View Full Version : Car Camp the AT
home_less
11-22-2010, 18:42
:-?Anyone interested in car camping the entire AT in 2011? :welcome
HiKen2011
11-22-2010, 18:47
:-?Anyone interested in car camping the entire AT in 2011? :welcome
More details????????????????????????????????????????
Wise Old Owl
11-22-2010, 18:47
Having given that much thought - and the fact I still have to work - my - A** off...
Yes! What have you planned up to now....?
mweinstone
11-22-2010, 18:54
yes! love too. meet you anywhere. but i have no money and am totaly gonna mooch anything you have out of hunger ,. so,....no. but thanks!
Just a Hiker
11-22-2010, 19:01
I am curious to hear your plan for the car camping the AT.
generoll
11-22-2010, 20:16
you can slack from Springer to Fontana, getting through the Smokies might be a challenge.
Old Hiker
11-22-2010, 20:28
:-?Anyone interested in car camping the entire AT in 2011? :welcome
Using a car for shelter isn't a bad idea, but I'm wondering how you will carry it down the trail. Plus, the ultra-lighters, not to mention us everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink packers would look down their noses at you.
Maybe one of those one-seater Metro cars?
Wise Old Owl
11-23-2010, 02:33
Using a car for shelter isn't a bad idea, but I'm wondering how you will carry it down the trail. Plus, the ultra-lighters, not to mention us everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink packers would look down their noses at you.
Maybe one of those one-seater Metro cars?
I wouldn't care about that, its the plan - You have to drop a vehical off at one point and drive to the other. Hike to the first vehical - then drive/pedal back to get to bed. And the Benifit? a very light pack. Disadvantage- the trip back on back roads.
I wouldn't care about that, its the plan - You have to drop a vehical off at one point and drive to the other. Hike to the first vehical - then drive/pedal back to get to bed. And the Benifit? a very light pack. Disadvantage- the trip back on back roads.
You can use the 'two hikers, one vehicle' method. One guy drives in the morning to get the car farther north on the trail and hikes south, passing off the keys to his northbound companion, who reaches the car in the evening and drives back to pick up the original driver.
home_less
11-25-2010, 16:17
Jokers:banana can waste their time & comment all they want; however, this is a serious post:)
There are many ways to successfully hike the AT via car camp. If interested in hiking the AT & using your vehicle as a base, email
[email protected] :welcome
ednotmilkman
11-28-2010, 21:46
Jokers:banana can waste their time & comment all they want; however, this is a serious post:)
There are many ways to successfully hike the AT via car camp. If interested in hiking the AT & using your vehicle as a base, email
[email protected] :welcome
A serious post by a home less guy who may want to use YOUR vehicle as home base for a few months. I don't think anybody was making fun of you personally- just thinking of all the possibilities. And how much you'd be spending on gas as well as food.
You could do a solo pickup/motorcycle hike without a key swap too by driving the truck forward each morniing, hiking back to the bike and riding the bike back to the truck where you could either move both forward or spend a 2nd night at the same site before driving out the next morning.
Slo-go'en
11-28-2010, 23:21
Warren Doyle has mapped out the start/end road crossing points for each day for his circle hikes. Not sure if this info is still on the web, but could always ask Warren for it if it's not.
For this plan to work, you really need a driver. Two hikers going in opposite directions each day could work, but you'd loose a lot of time. In many areas, it may take only 15-20 miles to connect two roads by trail, but to get from one to the other by car could take 100 miles.
Lets see. In the morning hiker "A" and hiker "B" are at the same place. Hiker "A" drives hiker "B" to the northen road to hike south. Hiker "A" then drives back to the southern starting point to hike north. You just lost at least 2 hours on average there. Then when hiker "B" gets to the car, he drives it back to the northen road crossing, losing another hour.
Now since your driving through towns almost every day, there's the temptation to get breakfist or dinner at a resturant as you pass through. Or go get a motel room every night it rains, cause you have a way to get to one. So, I could see this costing 3-4 times what an average thru hike would cost.
Wasn't there someone trying to put together a car suttle hike like this for 2010? Wonder if it happend and if so, how far they got?
stacy324
11-29-2010, 00:41
Warren Doyle has mapped out the start/end road crossing points for each day for his circle hikes.
If Warren would be willing to share that information, I'd love to see it.
mweinstone
11-29-2010, 00:57
theres big danger in doing what you plan dear dear homey.each year, some of our more enthusiastic hikers choose to hike several long slacks useing rides to facilitate there return to the place they started. its fun to pass my friends hiking on a day there doing this. they all have small day packs. some have a water bottle and a bannana in hand and hike in tee shirts .but as they only do this very seldomly, their is allways a day when a hiker, or a group starts on one of these slacks , and gets tired, hurt or overcome by weather. and though the hikers use great judgement choosing the time and place to do these hikes, their is allways a day,...when hell freezes and you need your gear and or cant make the pick up point or in your case, dont have the energy to drive after hiking. maby you need to eat. maby its so wet and colsd and windy you just have a horrible walk. but in my opinion, doing more than a few dozen of these type days will result in many horrid hikes adding up to a hatetred of hiking. car hiking aint feesable due to saftey and comfrot concerns. period. safty first. then hiking. then carides.
Gray Blazer
11-29-2010, 09:47
Another way to do this (and I saw a guy doing it) is to let your wife/husband/significant other shop during the day and meet you at the road crossings. Could get expensive if they shop like my wife.
D'Artagnan
11-29-2010, 10:59
Another way to do this (and I saw a guy doing it) is to let your wife/husband/significant other shop during the day and meet you at the road crossings. Could get expensive if they shop like my wife.
I know a couple who were going to do the PCT that way. She would drive their car pulling a travel trailer while he hiked. I would imagine a big component of any of these plans is finding someone you trust who won't bail on you.
fiddlehead
11-29-2010, 11:50
I think the best way is to have a driver who meets you every night or two.
There will be times when you still will want to camp out because of logistics, driver getting lost or not showing up at the same time/place as you.
So, you should have some lightweight gear available in case you have to sleep out at all times.
But, it can work. I have seen others do it and have done it myself.
My advice: Both driver and hiker (or add more for other hikers) each have a GPS with the same coordinates or meeting point put in each day. That way there is no confusion although breakdowns or getting lost still can happen, but at least you won't be waiting 200 meters apart and both thinking you are in the correct spot. That can suck.
Hikes in Rain
11-29-2010, 13:24
Another way to do this (and I saw a guy doing it) is to let your wife/husband/significant other shop during the day and meet you at the road crossings. Could get expensive if they shop like my wife.
I've done that. It is expensive!
sheepdog
11-29-2010, 14:07
Another way to do this (and I saw a guy doing it) is to let your wife/husband/significant other shop during the day and meet you at the road crossings. Could get expensive if they shop like my wife.
I had a person steel my credit card. He charged so much less than my wife, I didn't bother to report it.
Gray Blazer
11-29-2010, 15:09
I had a person steel my credit card. He charged so much less than my wife, I didn't bother to report it.
Dam ... :)
I think the best way is to have a driver who meets you every night or two.
Loon and Eastwind did the AT this way in 2010. I believe they were paying the driver and covering his expenses each night. They employed more than one person in that 6 months is a long, long commitment just to drive.
I think Miss Janet is considering van hiking (at least to Erwin) when she starts her hike NOBO in February. Probably Fabian can drive up to the next road crossing and just chill until she arrives. Her van is like a palace on wheels now. Or, maybe too Jack can help Fabian with the driving? I hope to hike along with Miss Janet until at least Neels Gap. Jack will probably want to make some of his delicious meals on her Coleman. You never know. Wow, a hot meal at the end of each hike day -- what a treat!
I think Miss Janet is considering van hiking (at least to Erwin) when she starts her hike NOBO in February. Probably Fabian can drive up to the next road crossing and just chill until she arrives. Her van is like a palace on wheels now. Or, maybe too Jack can help Fabian with the driving? I hope to hike along with Miss Janet until at least Neels Gap. Jack will probably want to make some of his delicious meals on her Coleman. You never know. Wow, a hot meal at the end of each hike day -- what a treat!
Miss Janet's doing a thru? I guess I'd heard rumblings to that effect. That's great news! I came to like her an awful lot from the Barefoot Sisters books. Sounds like a great gal. :banana
NYMtnGuy
12-21-2010, 18:33
Hi,
I like the idea but would prefer 2-3 nights on the trail. That would cut down on the driving considerably.
Interested in doing part of it??? Have to get time off from work.
Loon and Eastwind did the AT this way in 2010. I believe they were paying the driver and covering his expenses each night. They employed more than one person in that 6 months is a long, long commitment just to drive.
The "geezer hike", as the group was called, started with Bayou driving. He stopped in Harpers Ferry where they got another driver. But Bayou could probably give some good insight into how to work with someone driving you and meeting you. (of course, their days were pretty short in the beginning)
home_less
01-06-2011, 21:01
:-? Seems like there aren't many folks out there in cyberspace with a sense of humor - but there are lots of chairborne or wanna be hikers that like to criticize or otherwise make ugly comments about one's mane :confused:
I choose to be home "less" because I'm hiking more :)
Thus, I'm home_less :banana
So, in closing, I look forward to seeing (some of) you on the At because in reality, I know that most of you reading this won't come within a mile of the AT. There are some that say they've thru hiked - but, in reality, they blue or yellow blazed at least part of the journey or flat out skipped entire sections - you know who you are :eek:
Speer Carrier
01-06-2011, 22:08
Isn't this approach pretty much what those trying supported thru hike speed record do? They have a vehicle meet them each night at some designated road crossing. And has been mentioned, I believe Warren's circle hikes use the same approach. So, it's not a new idea, and it has been proven to work. I guess you just need to line up a driver or drivers and then get it on. if you decide to try it, good luck.
In 1998 I was going NB and passed the same guy going SB two days in a row so on the third day I asked him why I kept seeing him. He told me he was section hiking by himself using two vehicles parked at either end of a day's hike. I passed him for a week before we no longer were in sync but I have always remembered his unique style of hiking.
Another way to do this (and I saw a guy doing it) is to let your wife/husband/significant other shop during the day and meet you at the road crossings. Could get expensive if they shop like my wife.
For my next thru-hike, my wife and daughter actually talked about doing something like this. They would use a TDI Euro-Van (I want to buy one and convert it to bio-diesel anyway) and pick me up and feed me at a good many road crossings - - sometimes, we could drive the van to a car camping spot (pre-scouted) and sometimes they would "hotel it" and I would tent or shelter. This would keep my pack really light and I could go especially fast - - maybe do the whole trail in just over 3 months - holding a 20 m.p.d. average (a distance that I often do). I wouldn't do this every night obviously as I would miss a lot of the "on-trail camping experience" with other thrus - maybe just use the "support van" for 6 weeks mid-summer (coincide with my daughter's summer vacation) toward the middle of the trip - - both would get to hike and camp a bit too . . . it's an interesting thought.
To "car camp" the whole trail though with a regular car without any other reasons (like hanging with your hip family) seems very fuel intensive and sort of a silly endeavor "just to do it."
Pedaling Fool
08-08-2012, 06:57
For my next thru-hike, my wife and daughter actually talked about doing something like this. They would use a TDI Euro-Van (I want to buy one and convert it to bio-diesel anyway) ...I haven't heard much about biodiesel lately, it was a big deal a few years ago when willie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Nelson_Biodiesel was making news about it.
Where would your family fuel up?
2012, Seeks-It, is doing it and YO-YO also. (park, walk out 10 miles, walk back, move vehicle, camp/sleep, walk out 10 miles, walk back....)
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=362525
Often wondered if that was possable, hike from one road crossing to another and stay in a camper at night. Not really bonding with nature that way but sometimes that ac would feel good. When its poring rain that hard roof would be nice .just saying.
peakbagger
09-11-2012, 07:32
Its entirely possible for 99% of the trail. I met some folks from CA in 2002 who were doing it. The wife liked to knit and he hiked. She dropped him off and met him at the end of the day. There was a book published about someone dayhiking the AT. There are a couple of spots that get interesting.
Invest in the Delrome road atlases, they show the trail and most of the fire roads and back roads. In order to do it with a camper it should be a truck based on with four wheel drive as some of the roads are rough. They are fine for hihg clearence vehicles but on occasion the potholes and washout might "eat" a regular rear wheel drive camper. Then again I slacked many areas with a honda civic and drive up a lot of fire roads to the top of the ridgeline down south.
Think of all the slackpacking you could do. (!!!)
This would actually be kind of fun in that it'd be a completely different kind of hike. And you could really blow out some miles too.
2012, Seeks-It, is doing it and YO-YO also. (park, walk out 10 miles, walk back, move vehicle, camp/sleep, walk out 10 miles, walk back....)
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=362525
Thanks for posting this. It is an interesting journal.
max patch
09-11-2012, 08:23
If you like being on a schedule and having to camp in the gaps then go for it. Not for me.
This is what the Circle Expeditions have done a number of times. It is actually quite brutal because you are on a schedule and have to tailor your hike to the miles rather than your miles to your hike. After extensive slack packing I concluded that I'd rather carry the tent and sleeping bag, which don't weigh all that much, and wander along at my own pace, instead of hiking to a schedule.