Unreasonable to Finish By 6/17?

[jgiles3311]

I plan to start on 2/10 or close to that. I have extensive backpacking experience mostly in the Sierras, also spent lots of time in the Whites and all over VT. I just ran the NYC Marathon in November so Im in decent shape. I have to get off the trail for 4 days in May to go to my brothers graduation. I plan to take a zero day about once a week give or take. I dont have any budget restrictions, not sure that matters just trying to give as much info as possible.

Is it completely unreasonable to think I can finish by 6/17? Also, starting that early and moving that fast i probably wont see many folks right? Anybody have any experience with finishing this early? Black flies In Maine in June are going to be pretty brutal huh?

[SurferNerd]

Well if you have no budget restrictions, just buy a plane ticket, LMAO. But in all seriousness, it's not uncommon to see some serious fast people go in 3 months or less. But the quicker you go, the less you see.

[jgiles3311]

Hahaha. Plane ticket would make it easy wouldnt it?

It wouldnt be the end of the world if i didnt finish by 6/17, I just wouldnt be able to get back on the trail until August. I have obligations from June 18th onward until August more or less. I could potentially get back on for about a week in mid july but i would have to know if I was going to finish in that week...I dont want to be going back and forth three to four times just to do 300 miles.

I know the faster the go the more ill miss...this is the hand i have been dealt. If I dont do this now I likely wont be able to until I retire...

[Fog Horn]

Its just over four months. People take the trail in about that amount of time seemingly often. I think that your main worry would be overuse injuries, so pay close attention to your body.

And good luck!!

[SurferNerd]

Hahaha. Plane ticket would make it easy wouldnt it?

It wouldnt be the end of the world if i didnt finish by 6/17, I just wouldnt be able to get back on the trail until August. I have obligations from June 18th onward until August more or less. I could potentially get back on for about a week in mid july but i would have to know if I was going to finish in that week...I dont want to be going back and forth three to four times just to do 300 miles.

I know the faster the go the more ill miss...this is the hand i have been dealt. If I dont do this now I likely wont be able to until I retire...

I still believe its a thru hike if you complete in in the calendar year. So my recommendation to you would be to flip flop. Get those northern states done, then come back after August and do the south stuff. If you pickup in August, you always run the risk of Baxter shut down which can occur as early as late September.

[Blissful]

Sure you could probably do it, but it wont be as enjoyable and you will miss a lot. Then you will want to go back and see everything you missed as you went whizzing on by :)
Plus VT, NH and ME Will be buggy, muddy, etc.
But if that's your only window, well go for it
But if you aren't concerned about finishing, as I saw in another post, then you might do it in two sections. And don't worry about supposed revered Thru hiker status or whatever - it don't mean a thing to anybody but you. And even that fades with time. The best thing is to make the most of the time you are out there enjoy, learn about yourself (and for me its also a spiritual experience with my Creator) and meet great people. :)

[jgiles3311]

VT, NH, and ME being buggy is probably what Im looking forward to the least.

If im not going to finish by 6/17 I wouldnt want to have more than 2-3 weeks left, tops.

Any other folks have experience with this sort of time frame? From those that have what should I expect?

[Slo-go'en]

Humm, the southern appalachians are getting hammered by another winter storm right now. Think that will be the last one between now and 2/10? Not likely, so don't expect to be making big miles until the middle of March, or even later.

Just go as far as you can in the time you have, doing it at a reasonable pace as conditions dictate.

[Slo-go'en]

Its just over four months. People take the trail in about that amount of time seemingly often.

Yeah, but those that do usually start in April or May as to have the good weather and maximum day light needed to do the big miles on a consistant basis.

[jgiles3311]

Humm, the southern appalachians are getting hammered by another winter storm right now. Think that will be the last one between now and 2/10? Not likely, so don't expect to be making big miles until the middle of March, or even later.

Just go as far as you can in the time you have, doing it at a reasonable pace as conditions dictate.

Yeah, realize that the snow may be an issue. Last year would have been a nightmare trying to carry out this plan. Im hoping that there wont be many more large storms with the La Nina we are having now...of course, you never know with weather so im just hoping...

[takethisbread]

My advice comes from my mistakes. Just hike it. Don't worry about the time. Hike until 6/17 and if you finish great, if you don't it's ok. Lose all time expectations, b/c expectations are constantly crushed on the AT thru hike. You lose time to injury, weather, emotions, whatever. Just look it as a 4 month hike, and hike fast but take your time, if that makes sense. Enjoy the people.

Thru hiking is hard enuff without adding on time constraints, and turning a great experience into a job:
Or chore by giving yourself time constraints. God bless and have fun

[sherrill]

Just hike it. Don't worry about the time.

Good advice. The only thing that's for sure is that nothing's for sure.