Time spent in hundred mile wilderness
Hi everyone, just wondering how long it took you to get through the hundred mile wilderness going sobo? Trying to figure out how much food to pack. Thanks!
i never did it SOBO only NOBO the distance is still the same, most people takes 10 or so days, on both my NOBO's it took from Monson ME to Katahdin it took me 8 days thats with a zero at a campground and plus i had to stop at the abol store and get 3 days of food.
don't start with alot of food theirs the Abol store which has adequete hiking food and plus theirs folks that does resupply with in the 100 MW, you send them the food or they will go to a grocery store and bring it to the trail for you. if i was going SOBO on the AT today i would start with 4-5 days of food.
Remember the 100MW is not a true wilderness and it's not 100 miles but it does have it's HARD spots.
10 days, 9 nights. It can be done in less. We took our time and took in side trails to vistas and ponds.
Our day were as follows:
13.4 miles to Hurd Brook Lean-to
12 miles to Rainbow Lean-to (swim in the lake when you 1st come to it. At the south end, take the short walk to the dam for a great view.
13.9 miles to Nahmakanta Campsite. Swim at the lake when you 1st come to it.
9 miles to Antlers Campsite. Great spot. Highly recommend.
8.3 miles to Coopers Brook Lean-to. Take detour to Cooper's Pond. Great view. Should have pushed on to next site as it was an easy walk.
17.1 miles to Sidney Tappen Campsite.
11.8 miles to West Branch of Pleasant River. 5.2 miles of walk was Gulf Hagas detour.
11.7 miles to Cloud Pond Lean-to. 4th Mountain is a beast. Don't dive into Cloud Pond. Lots of hidden boulders.
12.6 miles to Little Wilson Stream. Nice spot.
7 miles to 15. Lots of PUDS.
My mileage includes lots of side trails to vistas. Either way, the walk from Katahdin Stream to 15 is well over 100 miles and it might as well have been in the Yukon. You can resupply in the middle with some effort. If you don't, it is a good walk. I am not ashamed of the "wilderness" title.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
For someone just starting out and not already in prime hiking shape it can be a slow and difficult hike, especially if you run into some rough weather. I'd go with the 9 or 10 day plan. Your not going to be real hungry to start and many people actually loose appetite for a few days to week when they start, so don't go too crazy with the food. Repackaged Mountain House meals to save weight could be worth the expense. (repackage them to reduce the volume as they are rather bulky otherwise).
I suppose you can get someone to bring you a resupply, but that's bound to be expensive and put pressure on you to be at a specific place at a specific time. It's not something I would do, but then I did it back when it was still a wilderness
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Read some trail journals of AT sobos which will tell you what you want to know. It took me just over 8 days as I got to Monsoon first thing in the morning on 9th day. This doesn't include the day I climbed Katadyn. I started in poor shape (no recent hikes, 25 lbs overweight) though I at least had a light pack. After climbing Katadyn, my knees and legs were hurting for the first few days.
There are people who will drop a resupply off at Jo Mary road for a fee to break it up in the middle.
Last edited by Miner; 04-22-2015 at 10:54.
I did the 100 mile wilderness with my son in 2013 when he began his SOBO thru-hike. We did it in 6 days because he was young and I was stupid. I do not recommend going that fast. While the elevations look flat the first 70 miles, it is mostly roots, rocks and bogs. It about killed me. Did not bother him a bit. I plan on starting a SOBO on June 12 and I plan on doing it in 7 to 8 days weather permitting. I am in much better shape now and I also plan on doing a food drop at Jo-Mary Road which is at mile 56 - about 1/2 way through the wilderness.
Paul from the AT Lodge in Millinocket will do a food drop, very reasonable cost and a great help with pack weight. I did Maine SOBO 2013, prepared for 8 days, always had 1 day extra rations.
My plan initially had several 17+ mile days but I soon found that I was just hiking & missing out on way too much, great ponds to swim, scenery beautiful, such a great part of the AT. . .so glad I took it slower, not those 17+ mile days. I had a blast.
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It seems you are from Maine... If you are worried about carrying a lot of food you might want to see if any friends/family might be available to meet youat the Jo Mary Road crossing. It won't be that difficult for them to find and that is roughly the half-way mark through the 100 Mile Wilderness. Or, you could pay to have the AT Lodge do a food drop (they are very dependable). There are plenty of places for you to get cell reception to send texts to let people know when your ETA would be if you wanted to go that route.
The Abol Bridge Store is only roughly 10 miles from the base of Katahdin - You are from Maine and should not need to stop that soon for food. Honestly, there weren't a whole lot of choices to be had at the store last summer.
After this winter of shoveling snow, you might be in the best shape of your life (ha ha - it was brutal)! How long it will take you will be dependent on whether or not your are in shape, how fast you hike, when you like to get started with your hike, and how far you like to hike on any given day... I hiked from Katahdin to Monson in 6 days, swam lots, took in lots of views, and did not feel like I was making a mad dash and missing anything. Of course, I also like to get a really early start every day and hike until I feel like stopping. It also was not my first hike of the season.
Extra food is always a good plan. You never know when you might have a blister issue and it is a good idea to get your legs used to the trail before you start busting out the miles. In addition, with the snow and cold this year, the rivers might slow you down a bit at the beginning (depending on when you start).
I hiked NOBO from Monson twice, and both times met bedraggled SOBOs on their way out. They'd had difficult hikes and were out of food and/or injured. One had fallen in water, had a head wound, and was lugging a very heavy soaked pack. One was trying to convince me to turn back and not attempt the hike. I had the impression they were not very experienced when they started out and got some experience the hard way. But I also met people who hiked it easily in four days and were excited and happy. There's a pretty wide range of possibilities. Miner's idea of reading journals is a good suggestion.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
4 days as a NOBO. 7 days plus 5miles on the 8th morning as a SOBO. I would pack for 9, but remember your hiker hunger won't have kicked in yet so that helps a little, and if you get jammed up you can grab an extra days food and a huge delicous overpriced (all things considered it is expensive, not overpriced) burger at WHL.
I section hiked the 100MW in early June, i.e., at about the same time as the early SOBOs. Based on the conditions I experienced, and after talking to the SOBOs (some of whom were struggling), I believe 10 days at about 10 miles/day with a full pack would be a good plan. While the northern miles are easier, your heavy pack and conditioning should hold you to 10 miles/day there. The southern miles are much tougher, but your pack is lighter and you will learn what it really means to "hike" in Maine -- just grind it out...and enjoy!
AT 2000 miler: 2011-2014 (via section hikes)
Camino de Santiago -- April/May 2016 (Camino Frances from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela)
CDT New Mexico sections next???
Unless something has changed drastically, White House Landing is no longer in operation, so please do not count on that as a bail-out point.
The OP lists herself as being in Maine. If she has not already done so (this information does not tell us if she is from Maine, or has recently moved here....), I would hope she has already been out on some practice hikes in Maine. If not for conditioning, then for gear testing.
Little Jackson fully loaded makes for a good day hike test.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
The last time I tried to do the HMW, I broke a toe fording a stream bare footed. Stupid. By the time I got to Lower Jo Mary, I could hardly walk because it had swollen up. Fortunately, there was a hiker feed going on at the lake and they were kind enough to take me out to Millinocket. Otherwise I likely would have run out of food before I would have been able to hobble out to Abol Bridge.Originally Posted by Water Rat
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I just gotta ask..... did they call a toe truck?
Not sure they still have a sign like this as you enter the HMW (I pulled this one off the web) but a bit of unknown adds to the fun and sence of adventure, I think.
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Though it may not seem so right now, worrying about stuff like this and figuring out your own plan is all part of the fun. I am so glad resupply in the HMW was not an option when I first did this stretch-- so my decision was easy.
I also took way too much food but perfect planning is highly over rated.
Water Rat, yes I was born and raised in Southern Maine. I also have a family camp on a lake in Millinocket so I'm very familiar with the area since I've been going there for all 22 years of my life. I will look into the Jo Mary Rd as an option to have family bring me a resupply. Thanks for your input everyone!
I can remember seeing that sign (or one very much like it) in '76 and, despite having hiked all the way up from Georgia, it definitely got my attention. The further in I got the more 'wilderness-y' it felt. It was very late September and I pretty much had the joint to myself and it was amazing - an experience I guess I'll never be able to recreate.
Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.
Perfect! That will give you a few days to make sure you have everything you need! Enjoy!
What's the best way to repackage the prepackaged meals?
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