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Hello, I'm new to this forum. I'd like to do a section hike on the AT next year. Somewhere in the southern half, hope to have 2 weeks to hike. I am just starting to gather information. If you have any resources you found helpful in planning your hike I'd greatly appreciate it. For now I'm just reading everything I can find.
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For a start, check out the ATC website, http://www.appalachiantrail.org/home and the AT Guide, http://www.theatguide.com/.
Welcome to WhiteBlaze. The Articles section of the forum and the home page has sections with basic info to get started. You will usually be able to find an answer to your question by searching for past threads. Many find the search tool here on WB to be less than effective. But if you use Google and search your question along with Whiteblaze, you may have more luck. I would also recommend going to to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy web site. Of course you can always ask questions here. It helps to make questions specific and with enough background info so the answers can be use. Also, just be prepared to get 100 different answers from 100 different people. There is almost never one "right answer". Have fun and good luck.
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/
Starting out doing a loop hike seems to be idea for newbies...check out the standing Indian loop...nice 22-24 mile 2-3 day hike. Lots of info listed on this loop. It's just outside Franklin, NC.
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I liked having Guthooks hiking guide app for my phone for my first bunch of section hikes.
It was nice being able to use the GPS(when available) portion of it to reassure myself I was REALLY still on the trail.
Also, it was nice to see how much farther to the next shelter or road at any given time and what the elevation ahead would be.
I don't know when exactly I stopped thinking about that stuff so much; but at first I know I thought about it A LOT.
If you plan on bringing a phone with you I think its a nice resource to have when first starting out.
I'd start at the beginning.
I found the Georgia AT Club to be very informative and willing to share advice.
Besides the A.T. Guide and Guthook's smartphone app, you might want to read a few memoirs or journals.
Here are a few links to online resources you might find interesting:Quote:
Originally Posted by kimbur96
AT Hike Planner : Plan a section or thru-hike with this dynamic planner
AT Data Book : elevation charts, climate, drainages, roads, resupply, etc
AT Google Map : Shelters, resupply, distances, etc
AT Overall Elevation: complete trail elevation profile
That should keep you busy for a while! ;)
-postholer
Thank you for the links, I have already started to explore some of them.
I'm new here as well, and it took me a few days... to actually scroll down to the bottom of these forums. There are far more specific forum topics than I originally noticed! I tend to enjoy forum discussions over single author guides, in that I learn some of the reasoning behind why people make their choices.
I found the 15 miles per day schedule a few minutes after a friend asked me if I wanted to spend 2 months on the AT and I found WhiteBlaze. Not sure you need much more than that.
Sections:
US Hwy 19E south as far as you want to go. Talk to the folks at Mountain Harbor B&B / Hostel about parking and shuttle service. Suggest shuttle south and hike back to Mountain Harbor.
Grayson Highlands, VA to Damascus, VA including the Virginia Creeper Trail.
Don't plan either trip when the NOBO Bubble is passing through or Trail Days are happening.
Good luck.
Wayne
Sent from somewhere around here.
As a section hiker here's a web site I've found helpful