Section hiking advice

[Kia Kaha]

I am a very experienced hiker/backpacker and am going to start section hiking this spring. I am a HS teacher so my plan is 200-300 miles per year. I live in OH and was planning on starting at Springer and working my way up over ~7-10 years. My other thought was to start at Harpers Ferry and head south as it would be a closer drive, although, of course eventually I would have to drive/fly at some point. Just wanted to get some ideas and thoughts from the experienced on here. I am pretty open to anything. I have spring break week in April and 3 weeks in the summer to play with. Thanks-Lance

[daddytwosticks]

Who says you have to do it in any order? Just pick a section, perhaps dictated by the time of year around your work schedule and go hike it. Just get out there and enjoy the AT and it's community. Good luck and have fun. :)

[Kia Kaha]

That is the way I am leaning, Harpers ferry would be close and close to where I grew up in WV, so it makes more sense to start, but the systamatic person that I am thinks I need to start at point "A" and work my way in one direction. Getting out there is the main goal.

[bfayer]

Do you want the AT social experience? Or do you prefer more solitude on your hikes?

Where and when you start and stop makes a huge difference on the number and type of hikers you will interact with.

That should be part of your planning process. It really does change the whole experience of a hike.




Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[Seatbelt]

I am a very experienced hiker/backpacker and am going to start section hiking this spring. I am a HS teacher so my plan is 200-300 miles per year. I live in OH and was planning on starting at Springer and working my way up over ~7-10 years. My other thought was to start at Harpers Ferry and head south as it would be a closer drive, although, of course eventually I would have to drive/fly at some point. Just wanted to get some ideas and thoughts from the experienced on here. I am pretty open to anything. I have spring break week in April and 3 weeks in the summer to play with. Thanks-Lance
Don't know if this will help or not but I started 3 years ago doing the same thing and am now up to the Grayson Highlands in VA. There is something about starting at the end of the trail that appealed to me and then as I made my way northward, I am happy with that decision. The trail seems to grow on a person the farther you go. JMO Seatbelt.

[Jeff Kindy]

I too am planning on starting a section hike of the AT. I am starting at Springer for two reasons. 1 - I want to hike the trail from end to end. Since I can't take the time off of work to do the whole trail at once, at least I will be able to experience it as a thru hike. 2 - my son is starting his thru hike. I will be walking the first week or two with him, then he will be on his own.

[bigcranky]

I'm a section hiker who has done almost all the South in many random sections, from long weekends to multi-week hikes. At this point I really wish I had done them in order, starting at Springer. Partly this is a manifestation of my OCD :) but mostly it's because the logistics would be much easier. Right now I have several small sections that I need to fill-in, and they turn out to be a real PITA. ~15 miles on the GA/NC border (since I ended at Dick's Creek one hike, and ended at Deep Gap on another.) 30 miles or so in the Smokies. 50 miles in central VA, and not with any easy or obvious shuttle.

Since you'll be on the trail for a month each summer, worrying about driving time is misplaced, I think. Yes, Harper's Ferry is closer, but it's going to be a full day of travel to HF, or a full day of travel to Springer -- it's not like you'll get any hiking time in on day one either way. So if it were me doing it over again from scratch, I'd start at Amicalola Falls State Park and start hiking north. Finish wherever you like*, then come back the next year and keep going. It's an excellent plan. For next summer, plan to fly to Atlanta and have The Hiker Hostel pick you up, give you a place to stay, and drop you the next morning at the park.

Good luck and happy trails!


*keep in mind the logistics of getting back to your ending/starting point the next year. Choosing a major road crossing or town is probably a good idea, ya know?

[mikec]

I've sectioned everything except 99% of Maine and 25% of NH. It gets more difficult as you go north. If I could do it over again, I would knock out ME and NH first and work my way south. After 18 years of sectioning I now am older and have the toughest part left.

[Kerosene]

I've sectioned everything except 99% of Maine and 25% of NH. It gets more difficult as you go north. If I could do it over again, I would knock out ME and NH first and work my way south. After 18 years of sectioning I now am older and have the toughest part left.Similar to me; I've sectioned everything up to Rangeley, Maine over many decades. I wish I had covered Maine when my knees were younger.

I agree with Bigcranky about the logistical challenges of filling in section gaps. I had a handful of short ones from hikes in the '70s that I finally filled in about 10 years ago. Now I only start where I finished, just in case I have to get off the trail unexpectedly.

If you're starting in April then I'd head down to Georgia. If you're starting in June then I'd start in Harpers Ferry and hike south for your first section.

[Kia Kaha]

I appreciate all the advice, insight, and personal perspective. I am not married to any idea just yet, starting at Springer has been the thought since the begining, but I can see a lot of reasons to it differently. The one thing is that I will have time to do big chuncks since I have summers off and spring breaks. I am 41, so I know all about knees, lathough I am stillgood there and carry a baseweight of 9#'s these days, that would be up around 12-13# in April to be prepared for maountain weather in spring. Being from the dolly sods area of WV I am very aware of how that can go. Thanks and keep em' coming! Lance

Oh, the social experience will come I am sure, but I am not looking for it, the hike is what I am looking for and the accomplishment of the goal. There could (hopefully) be time when one of my kids come along, my 15 yr old son may come this year, we will see, and I have 5 more who love the outdoors, so there's that!

[fredmugs]

It took me 9 years to section hike the entire trail. The biggest advantage of being a section hiker is you get to cherry pick when and where you hike. There's no need to hike in a continuous line from Point A to Point B. Like others have said be careful not to create too many gaps.

My biggest advice is to hike southbound. Most people hike north and you can possibly take advantage of setting up car swaps where you hike in opposite directions back to your own vehicle allowing you to hike at your own pace. Another advantage is you will encounter more hikers going in the opposite direction and you can hit them up for trail intel like water sources. At the end of each day you can decide if you want to camp near people or not.

[slbirdnerd]

Hi, Kia. We should talk! I'm in the Columbus area and started section hiking north from Springer last June. Took my son and didn't get far, but picking up where I left off this coming June. Personally, since a thru hike is a distant dream for me at this point, I like the idea of going nobo from Springer. I don't have as much time in the summer to go, but my plan is section hike it until he finished school, then maybe leave my current job and go finish the rest.

[Last Call]

I would start at Amicalola Falls visitors center; weigh my pack on their scales & hit the approach trail, the waterfall is worth experiencing.

[burger]

My advice would be to pick a scenic and interesting section for your first one. I think that it's a lot easier to motivate yourself through the less interesting parts once you have a bunch of AT miles under your belt.

Starting at Springer is a good option (GA is so-so, but southern NC is really nice). I wouldn't bother starting at Harper's. Either direction from there is dull (northern VA and the rollercoaster or MD/southern PA. Big yawn either way). If you want to start somewhere nearish to OH, try either Waynesboro, VA (go north through Shenandoah, which would be fantastic in spring), or maybe Delaware Water Gap north to NY (nice scenery + lots of public transportation options to get you back to your car).

[FarmerChef]

I've been sectioning the trail over the last 3 years with my family. We are almost 3/4 of the way done. Since we live in the middle we've always worked our way out from the middle but we've never been afraid to flip a section around if it made it easier for us/our kids or worked better logistically. I agree with the logic that you want to avoid skipping little bits over the trail to make up later. We've missed two day hikes and it's really annoying to drive all the way out there to snip off just one day's worth of hiking. Sure you can do it in a long weekend and have some fun with it but if you're OCD kicks in it can get annoying ;)

[HikerMom58]

I love to section hike. The worst part is the travel time, getting to where you left off no matter where you start. It's fun to knock out sections, tho.
For us, it is going to be a lil tough to get from VA to ME, when the time comes, and still have time to hike but for section hikers that's all part of the adventure.

Gotta love that OCD kicking in FC. ;)

[illabelle]

I love the advantages of section-hiking: schedule around time of year, weather, holidays; nobo or sobo depending on terrain; scenic variety. I have had to plan carefully so that we don't have a handful of missing miles here or there - not too hard really, but I have studied the Companion a lot. So for example, there's an 80-mile section between Neels Gap and Winding Stair that we haven't done, but I've identified how to split it up into smaller pieces that we can do in a quick weekend trip. When we fill in a missing section, there's always the possibility that we'll choose to abort for some reason and wind up with a tiny piece left over. If it's within half a day's drive, I'm okay with that, and I'll just come back and get it later, maybe on the way to another section. If it's a long ways off, it will be a problem. Not sure what we'll do.

[Kia Kaha]

Great comments, SLBirdnerd, shoot me a pm, who knows, even if we meet up for a day or two, could save one of us a shuttle. My original plan is to do 50-70ish miles spring break and then a bunch over 3 weeks of the summer. Either way, I will be hoping to make some miles.

[Kia Kaha]

Oh, and I am actually in Dublin OH

[Cookerhiker]

Who says you have to do it in any order? Just pick a section, perhaps dictated by the time of year around your work schedule and go hike it. Just get out there and enjoy the AT and it's community. Good luck and have fun. :)

I agree with this approach, having done it myself. My section hiking was somewhat similar to Big Cranky's except my random stretches were up and down a longer corridor encompassing New Hampshire through Virginia.

Anyway, I'd suggest using your April spring breaks for Northern Virginia through NJ because (a) it's a shorter drive from your home; and (b) those low elevations and proximity to the ocean make summer hiking frankly miserable with heat and humidity. You could also hike a spring break week from Springer to Dick's Creek Gap, the northernmost road crossing in Georgia. For your summer breaks, start at Dicks Creek and make your way north.

Good luck and keep at it! It took me 29 years to finish the AT.;)

[hikerboy57]

just wing it.
its all good.

[LIhikers]

Let me suggest you do NOT hike Pennsylvania in August.
It's hot, humid, and the water seems to dry up.
At least that was my experience.
My wife and I have about 10 years of short sections under our belts and have only done from Harper's Ferry to the beginning of Maine.

[Big Dawg]

Start at Amicalola,,, & head north!!!

[Kia Kaha]

That was the original plan, I am still open, but that seems the best option. I can always do short middle section hikes closer if I need to, but with my 3+ months off a year, time should not be a problem, it seems transportation/shuttleing wil be something to deal with either way. My plan is to start in GA, get 50 or so miles in spring break week (I need to consider the time I need to travel, so will not have full week). I will then start where I finish and am heopful to make it to Hot Springs to finish for the summer.


Start at Amicalola,,, & head north!!!