captjet23
02-23-2013, 14:54
Hi everyone. I am fairly new here. The idea for hiking the AT was just brought up to me recently. Seeing as how I have 7 months with nothing to do, and my father offered to resupply me whenever I need it through mail, I am going to attempt a NoBo through-hike starting in about a month (maybe less).
A bit of background: I have quite a bit of experience with camping and such from my youth, but the real survival skills and such, I'm not so sure about. I am quite fit, if a tad on the thin side. I am quite adaptable, and I think I would do fairly well on The Trail.
The plan: Starting from the southern trailhead, I plan to move fairly fast, as that's just how I do anything. That being said, I will probably take a few more rest days to explore, enjoy scenery, and just relax. I plan on doing yoga most mornings (I am an instructor) and I plan on meditating for at least an hour a day, but I walk quickly enough that it will easily make up for time lost. I would like to "rough it" most of the way. Seeing as how this isn't a whole lot on my wallet, I would like to spend as little money as possible. I am okay with sleeping on the ground or under a lean-to most nights, as I grew up camping like that. I like to enjoy a beer every now and then, but most anything I eat right now is food I make at work or things I cook from the farmers market, so there isn't really any fast food/diner cost. That being said, I don't really know how to pack food for multiple days of hiking. If anyone knows of any good recipe books or anything like that for long hiking trips, that would be excellent. I am an excellent cook, and I am hoping to be able to trade that skill as well as many others for favors and such along the way (I don't know how often that happens, but I love the barter system, and I hope to find others that do as well). I am currently putting together a gear list, but I have no idea what I'm doing in that field, so any help is much appreciated.
The gear: I don't plan on bringing a tent. From what I have read, a sleeping bag and tarp will be quite sufficient. I plan on bringing a water purifier, so if anyone has any small portable options, I seem to be having trouble deciding on what to get. I may bring a home-made stove, but tend to be good at adapting to situations, so if I need to ditch it, I should be fine with materials on hand in most places. I plan on bringing a compass and a map booklet outlining the trail for navigation. I have no idea what kind of boots I am getting yet, but I will be shopping for those next week. The same goes for clothing. I really don't know what type of clothing to bring for this trip, either. If anyone has any suggestions here, they are much needed. Food is, again, tentative. I plan on having a bit of an appetite change, seeing as how I am already going through an appetite crisis (I can only eat all natural food. I have trouble eating processed foods and things with high fructose corn syrup.) I plan on bringing a mycological field guide (if anyone knows of any good ones for just the AT, the smaller the better) as I also enjoy amateur mycology, and there are some delicious mushrooms to cook up in the forests of the Appalachians. Other things like a knife, rope, and other misc items I am trying to get together at the moment. This is all I currently have, and I feel desperately like I am missing a few things. I have a ton more research to do, so it will change, but any help you guys could give would be awesome.
Any questions or comments are most welcome. My main reason for posting this is because I just wanted to talk to other people about it. I am getting to the slightly scared point, and I would like some reassurance that I am on the right path. I also just love listening to other people's stories and would love to hear anything anyone has to offer towards making the trek a little easier.
A bit of background: I have quite a bit of experience with camping and such from my youth, but the real survival skills and such, I'm not so sure about. I am quite fit, if a tad on the thin side. I am quite adaptable, and I think I would do fairly well on The Trail.
The plan: Starting from the southern trailhead, I plan to move fairly fast, as that's just how I do anything. That being said, I will probably take a few more rest days to explore, enjoy scenery, and just relax. I plan on doing yoga most mornings (I am an instructor) and I plan on meditating for at least an hour a day, but I walk quickly enough that it will easily make up for time lost. I would like to "rough it" most of the way. Seeing as how this isn't a whole lot on my wallet, I would like to spend as little money as possible. I am okay with sleeping on the ground or under a lean-to most nights, as I grew up camping like that. I like to enjoy a beer every now and then, but most anything I eat right now is food I make at work or things I cook from the farmers market, so there isn't really any fast food/diner cost. That being said, I don't really know how to pack food for multiple days of hiking. If anyone knows of any good recipe books or anything like that for long hiking trips, that would be excellent. I am an excellent cook, and I am hoping to be able to trade that skill as well as many others for favors and such along the way (I don't know how often that happens, but I love the barter system, and I hope to find others that do as well). I am currently putting together a gear list, but I have no idea what I'm doing in that field, so any help is much appreciated.
The gear: I don't plan on bringing a tent. From what I have read, a sleeping bag and tarp will be quite sufficient. I plan on bringing a water purifier, so if anyone has any small portable options, I seem to be having trouble deciding on what to get. I may bring a home-made stove, but tend to be good at adapting to situations, so if I need to ditch it, I should be fine with materials on hand in most places. I plan on bringing a compass and a map booklet outlining the trail for navigation. I have no idea what kind of boots I am getting yet, but I will be shopping for those next week. The same goes for clothing. I really don't know what type of clothing to bring for this trip, either. If anyone has any suggestions here, they are much needed. Food is, again, tentative. I plan on having a bit of an appetite change, seeing as how I am already going through an appetite crisis (I can only eat all natural food. I have trouble eating processed foods and things with high fructose corn syrup.) I plan on bringing a mycological field guide (if anyone knows of any good ones for just the AT, the smaller the better) as I also enjoy amateur mycology, and there are some delicious mushrooms to cook up in the forests of the Appalachians. Other things like a knife, rope, and other misc items I am trying to get together at the moment. This is all I currently have, and I feel desperately like I am missing a few things. I have a ton more research to do, so it will change, but any help you guys could give would be awesome.
Any questions or comments are most welcome. My main reason for posting this is because I just wanted to talk to other people about it. I am getting to the slightly scared point, and I would like some reassurance that I am on the right path. I also just love listening to other people's stories and would love to hear anything anyone has to offer towards making the trek a little easier.