Section hiking SNP

[jolieparrot]

My husband and I are planning a section hike through SNP the last week of July and the first week of August. We will be hiking for 9 days and this is the longest trip we have ever planned, the longest before being 4 days. We are basically planning to do the whole park and then some (depending on how much distance per day we are able to cover), with the intial plan being to hike from shelter to shelter, then depending on what time it is and how we feel when we get to the shelter whether or not to keep going.

Any advice that you could lend to us that you think would be helpful would be awesome, we are trying to cover anything and everything that might be an issue....

So far I have pretty much realized that resuplying along the trail is going to not be an option, as the little camp stores in SNP don't seem to offer that much. I dread carrying 9 days worth of food with us so if anyone had ideas for that that would be great. We usually do Clif bars for breakfast and the mountain house or backpackers pantry meals for dinners. Grabbing an overpriced hamburger at Loft mountain might also be an option for us too.

I remember one year hiking in SNP in August refilling on water was a problem as a lot of the springs were dried up. Any recemmendations on how much water to carry at a time (I was thinking 1L per person would be good?) would be great by someone who has recently hiked and knows the water situation there.

We have been trying to figure out how to limit pack weight as much as possible, we always end up bringing too much food and too many clothes so what do you guys think would be a good amount of clothing for 9 days in the summer heat? Someone mentioned ditching the pack cover but if it rains I really don't want all my stuff soaking wet. I think because the lows for that season stay in the 60's I may just ditch the sleeping bag and use a liner and thermarest.

Like I said, any and all advice is greatly appreciated, plus any links to forums I may have overlooked that offer similar advice would be great :)

-Kristina

[chiefiepoo]

A series of comments about water here
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?85101-Ready-to-fill-out-permit-app-Questions

Re supply is very abundant in SNP. IMHO. Big Meadows at near the mid point has a store that typically has may prepackaged convenience foods, some fresh vegs, s modest assortment of MH or BP pantry offerings, eggs, prepackaged meats, etc. Wayside snack bars at Loft, and mathews Arm also have small offerings as does Lewis Mountain which probably has the smallest inventory. You can get sit down table service at Big Meadows and SkyLand restaurants near or on the trail. I carried 3 days food , (9 meals B L D ) and with the available sources had plenty of food.

[Creek Dancer]

If you are planning on taking 9 days and you don't want to carry 9 days of food, I suggest that you park your car at one of the campgrounds, like Big Meadows, and plan to stay there for the night midway. You can then plan to resupply out of your car for the second half of your trip. You can also switch out clothing for the second half. And you can get a burger and a shower!

Unless you have two cars, you would of course need to come up with some creative shuttling. I would suggest having someone meet you at the midway point, leave your car at the campground (probably need to get permission), and shuttle to the beginning. When you get to your car, resupply and get a shuttle to the end and hike back to your car, or hike to the end and get a shuttle back to your car. I would suggest hiking to your car. Nothing worse than having to wait for a shuttle when you are tired at the end of a trip.

Have a great time!

[Crash! Bang!]

I don't know where you got the idea that re-supply in SNP is difficult. What is it that you need that the stores don't have?

Maybe you should try hitchhiking into Elkton at Swift Run Gap or Luray at Thornton Gap and see if the grocery stores there have a better selection. I re-supplied at Loft Mt. Campground (or perhaps Lewis Mt.) on my thru and do not recall any trouble getting a re-supply whatsoever.

Buy the AT guidebook and do the research.

[ocourse]

Creek Dancer has good advice. Also, if you are driving through the SNP to place a 2nd vehicle, you can cache or hide a food/clothing supply somewhere along the way. I would just take 2 changes of clothes and rinse whenever I could (or just not worry about it). I think you need a sleeping bag any time of year.

[shelb]

We did SNP last summer and took 9 days to hike from Rock Fish to Front Royal.

DO NOT carry 9 days of food! There is resupply on the way. Just keep 4 days on you at a time. The burger at Big Meadows and breakfast at Skyline ARE NOT overpriced! Enjoy! Lewis Mountain has great shower facilities...

Regarding pack weight (my suggestion for July):
3 shirts: 1 wicking to hike in, 1 wicking to alternate, Optional: 1 cotton to sleep in
2 smart wool sox
underwear: compression shorts ( 2 for guys, 1 for ladies); ladies: 2 wicking undies & 2 wicking bra's
shorts: 2 short or 1 short & 1 zip-off
Raingear: poncho
Cold-gear: 1 fleece

Remember: do not overpack!

[jolieparrot]

Thanks so much for the advice guys! We are hiking with a friend so there will be two cars and parking one at a midway point (like one of the campgrounds) sounds like a great idea. Like all hiking trips, this will be a great learning experience of what I should have/could have done differently. I will take everything you guys have said with careful consideration!

[Creek Dancer]

Shelb has some good advice, but I would not pack cotton for sleeping. The SNP will be very humid that time of year and the cotton will absorb the night air making the cotton damp and cold. Believe me....I learned this the hard way, unfortunately. :( I would suggest wearing something synthetic or wool for sleeping.

[jolieparrot]

Thanks Shelb and CD, I figure I will probably take 2 pair underwear and bra, 2 shirts to alternate, and 1 pair of yoga pants. I have a rain jacket that I will bring that can probably double as a cold weather jacket so the fleece jacket wouldn't be needed. Everything we usually pack is wicking and 0% cotton. Oh and debating on 3 pairs of socks vs 2 since I have unusually sweaty feet :)


I am really hoping the water situation will be okay in late July and similar to what you guys reported in the link chiefiepoo posted.

I think the only reason I really thought resupplying in SNP would be a problem is because I was thinking more along the lines of mailing a drop box at the nearest post office or YMCA, but I really didn't want to spend any time off the trail than possible since we don't get to go as often as we like. I think parking a car halfway is really a genius idea to solve that problem and I feel kind of silly I didn't think of that before. We do have the AT maps and guide for this area and I am doing research bit by bit as time approaches but hearing from all you experienced hikers is the reason I joined this website.


Oh, and I think I will in fact be bringing my sleeping bag!