Section Hike

[BZ853]

I have been thinking about doing the AT for some years now and will be graduating next may so I figured after I graduate would be a great time to do from Georgia to DC. I have never done any hiking trips of more than a day trip (12 miles in 7 hours). So any and all advice is welcome and appreciated.

Several things I have been thinking about hunting to supplement my food and buy the rest along the way. Also I love my Chacos and would like to go in them if possible. My only pack is a camelbak with a 2L bladder and 150 in3(I think) pouch. I use it to bring a light jacket and a pull apart fishing pole.

I would like to do some weekend hikes this summer. Where within 3 hours of south atlanta that are good training hikes for the section Im doing?

[The Ace]

Are you saying that you are in South Atlanta and want to drive 3 hours to a location where you can do a weekend hike? If so, just drive 2 1/2 hours north to Neel’s Gap and walk north on the AT a day and then walk back. Next weekend do the same, just go south. Or drive to Amicalola Falls State Park and go up the AT access trail, spend the night and hike back. Or if you leave South Atlanta on a Friday afternoon, you can spend two nights on the trail. Daylight in the summer lasts a long time. If you want to do a shuttle, then go from Neel’s Gap to Unicoi. Or go from Springer to Woody Gap. The point is you don’t need training elsewhere when you can do an actual weekend hike on the AT. I lived in Atlanta for many years while raising my four children; we walked all over North Georgia on weekends. Buy a low cost backpack or rent one from REI along with other rental equipment. A summer sleeping bag is inexpensive. And get a lightweight cheap rain jacket like Driducks, just to protect your upper body from sustained cold mountain rain. Experience is the teacher; you will figure out what you need in after a few weekend trips. Reading gear lists on WB will help. But if you want to hike, hike don’t fish. You're not going to sustain yourself from GA to DC on the AT by fishing and hunting.

[MuddyWaters]

Several things I have been thinking about hunting to supplement my food and buy the rest along the way.

Think about buying food. Hunting it is not an option.
Your not going to find many fishing opportunities either.
Think of the AT like a walk in a national park, thats exactly what it is.
Its not a wilderness survival experience.

[Malto]

I have been thinking about doing the AT for some years now and will be graduating next may so I figured after I graduate would be a great time to do from Georgia to DC. I have never done any hiking trips of more than a day trip (12 miles in 7 hours). So any and all advice is welcome and appreciated. (Do overnight trips in Ga, or on the chatooga on the Sc/ga border)

Several things I have been thinking about hunting (no way!) to supplement my food and buy the rest along the way. Also I love my Chacos and would like to go in them if possible. (Good luck!) My only pack is a camelbak with a 2L bladder and 150 in3(I think) pouch.(you need real multiday gear, that is day hiking stuff) I use it to bring a light jacket and a pull apart fishing pole. (Few places to fish)

I would like to do some weekend hikes this summer. Where within 3 hours of south atlanta that are good training hikes for the section Im doing? (yes, the at in Ga)

response in bold above, good luck.

[BZ853]

Thanks for the advice. I do a lot of camping trips some a week long and only bring matches, a rifle and knife, and a hammock. I really dont wanna go to far in a day would rather walk for 6 hours or so then find some food and a place to camp. I wasnt planning on bringing a fishing pole just a wide net and a hand rifle to forage with. Has anyone ever done that much hiking in sandals? I dont have a problem buying trail shoes but love how chacos feel.

[Coosa]

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiking/hiking-basics/regulations-permits

IS HUNTING PERMITTED ON THE A.T.?
Hunting is allowed—as long as the hunter observes state laws and regulations—along more than half of the Appalachian Trail's length, including some part of all fourteen Trail states. During hunting season, make sure you can be seen and heard. Wear a blaze-orange cap and vest and/or backpack cover at all times, including in and around camp.

CAN I CARRY A GUN?
ATC strongly discourages hikers from carrying firearms: Most experienced A.T. hikers consider them impractical and unnecessary, and encountering an armed stranger makes many people uncomfortable. To legally carry a firearm on the Trail, you must meet the permitting standards of the state and locality in which you are hiking. On national-park lands, discharging a firearm is illegal, even if you have a legal permit to carry it. Extra efforts may be required to secure weapons in towns to abide by local ordinances and private-property owners' rules. (Firearm rules vary by land ownership. The Trail crosses 14 states and more than 90 state, federal, or local agency lands, with each having its own rules and regulations; you are responsible for knowing and following those rules.) In areas of the Trail corridor where hunting is legal, hikers may see hunters carrying firearms. Hunters must abide by their own set of firearm rules, somewhat separate from firearm-carry rules but also varying by state and county.

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiking/hiking-basics/health-safety
HUNTING
Hunting regulations vary widely along the Appalachian Trail. Although the A.T. is a unit of the National Park system, it traverses many different types of public lands—including parks, forests, refuges, and game lands.

Hunting—with the proper state licenses—is PERMITTED along approximately 1,250 miles of the Appalachian Trail through national forest lands, national recreation areas, and on state forests and game lands. Although a concerted effort is made to identify land types on official A.T. maps, it is seldom easy while on the footpath in several states to determine which jurisdiction you are walking through, except at boundary signs. Both hikers and hunters are advised to “know before you go.”

Hunting is PROHIBITED along approximately 900 miles of the Trail through national parks (like Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains), most state parks, and on lands acquired by the National Park Service (NPS) exclusively for the Appalachian Trail and still under NPS administration—indicated on the outside edges by A.T. corridor boundary signs. Hikers should be aware that the protected corridor is often narrow, averaging about 1,000 feet wide.

Even in areas where hunting is prohibited, hunters on adjacent lands may not know that they are near the Trail. Hunters may inadvertently cross onto Trail lands or unknowingly fire toward the Trail.

Avoid hunter interference—Hikers should be aware that interference or harassment of hunters in the lawful pursuit of game is a violation of law in all fourteen A.T. states. This includes interference or tampering with dogs used in the pursuit of game where allowed by law. Sportsmen are our partners in conservation—encounters between hunters and hikers are opportunities to raise the awareness of both groups.

Avoid deer firearm season—Avoid areas where hunting is legal during deer firearm season, which varies by state, but typically occurs during parts of the months of October, November, December, and January. During those months, you may want to hike in one of the five national parks crossed by the A.T. (note that hunting is allowed in Delaware Gap National Recreation Area, another NPS unit):
C & O Canal National Historical Park, Maryland
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina.

HUNTERS: TAKE PRECAUTIONS TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF OTHERS AND YOURSELVES

Hunters: Follow all hunting regulations—See our 2012-2013 Hunting Season Guide by State. While some of the Appalachian Trail is open to hunting, in other areas it is strictly prohibited. Each of more than 90 land-management agencies has its own regulations, which contributes to the complexity of determining where one can lawfully hunt. It is the responsibility of the sportsman to know the landownership and boundaries for the area where he or she wishes to hunt and to contact the landowner regarding the rules and regulations governing hunting at that location.
The act of hunting and the discharging of weapons remains prohibited on National Park Service Lands managed by the Appalachian Trail Park Office.

The use of off-road vehicles, including ATVs, is prohibited along the entire length of the Appalachian Trail.

Hunters: Be sure of your target—On National Forest lands in 2002 and 2003, two Appalachian Trail hikers were shot by hunters who thought they were shooting at deer. Both hikers suffered serious injuries; both hunters were prosecuted.

Hunters: Know where the Trail is—Appalachian Trail maps can be purchased from ATC and at local outfitters. Contact the nearest ATC office for more information. Those hunting in Pennsylvania, where land ownership boundaries can be especially confusing, are encouraged to contact the mid-Atlantic office for assistance in determining where hunting is permitted. The Trail is often located on the height of the land.

Hunting is prohibited on lands acquired by the National Park Service for the Trail—those exterior corridor boundaries are marked by yellow blazes and US Boundary signs. Do not shoot toward the Trail or the Trail corridor. Be aware that, although the protected NPS Trail corridor is marked with yellow blazes and U.S. Boundary signs, corridor-boundary monitors cannot post (and maintain) signs every year along all of the more than 1,200 miles of boundary where hunters might cross onto A.T. lands.

The Trail itself is marked with the familiar 2" x 6" vertical white rectangles painted on trees. Less familiar are the boundary blazes and signs on NPS corridor lands. Here, white 3" x 12" US Boundary signs are placed facing out from the boundary with A.T. lands behind them. Trees on (or within a few feet of) the boundary are blazed with irregular yellow paint marks. About 75 miles of the boundary of Pennsylvania State Game lands are marked with white paint, occasionally causing confusion with white A.T. blazes.

Hunters: Be alert for hikers and make your presence known to them—Many hikers are from urban or suburban areas and are unfamiliar with hunting. Hikers may not be aware of hunting seasons, or that they are in or near areas open to hunting. Hikers may not be wearing blaze orange. Please use appropriate caution.

[fredmugs]

Search the threads for Chacos. Others have through hiked in them. I have some but wouldn't hike the AT in them.

[BZ853]

I have read everything on the ATC site. I was more questioning how feasible hunting and using chacos are.

[bigcranky]

I've hiked a lot in May and June in the Southern Appalachians, including solo "stealth" camping off the trail, and I've never seen enough game to keep me alive. The occasional bear or deer, of course - though they will be out of season and kinda large for a simple trail dinner. Small birds, but most are protected and the few game birds are also out of season. Plenty of squirrels, but, pardon me, ick. Not a fan of bushy tailed tree rats for supper.

I suppose you could shoot and eat all the mice in the shelters.

Also, having a rifle slung over your shoulder will substantively affect your interactions with other hikers.

[bigcranky]

Oh, and I met several thru-hikers in central VA last summer wearing Chacos, and they loved 'em.

[BZ853]

Thanks Big Cranky, I guess that rules out hunting. And thanks for letting me know about the chacos. I love mine and unless im wearing pants im wearing chacos.