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moana
04-05-2011, 14:56
Hi everyone,

I am new on this forum and I am also new to posting on forums. I joined a forum once to post a question but nobody replied (I suppose it was on old forum or something:-?). So if I am doing something wrong like not posting in the right field or something, please let me know.

Anyways, I joined this forum because my dad is going to hike from Florida to Canada:eek:. Ever since he told me this ( last week ) I have been looking for information on how to help him prepare for his trip. It worries me since I googled "hiking from florida to canada' and NOTHING came up. It seems like nobody ever did this! When I tried to google map 'Florida - Canada' this came up: "We could not calculate directions between Canada and Florida." Further confirming nobody came up with the crazy idea to hike from Fl to CAN !!

So I joined this Forum to see if anybody ever had an experience like that and for advice.

It worries me even more since my dad is the kind of person who doesn't want a cell phone so there is no way for me to contact him. No walkie talkie even covers this range. I wonder if they have pay phones alongside the rail...

I looked for "survival in nature" and "edible plants" books and for survival kits (knives, compasses etc) but if anyone can provide me with more detailed information about this crazy trip, please let me know! :confused:

GoldenBear
04-05-2011, 20:24
First of all, I am NOT a long-distance hiker. I'm barely a back-packer. All I know about the type of hike your father is contemplating is what I get on the Internet.

Before anyone else can answer any questions, we would have to know WHAT ROUTE is your father planning? Is he going to stay purely on designated trails? Or hike along roads?

If the latter, then he just needs to pick a reasonable route, and start walking by the side of the road. His biggest problem will be to avoid getting hit by cars.

If the former, then this URL should be his first stop:

http://www.nimblewillnomad.com/eastern_continental_trail_guide.htm

It has been done, but not by ordinary people. I suggest you buy the Florida Trail Hiking Guide; which will allow you two to plan at least the start of the hike. By the time he gets out of Florida, a lot of concerns will be answered simply by trial and error (trail and error?). As he runs into specific issues and questions along the way, he can ask about them. If he can get to the AT in reasonable shape, then he can just continue on his way.

Spirit Walker
04-05-2011, 23:40
When does he plan to do this hike? If next year, he has plenty of time to research and prepare for it. Most FT hikers start in January. Several people have hiked the Florida Trail to the Pinhoti to the AT to the IAT. There are journals on the web if you search. Some call the route the Eastern Continental Trail, though it is really more of a route since it includes several trails and road walking in between. If he wants to hike this year, he'd do better to start in the north and hike south, starting in June. Does he want to hike the entire IAT from Newfoundland or just hike from the Maine/Canada border? If the latter, he could start with the Long Trail to the AT to the Pinhoti to the FT.

ki0eh
04-06-2011, 10:33
Another option would be to detour from the A.T. at any of Pearisburg, north end of SNP, or Harpers, cut over to Great Eastern Trail to Finger Lakes Trail west to Conservation Trail. You miss all the New England and Gaspe scenery but you wind up right in central Canada at the Niagara frontier where you can continue on the Bruce Trail around Hamilton to Tobermory.

Ladytrekker
04-06-2011, 11:40
Google "Great Eastern Trail" and you will get more information.

http://www.greateasterntrail.net/

You can also google Sue "Hammock Hanger" Turner or read her trailjournal (trailjournal.com) she has hiked it and alot of info in her journal.

Hope he has a great hike.

WingedMonkey
04-06-2011, 11:48
Need to be more clear on what and where he is going. Some reason you can't ask him?
Do you mean he is leaving from West Palm Beach? Is he walking on trails or on highways?
The Florida Trail does not go through West Palm Beach it self. It does circle around lake Okeechobee (trail head 40 miles west of town) and goes either north or south from the lake. The northern route splits at the Kissimmee River west of the town of Okeechobee. http://lox.floridatrail.org/our-trails/lake-okeechobee/
There is a 63 mile spur trail under development (looks good on paper) called the Ocean to Lake Trail from Hobe Sound beach in Martin County to Lake Okeechobee at Port Mayaca. But this is not yet thru hike-able unless you bushwhack and swim some canals and are as crazy as me. http://lox.floridatrail.org/our-trails/the-ocean-to-lake-trail/
You need to find out if he is starting on the Florida Trail, or just walking highways north.

Ladytrekker
04-06-2011, 12:14
Ask him to carry a spot so you can track him tell him it is not just for safety but that it would be fun to know where he is.

moana
04-06-2011, 12:25
Thank you all for replying!! My dad is leaving next month! He hasn't done any prior planning, which is why I am trying to get as much info as I can. He has no phone/internet...

I will look up every site you guys gave me and figure out a plan with my dad by next week Tuesday. When I have more details about what and how, I will post it and answer the questions you've asked me...

Once again, thank you for your help and advice! I appreciate it!!

Also if you have any recommendations for good tents or any other material, that could be helpful. I don't want him to buy a tent that will break after a few weeks... :(

moana
04-06-2011, 12:29
Ask him to carry a spot so you can track him tell him it is not just for safety but that it would be fun to know where he is.

That is a great idea!! I didn't know that existed... Any idea where I can buy this?

pafarmboy
04-06-2011, 19:19
That is a great idea!! I didn't know that existed... Any idea where I can buy this?

http://www.amazon.com/SPOT-Inc-SPOT-1-Personal-Tracker/dp/B000YTZV74

Snowleopard
04-06-2011, 20:40
Is he planning on walking on roads or trails. You'll find lots of info here for hiking on trails and hiking the Appalachian Trail.

I'll start at the most basic level; forgive me if you already know some of this.
The Appalachian Trail goes from Springer Mt in northern Georgia to Mt. Katahdin Maine. It's 2181 miles long. Hundreds of people hike the whole thing each year.

For basic information: http://www.appalachiantrail.org/
For more basic information here at whiteblaze, go to the front page http://www.whiteblaze.net Look on the left side of the page and there is an index of articles. For example, a basic article for new thru hikers:http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7630

If he can be persuaded to hike from northern Georgia to Canada he'll save a lot of walking (700+ miles?). He might run into problems with hiking in winter unless he's able to walk a lot of miles each day. I don't know the trails in Florida to the Appalachian Trail.

On the northern end there are several trail routes to Canada:
AT to the long trail which goes the length of Vermont, from Mass. to Canada. https://www.greenmountainclub.org/
AT to the Cohos Trail in NH from the White Mts. north to Canada.http://www.cohostrail.org/
AT to Mt.Katahdin, than the International Appalachian Trail (IAT) which goes from Mt.Katahdin in Maine to New Brunswick, Canada, then through parts of Quebec to the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula and on to the northern tip of Newfoundland. http://www.internationalat.org/Pages/index

Of these, probably the best choice is the Long Trail. It's the shortest trail route and it has more people hiking it. Total distance from Springer mt. to Canada via the Long Trail is about 2000 miles. There would be other hikers all along the route on the AT and the Long Trail.

The Cohos Trail is supposed to be beautiful, but would be harder to hike and is more isolated.

The IAT would be the hardest to use to get to Canada. It's about 130 miles from Katahdin to the New Brunswick border.


There are books written about the Appalachian Trail and how to hike it.

Captain_Slo
04-07-2011, 09:05
It's been done: Nimblewill Nomad did it in the late 90's. Read ten million Steps by Eberhart

JaxHiker
04-15-2011, 11:14
http://www.amazon.com/SPOT-Inc-SPOT-1-Personal-Tracker/dp/B000YTZV74

The Spot 2 (http://www.amazon.com/SPOT-Satellite-Messenger-Orange-Black/dp/B002PHRDO2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1302880440&sr=1-2) is supposed to have significant improvements especially in reliability.