View Full Version : I'm not sure I get this whole thru hiking thing.
Hello,
I hike and love it, but most of my hiking has been day hikes.
I'm not sure I understand the whole idea of a thru hike so I figure I'd ask my questions here. I live in GA so I would start hiking NOBO.
My questions are:
Do you have to stay plan the amount of miles you hike around shelters/campsite locations? Can you just make camp somewhere close to the trail out of the way of other hikers?
How long does it usually take to walk to towns/post office from the trail to resupply food? And how would you know the trail leads there?
Do you have to go to a motel to take a shower/wash hair or are there any other alternatives?
After I hit Katahdin, what next? Do I just buy a plane ticket and fly home? How to get to the station?
Thank you for bearing with me and answering my questions! I'm sure I'll have more in the future.
XCskiNYC
03-23-2011, 02:32
:welcome
I'd suggest first checking out the ATC (the governing body of the AT) site. Lots of great basic AT information:
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4805859/k.BFA3/Home.htm
This site has great basic information and philosophy for thru-hiking:
http://www.trailquest.net/ATTrailQuest.html
To answer your specific questions --
You don't have to plan your stays at shelters (except possibly in Great Smoky Mountains National Park). They operate on a first-come first-served basis. There are theoretical limits to how many can fit in a shelter (usually about six to eight) but there's a saying that on a rainy night the shelter is full when everybody's in the shelter. In most cases the shelters are located about a day's hike apart so they are usually fairly convenient if you want to stay at or near a shelter. You have more safety at a shelter because there will be other hikers there (check out the women's forum here for advice on hiking alone if that's your plan; I'm not saying it's unsafe but you want to always use common sense and take basic precautions).
Most hikers also bring some kind of shelter with them (a tent, a tarp, or a hammock w/tarp). You can set up anywhere that there's a good spot. However, local regulations may regulate where you can camp. You can also set up your tent next to a shelter which gives a good combination of being around other hikers while still having some personal privacy. Shelters very often have a nearby water source which is a key ingredient in a good overnight spot.
If you are planning a thru-hike you will probably want to get the ATC sets of maps and books. If planning to just hike one area of the trail just get the maps/booklet set for that single area. There are about 12 of these sets covering the entire AT. Generally each set has two to four maps, plus a booklet. The booklet will give you the local regulations on camping and fire building which usually vary by state and also depend on whether or not you are in a state or national park. The booklet also gives the locations of water supplies, campsites, and shelters. The booklets give basic information on trail towns and nearby stores.
It's also useful to have a general AT hiking guide which will tell you where the trail towns are (these are towns either on or very close to the AT and big enough to have a few restaurants, motels, often a hiker hostel, supermarkets, outfitters where you can buy stove fuel, and the like) and a myriad of details needed by thru-hikers. One popular guide is the ALDHA Companion. This not only lists trail towns and gives details on their businesses but repeats the information in the ATC guide books on shelters and campsites on the AT.
The trail towns are around a four to six-day walk apart from each other. This lets you load up however many days of food you'll need to make it to the next town without having to add too much weight to your pack (food for most hikers weighs between one to 2.5 lbs per day). If the trail town is not directly on the AT, it'll usually be on a major highway or road that the AT crosses and be not too far of a hike from that crossing (for example, Great Barrington, MA is about three miles north of where the AT crosses US7). Your guidebook or ATC booklet will tell you which direction to walk to get to the town.
Some people, especially those who want very specific types of foods not likely to be found in supermarkets along the way, or who want to save by buying things like gorp (a snack mix usually based around peanuts, raisins, and other high-calorie ingredients) in bulk send ahead food boxes from home to post offices along the way. The ALDHA companion lists post offices though you should double check with the USPS web site before sending because the Post Office is starting a campaign to close down small town PO's. Actually, it's a good idea to double-check any information in the ALDHA Companion, especially if it's late in the day and you are planning to walk a ways off the trail to a listed lodging with few or no other nearby alternatives. Also don't expect prices in ALDHA to always be the same as what you'll actually find.
Here's the deal on toilets and the like. Some shelters have privies which are as the name implies private outhouses. Every now and then, you'll encounter a toilet that just sits outside on top of a wooden box. Some shelters have no privies (notably those in Harriman and Bear Mountain State parks but also at many others; however it's more common for shelters to have privies than not; I'd guess about 80 percent have privies).
When you don't have access to a privy, you take a small trowel (orange, plastic, available at an outfitter near you for a few bucks) and dig a hole. Make sure this is 200 feet from any water or trailway.
As for showers, you can encounter these, of course, at motels, but also at hostels (bunkhouse type accomodations that cater to hikers in towns near the AT; sometimes these will be more like a guesthouse where somebody rents a room in their home such as Maria McCabe in Salisbury, CT), sometimes at state park beaches or campgrounds, and various other assorted spots. The ALDHA Companion lists showers (ATC booklets do not). Also, you can bring a small portable shower like this one from MSR which attaches to an MSR water bladder (they say to use it with the 10 liter bladder but it'll work fine with the 2, 3, or 4 liter bladders as long as you're very quick and careful with how much water you use -- you can get basically clean with a liter or less of water and also heat it if you'd like which is nice; alternately, you can improvise a shower with a plastic cup; flip flops keep pine needles from frosting your wet feet):
http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/water-treatment-and-hydration/water-treatment-and-hydration-accessories/shower-kit/product
http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/water-treatment-and-hydration/fast-and-light-water-treatment-and-hydration/dromlite-bags/product
To get home from Katahdin, you'd probably get a shuttle (a private person who gives rides to hikers for a fee, typically $1/mile) or possibly a taxi to either the nearest bus stop or the nearest airport (probably Bangor International). I've only section-hiked the trail in NY/CT/MA, never made my way back home from Katahdin so someone else here can probably give you a better answer on this last question. The ATC site linked above has a list of shuttle providers.
If you are already experienced at multi-day hikes carrying your own gear and food, you can pretty much hit the trail running. However, you may want to try a couple of weekend or three-day hikes on the AT or a similarly difficult trail to work out the kind of gear you're comfortable with and to hone your hiking and camping skills. Don't feel your stuck with whatever gear you first start out with. You can always mail stuff home (or drop it in a hiker box). Also, there's a fully stocked outfitter about 30 miles down the trail from Springer Mountain. In fact, this particular outfitter, if you wish, will go through your gear and suggest alternate, lighter items that you might want to carry (and of course purchase).
mweinstone
03-23-2011, 06:19
i as well dont get this whole thruhiking thing.
am i doing something wrong?
should i stop fooling around and stay put for a while?
do folks feel bad for me cause i live in the woods?
is there help available ?
will i ever be normal?
is hiking as bad as heroin?
am i going to die hiking?
is thruhiking completly legal?
is it moral?
will i go blind if i hike too much?
bulldog49
03-23-2011, 08:10
:welcome
I'd suggest first checking out the ATC (the governing body of the AT) site. Lots of great basic AT information:
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4805859/k.BFA3/Home.htm
This site has great basic information and philosophy for thru-hiking:
http://www.trailquest.net/ATTrailQuest.html
To answer your specific questions --
You don't have to plan your stays at shelters (except possibly in Great Smoky Mountains National Park). They operate on a first-come first-served basis. There are theoretical limits to how many can fit in a shelter (usually about six to eight) but there's a saying that on a rainy night the shelter is full when everybody's in the shelter. In most cases the shelters are located about a day's hike apart so they are usually fairly convenient if you want to stay at or near a shelter. You have more safety at a shelter because there will be other hikers there (check out the women's forum here for advice on hiking alone if that's your plan; I'm not saying it's unsafe but you want to always use common sense and take basic precautions).
Most hikers also bring some kind of shelter with them (a tent, a tarp, or a hammock w/tarp). You can set up anywhere that there's a good spot. However, local regulations may regulate where you can camp. You can also set up your tent next to a shelter which gives a good combination of being around other hikers while still having some personal privacy. Shelters very often have a nearby water source which is a key ingredient in a good overnight spot.
If you are planning a thru-hike you will probably want to get the ATC sets of maps and books. If planning to just hike one area of the trail just get the maps/booklet set for that single area. There are about 12 of these sets covering the entire AT. Generally each set has two to four maps, plus a booklet. The booklet will give you the local regulations on camping and fire building which usually vary by state and also depend on whether or not you are in a state or national park. The booklet also gives the locations of water supplies, campsites, and shelters. The booklets give basic information on trail towns and nearby stores.
It's also useful to have a general AT hiking guide which will tell you where the trail towns are (these are towns either on or very close to the AT and big enough to have a few restaurants, motels, often a hiker hostel, supermarkets, outfitters where you can buy stove fuel, and the like) and a myriad of details needed by thru-hikers. One popular guide is the ALDHA Companion. This not only lists trail towns and gives details on their businesses but repeats the information in the ATC guide books on shelters and campsites on the AT.
The trail towns are around a four to six-day walk apart from each other. This lets you load up however many days of food you'll need to make it to the next town without having to add too much weight to your pack (food for most hikers weighs between one to 2.5 lbs per day). If the trail town is not directly on the AT, it'll usually be on a major highway or road that the AT crosses and be not too far of a hike from that crossing (for example, Great Barrington, MA is about three miles north of where the AT crosses US7). Your guidebook or ATC booklet will tell you which direction to walk to get to the town.
Some people, especially those who want very specific types of foods not likely to be found in supermarkets along the way, or who want to save by buying things like gorp (a snack mix usually based around peanuts, raisins, and other high-calorie ingredients) in bulk send ahead food boxes from home to post offices along the way. The ALDHA companion lists post offices though you should double check with the USPS web site before sending because the Post Office is starting a campaign to close down small town PO's. Actually, it's a good idea to double-check any information in the ALDHA Companion, especially if it's late in the day and you are planning to walk a ways off the trail to a listed lodging with few or no other nearby alternatives. Also don't expect prices in ALDHA to always be the same as what you'll actually find.
Here's the deal on toilets and the like. Some shelters have privies which are as the name implies private outhouses. Every now and then, you'll encounter a toilet that just sits outside on top of a wooden box. Some shelters have no privies (notably those in Harriman and Bear Mountain State parks but also at many others; however it's more common for shelters to have privies than not; I'd guess about 80 percent have privies).
When you don't have access to a privy, you take a small trowel (orange, plastic, available at an outfitter near you for a few bucks) and dig a hole. Make sure this is 200 feet from any water or trailway.
As for showers, you can encounter these, of course, at motels, but also at hostels (bunkhouse type accomodations that cater to hikers in towns near the AT; sometimes these will be more like a guesthouse where somebody rents a room in their home such as Maria McCabe in Salisbury, CT), sometimes at state park beaches or campgrounds, and various other assorted spots. The ALDHA Companion lists showers (ATC booklets do not). Also, you can bring a small portable shower like this one from MSR which attaches to an MSR water bladder (they say to use it with the 10 liter bladder but it'll work fine with the 2, 3, or 4 liter bladders as long as you're very quick and careful with how much water you use -- you can get basically clean with a liter or less of water and also heat it if you'd like which is nice; alternately, you can improvise a shower with a plastic cup; flip flops keep pine needles from frosting your wet feet):
http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/water-treatment-and-hydration/water-treatment-and-hydration-accessories/shower-kit/product
http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/water-treatment-and-hydration/fast-and-light-water-treatment-and-hydration/dromlite-bags/product
To get home from Katahdin, you'd probably get a shuttle (a private person who gives rides to hikers for a fee, typically $1/mile) or possibly a taxi to either the nearest bus stop or the nearest airport (probably Bangor International). I've only section-hiked the trail in NY/CT/MA, never made my way back home from Katahdin so someone else here can probably give you a better answer on this last question. The ATC site linked above has a list of shuttle providers.
If you are already experienced at multi-day hikes carrying your own gear and food, you can pretty much hit the trail running. However, you may want to try a couple of weekend or three-day hikes on the AT or a similarly difficult trail to work out the kind of gear you're comfortable with and to hone your hiking and camping skills. Don't feel your stuck with whatever gear you first start out with. You can always mail stuff home (or drop it in a hiker box). Also, there's a fully stocked outfitter about 30 miles down the trail from Springer Mountain. In fact, this particular outfitter, if you wish, will go through your gear and suggest alternate, lighter items that you might want to carry (and of course purchase).
Hook, line and sinker.
Pedaling Fool
03-23-2011, 09:07
I tried to plan my hike, but those plans went out the window on the first day and I completely gave up on them within a week. When all you do all day is walk all those issues become non-issues. I didn't even have a plan for what to do after I summited Katahdin, no tickets/reservations set. Just hitch hiked out and everything fell into place.
4eyedbuzzard
03-23-2011, 09:58
i as well dont get this whole thruhiking thing.
am i doing something wrong?You're not following thru.
should i stop fooling around and stay put for a while?Keep moving, otherwise THEY will find you.
do folks feel bad for me cause i live in the woods?No, they feel bad for the woods.
is there help available ?Call Dr Phil, or Bill Bryson.
will i ever be normal?You're kidding, right?
is hiking as bad as heroin?Worse. It's more expensive and supports terrorism.
am i going to die hiking?No. You will fall over before your heart actually stops.
is thruhiking completly legal?Depends upon what you're packing.
is it moral?Only if you leave no trace.
will i go blind if i hike too much?No. You will go blind from staring at a computer screen reading posts at WB.
ShelterLeopard
03-23-2011, 10:29
Hello,
I hike and love it, but most of my hiking has been day hikes.
I'm not sure I understand the whole idea of a thru hike so I figure I'd ask my questions here. I live in GA so I would start hiking NOBO.
My questions are:
Do you have to stay plan the amount of miles you hike around shelters/campsite locations? Can you just make camp somewhere close to the trail out of the way of other hikers?
How long does it usually take to walk to towns/post office from the trail to resupply food? And how would you know the trail leads there?
Do you have to go to a motel to take a shower/wash hair or are there any other alternatives?
After I hit Katahdin, what next? Do I just buy a plane ticket and fly home? How to get to the station?
Thank you for bearing with me and answering my questions! I'm sure I'll have more in the future.
For me, it was the lifestyle. And meeting all sorts of interesting people along the way. If you don't get the idea or a thru, why are you considering it? (Just out of curiosity) Don't feel under pressure from other hikers to do some huge hike if it isn't your thing.
What you really need is an AT Guidebook- that'll answer almost all of the questions you have here. Try Rick Towle's (Attroll) guide for starters.
You can stealth camp, but there are certain no camping areas, and in general, it is best to camp a distance off the trail whenever you do. I think the ATC regulation is 50- 150 yards, but I don't remember.
You know where you can find towns and hostels because of the guidebook. There are some places to which you can walk, others you can hitchhike in, or call for a shuttle. (Like the Fontana Dam visitor center. There's a payphone just off the trail, and you can call and ask the shuttle to come pick you up for $3. I did that, because I was there at the very beginning of the season and there was no chance of a hitch. The trail goes right through Damascus and Hot Springs, and there are some short side trails to hostels. Like the Greasy Creek Friendly, or Bear's Den, or a whole bunch of others. A lot of those places will hold mail for you too.)
I got out of Baxter SP twice (long story- I went back a second time the next day), once with another hiker I met the night before at the hostel, and the first time I hitched. And it took about an hour to get rides. I say rides, because I got a string of three rides out. First was with a van full of young girl campers (whose leader interviewed me about hiking, and the girls pretended to listen while holding their noses) who were going only part way out of the park to have a picnic, another picnicer, and then a family leaving the park who finally took pity on me. But, I was able to get a ride out in the end.
Man, I do have a gift for rambling, don't I???
i as well dont get this whole thruhiking thing.
am i doing something wrong?
should i stop fooling around and stay put for a while?
do folks feel bad for me cause i live in the woods?
is there help available ?
will i ever be normal?
is hiking as bad as heroin?
am i going to die hiking?
is thruhiking completly legal?
is it moral?
will i go blind if i hike too much?
Did you get spell check ?
ShelterLeopard
03-23-2011, 10:47
I know Ernie- it totally threw me off to see Matthewski's spelling. I had to read his post a second time.
4eyedbuzzard
03-23-2011, 12:54
Did you get spell check ?
I know Ernie- it totally threw me off to see Matthewski's spelling. I had to read his post a second time.
:-? Good observation. I got caught up in the context and completely missed it.
But, what have they done with the real Matty? :eek:
:-? Good observation. I got caught up in the context and completely missed it.
But, what have they done with the real Matty? :eek:
Maybe a "Stepford Matty".......
After I hit Katahdin, what next? Do I just buy a plane ticket and fly home? How to get to the station?
It's surprising how resourceful you'll become on the trail. Worry about getting there first, and you'll figure out a way to get home.
I got a plane ticket out of Portland, because it was about half the price of a ticket out of Bangor. The only problem is that Portland is 3-4 hours by car away from BSP. I had a ride before I even made it below treeline after summiting. Turns out the two guys were d-bags who made subtle remarks about my smell and asked me a bunch of questions about how much money I make. After a while I pretended to be asleep. Once they found out I was nearly penniless after months of hiking, they dropped me off in front of the Hilton Garden Hotel. (rooms start at $200 a night.) Yeah, they were real a-holes. But I made it where I needed to go. Turns out my last hitch was my longest and most obnoxious, but beggers can't be choosers.
XCskiNYC
03-23-2011, 19:15
... the girls pretended to listen while holding their noses...
Excellent answer to the OP's shower question:D
sheepdog
03-23-2011, 19:21
i as well dont get this whole thruhiking thing.
am i doing something wrong?
should i stop fooling around and stay put for a while?
do folks feel bad for me cause i live in the woods?
is there help available ?
will i ever be normal?
is hiking as bad as heroin?
am i going to die hiking?
is thruhiking completly legal?
is it moral?
will i go blind if i hike too much?
The magic 8 ball says; "It's highly unlikely."
ShelterLeopard
03-24-2011, 11:34
Maybe a "Stepford Matty".......
Ernie- that is WAY TO FRIGHTENING and idea to even think about. MAn, I'm going to have nightmares for a week... :eek:
It's surprising how resourceful you'll become on the trail. Worry about getting there first, and you'll figure out a way to get home.
I got a plane ticket out of Portland, because it was about half the price of a ticket out of Bangor. The only problem is that Portland is 3-4 hours by car away from BSP. I had a ride before I even made it below treeline after summiting. Turns out the two guys were d-bags who made subtle remarks about my smell and asked me a bunch of questions about how much money I make. After a while I pretended to be asleep. Once they found out I was nearly penniless after months of hiking, they dropped me off in front of the Hilton Garden Hotel. (rooms start at $200 a night.) Yeah, they were real a-holes. But I made it where I needed to go. Turns out my last hitch was my longest and most obnoxious, but beggers can't be choosers.
I took Amtrak and the bus- it was a bit less expensive and I could keep my pack with me. The lovely folks at the Hostel near Katahdin dropped me off at the bus stop, then I took the bus from there (wherever it was) to another bus, from there to Portland, and from Portland I took the train to Boston, from Boston I took the train to New York, from New York I took the train to a town near my home. Lots of transfers, but I loved it.