How much food to take for the start?

[Tree Nerd]

So I finally got my AT Guide and started skimming thru it. I have one question in particular; how much food to take on my first section? From the big K, its either 15 miles to millinocket, ME or 114.5 miles to Monson, ME. I figure I would go to Monson before i resupplied and I figure it would take me 10-11 days to get there if I take it easy. So 10-11 days worth of food?

Do you guys plan to resupply in Monson? How long do you figure it would take you and how much food are you taking?

[Wise Old Owl]

http://www.amazon.com/The-Appalachian-Trail-Food-Planner/dp/1889386618

Here is one helpful cheap book - I have it, its a good planner and well written... I loose ten pounds every time I hike the AT.. And I am only doing sections.

[Tree Nerd]

You guys think I would be able to make it to Delaware Water Gap, PA in less than 60 days? Its almost 900 miles, if I average 15 miles a day I would make it 60 days. I plan to hike much faster then that but my experience is mainly in the hills of KY and SC which I assume are like aunt hills to the AT so IDK.

When do you guys plan to get to DWG, PA?

[melaniebk]

Hey, TN! A couple of my younger friends that are starting July 1st are planning to do it in 8 days. Looking at the elevation profiles it appears there could be several days where (easy-ish) high miles are possible. However, we're carrying food for 10-12 days, so we don't have to push it if we're just not feeling it.

[map man]

It's not unusual for SOBOs to take 8 to 10 days to go from Baxter State Park to Monson and 8 to 10 days of food can seem like an intimidating amount. There are some things to keep in mind to make this less intimidating.

First, hikers in their first week often find they are not very hungry so you can get by taking less food per day than you will later down the trail. Second, White House Landing, part way through the 100 mile wilderness, while reputedly not a great place to resupply, is a place where you could get dinner, breakfast, and enough food with a short shelf life to get you through your first day after you leave. That potentially saves you 1.5 days of food you don't have to start with. Third, the 100 mile wilderness is not as inaccessible as it is often made out to be. I read about some NOBOs over the years who arrange for a resupply part way through, doing this by arranging for one of the services in Monson to leave a resupply in an animal proof container. You would want to call some of the hiker services in Monson to find out if this really is an option.

[Flachenmann]

Using the AT guide I planned for 9 nights from Katahdin to Monson, so that's how much food I'm packing for, minus a lunch that I plan getting from White House landing. The longest day I have planned is a 16 mile day and that's the last day going into Monson.

As for DWG, I estimated reaching there around 70 days.

[SouthMark]

When I did Baxter to Monson it took me 9 nights but I only carried 4 days of food to start. I stopped at Abol Bridge store and had some hot dogs, snacks and sodas. I stopped at WHL for the night and had 1 lunch, dinner meal, and a breakfast there. I resupplied there for the next 5 days to.

[lumberjaime]

I'm planning to make it to Monson at the end of day 8, but I have a couple of big days planned. Pushing to Daicey Pond on the first night, and a 22 mile day on my 22nd birthday!

[Flachenmann]

Hopefully I'll be celebrating my birthday at a brewpup in caratunk :)

[AngryGerman]

Take advantage of Abol Bridge (lunch, snacks etc) and WHL (1lb burgers, 14 inch home made pizzas etc.) with resupply available at both. Also get in touch with Ole Man' from the AT lodge for more info on a food drop. It took me seven laaaazzzy days to get to Monson and I carried four days worth of food while also scoring food from fellow hikers who just weren't that hungry and carrying way too much!

[melaniebk]

Have there been any problems with resupply drops not arriving, or being stolen or tampered with?

[AngryGerman]

Have there been any problems with resupply drops not arriving, or being stolen or tampered with?

As per journal entries that I read before I started, there have been issues with people not being able to locate their food drop but... I did not have an issue. I arranged for a food drop at Podawajo Rd (I think that is the spelling) and left it all for the NOBO's as trail magic. I carried two days of food in, resupplied at WHL, expensve but worth it and four days later I was sitting at the Lake Shore House enjoying beer, cola, and a plethora of food. I am not about carrying a ton of food if not nessecary and I usually wont carry more then one liter of water unless there is no water for miles, i.e. that's how it was for Chairback on to the Little Wilson for me. Cloud Pond is usually not a good place to get water and or camp due to the long walk down in there, .8 miles if I'm not mistaken, and the frenchies like to **** it up a bit!

Again let me know if all this helps you out and if you have any questions, just ask!

[Tree Nerd]

Thanks for the input guys. I plan on doing some major miles in the start if my knee can hold up to it, but I'll continue to plan for 10 days and pack it all with me.