View Full Version : Planning for a hike
How much time did you spend planning for your hike?? Was it a spur-of-the-moment decision? Did you spend a week, a month or a year planning? How much detail did you put into your plans?
I have been planning my thru for about a year and a half. Not going to a lot of detail in planning. Just making sure I can survive with the equipment I have. The rest is just walking. If you don't believe me ask Lone Wolf. lol
I did a grand total of 1 month planning from the day I decided to hike the AT to the day I left.
FreeWilly
10-09-2011, 02:44
Holy crap! I've been planning since May. I have spreadsheets of equipment and weights... lists of things to test out... an itinerary that I'm sure I won't follow to the letter... costs... plans for someone to take care of my animals... and all the little stuff so I won't have to worry about anything but meeting new people, taking in the trail and having fun.
Of course to me planning is just the start of the fun. Why wait?
Hosaphone
10-09-2011, 13:59
Just throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence.
Well, I guess it's that simple for short trips anyways...
Joker4ink
10-12-2011, 23:22
I was also wondering about this. I have seen such variations from two months to two years.
Mountain Mike
10-13-2011, 01:10
Deoends on where you draw line between planning & dreaming. Planning is simple. MPD & how much much weight you want to cary in food. Trails close for supply drops. Just simple math. Yet after 5,000 miles I still read through guide books, data guides, maps & online journals. I know once I hit the trail it won't matter if I planned to be at such a shelter on this night. Out on the trail it's about freedom, making your own rules as you go. I alway research for better gear to see if I have waht is right. On AT I used tarp tent, simple 10' X 10" $40 campmoor one & it worked great when shelters were full(not to often back in 88). For PCT I needed a tent so I did research on that. Pre internet ment Backpacke Magazine annual gear review & requested catologues from there. Today it can all be done online quickly. Main reason I bought my first comp was a frind turned me onto internet & I started looking up hiking trails.
rjhouser
10-13-2011, 01:31
I have been planning my thru for 2012 for a year now, will be a year and a half by the time I start.
Looking back I'm so glad I had that year to plan, if I had left last summer with what few months of experience and planning I could cram in I would have been way unprepared for what was to come.
Since then I have realized the importance of going as light as humanly possible.
I have learned countless tricks, techniques, philosophies, etc. since then.
I will be 100 X more prepared now.
Technically you can always learn that on the trail too though, it just might cost you a good bit of money and hardship.
strollingalong
10-13-2011, 03:34
been saving for 9 months and another 5 to go.... getting ready for purchases.....
Fireweed
10-13-2011, 06:12
I planned a month before I left in August 11. Then got pulled off with an injury after 6 weeks. I'll be back on next week with 12 lbs less gear, an ultra light tent and a much calmer mind.
Every year, me and a few bud's participate in a "fantasy hiking team" we each go to Trail Journals.com and pick a 10 person team from those listed, read their entries make selections and track their thru-hike. Great fun. 1 point per mile, by the end of the year a winner will emerge. I always make it a point to pick people who "plan obsessivly". My theory here is that those who plan more, better, longer etc will make more miles in the end than those who don't. Sometimes my theory works sometimes it don't.....
Chaco Taco
10-13-2011, 10:44
Actual planning, I gave up on it after about a few weeks realizing that it defeated the purpose of the hike. I researched gear and talked to people that had done it. Plans changed after about 2-3 days. Did a few mail drops, thats about all the planning I really did.
Sounds to me like you've already started........
Feral Nature
10-13-2011, 12:08
I have been planning since this summer for 2012 thru hike. I feel blessed to have found this forum and am learning so many tips and tricks. The planning I am doing is just making a shopping list for the equipment I need as what I have is for car camping, not hiking. I will buy what I can used and dirt bag as much as possible. I will take maps and guides and such to read at night on the trail. Once I get to the AT, I intend to just go with the flow and not worry at all about a schedule.
Old Hiker
10-13-2011, 12:22
25+ years. Ever since I was stationed at the Pentagon in the mid-80's and found out about it. National Geo magazine had a great article years ago as well.
I guess I've sort of stared planning. I've started researching and purchasing, and I've got a great vision in my head. However, as I continue to read the posts here on WB and on TrailJournals I realize there is more and more I hadn't considered. I keep finding myself saying, "wow, I hadn't thought of that", or "hey, that's a great idea", or "maybe I should try that". This last one is especially true of taking short trips to test out my gear. I'm becoming more and more hesitant about just getting out there and going for it. BUT I'm also worried that if I don't do it soon, I might never get to. Hubby says I'm having a mid-life crisis. I hate my job and my life right now. I feel like I need to re-invent myself. (OMG, that does sound like a mid-life crisis, doesn't it).
I'm not the 'spur-of-the-moment' type, but I sort of wish I were. On the other hand, I don't want to --plan to fail because I failed to plan. I have a tendency to overthink everything and end up taking the fun out of it.
Good Grief, I just re-read this and I sound like I need lithium or something. LOL
Be careful or your pack will weigh in at over 60 lbs!!!!
You'll be amazed at really how little you need to complete a thru. Good luck.
Feral Nature
10-13-2011, 13:20
I guess I've sort of stared planning. I've started researching and purchasing, and I've got a great vision in my head. However, as I continue to read the posts here on WB and on TrailJournals I realize there is more and more I hadn't considered. I keep finding myself saying, "wow, I hadn't thought of that", or "hey, that's a great idea", or "maybe I should try that". This last one is especially true of taking short trips to test out my gear. I'm becoming more and more hesitant about just getting out there and going for it. BUT I'm also worried that if I don't do it soon, I might never get to. Hubby says I'm having a mid-life crisis. I hate my job and my life right now. I feel like I need to re-invent myself. (OMG, that does sound like a mid-life crisis, doesn't it).
I'm not the 'spur-of-the-moment' type, but I sort of wish I were. On the other hand, I don't want to --plan to fail because I failed to plan. I have a tendency to overthink everything and end up taking the fun out of it.
Good Grief, I just re-read this and I sound like I need lithium or something. LOL
Amen sister! I am going through a major life change right now as I am newly single after almost 20 years of marriage.. I will be hiking the AT with a wounded heart and a fresh new spirit. This is my time. If I do not do it now, something will get in my way. My glass is half full of the lemondade I am making. See yall on the trail!
lush242000
10-13-2011, 13:30
How much time did you spend planning for your hike?? Was it a spur-of-the-moment decision? Did you spend a week, a month or a year planning? How much detail did you put into your plans?
Since you didn't specify "thru hike", I will chime in. The first time I hiked a section of the AT was when I was 18 about 20 or so years ago. The planning involved drinking some beer on Friday night, and Saturday morning, I was on the trail. We lasted a week. Had a blast, been doing it ever since.
On a side note, we didn't know what the white stripes on the trees meant and we thought the blue ones were trails to water.....