Driving down from New England??
Are you driving down to the ATKO and live in the New England area and would like to share the cost? I was going to take Amtrak but it might be fun to ride down with other hikers.
One of our forum members (the name evades me at the moment), mentioned setting up a map for the Class of 2015 that will help us locate others near us for the mass exodus to Georgia next Spring. Likely after the first of the year, our minds will all be turning that direction.
AKA "DANGER" AT Thru-Hiker Class of 2015
I am in NY and haven't made firm travel plans yet. Always up for a road trip! Open to ideas.
"I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out til sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." -John Muir
killer shouldnt you ride down on a chopper with a handle bar mustache. Are you driving down or looking for a pickup
My car wouldn't make it. I'd either need a pickup or to rent.
"I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out til sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." -John Muir
Yeah I'd throw my hat in for potentially interested in driving down with people. Can't offer a ride either but would help pay for gas or rental if the circumstances work. I was set on Amtrack but other hikers would surely be a more enjoyable trip down.
It is possible, but unlikely you will find anyone driving down to Georgia to start a thru-hike. That would mean leaving the car at the state park indefinitely (although you can) and then getting back to it when your done, which could (you'd hope) be all the way from Maine.
The only possibility would be if someone wanted to drive down there just for the kick off and/or a few days of hiking, but that's a long way to go just for that!
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Hey Matt and killer I walked by your house last fall on the long trail and had a good time up there at the little pond almost went swimming but I didn't get there in time. The sun went down and it got too cold at night. I like that new shelter. Hey if you guys want to rent a car and drive down it could be a lot of fun especially if we got a minivan and were able to get six people we would save a lot of money. On the way down we could probably stop at they bear den or the teahouse or something like that if we don't want to drive straight down nonstop. I wanted to go to the kick off because I thought it would be a lot of fun to start the trip of the lifetime with a party and I'd like to see the vendors and all the other people that are down there. Gets me started a little earlier than I wanted to but that'll just make for more zeros in town and no excuse for not making it in time.
Potential for a neat trip for sure, though the savings depends a lot on how many join your party because with only 2 or 3 this is going to be a lot more expensive than Amtrack or a bus. The example I punched in was assuming a marathon drive, so a two day rental from Brattleboro VT (just throwing a dart at the map) to Gainesville GA. There is a nearly $400 surcharge for dropping the car off that far from where it started bringing the rental on a minivan to $580, or really any car was over $500 as that fee stays the same regardless of vehicle class. Add 1,000 miles of gas, possibly a hotel stay, and the $$ is going up up up. So we'll see, I like the idea but I am not strongly committing at this time because of the potential for it to be lots more money if the numbers of people can't be mustered.
Freightliner are you talking about Little Rock Pond on the Long Trail? That's about the only place around me I know of with a new shelter. I'm actually 10 miles north of there right off trail from Minerva Hinchey shelter, think it was built in '69 so hardly new.
It takes some detective work, but if you can find a rental place that has a car from down south they sometimes give you a better rate for returning it for them. Just a thought.
"I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out til sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." -John Muir
There is an Enterprise Car Rental in Franklin NC. You could get a shuttle from there.Originally Posted by KillerKarma
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there maybe one closer than Franklin .Google enterprise.
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Matt I was talking about little rock pond. I lived in Montpelier and had to look up where Cuttingsville was and I saw it was on rt 103 which you pass before you go on up. That place was so great I think of it a lot. I do know what you mean about the cost and for you it would be more like 1500 miles. $3.50 a gallon at 25 miles a gal would be about $210.00 + the cost of the rental. So it would be about $600.00 for the small car. With 4 people it would run about $150 per person. Amtrak cost $152.00 for me leaving for Rhode Island where my brother lives. I have to leave from there because Amtrak trains from VT don't line up with the trains to Gainsville, GA. It also takes about 26 hours. There is still plenty of time to see if anybody else needs a ride down or is going down.
I wonder if you get your tickets way ahead of time with magabus could go down for a dollar. there add on there bus say ride for as low as a dollar.
Yeah Little Rock is a great place, I'll always remember it as the site of my first overnight ever.. I'm actually living in VT only through my job as I live on site, so I will more likely be departing from CT when the time actually comes. I did take a quick look at Megabus and the lines are nowhere close to connecting to GA from either state. Well shoot me a message if anything does look like its coming together because I will be interested if the cost is reasonable.
I'll throw my hat in the ring on this, though I'm leaving a little later - last week of April. Otherwise, will probably end up taking Amtrak. Interestingly, more expensive than flying, but my gear will be at arm's reach for the entire trip.
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