SOBO hike leaving late summer

[navyboy3216]

Hi all!

I'm brand new to this thread, so a little intro to me. I'm Nathan, and I'm a mainah. I am 18 and decided recently that I wanted to take a year off before college and hike SOBO, slowly. However, in order to save money for gear, I have to work this summer, which means leaving mid-August if i'm lucky. On top of this, I only have a few day-hunting trips and a 10-day hike under my belt. But before you say it's foolish of me, trust me I've heard it all and you can't change my mind.

I was wondering if any of you kind folk have advice for this, and here are my major topics of concern:

If I hike it in say, 10 months, where do you think I would be when winter hits (leaving late August)

Which stove should I bring? (I heard it's really a toss-up and what is preferable to yourself).

Have any of you taken a firearm on a hike before?

General winter hiking tips.

Thanks guys!!

V/R,
Nathan

[Malto]

Why not just hike at a normal pace then do another trail in the spring? I can't imagine how you could possibly take ten months to hike the AT. Good luck.

[4eyedbuzzard]

. . . I am 18 . . . take a year off before college and hike SOBO, slowly . . . leaving mid-August if i'm lucky . . . I only have a few day-hunting trips and a 10-day hike . . . trust me I've heard it all

Since you've already heard it all, what more could anyone say?

If I hike it in say, 10 months, where do you think I would be when winter hits (leaving late August)

Honestly, most likely back home after quitting. At that 10 month pace, winter weather will catch you before you get out of New England, which is at best uncomfortable, at worst, deadly. You will be hiking in winter weather, short days, long cold nights, carrying lots of extra winter gear, etc. Hiker and town services will not be as readily available. A 4 - 5 month pace is more what you should be looking at given a mid-August start date. And even then, it isn't ideal.

Which stove should I bring?

Moot point. But white gas stove with lots of extra fuel once it gets really cold.

Have any of you taken a firearm on a hike before?

Yes, some have. Few do. Generally considered useless extra weight for something you won't ever use. Regarding handguns especially, many AT states have strict concealed carry laws, which if you are caught violating will result in a felony conviction, which will put you in prison instead of college for the next several years - and then totally FU the rest of your life.

General winter hiking tips.

Do winter day hikes, then overnights, then weekends, and so on. Learn to crawl, then walk, then run. Suggestion: Hike southbound until early/mid October, then flip to Springer and hike northbound for a while, weather permitting in GSMNP and such.

[Slo-go'en]

Leaving mid August puts you in NH mid September as it's getting cold and the weather getting iffy. Mid October puts you maybe into Mass and the weather goes down hill real quick from there. You might be okay until about January when winter really kicks in. Then it gets really hard. Hope you got lots of money cuz a winter hike gets really expensive, really fast.

So, just hike as long as the weather permits and your money lasts, which is what's gonna happen regardless of what you think now. And leave the gun at home. It's a useless piece of hardware and a big liability.

[navyboy3216]

Sorry 4eyedbuzzard, I wasn't clear. What I meant by "I've heard it all" is that I've heard all the reasons not to go. Also, I would be hiking like a madman to get out of NE before winter hits, and then drastically slowing my pace once I got South enough. Perhaps 10 months is a smidgeon too long for the woods.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Sorry 4eyedbuzzard, I wasn't clear. What I meant by "I've heard it all" is that I've heard all the reasons not to go. Also, I would be hiking like a madman to get out of NE before winter hits, and then drastically slowing my pace once I got South enough. Perhaps 10 months is a smidgeon too long for the woods.

Yeah, sorry if I came off a bit snarky. It's a very close call trying to get south of Glencliff, NH by early October when the weather in the Whites just gets very unpredictable (in a bad way). A bit under 450 of the toughest miles on the AT in roughly 45 days. And a 10 mpd average is going to be difficult right out of the box even for an 18 year old given the time lost to resupply, weather, shorter days, etc. vs. an earlier start date. Even then the higher elevations in the southern Appalachians are likely to be full on winter by the time you get there. Good luck whatever you decide, and leave some money aside for bailing out to hostels/motels when you need to due to weather.

[fiddlehead]

You can do it.
But keep in mind to get through the whites fairly quickly.

I'd be out there shoveling snow for some easy money (and help get in shape although not the same muscles)
I hear there are folks making $25-50 an hour right now doing just that.
Maybe not in Maine, but in CT and NY.

Good luck and have fun.

[MuddyWaters]

Its not impossible.
If it was enjoyable. More would do it.
It may be quite harsh at times, lonely, cold, wet, and deadly.
You will need money.
Lots of money.

[Coffee]

The thing that I dislike most about winter is the limited daylight hours. Even with 11 hours of daylight in mid February, that was a lot of time in camp. Would be worse with 8-9 hours of daylight. If the goal is a slow hike maybe that's a non issue, but I hope the OP likes spending lots of time in camp and has a zero degree high quality bag. I'm planning to do a more conventional SOBO thru hike in 2016 or 2017 but I plan to be done around Thanksgiving. Even then, the limited daylight at the end will not be pleasant for my style of hiking and dislike of being in camp for very long periods of time.

[thestin]

The earlier you can start the higher your chances of success. Felix the Cat did a SOBO in 1998, starting at Katahdin on August 4th. http://felixhikes.tripod.com/AT.html

[navyboy3216]

You can do it.
But keep in mind to get through the whites fairly quickly.

I'd be out there shoveling snow for some easy money (and help get in shape although not the same muscles)
I hear there are folks making $25-50 an hour right now doing just that.
Maybe not in Maine, but in CT and NY.

Good luck and have fun.

Haha, I'm in good shape as is, and this is a reord winter where I live in Maine (the midcoast) so I've done a fair bit. I have a cozy job lined up for this summer starting soon where I'll be earning $19/hr.

[Miner]

I left katadyn Aug 17. I started out of shape (mistake when starting on the hardest part), but had a light pack (that I did right). Got Guardia and was off the trail for a week in Maine. Got to NH on the 18th of Sept. The day going over Mt. Washingtob was the last fully sunny day. Had damp weather pretty much everyday after that. Got to Vermont on Oct 4. The shorter days of fall really started to affect the miles I could hike just as the trail was getting easier. I had no confidence that I could hike in the dark and stay on trail due to how much the leaves buried the trail. The weather was pretty much stripping the leaves off the treed as soon as they changed. Had snow one day though it started to melt off by the end of the day. Woke up a few times to ice in my water bottle. Arrived in Mass on Oct. 13 and was tired of the damp weather. So I went home as I wasn't having fun. I had previously thru-hiked the PCT though I had never hiked more than 6 days prior to that hike. By starting as late as I did, I felt I set myself up for failure. It's easier hiking in bad weather knowing you are hiking into warmer weather of summer. I was hiking into winter which didn't help my moral. I went through more money in New England than I thought I would and I suspected that would only get worse when winter started to arrive.

[Grampie]

Because of your projected start date, I would consider putting off your hike until the following year. Start early as a NOBO hiker and finish before school starts.