All mistakes I have made, too many miles, too little food, and too little water. All can ruin your trip so keep it in mind. ( If you feel really good about doing 5 miles 7 miles probably won't kill you)
Blissful
08-14-2008, 19:33
Might want to check on regulations for camping in the the DWG National rec area there. They had posted about that. I thought you had to be a long distance hiker to camp in the area, unless you are going to NJ (?) - but they also have regulations too as you enter state land. Also, no camping at Sunfish Pond. If you are heading south, need to make it out of the rec area to camp.
Tip that helped me: When you get tired and winded, try to slow down to a pace that you can sustain, no matter how slow it is, rather than stopping every few minutes.
Thanks, yea looks like we are going in at DWG then hiking through, after that we will be in the federal forest and looks like camping is okay there...I had read that you cannot camp on the AT in NJ state parks...
Looks like we'll have two cars so I mapped out about 12 miles to another parking area. So we'll go in at DWG then hang out at sunfish pond friday then head out a few more miles and set up camp.
Average about 4 miles a day. We want to be able and smell the roses so to speak, so we're going to take our time.
I figuire we should be able to do 12 miles in three days, so that's our goal!
Easiest thing to do is stay in the spots listed on your map. Sounds like your doing a couple day hikes and then staying out 1 night so that should be the easiest. Otherwise most parks allow camping 200 ft off the trail and 200 ft from a stream or river. With that in mind, read the trailhead info before you start hiking it will usually give you specifics on exactly this info and sometimes they have a pamphlet you can take with you as a reminder, Remember to hang your food bag and you'll be fine, sounds very doable.
Actually we are going to do friday till sunday/maybe monday morning.
Homer&Marje
08-15-2008, 08:45
Oh, I must have read it wrong, 4 miles a day sounds perfect for you guys. Enjoying the roses is what it's all about, the more miles you put in you just have to enjoy it faster so take your time
well we are getting delayed, she had kidney stones this morning, wel she thinks that 's what it is, she's had them before, headed to the hospital but they passed...so hopefully she will be okay later and we'll head out tomarrow!!
Blissful
08-15-2008, 11:41
Hope everything is okay, take care, have a great trip and let us know how it went.
Short Term
08-15-2008, 11:57
Tip that helped me: When you get tired and winded, try to slow down to a pace that you can sustain, no matter how slow it is, rather than stopping every few minutes.
I completely agree. Stopping every few minutes also effects you mentally, and that is when you start doubting yourself. Been there...done that....lesson learned.
Something I do to keep pace is to keep a simple song in my head, I can sing it (very quietly..you don't want to hear me sing) to keep my breathing pattern steady.
Thanks for the replies,
As far as pace goes, yea about ten years ago I trained for a marathon, one trick to setting pace was to talk or sing, if it was too hard you were pushing yourself too much...