View Full Version : How long was your trip-planning?
How long did it take you to prepare for your AT thru-hike? What kind of preps were involved over the months / years? I would like to do it in 2015. I would be down for doing it sooner but I am obligated to the military right now and these hoes are relentless.
Tossed around the idea of doing it in September. Decided officially in October. Really didn't start major preparation until December. Hitting the trail Wednesday.
The biggest problem is clearing the money and the time. Depends solely on your life and finances. After that planning could almost be as short as strap on the gear and show up to Springer.
myotheralt
03-20-2011, 00:13
With the military, you should have up to 30 days a year leave. You could do some section hikes.
Getting all he gear you will need is secondary to having the time and money squared away.
I picked a date for my thru hike five years in advance (2005). I had some obligations also. I had one son still in the house. He graduated in 2009. Once he graduated I waited one year so that my wife would no be in shock with my son and me both out of the house the same year. I started my hike in 2010. The good thing about having five years was it gave me time to start putting money aside. You should create a separate bank account right now and start sending an allotment to right now and do not touch it. This is what I did.
For five years I was buying gear and experimenting with it and finding what worked for me. I was also reading up a lot on the posts on WhiteBlaze.
I did not do any extra hiking to get myself in shape. I just did my occasional weekend backpacking trips. I basically started my thru hike cold turkey and put one foot in front of the other all the way to Maine.
Tossed around the idea of doing it in September. Decided officially in October. Really didn't start major preparation until December. Hitting the trail Wednesday.
The biggest problem is clearing the money and the time. Depends solely on your life and finances. After that planning could almost be as short as strap on the gear and show up to Springer.
Chop, I wish you luck in your endeavor, my man. Have a blast. I just have to clear up the time.
myother, I would definitely prefer to do a thru-hike. Have people done sections here and there just to end up doing the thru-hike down the road? That would be okay. I'm sure a thru-hike is such a different experience than sections.
attroll, that's very encouraging. Right now, I'm at the point where I want to read all I can and do all I can to prepare but I know it's at a minimum of four years down the road until I'll be at Springer. to hike the whole way through. But I'm glad there are long-distance planners out there as well.
fiddlehead
03-20-2011, 01:52
First time: about 2 months.
Next time, didn't even plan on doing it, just drove a friend to Springer. (didn't complete the trail that year but did about 1,000 miles)
Next time, 5 days.
Whoever said getting the time off and money saved is the hardest part was right on.
The actual planning is easy. I just do about 5 mail drops for the beginning and then figure it out when i'm out there. (of course, having the right gear comes with the first one)
Anytime you do an endeavor that you've never done before, there is always a little fear i think.
Best to not plan too much and take it day by day and you'll learn a lot and not have the anxiety of worrying about things for months or years.
Just do it.
mweinstone
03-20-2011, 02:55
like harold camping and his predictions, as a child i poured over the info about the AT and came up with, "THE PLAN". the definitive work on the subject of incresing odds of completion of a thruhike of the appalachian trail from south to north in spring. my volumes of notes included minusha of details including but not limited to such freaky weirdo stats as how many miles it was from any given point on the trail to places you could eat good seafood. weird probubility charts on how likely it was to be hungry for mashed potatoes and such notes as to make ms or wyoming skateboarder look like hippys hiking on the fly. on each atempt to thru i made a list 6 times a day. revising and revamping until trashcans overflowed with crumpled papers containing notes on trail numbers and weights of urine and sweat.lol.
Brings to mind my favorite misquote: "The best laid men of mice and plans..."
Acquire the time and money, then plan on walking. Simple as that.
Lone Wolf
03-20-2011, 08:19
Acquire the time and money, then plan on walking. Simple as that.
it really is that simple. it was just over 8 months from the time i thought about walkin' the AT to actually starting. the only "plan" i made was for a train ticket from R.I. to Gainesville, Ga.
Blissful
03-20-2011, 08:26
A couple of years for mine for NOBO, though for my SOBO last year I had a few months to get it really in gear when work opened up.
brian039
03-20-2011, 13:14
Just have at least $3,000, decent gear, 6 months, and enough food to get you to Neel Gap.
I planned my thru-hike for nearly all of my senior yr in high school (sans internet) and way over-planned, and mis-planned then. I think that most folks now really, really, over-plan. What you need is time and desire. I have a good friend who wanted to thru hike for a long time. He was a fairly experienced weekend backpacker and in good shape. We planned his successful 2008 SOBO thru-hike in ONE WEEKEND in my living room - no kidding - the best "planning" you can do is actually going backpacking for weekends and longer trips if possible and getting / staying in good physical shape - see what gear and food works for you for a week. If you try to figure out where you will be on the trail every day and week, what hostels you will stay at and when, etc. in a too finite manner, things will just get fouled up. It's better to know that you think you want to stop in such and such town and stay at such and such hostel but don't assign exact dates and times and compute supplies needed until you are a few days away - things change fast out there. When I planned my buddy's SOBO, we basically ended the planning session by saying, well, go find those white paint blazes and follow them to georgia - that's what you do
For planning purposes think of it as a bunch of 2-4 day section hikes strung together.
You are almost always within 48 hours of anything you could possibly need. Not always, but almost always.
Spirit Walker
03-20-2011, 13:43
I only started backpacking about 11 months prior to my first thruhike. About September I read an article about the AT that started me dreaming. In December I made the decision to go, joined ATC, bought the guidebooks and maps. April 1 I was on the trail. On my second thruhike, I decided to quit my job March 5 and was on the trail April 1. As others have said, second time around is much easier, since you know that the only thing that really matters is how much you want to be out there.
Tenderheart
03-20-2011, 15:23
[QUOTE=Flaps15;1131423]How long did it take you to prepare for your AT thru-hike?
About 35 years. No fooling.
ShelterLeopard
03-20-2011, 15:37
Six months of reading everything trail related and losing my life to WB. But, it could've taken me a week. I was just very excited for the hike and was living vicariously through myself...
mlkelley
03-20-2011, 17:40
Just have at least $3,000, decent gear, 6 months, and enough food to get you to Neel Gap.
EXACTLY!
Months/years of planning my first attempt. Now, I could be ready to go in about 20 minutes. I would need to stop on the way and get Nutella though.:banana
This is all pretty good info. I'm asking because I want to go when my contract is up in 2015 and I know I'll be very anxious until then. But, until that time arrives I am definitely doing some sections and other hiking/camping trips.
Rainbow Falls is a nice place but tons of tourists. Also, I'm doing the GA section of the AT in May. Getting gear together now. :)
20 years.
Tumbleweed
Wow, i can't even imagine what kind of patience that would take... military?
This is all pretty good info. I'm asking because I want to go when my contract is up in 2015 and I know I'll be very anxious until then. But, until that time arrives I am definitely doing some sections and other hiking/camping trips.
I was just thinking that Parkinson's Law applies: "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." Sounds like you have 4 years to plan :D
Mary and I have been talking about doing this for several years, but recently made the commitment to do it next year. Since then I've been reading journals, spending time here, pouring over lists ... But it's been winter in Michigan...
With spring coming, we're looking forward to getting out there with some new gear and getting comfortable with it. Trying to get as light as practicable. We are still trying to decide whether to have a few mail drops or just a bounce box, and how to handle switching from winter to summer gear and back ...
Our biggest concern right now is who's gonna take care of the yard and the cats?
We do subscribe to the philosophy of not trying to build an itinerary any more than a few milestones long, and to take time to enjoy what we discover.
Have fun with your planning!
I was just thinking that Parkinson's Law applies: "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." Sounds like you have 4 years to plan :D
Mary and I have been talking about doing this for several years, but recently made the commitment to do it next year. Since then I've been reading journals, spending time here, pouring over lists ... But it's been winter in Michigan...
With spring coming, we're looking forward to getting out there with some new gear and getting comfortable with it. Trying to get as light as practicable. We are still trying to decide whether to have a few mail drops or just a bounce box, and how to handle switching from winter to summer gear and back ...
Our biggest concern right now is who's gonna take care of the yard and the cats?
We do subscribe to the philosophy of not trying to build an itinerary any more than a few milestones long, and to take time to enjoy what we discover.
Have fun with your planning!
It's a good philosophy. It can be difficult to really enjoy the wilderness when you've got a societal deadline to meet.
Yes. Retired in 2007. was all set to go this April then had a herniated disc. I am shhoting for next March.
Tumbleweed
max patch
03-21-2011, 10:51
2 weeks at nite and weekends while I worked off my notice.
If you can do a week long hike 95% of your "planning" is already done.
Anything you screw up and be easily fixed as you hike.
garlic08
03-21-2011, 11:13
...If you can do a week long hike 95% of your "planning" is already done....
Ditto this. Preparation is much more important than planning on the AT.
From whenever the bug hits to that 1st step on the trail is all torture be it weeks, months or years.
I gave myself 6 weeks from when I walked off the job. I was ready to go in 4 weeks. My plans pretty much fell apart within the first few hundred miles. My actual planning and scheduling didn't matter much but I was glad I spent that 6 weeks getting in shape.
I woke up one day in February, decided this life wasn't for me, and set a date a little over a month in the future. I leave on the 9th of april this year, all of my gear has a couple two day hikes on it, so I feel I'm as ready as I'll ever be.
downs117
03-24-2011, 16:07
about three months of reading about it online, choosing my gear, finishing my job, and some practice hikes
I planned for 6 months, then Had a SHTF moment, some surgery scares, and "other" stuff that put it off for additional year.
I'm using the extra time to further plan, and save more money by setting things up a little at a time (dehydrating food etc.).
Feb 1 2012 WOOT!!
Brad
I planned for 6 months, then Had a SHTF moment, some surgery scares, and "other" stuff that put it off for additional year.
I'm using the extra time to further plan, and save more money by setting things up a little at a time (dehydrating food etc.).
Feb 1 2012 WOOT!!
Brad
Im sure over the next three or four years I'll get a dehydrator. Not specifically for this trip but for daily use. SHTF moment? :confused:
Im sure over the next three or four years I'll get a dehydrator. Not specifically for this trip but for daily use. SHTF moment? :confused:
I have a dehydrator, and I'm building a larger one so I can do more food. And I have a few vacuum sealers.
All purchased at garage sales for just a few dollars each over the past few years.
Plus I am planting a garden for the majority of the vegetables I will need, and can get the fruit for next to nothing when it's in season.
When I do the math on how much money doing all this is saving me I get giddy.
http://www.backpackingchef.com/index.html
If someone has time to plan out the hike on paper, I believe they have time to save a few dollars for themselves on the trip.
Brad