Planning section hike

[jalbright79]

Me and a friend are planning on doing section hike GA to NC which I believe is about 89 miles. We will have about 8 days available, will this be enough time to complete this?. If not where in your opinion could we end up. We will be shooting for about 10 miles a day.

[Sherpa Master]

I just did Springer to Unicoi Gap (53 miles) with my three sons age 10 to 13 in 6 days. If you are in decent shape and stay away from the towns and hostels you can make it. We were hitting 10 and 11 miles a day the last couple of days and in camp by 3:00 each day. If you are out of shape and carrying heavy packs you might be pushing it on 8 to 10 a day.

[bigcranky]

Sure, 8 days is reasonable. However, understand that you have to either (1) stop a few miles early at Dick's Creek Gap in GA, or (2) hike an additional 10 or 15 miles into NC to finish the hike. The border is not near a road crossing. Hiking from Springer to DCG in 8 days is a lovely hike, and makes for a fairly easy shuttle, too.

You can resupply in the middle of the hike without leaving the Trail, at mile 30 at Neels Gap. Either buy what they have or send yourself a mail drop with food. That'll help keep your pack weight down.

Good luck.

[Chris10]

SM,
Am planning a section hike next summer with my 14 yr. old son,and was wondering where you camped during your hike ( all in shelters?, or did you camp in between?) is 10 miles a day reasonable for a 14 yr old, heading from Springer up to NOC? Any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks

[shelb]

SM,
Am planning a section hike next summer with my 14 yr. old son,and was wondering where you camped during your hike ( all in shelters?, or did you camp in between?) is 10 miles a day reasonable for a 14 yr old, heading from Springer up to NOC? Any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks

I am not the OP, but I thought I would let you know about my experience hiking with my boys. The first hike we did (boys were 10 & 12) was Maryland from Harpers Ferry to PenMar. I was not comfortable staying in shelters, so we tented it the whole time. One night of the last nights we spent time at the nearby shelter talking to other hikers, and my boys later stated that they wished we had stayed in the shelter and met more people.

Last year, my youngest (then 12 years old) and I hiked the SNP over 10 days, staying in shelters all but one night. It was so cool to meet and talk to different people - although we did have an evening where the other shelter occupant was asleep at 5pm, and didn't want to talk (which we respected and remained quiet).

Basically, what I am saying is that staying in shelters (or near them) is part of the experience. My boys are both pretty easy going and low-key, so I don't worry about them annoying other people and stressing them out too much. Both boys can handle being quiet and do not need entertainment or feel the need to talk all the time. Plus, we were ready to tent it if there the shelter had Thru-hikers in it (even though we hike in areas out of "season")

[Chris10]

Shelb,
thanks for the input. Plan on packing a tent, but will stay in the AT shelters as much as possible. We'll be hiking in late June, so tent camping might be the way to go just to keep the bugs off.
I think my 14 will do fine. He's pretty excited about the trip already, and I'll let him set the pace. Any advice, or anything special I should bring for a teen on the trail?

Thanks!

[Kerosene]

Here's the schedule that I used for my early April 2004 hike from Amicalola to Standing Indian:

Amicalola Lodge to Hickory Flatts Cemetery (12 miles)
Summit of Ramshead Mountain (dry camp; 12 miles)
Neels Gap hostel (12 miles)
Blue Mountain Shelter (18 miles, with a 5 mile section along an old railroad bed that was very easy)
Dicks Creek Gap (18 miles, staying at Hiawassee Holiday Inn; this was a long day for my partner (7am-9pm), who hates climbing, but I finished at 4pm)
Standing Indian (14 miles) and then another 4 miles down Kimsey Creek Trail to the Standing Indian Campground