View Full Version : If you start later in the season...
squirrely
12-27-2011, 14:16
Something I've always wondered about,
If you start later in the hiking season, are you less likely to run into a lot of people and therefore more likely to be able to find room in shelters each night? Also, what is considered later in the hiking season. specifically for the AT? Most people planning a thru hike leave before a certain date right? Or have I got it all wrong?
hikerboy57
12-27-2011, 14:20
if you're planning a NOBO, it generally takes between 5 and 6 months, and baxter State Park in ME closes for the season oct 15th, so most people start out in march /april to ensure they can finish before the park closes.so a lot will depend on how many kmiles a day you can average. In all likelyhood you'll probably meet up with plenty of NOBOS come NH/Me as everyone has to finish by the same date, regardless of when you started.if you're jenn pharr-davis, you can start in september.mere mortals will start much earlier.
squirrely
12-27-2011, 14:42
I'm planning section hiking however far I can get from mid-May to mid-August starting at Springer.
jacquelineanngrant
12-27-2011, 15:05
You will probably not see too many folks in may, as most thrus will be in Damascus or farther north. If you are looking for space you should have plenty of it.
RWheeler
12-27-2011, 15:35
While thru-hikers might be much further North by May and later, that'll start being the season when day hikers, weekenders, and section hikers are popping up. The trail will most likely not be empty, but you'll probably be safe from having to cram 12 people in a 6 person shelter.
hikerboy57
12-27-2011, 15:48
the time you're planning to leave, i suggest not planning on staying at the shelters, as you'll be in the height of bug season, it can get crazy.bring a tent.
4eyedbuzzard
12-27-2011, 15:54
If you carry a suitable tent or tarp (which you definitely need to do regardless on even if you plan to only sleep in shelters), even if a shelter is full, finding space to set up near a shelter is usually never a problem. Some shelteres are nice, some are God awful and you will be glad you have a tent / tarp. You are also more free that way to camp when and where you like. Remember that shelters in GSMNP are by reservation, so you need to declare yourself a thru-hiker (by park definition - see their website) in order to camp outside the shelter if full.
Slo-go'en
12-27-2011, 16:05
The only time you can pretty much count on consitantly finding shelter space is during the winter months. Thru-hikers are only a small percentage of those who use the trail. May is when the camp groups start showing up in force all up and down the trail. You can never be sure of having shelter space, so you always need to carry your own shelter, even if you don't use it all the time.
jacob_springsteen
12-27-2011, 17:42
the time you're planning to leave, i suggest not planning on staying at the shelters, as you'll be in the height of bug season, it can get crazy.bring a tent.
Yeah, but by leaving in say, May, a thru-hiker in Georgia will not have to carry much in the way of cold weather gear. It may get rainy, but snow, eh, what are the chances? Daylight will be a bit longer than having have left in March or April, so hiking into the nightfall and it being warmer out can compensate for some of departure delay. Bugs can be dealt with by bringing a lightweight bivy or one of those bug shelters and a lightweight tarp to cover it:
http://www.rei.com/product/777771/rei-bug-hut-1-pro-shelter
Leaving in May, you'll miss most of the pack. It can make for some different interactions as you'll be meeting more section hikers and dayhikers too. If you can do the trail in 5 months, leaving in May would be a no-brainer if you wanted optimum weather.
squirrely
12-27-2011, 17:55
I'm still in school so I've only got from May when the semester ends till mid August when it's time to start getting ready for the upcoming semester. I really don't plan on even attempting the whole thing in those couple of months. I'm thinking maybe from Springer to Harper's Ferry but I'm not really sure I can even get that far. I kind of just plan on hiking till it's time to go home. Mostly I'm curious if the trails not going to be packed and I can get by with not much of a tent by sleeping in shelters most nights.
RWheeler
12-27-2011, 18:08
I'm still in school so I've only got from May when the semester ends till mid August when it's time to start getting ready for the upcoming semester. I really don't plan on even attempting the whole thing in those couple of months. I'm thinking maybe from Springer to Harper's Ferry but I'm not really sure I can even get that far. I kind of just plan on hiking till it's time to go home. Mostly I'm curious if the trails not going to be packed and I can get by with not much of a tent by sleeping in shelters most nights.
The fact that you very well may come across packed shelters from weekenders/section hikers, you need to plan ahead and take a tent with you. People may not respond positively to you strolling in to a full shelter and didn't even bring a tent as an option, when you knew you were going to be on the trail for a couple of months.
"Get by with not much of a tent" would be plausible, as long as that "not much" is still something that can keep you warm/dry if(when) you aren't able to sleep in a shelter.
mountain squid
12-27-2011, 18:33
Mostly I'm curious if the trails not going to be packed and I can get by with not much of a tent by sleeping in shelters most nights.You should never rely on potential available shelter space. Always carry your own shelter.
(http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?14493-observations-from-fs42-(advice-for-first-week-on-trail))
See you on the trail,
mt squid
how to hike (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?73587-how-to-hike)
some observations (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?14493-observations-from-fs42-(advice-for-first-week-on-trail))
I'm still in school so I've only got from May when the semester ends till mid August when it's time to start getting ready for the upcoming semester. I really don't plan on even attempting the whole thing in those couple of months. I'm thinking maybe from Springer to Harper's Ferry but I'm not really sure I can even get that far. I kind of just plan on hiking till it's time to go home. Mostly I'm curious if the trails not going to be packed and I can get by with not much of a tent by sleeping in shelters most nights.
At that time- for that time, I would hike from Harpers Ferry to Katahdin... and bring a tent...