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View Full Version : best 24 hour hike challenge section in northern AT



strollingalong
07-29-2012, 16:54
Hey guys.
I'm nobo at mile 1300 righ now (coming out of Delaware Water Gap). A good friend of mine has been diagnosed with inoperable cancer and a charity macmillan has been really helping him and his family. I'm already hiking so I thought 24-hour-as-many-miles-as-i-can sponsored day would work to get some good sponsorship to raise a little money for this awesome charity.

the problem is, where to do it?! It cant be super soon as im putting myself hrough sme training, getting shoes replaced and need to drum up support and get an online presence,..this will take couple of weeks so I imagine after 1500.

obviously i know there are better parts of the trail to do this but horrid diseases aren't usually concerned about timing. or and mybe thres not one particularly best bit from now on. looking to hit between 40 and 50 miles in 24 hours.

any tips? ideas for the section?

towns at start n end more or less would be good so i can slackpack

joshuasdad
07-29-2012, 18:32
Southern Massachusetts is relatively flat, start somewhere after Jug End (near Great Barrington).

tdoczi
07-29-2012, 19:06
Hey guys.
I'm nobo at mile 1300 righ now (coming out of Delaware Water Gap). A good friend of mine has been diagnosed with inoperable cancer and a charity macmillan has been really helping him and his family. I'm already hiking so I thought 24-hour-as-many-miles-as-i-can sponsored day would work to get some good sponsorship to raise a little money for this awesome charity.

the problem is, where to do it?! It cant be super soon as im putting myself hrough sme training, getting shoes replaced and need to drum up support and get an online presence,..this will take couple of weeks so I imagine after 1500.

obviously i know there are better parts of the trail to do this but horrid diseases aren't usually concerned about timing. or and mybe thres not one particularly best bit from now on. looking to hit between 40 and 50 miles in 24 hours.

any tips? ideas for the section?

towns at start n end more or less would be good so i can slackpack

a good long day challenge up north that i dont think is usually undertaken by thru hikers is a 1 day presi traverse. now, a big part of why thru hikers dont do it is because following the AT the whole way thru the range makes it somewhat longer, but it could maybe still be done.

i suppose if big miles for their own sake is the goal then central MA is the best suggestion, but that doesnt strike me as a very inspiring feat.

Connecticut in a day maybe? i dont think ive ever heard of this being done but from a mileage numbers standpoint it doesnt seem way off.

adamkrz
07-29-2012, 19:36
I think CT. has been done in a day, 53 miles in 24 hours would be tough though.

Papa D
07-29-2012, 20:04
I think CT. has been done in a day, 53 miles in 24 hours would be tough though.

Yep CT in a day would be a great accomplishment - you'd need to wake at 12:10 am and be hiking by 12:30 am but I think you could get it done.

Lando11
07-29-2012, 20:33
Ct challenge is fairly common. i dont know anyone that slacked it last year tho. you can pretty easily bust out long days up until glencliff, nh tho so youll have plenty of options.
just my 2 cents on slack packing, i wouldnt on 24 hr challenge hikes in case you are dead tired and need to sleep for a bit. unless you have no problem hiking well over 30 miles a day at a fast pace with your full pack.

Driver8
07-29-2012, 20:39
If you're gonna do CT-in-a-day, start at Sages Ravine crossing and work south. Bear is the highest ground, you'll get that done quickly and won't have to do the long, slow, climb up to it from 41. Also, you'll do St. Johns Ledges up, rather than down, which is much safer. It'd be quite a feat, but if you slacked it and had support, more doable. Good luck!

Lando11
07-29-2012, 20:40
bennington -manchester center vt 40 miles on the dot and not the hardest terrain. lots of great springs so you dont need to carry much water as well. i did that as an overnight in early july in 30 ish hours, with a solid 10 of that spent sleeping.
if i was still in thru hiking shape with a daypack, 24 hours would be a walk in the park. hell, i think i could have crushed that in closer to 12hrs last summer... now that would be a challenge!

Papa D
07-29-2012, 20:47
If you're gonna do CT-in-a-day, start at Sages Ravine crossing and work south. Bear is the highest ground, you'll get that done quickly and won't have to do the long, slow, climb up to it from 41. Also, you'll do St. Johns Ledges up, rather than down, which is much safer. It'd be quite a feat, but if you slacked it and had support, more doable. Good luck!

Yeah D8 - I agree but the OP is a NOBO hiker - he doesn't want to shuttle north and Sb the section - he'll be fine NOBO - St John Ledges aren't THAT big a deal - 1/2 hour maybe for an in shape hiker.

Papa D
07-29-2012, 20:49
I did CT last year post-holing it in the snow - a whole different gig.

tdoczi
07-29-2012, 21:00
bennington -manchester center vt 40 miles on the dot and not the hardest terrain. lots of great springs so you dont need to carry much water as well. i did that as an overnight in early july in 30 ish hours, with a solid 10 of that spent sleeping.
if i was still in thru hiking shape with a daypack, 24 hours would be a walk in the park. hell, i think i could have crushed that in closer to 12hrs last summer... now that would be a challenge!

again though, much like the central MA suggestion, how does one sell that as an impressive feat used to raise money for charity? seems like a tough sell. the places where thrus traditionally do huge mileage as a challenge theres some reason for doing it in that spot, not just some random place.

Malto
07-29-2012, 21:14
If you must do it.... Do ct and at least make a state out of it. Personally, NJ in a day would be one heck of a challenge to do for charity. Most of the normal challenges such as the four state challenge frankly aren't that challenging especially from a fund raising point of view. If you do ct, come back and post how it was. It's on my list for later this year or next.

Lando11
07-29-2012, 21:33
again though, much like the central MA suggestion, how does one sell that as an impressive feat used to raise money for charity? seems like a tough sell. the places where thrus traditionally do huge mileage as a challenge theres some reason for doing it in that spot, not just some random place.
yeah man, thats why you should go for something insane, like the 100 mile wilderness in 48 hrs or something. doing somethimg in the 40 mile range in 12 hrs would be pretty bad ass too

tdoczi
07-29-2012, 21:58
yeah man, thats why you should go for something insane, like the 100 mile wilderness in 48 hrs or something. doing somethimg in the 40 mile range in 12 hrs would be pretty bad ass too

a year or two ago a group i think did the 100 mile in 24 hours. maybe it was slightly mroe than 24 hours but certainly not 48.i think someone also recently attempted shenandoah in 24 hours and came up just short.

strollingalong
07-30-2012, 09:27
Thanks fr the advice guys. i ike the CT idea howevr the only 2 possibilities in that plan are success or failure. as many aspossiblein 24 hrs is success or success. also i wuld make moemoney as mos would sponsr per mile raher than one lump sum.

will defnitely consider CT and MA for the challemge. thanks :)

ill post somethin about it on here once set up.

strollingalong
07-30-2012, 09:33
and this will not be a tough sell. one of my friends has inoperable cancer and im raising money from friends and family through somthing they wont ever likely do

Blacktalon
08-07-2012, 08:49
I am putting something together for next year for Leukemia, as my Father Passed away october 13 of last year from it, but I am working on a Springer to Damascus trip... I am not planning on a rush job of getting there but what I plan to do is get patches made for hikers to purchase and the proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society... I am planning to do this in July of 2013 and will need to do a couple of practice hikes before I jump into it...
I don't want to make this and endurance race but I do want to raise awareness and help raise funds for cancer research.... I am getting sponsors right now but the need for support along the way is somewhat hard for me to do... My Company Black Talon Events puts on Charity Festivals in NC but this is something I am doing on my own... no not advertising my company just alittle background on me... a few years ago I was the idiot who was going to do the AT in 30 days and during my training I got very sick and well lets just say I am a lot better now but all the wiser....
I have been talking with dieticians ( how ever it is spelt lol) and a few doctors about this and so we are putting together the best diet for the trek... what I am looking for is a couple people to get on board with me on this and enjoy our walk and help raise a little money in the mean time... not trying to steal your thunder because if I could make it up there right now I would be right along side you in your venture and maybe next year when I am done with mine I can make it up and we can do this together along with a few others we manage to grab along the way....
I do hope my post wasn't out of line....

pheldozer
08-07-2012, 09:08
If you end up doing the CT section, I have a pretty big network in the outdoor community and would be happy to spread the word on fundraising and maybe log a few miles with you! Keep us posted. You're doing a great thing, and I'm sorry to hear about your friend.