questions about thru hike...

[skip908]

hello!
new here. tons of good stuff to look at and learn here!
i plan on doing a thru hike next summer(2006) and have just started to research the hike itself. i graduate college in a week and have a job in the grand tetons for the summer/hopefully winter too! but after that next summer im doing a thru hike, could be no better time for me. always wanted to do it since a young boy scout doing section hikes.
i have a couple of questions that have been turning over in my head...

first, could someone recommend a good journel of a thru hiker so i could possibly answers my own questions??

second, food! my biggest concern. buy it in towns, or plan ahead and mail it to post offices/stores near trail. or a combination of the two?

third, weather. when is the right time to start going northbound if you dont want to hit cold temps and snow in the beginning?

ive read some books, but they havent gone into great detail about these topics. i would love to talk to a thru hiker or read a journel or six to learn about these things.

agian, great site, its improving my knowledge already!
thanks
skip(eagerly awaiting next summer)

[Lilred]

are you familiar with trailjournals.com? lots of stuff there.

[skip908]

no i am not, and i will check it out! thanks:)

and i think i found answers to most of my questions by looking further into this site

[Rift Zone]

Hey Skip, :welcome

AT 06? -See you there.


1. http://www.trailjournals.com for sure.

2. I rely on re-supply in town, sending only rare treats to myself.

3. Most AT north-bounders leave Springer Mtn. in the first 2 weeks of April. They take, on average 5.5 months to thru-hike. It snowed on me once in 2001 in the south mountains. I started April 10. It was only a section hike. I only got 1/3 of the AT in '01. I'm going back for a thru. :sun ECT! Yea baby!

[Sly]

Any specific questions can be answered here on Whiteblaze.

The best online journal I've read so far has been The The Hail Came (http://www.skwc.com/exile/Hail-nf.html)

Online logistics courtesy of ALDHA and the Online Companion (http://www.aldha.org/comp_pdf.htm)

[Scaper]

If you don't want to have cold weather at the start of your hike I would start from May 1 - May 15. I started May 5 and had only 1 morning in the south when the temp. dropped below freezing. My next day that the temp. dropped below freezing was Sept.7 at Kingsman Pond Shelter. By that time your body has adjusted to outside temps and it not as bad as having it at the beginning of your hike. I saw flurries 1 day in Maine. On 0ct 8 at Abol bridge it was 70 degrees. Finished Oct 9 on a cool and overcast day. I think its much easier to buy food at stores along the way. I had 1 maildrop for gear changes..

[Bmillonduhat]

If I'm starting out the middle of feb., maybe the 10th in 06 from springer how long would ya say that the cold weather will last?

[saimyoji]

This was recommended to me as a new member of WB and new to backpacking. I've been trying to follow some of the journals on trailjournals.com, but Hail was definately the best journal Ive read so far. I sent George a note re: his journal and hike and received a very nice reply. His tale is interesting and informative with a twist at the end, that I certainly wasn't expecting. Really made a connection with George through his journal. Definately worth a read.

[Peaks]

If I'm starting out the middle of feb., maybe the 10th in 06 from springer how long would ya say that the cold weather will last?

Until you get past Mt. Rodgers.

[Ender]

I second the "Then The Hail Came" recomendation. Also, check out Nocona's journals on trailjournals.com. She's a personal friend, and a hell of a writer. Totally captures the little details that others miss.

[yogi clyde]

Reading Trail Journals helped me prepare for my attemped 04 thru hike.

I found reading the journals of those who got off the trail to be very informative. :-?