Section Hikes

[Bearleg]

I am a teacher with free time in the summer, i want to start section hiking the AT. 1 to 2 weeks time per summer. What in your opion is the best sequence of section.

[Hooch]

Ah, that's the beauty of section hiking: You can pick and choose your sections as you like and don't have to follow a "sequence", per se. Just go, hike and enjoy!

If you want to find a good section to start with for a few days, look at starting at Carver's Gap and hike to Dennis Cove Road. Great hike! A bit of climbing, but nothing that can't be tackled by taking your time.

[ATSeamstress]

If you are not an experienced backpacker, begin with a gentler section close to hiker services. The section south of Damascus is good. Shenandoah National Park is a good option as well. As you gain confidence and refine your gear list, go wherever! Get a data book or handbook and begin highlighting the sections you've done.

One word of advice from voice of experience . . . when connecting up with a previously hiked section, begin at the connecting point and hike away from it. Otherwise, if you hike towards it, if you get injured or for whatever reason have to leave the trail early, then you may end up with an 8-mile stretch or so that seems to eat at you and makes logistics a bit more complicated.

[bigcranky]

I would agree that one joy of section hiking is being able to do a non-linear hike. I've certainly been doing that, skipping all over the Southern portion of the trail as I close in on the halfway mark.

But, let me recommend that your first section begin at Springer Mountain in Georgia, and head north for as long as you have time. Trust me on this, there's just something about beginning at the traditional place that will help in the long run.

[bigcranky]

Otherwise, if you hike towards it, if you get injured or for whatever reason have to leave the trail early, then you may end up with an 8-mile stretch or so that seems to eat at you and makes logistics a bit more complicated.

This is also true. I have two small sections in the South that are going to be a major PITA to finish. From Blue Ridge Gap in GA to Deep Gap in NC, and about 20 miles in the Smokies, from some random spot well south of Clingman's to some random spot north of Fontana. The logistics of getting these done means that I'll need to spend 3 or 4 days each knocking out 20 miles of trail. (And to tie in another thread, I won't submit a 2000 miler request until I've finished all of it. Not because I'm some purist kiss-all-the-white-blazes hiker, but because I need to know that I've done the whole thing.)

[Funkmeister]

One to two weeks at a time? Lots of travel and logistical prep from eastern Ohio for not very long on the trail.

That said, I'd suggest the 'close to home' sections can be done in two weeks, but the longer-from-home places, make it a month or so.

As I live in New England and am a section hiker, I've been hiking in New England in two week intervals; when I finally get the time to hike for 5 weeks, I will spend the time and cash to go to Georgia and head north until I run out of time, which will hopefully be near Atkins VA. Next time I have 5 weeks, I'll return to Atkins (or where I left off) and head north till about WV or PA. This reduces my travel costs.

And since I'm a cranky middle-aged guy who likes to hike outside of the thruhiker bubble, I make sure I'm out of phase with the youth in the party-hearty mindset. Your schoolteacher schedule may not allow you to do that, however.

Section Hikers have the best food.

[restlesss]

I suggest doing the GA section First but go North to south ENDING on Springer. You will not suffer up Blood Mountain and just when it seems like it is reallly tough you enter neels Gap and the Outfitter there... THat was my first section and I loved it!!!I also am up for a one week section if you want a partner.

Restlesss

[ScottP]

I'd start with the section closest to home.

[ATSeamstress]

But, let me recommend that your first section begin at Springer Mountain in Georgia, and head north for as long as you have time. Trust me on this, there's just something about beginning at the traditional place that will help in the long run.

This is a good point. When I began, I did not start at Springer because I never intended to be a section hiker. I intended to thru-hike after retiring, but in the meantime I accumulated over 1000 miles and got married, so the plans changed. Once I realized I'd be finishing in sections I was adamant on saving Katahdin for last. I'll never forget the first time I stood on Springer Mountain. I actually went back a few years later and re-hiked that first 30 miles with some thru-hiking friends. Awesome!

[ATSeamstress]

One to two weeks at a time? Lots of travel and logistical prep from eastern Ohio for not very long on the trail.

That said, I'd suggest the 'close to home' sections can be done in two weeks, but the longer-from-home places, make it a month or so.

A good suggestion as well. My experience was that once I had a few trips under my belt I wanted to do longer trips, but that wasn't really possible until I retired. My first month-long trip was unbelievable! My travel expenses weren't much more than they would have been for just a week. Most of my remaining miles are from Killington, VT north, which is a two-day drive from home. So definitely I'll do those miles in one or two trips and using public transportation.

[max patch]

Depends on your objective.

Are you planning on hiking the entire trail this way? If so, then I'd start at Springer and head north, picking up where you ended next. I've known a couple people who have done this; took them about 22ish years to finish.

If not, then you choose between what is closest to home or what you think the "best" sections might be. If its the latter, I'd start with Maine, NH, and the Grayson Highlands.

[trippclark]

Depends on your objective.

Are you planning on hiking the entire trail this way? If so, then I'd start at Springer and head north, picking up where you ended next. I've known a couple people who have done this; took them about 22ish years to finish.

If not, then you choose between what is closest to home or what you think the "best" sections might be. If its the latter, I'd start with Maine, NH, and the Grayson Highlands.

+1 on this recommendation.

When I started section hiking (fall 2000), I started in Georgia, heading north, unclear on any real long term goal. Subsequent hikes continued in a linear fashion northward. After several trips, and as I got closer to Virginia, I started to think about hiking the whole thing. That remains my goal now, some 12 years later after 1300+ miles. I am glad that I decided on a linear south to north hike. Among other things, it is just easier to keep up with how far I have gone and how much remains. I should point out that several of the sections I have chosen to hike "backwards" (north to south) because of terrain, simpler logistics, better parking, etc., but have always stayed with sequential sections.

Of course, if you are pretty sure that you will have no intention of hiking the whole trail, then by all means cherry picking sections would be the way to go.

[Cookerhiker]

I section hiked the whole trail in a very random pattern over many years. I hiked all over the place for different lengths and in different directions. In your situation, I'd pick out the part of the Trail with the most personal appeal for the first section hike.

Also agree it's a good idea to start with a section, perhaps not the closest to your home, but definitely not the farthest either. One consideration would be Virginia's Blue Ridge - Shenandoah NP plus portions of the trail paralleling the Blue Ridge Parkway. If you can stretch your 2 weeks a bit, how about from Front Royal to Daleville? It's about 240 miles and if you need to get off sooner, you can hitch along the Parkway or Skyline Drive. Rides should be plentiful in the summer.

[Berserker]

I section hiked the whole trail in a very random pattern over many years. I hiked all over the place for different lengths and in different directions. In your situation, I'd pick out the part of the Trail with the most personal appeal for the first section hike.
This describes how I've been doing my sections thus far with the one exception that I always go NOBO...I want to complete the AT NOBO in sections. I've hiked Amicalola SP up to Pearisburg, VA in many sections in random order with GSMNP still to be completed, another section in VA near Roanoke, MD, most of NY, most of CT, and most of VT. My next two trips are slated to be in PA and NJ/NY. I personally really enjoy jumping around because it makes each trip more interesting to me. I get out for about 200 miles a year typically consisting of 4 weekend trips and 1 longer trip, so I've found that mixing it up is just more fun. And of course as you can see by my location I am roughly due East of the midpoint of the Southern 2/3 of the AT, so travel to the majority of the AT is not that big of a deal.

One tip I would give you is to keep a detailed log (or spreadsheet if you are tech geek like me) of all your sections completed, and those left to do. This has made planning things out very easy for me.

[Rain Man]

What in your opinion is the best sequence of section.

Start at Springer and hike north to Katahdin. That's my opinion. ;)

But the best AT adage you'll ever read or hear is "Hike your own hike."

Rain:sunMan

.

[Cookerhiker]

This describes how I've been doing my sections thus far with the one exception that I always go NOBO...I want to complete the AT NOBO in sections. I've hiked Amicalola SP up to Pearisburg, VA in many sections in random order with GSMNP still to be completed, another section in VA near Roanoke, MD, most of NY, most of CT, and most of VT. My next two trips are slated to be in PA and NJ/NY. I personally really enjoy jumping around because it makes each trip more interesting to me. I get out for about 200 miles a year typically consisting of 4 weekend trips and 1 longer trip, so I've found that mixing it up is just more fun. And of course as you can see by my location I am roughly due East of the midpoint of the Southern 2/3 of the AT, so travel to the majority of the AT is not that big of a deal.

One tip I would give you is to keep a detailed log (or spreadsheet if you are tech geek like me) of all your sections completed, and those left to do. This has made planning things out very easy for me.


Right on - I began section hiking in '77, keeping manual logs. After getting my first computer, I set up the spreadsheet, entered all the previous sections in it, and updated it each time I completed a section. When I finished in '05, I turned the spreadsheet in to the ATC with 2 sorts - one S-N, the other chronological.