NOBO thru-hiker bubble

[pauly_j]

Is there any record anywhere of when a typical (Springer start, end of March/start of April) thru-hiker will get to certain points on the trail? If anyone who's completed in around 5 months has kept a dated diary of where they were they may be able to help.

I'm hiking 2016 and would be good to know where I can expect to be at certain times. Aiming for around 5 months hike time.

For instance I will hopefully hit the train station that goes direct to NYC around August time? My girlfriend is a teacher and would like to visit me during, so would be nice to spend a couple of weeks in the city with her.

Cheers!

[Odd Man Out]

You need to read this. It's based on hundreds of Trail Logs. Thanks to Map Man.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/content.php/44

Here are some of the relevant data:

TABLE 1 -- Days to Complete Various Sections

DAYS ~~~ TOTAL DAYS ~~ SECTION
8.0 days..........(8.0)............Springer to Georgia Border (7.7 days)
7.9 days.........(15.9)...........Georgia Border to Fontana (7.7 days)
24.4 days.......(40.3)...........Fontana to Damascus (24 days)
28.7 days.......(69.0)...........Damascus to Waynesboro (28 days)
11.2 days.......(80.2)...........Waynesboro to Harpers Ferry (11 days)
19.2 days.......(99.3)...........Harpers Ferry to DWG (19 days)
12.6 days......(111.9)...........DWG to Kent (12 days)
23.5 days......(135.4)...........Kent to Glencliff (23.2 days)
9.7 days........(145.1)..........Glencliff to Gorham (10 days)
9.9 days........(155.0)..........Gorham to Stratton (9.85 days)
13.7 days...... (168.8)..........Stratton to Katahdin (13.6 days)


TABLE 3 -- Date Landmarks Were Reached

MEDIAN DAY ~~ MEAN DAY ~~~ LANDMARK
March 17............March 20...........Springer
March 25............March 28...........Georgia Border
April 1................April 5...............Fontana
April 28..............April 29..............Damascus
May 29..............May 28..............Waynesboro
June 9...............June 8...............Harpers Ferry
June 29.............June 27..............DWG
July 12..............July 10...............Kent
Aug. 5...............Aug. 2...............Glencliff
Aug. 15.............Aug. 12..............Gorham
Aug. 26.............Aug. 22..............Stratton
Sept. 9..............Sept. 4..............Katahdin!

[map man]

If you leave late March/early April and make the kind of progress the average 5 month thru-hiker makes you would be at the AT train station in New York around the second week of July.

Also, are you hoping to finish in five months with a two week break in New York included in that five months?

[Malto]

Since this isn't in straight-forward...... I would reconsider the meeting plan. it sounds great now but may cause you considerable stress later.
1) You may feel pressure to get to a certain point at a certain time.
2) you may leave hikers that you have been with for a thousand miles.
3) you may want to be on the trail every minute that you are off trail.

i say this from experience. i did this on my thru and I would never plan to do this again.

[pauly_j]

If you leave late March/early April and make the kind of progress the average 5 month thru-hiker makes you would be at the AT train station in New York around the second week of July.

Also, are you hoping to finish in five months with a two week break in New York included in that five months?

I wasn't counting the side trips in the 5 months, just solid walking. I'm reasonably flexible with the timings and I obviously won't let her book her flights til last minute so I'm not rushing/stalling. I should have a pretty good idea when I'm a couple of weeks away I'm guessing. I'm hoping to spend around 5 months on the trail and maybe a month in side trips. I'd like to spend a week or so in Washington/Baltimore on the way too so if I'm getting to that point around late July that would be ideal. She gets about 6 weeks off from late July to early September.

I'd like to spend a week in NYC, a week in Phili, and a week in Montauk. Obviously I can adjust the timings of my side trips if I've over/underestimated my abilities on the trail.

As a Brit I'll only have a 6 month slot in your country so I'll not risk not completing the trail on side trips. I'm planning on going to Canada from Katahdin as well, and fly back from Toronto. Does anyone have any tips on the best way of getting from Katahdin to Quebec? Would hitching to the 201 be plausible?