View Full Version : Thru-Hike planning, resupply, elevation change
Awol2003
08-15-2008, 17:10
During the planning of my thru-hike, I laid out a day-by-day plan using a spreadsheet. Thanks to 2003 thru-hiker “Skeemer” who gave me his data to work from. I’ve updated the plan using data from Appalachian Pages, and made variations for different hiking speeds.
The most unique feature of these plans is that they include the sum of elevation gain and loss over the course of each hiking day. Although there is no way to make an objective measure of trail difficulty, elevation gain and loss is some indication.
The plans are based primarily on shelter locations because they are common milestones; a tent/hammock plan could me made with minor modification.
There are no dates, just numbered days; add a date column if you customize this for yourself. I also advise deviating from the plan. I didn’t even come close to following my plan, but I was glad that I made one because it familiarized me with the options and gave me some baseline for estimating where I might be for maildrops.
The average miles per day of the plans do not include zero days, so these numbers may look a little higher than “normal”.
Average 15 mi/day:
Mileage/Resupply suggestions 15 mile days (http://appalachianpages.com/index.php?pageid=15%20mile%20plan)
Average 18 mi/day:
Mileage/Resupply suggestions 18 mile days (http://appalachianpages.com/index.php?pageid=18%20mile%20plan)
I will be soon be adding another plan with shorter days.
FritztheCat
08-15-2008, 19:54
This is really awesome! Thank you!
CrumbSnatcher
08-15-2008, 21:44
thanks Awol this is really cool. planning on a speed hike next year and have my itinerary planned out, working on my resupply stops. and wanted to figure out daily elevation gains and loss. maybe my non-tech ass can figure this out.by the way enjoyed your book. i have alot of thruhiker books and yours rate right up there. great read. took me back to the trail..
Monkeywrench
08-16-2008, 08:10
Awol, this is great. Could you post the excel file somewhere for download? I'd like to use this as a base for my own planning.
Rowdy Yates
08-16-2008, 08:36
Awol, this is great. Could you post the excel file somewhere for download? I'd like to use this as a base for my own planning.
:cool: I agree with "affreeman" ,but could you also post a 10 mile day planner for some of us "older" hikers? I would like to download this Excel file with the 10 day planner.
Awol2003
08-16-2008, 08:47
...and wanted to figure out daily elevation gains and loss. maybe my non-tech ass can figure this out...
Crumbsnatcher; Thanks for reading my book. Unfortunately, the columns with elevation gain and loss is not simple. If the plan is customized, the gain/loss columns will not change.
Allen; The spreadsheet can be cut/pasted from the web. The first two columns will update dynamically if you replace them with trivial formulas.
The gain/loss gets pasted in after running another program paired with another data source. I don't know of any way to automate this.
If you email me your plan (
[email protected]), I can run the program, tack on gain/loss and send it back.
Analogman
08-16-2008, 08:56
Very useful information. Great work.
Monkeywrench
08-16-2008, 15:45
Allen; The spreadsheet can be cut/pasted from the web. The first two columns will update dynamically if you replace them with trivial formulas.
Well, not using Firefox it can't, but I fired up IE and that worked. Thanks!
88BlueGT
08-21-2008, 00:15
very nice...
quick question though, when did the AT become 2176 miles long? I thught it was 2164 m? am i wrong?
I certainly hope this will be added to the 2009 edition of the Appalachian Pages, I give it my vote.
Kirby
Wow! I love it, thanks for posting!
Awol2003
02-22-2009, 15:48
I've updated the hike plans with 2009 data, and put together one more plan for slower hikers.
There are now plans for slow (12 mi/day), average (15 mi/day), and fast (18 mi/day) thru-hikes. Zero days are NOT factored into any of the plans. Include zero days, and they will all have lower average miles per day. For example, add 16 zero days to the 12-mile plan, and the average drops to less than 11 miles per day.
The most unique feature of these plans is that they include the sum of elevation gain and loss over the course of each hiking day. Although there is no way to make an objective measure of trail difficulty, elevation gain and loss is some indication. Mileage and elevation data comes from Appalachian Pages.
The plans are based primarily on shelter locations because they are common milestones; a tent/hammock plan could me made with minor modification.
In all plans, the miles ramp up as the hike progresses. This is most noticeable in the slowest hiking plan. The first four days are less than 10 miles per day, and there's not a 12 mile day until day 26.
There are no dates, just numbered days; add a date column if you customize this for yourself. If you want to create your own spreadsheet, send me an email and I will send you the excel file. If you cut/paste from the website, you will not get the formatting and formulas.
Lastly, please don't follow the plan! Use the plan to familiarize yourself with some options and as a baseline for estimating how to make a thru-hike happen.
Average 12 mi/day:
http://appalachianpages.com/index.php?pageid=12%20mile%20plan
Average 15 mi/day:
http://appalachianpages.com/index.php?pageid=15%20mile%20plan
Average 18 mi/day:
http://appalachianpages.com/index.php?pageid=18%20mile%20plan
If the links don't work, go to AppalachianPages.com -> Hiking Forums and look for "Hike Plans" in the left-hand column.
Good work, Awol.
Much appreciated.
Wow, alot of great notes, alternatives, and planning info presented. It certainly helps with planning and seeing what MIGHT occur! It helps diminish some of the unknowns. It helps relieve why some hikers feel stressed. But, as you probably already realize don't get too stressed out if you don't stick to some rigid schedule. LOTS of things can happen you can't or haven't planned for!
BTW, I'm not against planning. I just spent the last 5 months planning a 900 mile hike mile by mile. I also realize that I need to be extremely flexible beyond all that I could possibly plan for.
Rockhound
02-22-2009, 21:21
Wow, alot of great notes, alternatives, and planning info presented. It certainly helps with planning and seeing what MIGHT occur! It helps diminish some of the unknowns. It helps relieve why some hikers feel stressed. But, as you probably already realize don't get too stressed out if you don't stick to some rigid schedule. LOTS of things can happen you can't or haven't planned for!
Think I'd get more stressed if I had to follow a rigid schedule.
Mal the Elder
02-22-2009, 22:14
Well, not using Firefox it can't, but I fired up IE and that worked. Thanks!
You just need to tell Firefox what application you want to open a particular type of file with. Do yourself a favor and download OpenOffice.org---it'll use all those Mickey$oft Office files (reading & writing) with no problems.
Think I'd get more stressed if I had to follow a rigid schedule.
Ditto!
Mal the Elder
02-22-2009, 22:40
It's good to have a clue about where you're going and what the resources are in advance, but you can get overly rigid about it. You've got to be flexible enough to handle the inevitable surprises that will happen to you, both good and bad. My example below is canoeing, not hiking, but the principle is relevant. . . .
Heck, my ex and I did our first canoe expedition with just a load of gear, and our topos & compass. We pulled up and camped whenever we felt ready, resupplied our water from springs along the way and our groceries by hiking off the river a way to local country stores. Sometimes the places we expected to camp were unacceptable when we got there. That sucked, but we just moved on and pulled over further down river. Sometimes we lucked into some choice stays we couldn't have planned, like being invited to stay in one old couples' yard across from a huge 'gator farm! The thrum of hundreds of gators in one place, filtered through the trees and then through the water was incredible---and eerie.
After a couple of weeks we pulled into a decent camp ground, relaxed a few days, and then phoned my folks to come fetch us. And all with our little dog, "Captain" Bandit, in the bow scouting ahead!
No real plans, just "We're heading down the rivers this way, and we'll call you in a week or two," to my Dad, and the maps to keep track of where we were. No real destination each day; just however far we felt like going. If we had been following a strict trip plan none of this stuff would have happened, and the experience wouldn't have been nearly as great, because we'd have been to much into meeting planned goals. Yuck. . . .
It all depends on where you are and what you want to do, as to how much or little planning you do. You want to have a clue, but you don't want to lock yourself into schedules that take the fun and opportunity for magic to happen. And isn't that why we go go the woods, trails and rivers?
It's all good; stay loose and enjoy your hikes. For he record, I'm working to get fit for a Florida Trail thru-hike next year, toughening up my stump of a foot. And yes, I'll approach it the basically the same way, studying and preparing beforehand, but knowing it's always more like playing jazz than playing a classical piece.
Awol2003
02-18-2010, 10:12
I’ve updates the daily plans for hikes averaging 12, 15 or 18 miles per day. These plans use 2010 data and include resupply info. The most unique feature is that they also show elevation gain and loss for each day, which is a crude measure of difficulty. All plans have a gradual increase in daily mileage.
No one needs to plan to this level of detail. If anyone does, I hope that they don’t stick to it, The plans are meant to give first-timers some comfort in seeing the logistics spelled out to the day, and in providing ideas about how to make it happen. Send me a message if you’d like to have the data in excel format.
http://www.theatguide.com/HikePlans.html (http://www.theatguide.com/HikePlans.html)
Snowleopard
02-18-2010, 11:30
Thanks Awol, this is great.
For me, this is a great tool for getting in shape. Can I do local hikes with a pack that are a similar distance and elevation gain as the 12 mi/day schedule? 15 mi/day? 18 mi/day?
Appreciate your work here, Awol. While I certainly don't plan to "follow" a specific plan, your 15 mpd plan is in the range of what I'm hoping I might do (have some other plans for Autumn ...). This is useful for guesstimating when a few resupply drops might be mailed out, and my wife plans to join me for a hundred mile stretch in Virginia --- helpful also as an initial guess as to when she might fly out.
Might also be helpful along the way to help tune expectations as to when I might finish.
Thanks.