View Full Version : Late start in early May NOBO?
Hello folks! I'll be graduating from university this coming spring, but unfortunately that means that I won't be able to be on the trail until May 4th at the earliest. So I've been trying to flesh out my options on how to do my thru.
First off, how many people *really* start the trail that late? While I don't want to be in the thick of the bubble, I don't want to be alone either as I want to experience the thru hiker community. From trailjounals and other posts here, it's obvious I won't be entirely alone, but would I significantly miss out on the social aspect?
I'm not considering a SOBO, for the sole reason of wanting to end at Katahdin, not HF or Springer (been there and want to summit Katahdin). So in my mind I have a few options:
1) Start May 4th at Springer, pull very few zeros to make it to Katahdin before Oct. 15th. (While mentally I love the idea of doing it in one pass, I don't want to be rushed and stressed, so I'd love to hear your thoughts on that too).
2) Start NOBO from Damascus (which is where I suppose the bubble would be near) in early May, reach Springer near the pack, and flip back down to SOBO from Damascus to Springer. I know Trail Days is May 17th, so I suppose reaching Damascus on the 4th-5th would be a bit before the bubble? So if that's the case, is there another location further south that would lend itself better to aligning with more hikers?
2.5) Start at Springer, finish GA AT section, flip up to Damascus in time for Trail Days and continue to Katahdin. And fill in missing section after Katahdin.
3) Use all breaks I have between now and graduation (fall break, winter, spring break), to knock out as much of the section between Springer and Damascus and start where ever I'm able to get to. I know a handful hike in the winter season, but I've not done much snow hiking, so I imagine it will be very short daylight hours and low MPD. Not to mention cold...
I think that covers all the options I'm looking toward at the moment, but I'd love to hear more ideas too! Personally, I would love to do the traditional thru, and I'm not thrilled about breaking it up, but I want the social aspect too...so I'm kind of leaning toward 2 and 2.5.
Anyways, sorry for the wall of text, but I appreciate you guys' opinions on what I should do! Thanks!
Time to hike 163 divided by 2180 , AT miles = 13.6 miles a day. Keep aq log of the daily miles you hike. Once you hike 13.6 extra miles you can take a 0 and still be on schedule. You should have no problem doing the trail in 163 days. May all your days on the trail be happy ones.
Seldomseen
09-02-2013, 19:20
Take it easy and flip to Maine in July.
kayak karl
09-02-2013, 21:56
Take it easy and flip to Maine in July.i second that. i hiked SOBO Aug 9th with 3 people that flipped.
MuddyWaters
09-02-2013, 22:21
Plenty of thru hikers still starting in first week of may, but you will be several weeks behind the bubble.
I hiked with a young guy in Ga that time this yr, he was determined to catch up to the bubble.
Dont know what happened to him, but he hit the ground hiking 18-20 mile days, and was going for about 27 miles on his 3rd day.
You can always skip ahead to catch up, then come back and hit the part you missed.
max patch
09-02-2013, 22:27
I think the best, for you, is one of these 2 options:
1. I started May 1 and finished the first week in October, so if you start May 4 you should be able to finish. In any event, when you get to Delaware Water Gap (PA/NJ border) you will know if you have enough time to finish. If not, then flip up to Katahdin and hike SOBO.
2. It appears that you do not want to miss the social part of the trip. Go to Damascus for Trail Days, enjoy the weekend, and then start your hike north from there. Finish up at Katahdin, and then return to Damascus and hike SOBO. Similarly, you could start in Erwin a couple weeks before Trail Days and hike into Damascus arriving just in time for Trail Days.
Can you start that late? Absolutely. Many can do the trail in five months or less. Can you? Who knows. Will you enjoy it? Not even you can answer that prior to the hike. Give it a shot and be flexible with your schedule.
Hi,
I'm also going to be starting late, I don't graduate until May 10th or so. I'm planning on doing the whole trail, NOBO, so hopefully that'll work out for me! Maybe I'll see ya on the trail.
How much experience do you have? And how far do you want to hike every day? A 5 month thru is definitely doable, just hike longer days and minimize your town time. But if you only like hiking 12 miles a day, then this schedule wouldn't work. Keep in mind that the logistics of a flip flop can be a nightmare, especially getting to Baxter State Park. That place is in the middle of nowhere!
Slo-go'en
09-03-2013, 12:27
The advantage of starting early May is you'll have less weather issues to deal with and can travel lighter and possibly quicker then those who started even a few weeks earlier. A lot of people drop out due to bad weather early on and you'd avoid that for the most part.
The advantage of starting early May is you'll have less weather issues to deal with and can travel lighter and possibly quicker then those who started even a few weeks earlier. A lot of people drop out due to bad weather early on and you'd avoid that for the most part.
I disagree with the starting later at Springer being easier......
There were quite a few super hot and humid days this year when I was passing through GA/NC border in late April..... it would only be hotter the closer to June/July you get.
I think the best, for you, is one of these 2 options:
1. I started May 1 and finished the first week in October, so if you start May 4 you should be able to finish. In any event, when you get to Delaware Water Gap (PA/NJ border) you will know if you have enough time to finish. If not, then flip up to Katahdin and hike SOBO.
2. It appears that you do not want to miss the social part of the trip. Go to Damascus for Trail Days, enjoy the weekend, and then start your hike north from there. Finish up at Katahdin, and then return to Damascus and hike SOBO. Similarly, you could start in Erwin a couple weeks before Trail Days and hike into Damascus arriving just in time for Trail Days.
I agree with Max Patch's #2 option, it does sound like you don't want to miss the Social aspect of the AT and if you start early may you would miss the biggest part of it, sure they would be a few starting that late, I think if i was you i would start in Erwin TN hiking NOBO you would be in Damascus for trail days Enjoy that weekend and continue NOBO from their, Summit Katahdin, then come back to Erwin and hike SOBO to Springer or Vice Versa Springer to Erwin, Good Luck and happy hiking.
Slo-go'en
09-03-2013, 15:22
I disagree with the starting later at Springer being easier......
There were quite a few super hot and humid days this year when I was passing through GA/NC border in late April..... it would only be hotter the closer to June/July you get.
Your gonna get that sooner or later anyway, can't be avoided on a thru-hike. Might as well get used to it right away.
capehiker
09-03-2013, 16:31
If being around the bubble is important then option 2.5 is the way to go.
You will have the company of other just-got-out-of-school-and-are-trying-to-get-to-Katahdin-by-early-October hikers just like yourself if you leave from Springer in early May. You may not be as lonely as you think. Five months is doable without pushing yourself too hard or doing without some good times with new friends. Take it slow the first month and soon the daily mileages will go up of their own accord.
My two cents.
Hiker8261
09-03-2013, 22:26
I started May 5th (2009) and enjoyed shelters that were rarely full, motels that always had rooms, and comfortable hiking weather from day 1. My summit day on K was Sept 28th.
Weather will vary from year to year so it is difficult to forecast what to expect. Last year was 5-10 degrees above normal for several weeks of a March & April section hike I did in GA & NC but still got some nights in the teens.
Anything that gets you either finished or South of VT/MA (Greylock) by early to mid October can work but the longer you go the greater the chance you might flirt with the dreaded white stuff.
chris
Wow, thank you everyone for the responses and insight!
I think the best, for you, is one of these 2 options:
1. I started May 1 and finished the first week in October, so if you start May 4 you should be able to finish. In any event, when you get to Delaware Water Gap (PA/NJ border) you will know if you have enough time to finish. If not, then flip up to Katahdin and hike SOBO.
2. It appears that you do not want to miss the social part of the trip. Go to Damascus for Trail Days, enjoy the weekend, and then start your hike north from there. Finish up at Katahdin, and then return to Damascus and hike SOBO. Similarly, you could start in Erwin a couple weeks before Trail Days and hike into Damascus arriving just in time for Trail Days.
Given the time window, at this moment in the planning stages, I think I am leaning toward Max Patch's suggestion: Start on Erwin, TN and head north for Trail Days in Damascus and on to Katahdin, avoiding any stress of making it before Baxter closes. And fill in the missing gap on the way back home. And with that scenario, I think I'll be able to enjoy the social aspect as well.
At the same time I am tempted by the expected vacancies in hostels and shelters starting early May from Springer, but for now, I think I'll move forward with Erwin. I mainly just wanted to run these ideas by all the pros here to make sure I wasn't off the deep end with any of my plans. I think it'll be a blast any way I do it, but I can't wait to graduate to get on the trail!
Plenty of thru hikers still starting in first week of may, but you will be several weeks behind the bubble.
I hiked with a young guy in Ga that time this yr, he was determined to catch up to the bubble.
Dont know what happened to him, but he hit the ground hiking 18-20 mile days, and was going for about 27 miles on his 3rd day.
You can always skip ahead to catch up, then come back and hit the part you missed.
That's pretty impressive, I had considered that idea, but 1) I didn't think I could manage to hit the ground running that fast and 2) I personally didn't want rush things quite that much. It'd be interesting to know when he caught up to the pack.
Again, thanks for all the help and input! I look forward to hopefully running into some of you on the trail and hanging around the forum, seems to be an active and great community!
B Rabbit
11-04-2013, 14:12
Same boat here, last day of exams is the 7th so I'll see Springer on Saturday morning (10th). My crutch is the fact that I only have 106 days so I'm going to have to average 20.5 a day. I've been doing my homework though and its going to be really tough, but hey it's realistic so I read a lot of chatter from the fogies on here who claim and swear by 13 mile/day avg with a grain of salt..
We should start a thread for Summer NOBOS who want to get it in before school is back on in the fall. I'm sure there are a ton of people who want to do a NOBO thru but only have 100 days to do it and yeah it's kind of intimidating but at the same time thats the only possible way for me this summer so when there is a will there is a way right?
I'll be doing the Foothills Trail in Northern SC early this March over sb. 76 miles over 4 days should be a nice little warmup. I'm open for anyone to join, if anyone is interested let me know and we can go from there!
sadlowskiadam
11-04-2013, 16:36
I started late this year on April 28. I'm a bit older (34) and had to hike off 30 pounds of the corporate fat I gained over the past 10 years. That being said, I finished my thru hike on October 12. I took my time and never really felt rushed. In fact, I took at least 1 zero day per week (sometimes 2 at a time). The advantage is that you will avoid most of the bad spring weather in Georgia and late September/early October in Maine is amazing to hike in. There will be plenty of hikers starting the first week of May. You will not be alone, trust me, but you also won't have to worry about the problems associated with hiking in the bubble (shelter space, tent sites, crowded trail, etc.). When I started, I too was worried about finishing by Oct. 15. I was able to make it to Harper's Ferry on July 4, and took my time the second half of the trail. In short, I would not hesitate to start in May. If I ever thru hike again, I wouldn't start before May 1. Just my thoughts.