Do section hikers prefer nobo or sobo?

[rafe]

I stitched together my AT hike with no devotion to direction. In the end I think it was almost 50-50 nobo-sobo.

Doing my last 600 miles sobo, I was surprised at the dearth of other long-distance hikers. It was a very solitary hike. No sobos passed me for the first 300 miles, then two thru's passed me in SNP (we leapfrogged for a few days) and then no more. On the other hand, I met a dozen or so nobo section hikers and late thru's.

Which makes me think section hikers lean nobo, just like thru-hikers. Ya think? Or too small a sample to say?

[Don H]

Available, safe trailhead parking always determines which way I go.

[hikerboy57]

nope i prefer sobo so that i dont have to hike with thrus. i meet more of them that way, and have no urge to try to keep up.i sobo'd maine 2 yrs back, and met quite a few sobos who had flipped to get out of the heat.
and it depends on the section, logistics. sometimes nobo is better, others, sobo.
and the same stretch of trail can give you 2 very different trips.

[Malto]

I generally will hike toward home because it is less driving. So living in pa, most of my hikes in the southern half have been NoBo and all of my hikes in the northern half have been southbound.

[4eyedbuzzard]

A lot of my section hikes in NH were NOBO. Partly because the AT runs southwest to northeast in NH and the prevailing winds are usually from the west. Above treeline it can make quite a difference. I much preferred the wind at my back or quartering, rather than hiking face-on into it. No, it didn't always work out perfectly as planned, but I think mostly it helped.

[Slo-go'en]

Your much more likely to meet people going the opposite way then you are.

When I SOBOed NC in May, I passed like 700 NOBOs.

[rafe]

Your much more likely to meet people going the opposite way then you are.

When I SOBOed NC in May, I passed like 700 NOBOs.

Well yeah but that's like starting gate of the Boston Marathon. For the other extreme, go PA to southern VA in August and early September.

[Hill Ape]

when section hiking nobo/sobo make little difference. put in/take out do. what is most convenient for everyone involved

[HighLiner]

I preferred walking north. More company and better chance at seeing folks more than once.

[Odd Man Out]

I was planning to hike NOBO from the VA 635 crossing to Daleville this summer, but that section of the trail generally runs from west to east, so maybe that's EABO? But then again, from that trailhead, you actually hike south. But I really picked that route as it's the right distance for a week trip, I can drive to Daleville, stay at a hotel the night before, get a shuttle to the trailhead, and walk back to the car. I don't want to have to hike to meet a schedule.

[Kolo]

I started out SOBO and have stuck with it so far. Although, since a lot of my hikes are day hikes, I do my share of out and backs. I guess I'm either double dipping or just a glutton for punishment.

[rafe]

I can place Daleville, but I can't quite place the VA 635 crossing without digging out maps. If it's where I'm guessing, it's a stretch of trail near to my heart, in good ways and bad.

Convenience is a big deal. I started two of my sections from my sister-in-law's place, near Bear Mountain in NY. Nobo to MA one year, sobo to PA the next year.

[Teacher & Snacktime]

I usually hike nobo, but just because I'm compulsive. If I feel the need to meet folk, I just walk backward. That way when they pass me, which they will, I get to say Hi to their faces!

[Big Dawg]

Available, safe trailhead parking always determines which way I go.

Same here,,,, although most trips have been nobo.

[Hikes in Rain]

Depends on which direction is downhill!

[Odd Man Out]

I can place Daleville, but I can't quite place the VA 635 crossing without digging out maps. If it's where I'm guessing, it's a stretch of trail near to my heart, in good ways and bad....

VA 635 AKA Stony Creek Rd - Trail head between Pine Swamp Branch and Baily Gap Shelters - 71 miles to Daleville.

[no-name]

495 trail miles over 7 section hikes and always southbound. I guess the first hike worked out sobo so I just keep planning it that way. Finally bought the sobo version of guidebook, but it was fun to use it backwards when I had the nobo version!

[flemdawg1]

I hike to my car. Sometimes its NObO, sometimes SOBO. Depends on where the car is, normally a hostel, or trail town (Franklin, Hot Springs, Erwin, Duncannon, Damascus, etc.). Most times I'll do one hike Nobo and the next Sobo using the same ending point and shuttle provider.

[FarmerChef]

I live approximately in the middle. So half the time I hike nobo and the other half sobo away from where I live. In the Whites we threw caution to the wind and hiked whichever way made the 2 or 3 day section easier, flipping all over the place to make it easier on us and the kids. Worked like a charm and we kept running into the thrus we'd made friends with at the start of the week.

[Kerosene]

I've switched it around depending on logistics. After starting in the Mid-Atlantic states in the seventies, I did learn to try to avoid leaving gaps in my coverage as trying to get back east to fill in those gaps becomes a real PITA. I actually flip-flopped in the middle of one section hike, going from Hampton to Damascus in 2 days with a backpacking buddy who could only join me for the weekend, and then bopping back to Hampton to hike SOBO to Erwin for the rest of the week.

With only Rangeley-to-Katahdin remaining, I'll be going NOBO for the next two Septembers. Unfortunately I prefer to hike against the thru-hiker bubble as I hate to leapfrog other hikers all day, but there's no way I'm going to leave a mileage gap in the middle of Maine!