Here is an AT Excel Resupply Planner...

[Wired]

Hi all you planners. I thought I'd share an Excel sheet that can be very helpful if you are looking to do resupplies or just estimate your dates on the trail. My friend Peanut Eater (AT2011) created it and it has been passed on to each class. I used his CDT version last year and found it to be great! If you use it as a Google Doc, you can even share it with family and friends and imbed it into your blog. It can be adjusted along the way and will update automatically across all forums. I added it as a file above to find later too. It should be edited to fit your needs and is just a general starting point. I would double check locations as businesses change from year to year. Good luck.
I wasn't able to attach it here, so here is the link to download it online. Hope that works for you all
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ry3y3s8oya...0Plannner.xlsx

~Wired (PCT2011, CDT2013)

[tiptoe]

Thank you, and I'm sure this will be very helpful to other thrus and section hikers. I already have Dropbox, and the file transfer was quick and smooth.

[Wired]

Thank you, and I'm sure this will be very helpful to other thrus and section hikers. I already have Dropbox, and the file transfer was quick and smooth.

Great to hear. Was my first post on here and it's good to hear I did it right

[Dogwood]

Loved the pics of the Mt Hood glacier caves(didn't know about them) and the pic looking up into the trees(Redwoods?). I strongly suspect you will have a blast finishing up the TC on the AT. I would like to know your perceptions of what an AT thru-hike will be like pre-hike of it FOR YOU, especially after having done the PCT and CDT first.

[Wired]

Loved the pics of the Mt Hood glacier caves(didn't know about them) and the pic looking up into the trees(Redwoods?). I strongly suspect you will have a blast finishing up the TC on the AT. I would like to know your perceptions of what an AT thru-hike will be like pre-hike of it FOR YOU, especially after having done the PCT and CDT first.

Dogwood,
Nice to hear from you. So glad you like the pics I've posted between hikes. I try to take a break between hikes, but still like to keep people updated. I just posted a fun one on Facebook today to welcome in the new year that I'll get on the blog in another month or so. I will start posting about prep thoughts in Feb/March. I can say though that it is a huge relief compared to my planning on the PCT and CDT. I have the routine and gear down now, so it is less daunting...but still my least favorite part of thru hiking. I feel like I could just show up at Springer with my pack and a a few days of food and I'd be good to go just winging it the rest of the way, but you know me...I must plan! I might try only shipping half my boxes to myself and buying in town more than I usually do. Physically, I feel like my body has accepted that this is what it's doing and I find that it takes little time for me to get my trail legs under me. Just gotta watch out for those ankles! Really looking forward to the AT and it will be quite different from the CDT last summer!

[Dogwood]

You know what's going on. Most of it in that you know yourself well. "I feel like I could just show up at Springer with my pack and a a few days of food and I'd be good to go just winging it the rest of the way..." I think so too!

Going to start early NOBO? With the Hexamid? You might need that bathtub floor more on the AT than either the PCT and CDT. Get your mind geared to much greater trail usage, heavier and longer durations of rain, lean-tos and water at very regular very documented intervals, oodles of resupply options, more paved road crossings, greater number of Hostels, more trail magic/trail angeling, more ups and downs, and more of an overall forested hike on the AT. You're going to find yourself at a stage in your hiking/long distance hiking that's rarely comparable with the stages that other AT thru-hikers are at in their hiking. You'll notice very few AT thru-hikers as experienced/advanced in long distance hiking as you. You seem really chill though you'll be a hit on the AT among hiker circles. I'm guessing once the AT thru-hikers know you have done the PCT and CDT already you'll have a lot to talk about and share. If you have any inspirations to do a faster thru-hike you set yourself up nicely to do it. It's my guess though that you are the type of hiker that will really soak it all up.

Have an awesome journey competing the TC.

[BrianLe]

Wired, one of the columns on that spreadsheet suggests 31 boxes. I had something like that when I hiked the PCT, but learned my lesson and was happy with 5 boxes on the AT --- mostly for shoes and blood pressure medication, but also tried to put them at places it was nice to get a food resupply. My five were Fontana Dam (helpful to get food there), Pearisburg (various lighten-up gear swaps), Harpers Ferry (about the right place and not an easy resupply), Kent (CT), and Glencliff (NH, optionally a place to go back to some warmer gear). Ditto CDT; I think I might have had something like 8 boxes there; was going to have less, but added a couple more at the last minute when I realized how much weight in paper I would have been carrying out of a couple of trail towns! (delorme atlas, ley, wolf, yogi, sometimes bear creek too)

I'm like you --- the planner type, and I'm trying to do better at just "winging it". Above all trails I think the AT is the one you can just wing it on (and it's very nice to have the flexibility of not being tied to too many boxes). With some exception if you're starting early (I was colder on the AT with a late Feb start than I ever was on the PCT or CDT, except perhaps just getting out of southern Colorado on the latter).

A friend is hiking the Florida trail starting in a few days and I almost went with him but just had a couple too many things to do at home. He's pretty much just jumping on, though I hear it might be a wetter (swampier) year in places, and I hear mixed things about resupply, plus it takes at least a bit of time to get permits.
Surely nothing is as easy to jump on as the AT, however; crappier and PUD-filled trail, but lots of water and food along the way makes for light loads, especially once into Virginia. And easy route finding! :-)

A good friend (Milky) is doing what you're doing --- hiking the AT last of the "big three", starting in mid-March. I and one or two others are going to join him from the (somewhat cold) start. I plan to hike with him for about a month, basically leaving just about when things get easier! (warmer, out of the snow, no blowdowns). The other two did the same thing with me on the AT, the year after they hiked the CDT together; one of them ended up just staying on and re-hiking the AT, and the other re-hiked large chunks of it. Trail junkies.

[Wired]

Thanks Dogwood I'm definitely adding an umbrella to my gear for the AT. I think it will be worth it at least starting out. I am looking around April 16th for starting and wanting to finish before Sept. Hoping to add the Long Trail on afterward if I'm feeling good. I am looking forward to meeting hikers new to thru hiking. Experiencing it with them will help me to appreciate it that much more.

[Malto]

Wired,
Never got the chance the thank you for leaving a good set of prints coming off of Forester. I crossed Forester early afternoon on June 17th and followed your tracks. You guys headed off over Kearsarge and I went through to VVR. I look forward to seeing your perspectives on the AT after hiking the AT. I know quite a few that made the AT their last trail and most enjoyed the experience. Have a great trip and when you get to PA I would be more than happy to give you a guided tour of Chocolatetown aka Hershey.

Malto PCT'11

[Wired]

Hi Gadget,

Yeah, I agree that mailing to all those locations isn't needed, but i think they are there just to provide options. I might do half, but I'm so particular and sensitive with my stomach that it will be interesting to see if I can adjust. I only know one other person doing the AT this year as opposed to knowing almost everyone on the CDT. Will be nice to meet new people. My friend that also completed the Triple Crown on the AT went into it with a good mentality of it being more of a victory lap to be savored. The window to complete the hike is much larger than on the other two and it always stressed me worrying about the snow stopping me at the end of PCT/CDT. It's nice to not have as much pressure on the AT and I can hopefully take it in more and not push so hard. Have fun on the trail!

[Dogwood]

Thanks Dogwood I'm definitely adding an umbrella to my gear for the AT. I think it will be worth it at least starting out. I am looking around April 16th for starting and wanting to finish before Sept. Hoping to add the Long Trail on afterward if I'm feeling good. I am looking forward to meeting hikers new to thru hiking. Experiencing it with them will help me to appreciate it that much more.

Another addict, wanting to add on the LT to an AT thru-hike. I feel ya. I love it. Another trail junkie. You look like you're really having a good time out there.

With that start date you will be starting in the bubble or, most likely, quickly hiking through it. Expect PEOPLE, more so than either the PCT or CDT. You might be shocked with the AT usage around that time of the yr compared to either the PCT and certainly the CDT.

Let me ditto Gadget's direction. You'll find more resupply opps closer to the the trail often when crossing busy paved roads on a rather regular basis(about every 3-4 hiking days avg MAX) on the AT overall compared to the PCT and CDT. I'm one who likes mailing myself resupply boxes on long distance U.S. hikes(medications, fussy vegetarian diet, like mailing myself hygiene products, gear, and batteries for example, etc) but still would not mail many boxes on an AT thru-hike. Like has already been said, plenty of well documented buy as you go resupply opps on the AT so you MAY want to consider ratcheting back the number of resupply boxes you mail. The AT Thru-Hikers Companion has so much documentation. The AT overall has been sliced and diced logistically analyzed ad nauseum compared to the CDT and PCT.

The AT is not the wider open style of trail as often as the PCT and CDT tread. The AT is often referred to as the "green tunnel" for a good reason. Tighter(less width and sometimes ht) more forested trail more often which might not work well at times with an umbrella. ???

You said at your site that you are using a OR Helium II as a rain jacket. Has it been sufficient enough rain coverage for you in heavy prolonged rain? w/ the down MH Ghost Whisper underneath? It's my guess you'll experience a wetter(from rain) hike on the AT compared to what you experienced on the CDT. Forget about comparing the rain on the AT and PCT during a thru-hike(no comparison).

[Wired]

A fellow 2011 PCTer! Hi Malto! Did we ever get to officially meet on the trail? Congrats on completing that EPIC year, sheesh. I still look at it and see it as an outer body experience where that couldn't have been me that did all that insane snow and stream crossings. Not sure if I did do Forrester before you as my group went over on the 16th. Quite a memorable experience. We got up and going at 3:30am to avoid postholing over it. As for Chocolatetown, um...YES! That is a definite stop on my way that I'll have to make. I'm a chocoholic that drinks chocolate milk with almost every meal. Even on trail I bring Carnation breakfasts for chocolate milk for dinner each night. I'm private messaging you now.

[Wired]

Yes, that is all what I've heard, so I am hoping to cut back on the resupplies. I get sent lots of care packages sent to my resupply person, so I figure I may as well fill the box if one is being sent anyway. I also heard that about the umbrella. I have tested it out here in the NW and it does make the hiking more tolerable in the rain for me, so I'm going to give it a shot. I have yet to update my final gear choices, but will leave the Ghost Whisperer at home due to rain/humidity. Going back to the Patagonia Puff I used on the PCT. I also am a ? on my Helium II. I may get a heavier rain jacket, but hate shelling out the extra $$ for another piece of gear. I was hoping the umbrella would be in use for the downpours. Still up in the air on that one and waiting to see if I find a new rain jacket I like.

[BrianLe]

I used an OR Helium I on the CDT, and I expect that you recall that you get a lot a afternoon thunder and hailstorms on that trail. I did fine with it, apart from the zipper getting wonky at the very end. They replaced it for free with a Helium II.

The earlier part of the AT for me was more like the CDT (than the PCT) in terms of need for outerwear. In the latter part, sometimes it was so warm that when it rained I went without a jacket. Not always, but I'd think a Helium II would do you just fine.

That said, starting out I might go with my eVent Packa if it will fit over the pack well enough (it's sized to fit more of a "summer weight" of gear). Heavier, but a nice piece of kit when the weathers nasty.

[Wired]

OR also replaced my Helium I with the II between my PCT/CDT hikes. I really like that jacket, but after the CDT, it is def worn and not very waterproof for extended rain. I'd feel bad asking them to replace it again after I wore it so much. I've heard about many not wearing their rain jackets due to the heat and that's why I'm going to try out an umbrella and see if it's worth the weight to carry it. Some people swear by it. I'll have to check out the eVent Packa. Everyone loves the Marmot Precip and I've never gotten one of those...I know I should enjoy this gear talk/buying, but I am not a shopper and find it draining.