After College: SOBO or NOBO

[Spot15951]

Hiking after graduation:

I graduate college on May 22nd and am planning on hiking the trail, probably starting a few days after that. SOBO is the obvious choice, but I worry that it won't be very social since so few go that direction.

Would it be possible going NOBO? I could start two weeks during Spring Break and a week during Easter, then hop in where I dropped off after graduation. I've done a fair bit of extended backpacking, obviously nothing like this, and wouldn't mind starting strong till I catch up to the crowds, but don't want to be powering through the whole thing. So... advice? And thanks in advance!

Peace,
Sam

[Hosaphone]

Lots of good discussion here: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?90967-100-day-thru-hike

[jj2044]

yea, there are not as many going SOBO, but you should be able to find people. but you will meet up with ALOT of the NOBO's pretty quick. the 2nd half would be the no one around part but even then you will have snp, and the smokies, there are alwasy people in there hiking. As for the the spring break and easter, that would help, are you planning on doing sections near you ? or going to springer, then back home ? and then come back again for easter ? thats alot of miles and money. Im assuming you live in boston like your profiles says.

[SonrisaJo]

It is for sure possible to go NOBO, especially if you can hike a few weeks earlier in the year. You'd have to move a bit faster than I'd like, but I am slow. :)
From a SOBO perspective, I never lacked for company. There are fewer SOBOs, but we stuck together when we felt like it. There are enough SOBOs to create lifelong friendships and have really great adventures together, assuming you start at a normal-ish time for southbounders. Unless your goal is to find a huge party crowd, I wouldn't let the fear of solitude dissuade you from hiking south. It was the best hiking choice I ever made. :)

[Papa D]

You will find plenty of other Southbounders to hang out with an "be social" with. It is much more like the northbound "crowds" of 20 years ago when keeping up with one another in shelter registers was more than just a game and when you were really, really excited to catch up with someone or have them catch you. It is not the rolling throng of people hiking Northbound in April - - now known as "the pack" which (at least in the beginning) is indeed a rolling party. Problems with being in the "northbound pack" include shelter over-crowding and noise, hostels packed to capacity, and just being one of many. Lots of new northbounders are totally new to backpacking and many drop out pretty quickly. I haven't looked at statistics lately, but I'm pretty sure that a higher percentage of SOBO aspirants complete their hike (somehow, it's a little more purposeful crowd, IMO)

The trail and it's services are indeed geared toward northbounders because there are so many but southbound is perfectly valid and you will make plenty of friends too. SOBOS also get to hang out with the more successful NOBOS as "pack" now distilled to the folks that will probably make it the whole way passes you in New England.

I will say that it might be important to you to finish a SOBO with a few others because the end of a SOBO trek can be a little melancholy as compared to a Northbound Trip but it can be every bit or more rewarding.

[max patch]

Since the social aspect is an important consideration consider starting at Damascus and then when you reach K return to Damascus and SOBO to Springer. Trail Days is May 18-19 so the trail is be chock full of people when you start.

[Darwin13]

I too am graduating on may 22 and for a long time I toyed with the idea of starting right after college. From my experience on the trail I have learned two things. The people are one of the main reasons I hike the AT and never trust southbounders. So I pushed my hike back until next march after the graduation so I could go north.

[jj2044]

Do it Darwin, start from springer right after school end, and get as far as you can, if you are not near Big K by start of oct, shuttle up, do katahdin and then walk south the rest of the way.

[snowblind]

.... ..... and never trust southbounders. .....

Funny. Being a SOBO, I'm almost the complete opposite!

Spot15951, unless you plan on hiking into November and December, there will be plenty of socializing going south. Keep in mind though, word was this past year, that the black flies were really bad during June in Maine. I started from K late July, and didn't see any black flies till NH in Mid-August.

[Spot15951]

Truly helpful, I really appreciate the help everyone!!!

The solitude of SOBO is exactly what was dissuading me, but it sounds unfounded? I am not looking for the huge party crowds but just the chance to talk to incredible people and avoid loneliness on the trail.

Two Questions about SOBO:


I will say that it might be important to you to finish a SOBO with a few others because the end of a SOBO trek can be a little melancholy as compared to a Northbound Trip but it can be every bit or more rewarding.
1. Why is this?

2. I'd start June 1st on SOBO since I need to get back sooner for work... how concerning are the flies that everyone bemoans?

THANKS!!!

[Blissful]

There is nothing "melancholy" about finishing a whole trail, no matter where it is! As for bugs, in May yes you'll likely have issues, just tent, wear deet and take a head net.

[Lobster2012]

Go NOBO, Maine to Georgia.

Save the best for last and finish on majestic Katahdin not some unknown and unremarkable mountain in Georgia.
The only downside is you'll miss out on most trail magic and hiker feeds, but that's not why anyone hikes the trail.
I started May 19th and finished on September 9th (3 months and 21 days). You'll be pretty much alone in Georgia and North Carolina. There will be people at most shelters, but most of them will end up quitting or flip flopping so it would be unwise to compromise your pace for them. Most of the people you catch up to will be going too slow for you until you get to Pennsylvania. There you'll find a few serious (I mean in good fitness) hikers who just took time off the trail and you could fall in with them (but it likely will just be one or two, not a crowd).
Weather wise this is a nice option since you'll avoid the snow in the Smokies and the flies and bogs of Maine. The only weather downside is that you'll be in for some extremely hot days in Virginia. Pennsylvania is never as dry as the pessimists will try to make you think.

My Northbound hike was pretty solitary since I rarely saw the same person twice, though I did make a friend in Virginia who I hiked off and on with (usually just arriving to the same shelter at night) to Katahdin and from there to New Brunswick on the IAT. By the time you get to the Whites you'll have all the socialization you want. I don't see anyone would want to hike in the crowds since it would be so hard to find a nice place to pitch your tent at campsites.

Also, don't get caught up with the Oct 15th date. You can hike Katahdin after that if you just do it wisely. I've hiked it in December and I met plenty of thru hikers who summited it after Oct 15th.

[prain4u]

Hiking after graduation:

I graduate college on May 22nd and am planning on hiking the trail, probably starting a few days after that. SOBO is the obvious choice, but I worry that it won't be very social since so few go that direction.

Would it be possible going NOBO? I could start two weeks during Spring Break and a week during Easter, then hop in where I dropped off after graduation. I've done a fair bit of extended backpacking, obviously nothing like this, and wouldn't mind starting strong till I catch up to the crowds, but don't want to be powering through the whole thing. So... advice? And thanks in advance!

Peace,
Sam

Either direction is "do able".

You would be pushing things a bit starting a NOBO that late (almost June 1st). You would probably spend the whole trip with the sub-conscious "pressure" of getting to Katahdin by October 15th hanging over your head. (Roughly 137 hiking days June 1 to October 15). Who needs that kind of pressure?

You could do a flip-flop. That would be just a little more logistics to work out (getting a shuttle to Katahdin). You would then probably conclude your big hike at some obscure trailhead or remote road crossing in someplace like New Jersey--not at Springer or Katahdin.

There is a good possibility that (starting that late) you might actually encounter less thru hikers on a NOBO than on a SOBO.

Depending upon the weather, you might not get very much mileage hiked on your Spring Break and Easter Break to make that extra effort and expense worthwhile. There is a good possibility that you would spend a good portion of each of those hikes getting to/from the trail and trying to acclimate your body to hiking. (i.e. "getting your trail legs"). You would have (significant?) expenses getting to/from the trail. If there are any significant Spring snow storms--it would be hard to predict how far you would hike on those small hikes. That COULD add some minor complications to arranging the details of your journey back to school.

Either direction is possible. SOBO (without the Spring break and Easter hikes) seems to be a less expensive and more relaxed way to go. NOBO seems to be a more expensive, more "complicated", more "pressured" type of hike--especially if you add two trips from school to the trail at Spring Break and Easter.

[stranger]

Your dates are not ideal for either direction, leaving Springer 22 May is quite late, leaving Katahdin 1 June is very early. But if you were playing by the rules you would be at work and not hiking, so think about what YOU want ot do.

What I would do is start from Hot Springs in late May, be in the tail of the nobo thru-hiker crowd, complete the trail, then flip back to Hot Springs and go south. Leaving Springer in late May means little company and perhaps some hot days, leaving Katahin in early June means alot of rain, mud and insects.

As for those who insist on finishing on Katahdin, it's all relative. If you grew up in the mid-atlantic, sure Katahdin is incredible. If you grew up in Lake Placid, then Mt. Baker is incredible, well until you see the Southern Alps of New Zealand or the Andes for the first time...it's all relative. Do what you want to do.

If it were me I would want to give myself the best shot of having a good hike and finishing, and on the AT that usually means having a social hike to some degree, leaving Springer late May or Katahdin early June means less than ideal conditions, and fewer people. For most people, this would be a disadvantage.

[Tree Nerd]

I am graduating in early May, my lease and job are done late June. I would like to depart from Katahdin July1st or soon after. After looking thru the 2013 SOBO register, it appears that there are a lot of other college graduates hiking SOBO. One possible thing to look at if going SOBO is a bunch of people around your age....IDK, age doesn't really matter but its something in common with others. Thats the way I'm looking at it.

[slarosa23]

I am doing a late May nobo hike, also waiting for graduation. I somewhat agree that there will be the "subconscious pressure" to make it on time. But for me I am just thinking of it as an added challenge to put in long days. No doubt it will intensify the experience, but not in a negative way necessarily. (hey we're young)

[KokomoWes]

I've been planning an early may nobo (my graduation is earlier than most), but the more I hear about the typical sobo group the more I want to switch. At the same time katahdin sounds like a much more exciting finish... good thing I still have some time to decide :)

[RockDoc]

If you are a conformist, you have to go NOBO.
If you are a non conformist, SOBO.
If you are a free spirit, do whatever you want. ==== choose this one!!!

[volleypc]

I think many plan to start early so they can finish in Aug or early Sept. If you can plan your hike where you finish Oct 5-10th you will catch some amazing fall colors. If you hike your spring break and a few weekends are able to get some miles behind you before you start May 22nd than this is very doable. If at some point you feel like you aren't going to make it then just jump ahead and work back. The other thing about jumping ahead is you will probably run into people you started hiking with on your spring break.