Hiking Itinerary for My 2013 AT Hike

[CarlZ993]

For those who are planning an upcoming AT thru-hike, I've attached a link to my 2013 AT thru-hike (GA-ME). I started 3/21/13 & finished 8/19/13 (152 days). As I hiked, I kept track of my starting times & ending times each day. At the end of the spreadsheet, I included the average, mean, earliest, & latest times that I started & ended.

On the trail, I primarily stayed in shelters for convenience. I tended to start hiking earlier than most (usually the first to leave). As a result, I never reached an intended shelter that was already full.

For reference, I was 58 yrs old when I started the hike. I finished the hike a few days short of my 59th birthday. I have been a regular runner since 1978 (although I have slowed considerably over the years). I am a very experienced backpacker. I'm a steady hiker (slower than most) but usually don't take too many breaks. I kept a modest pace until Damascas. Afterward, I would often shave a day off between resupply locales. I did slow down from my intended pace in the Whites & Maine.

Anyway, I hope this information is helpful.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...t1M/edit#gid=0

[SteelCut]

Extremely helpful information. Thanks for posting this. It definitely provides me a nice framework for how to break sections on my upcoming thru-hike as I tend to hike about the same rate on you.

[map man]

I love the speadsheet, CarlZ993. Some observations and questions:

Did you end up falling in with any hiking partner(s) for lengthy stretches along the way? Since you started at the height of the NOBO start window (March 21) I'm guessing there were lots and lots of other hikers around for at least the first third of your hike, and maybe some others had similar hiking habits?

Since on average you were done hiking between 3 and 3:30 PM and still had lots of daylight hours left, were you ever at a loss as to what to do with yourself in camp? On the other hand, you did get to avoid hiking in some of the heat of the day.

I see that though your miles per day reduced in the rugged parts of NH and ME, that the number of hours you spent hiking stayed about the same. That seems like a really sensible way to tackle the Whites and western Maine.

Finally, I see you had an ER visit in Rutland. It didn't seem to slow you down or keep you away from the trail for long -- still, I hope it wasn't too serious.

I really love information like this -- thanks for making the effort to get it into such easy to understand form.

[Old Hiker]

Very nice - this gives me hope. I liked scrolling down, watching the miles per day column. Printed it out - will put it into my miles for reference.

Thanks !!!

[jjozgrunt]

Love it, and if you don't mind I'm going to use it for my thru next year.

[Jack89]

Very helpful information. I really liked the way you put the spreadsheet together. Especially the comments. Thanks.

[CarlZ993]

I love the speadsheet, CarlZ993. Some observations and questions:

Did you end up falling in with any hiking partner(s) for lengthy stretches along the way? Since you started at the height of the NOBO start window (March 21) I'm guessing there were lots of lots of other hikers around for at least the first third of your hike, and maybe some others had similar hiking habits?



Since on average you were done hiking between 3 and 3:30 PM and still had lots of daylight hours left, were you ever at a loss as to what to do with yourself in camp? On the other hand, you did get to avoid hiking in some of the heat of the day.

I see that though your miles per day reduced in the rugged parts of NH and ME, that the number of hours you spent hiking stayed about the same. That seems like a really sensible way to tackle the Whites and western Maine.

Finally, I see you had an ER visit in Rutland. It didn't seem to slow you down or keep you away from the trail for long -- still, I hope it wasn't too serious.

I really love information like this -- thanks for making the effort to get it into such easy to understand form.

MapMan - Early on, I hiked w/ some younger hikers off & on. One guy, I hiked w/ off & on for about 500 miles. He was 25 yrs my junior & I rarely kept up w/ him but usually ended up at the same spot each day. In NY, I hooked up w/ another hiker about my age & hiked w/ him for 700 miles (until Monson; he injured his foot & required some zeros in order to finish; I already had my air fare purchased & couldn't wait for him).

My injury in Rutland was to my arm & left hip. I thought I broke my arm in a slip/fall. X-rays proved negative. Vitamin-I & I kept on trucking.

NH & ME was much harder than I expected. I expected it to be hard but it was much more so. I tip my cap to the New England hikers to do that terrain on a regular basis. It kicked this Texan's butt on more than one occasion.

Since I usually started early, I was generally somewhat tired when I finished. I tried to be sure I wasn't exhausted. Early on, I had some easy days to make sure I'd likely finish the hike. Didn't want to bust out a fast pace at the beginning of a marathon to fall apart at the end.

I sometimes got a little bored if I stopped early. I had to keep telling myself to take it one day at a time & listen to my body. I wished I'd brought my Kindle on my hike. I missed reading.

[CarlZ993]

Love it, and if you don't mind I'm going to use it for my thru next year.

Sure. There were several occasions where I would have lengthened one day or shortened another. But, as long as you stay injury-free & keep walking, you'll finish the thing. Towards the end, the mental was just as hard as the physical. Lot of rain in 2013 & I don't like hiking in rain.