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Thread: Day-hiking AT

  1. #1
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    Default Day-hiking AT

    I am about to complete a 15-year adventure of day-hiking the entire AT. 110 miles in Maine to go in the next 3-4 weeks depending on weather. By day hiking I mean not camping out at all and coming off the trail every night. I suspect this has been done before and have corresponded with one person that has done it. On the other hand, there are people who have claimed to have done it, but when you look further they backpacked a section or even skipped some important sections such as the White Mountains or the Smokies. I am curious as to how common a complete day-hike of the trail is. I get asked all the time but don't have an answer. If you have completed the trail by the definition above, or know someone who has, I would appreciate knowing about it.
    Whereas I am interested in anyone who has day-hiked the trail in any manner, you might be interested in the parameters I used.

    Pass every blaze without carrying a tent, sleeping bag, stove, water filter, etc. (I did have to take two high water bypass trails around flooded fords).

    Beer and/or cocktails every night (I did miss three cocktail hours in the Whites and two while sick).

    Shower or bath every afternoon.

    Sleep in a bed under a roof.

    Hot supper preferably prepared by someone else.


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    Pete Wetzel (Seeks It) did a DOUBLE thru by all day hikes in 2012.
    http://www.trailjournals.com/about.cfm?trailname=12720
    136 contiguous miles of MD + rocky PA-AT down, but 2042 miles to go

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    Quote Originally Posted by Disco View Post
    Pete Wetzel (Seeks It) did a DOUBLE thru by all day hikes in 2012.
    http://www.trailjournals.com/about.cfm?trailname=12720
    Pete is the one I referred to (to whom I referred)

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    For those interested - I did complete the AT by day hiking under the rules stated above, i.e. no camping, on August 16, 2015. It was 186 days averaging 11.75 miles per day. I am still interested in knowing who else has done it this way.

    What a great adventure!

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    Registered User Ktaadn's Avatar
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    Congrats! What were your logistics like? Did you have a shuttle or have someone move your car each day?

  6. #6

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    I am interested in this thread for sure, I have done a mix of both Day hikes as well as weekend backpacking trips. I can go further day hiking but if I do it for multiple days it costs more then backpacking via shuttles
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    We met a terrific couple from Maine last year in NJ who is doing this. I believe they were using two cars and just spotting one at either end. It seemed like they were having a wonderful time, and really having the freedom to explore and spend as much time as they wanted. A very cool thing to do!

    Jane

  8. #8
    Registered User joshuasdad's Avatar
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    Congrats! I started with a whole lot of day hikes, and I know it CAN be done, but the Smokies are a real pain without camping, and it gets expensive if your family is not around to help. I eventually switched to a 1-3 overnight strategy using a near-minimalist pack setup to save $$ and maximize hiking time.

    I'm guessing that you hiked the northern Smokies NOBO in one (marathon) day from Newfound Gap, and most of the southern Smokies in one long day SOBO from Clingman's Dome. You can break these up by dropping down on a side trail, but that doesn't save a lot of miles, and adds a lot of wasted vertical.

    The Whites would be relatively easy if you use the huts, but I think the cocktails and the shower/bath criteria would be difficult to meet there. So I guess you just had some monster days in there...

    Of course the big question is...now what? I've been trying to answer that one for the last year.
    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???

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    I too am very interested in learning more about your hike...it sounds like it could be a very cool way to see and enjoy the trail.

    On the one hand, it seems that the planning and funding for this type of hike would go far, far, beyond that of any other "typical" thru (or section) hike...and frankly, I enjoy setting up overnight in a beautiful setting, so I would miss that. But I can also imagine that just the basic logistics for this hike would allow you to see and experience so much more of the trail -- i.e., exposing you to more of the places and people along the trail corridor. That is a very attractive idea.

    A quick question: Did you bring anything (shelter or bivy, etc.) to hedge against any type of accident or delay?

    Congratulations on your hike! An awesome accomplishment. I would love to read more about it!
    fortis fortuna adjuvat

  10. #10
    13-45 Section Hiker Trash
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    I can't add any value as far as knowing anyone else that has day hiked the trail, but I just wanted to say congratulations on finishing. As a fellow section hiker I can attest to the pain of the logistics of section hiking. Day hiking seems like it would involve even more logistics. At any rate, if all goes well I'll hopefully be finishing in a few years.
    AT: 2007-2019 (45 sections)
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  11. #11

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    I've day-hiked the entire AT (including the Smokies) at least four times. I am surprised that more people don't do it this way. The completion rates would certainly increase. Most of the evenings I sleep in my car at road/trail crossings.
    Warren Doyle PhD
    34,000-miler (and counting)
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    www.warrendoyle.com

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    Great job! Congrats!

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    Quote Originally Posted by joshuasdad View Post
    I'm guessing that you hiked the northern Smokies NOBO in one (marathon) day from Newfound Gap, and most of the southern Smokies in one long day SOBO from Clingman's Dome. You can break these up by dropping down on a side trail, but that doesn't save a lot of miles, and adds a lot of wasted vertical.
    Would it add much difficulty if one broke that into 4 pieces, doing half of each half the opposite way?

    So say, for the northern half staring as you mention at Newfound, go north to about ½ the distance, find a side trail to drop off (down?) to a road.
    Next day, start at the northern access to the park, hike south to the same side trail as the day before.
    That way you covered the distance in two shorter (easier) days, and added only some extra downhill, avoiding the uphill that would be needed to start the 2nd section at the point where you ended the first section by going the opposite way.

  14. #14

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    I'm very interested in this as we have done the trail this way so far. Done 800 miles so far. I didn't think it was this common, as everybody we meet on the trail is very surprised we've been doing it this way.

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    When breaking the trail up this way, is there a particular way to document progress? I'm new tomthe section hike convept and this is sectioning in the extreme.
    Plaid is fast! Ticks suck, literally... It’s ok, bologna hoses off…
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  16. #16

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    An older man trail name Attilla the Hun did this back in 2007. I met him three different times in Maine. He would hike various directions depending on his car shuttle situations. He was rather ill and took medicine, part of the reason for his day hiking. We spent the night with him in the Sugar Shack, if you know where that is (was).

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    I have a friend who has a friend doing this. they drove one car to Springer, then got a second car and drove to their first point north of Springer. left second car at lot and then hiked south to Springer. then drove first car to hotel, hostel, etc. Supposedly costing about 40/night. next morning they drove to some point further north on the trail and then hike to the car left the previous day. drove that car to hotel etc. each day they move further north and hike to their car to the south. I just saw my friend this weekend and they have 150 miles to go. Not sure what they would do for the 100 mile wilderness, or if there were any other places they had to carry a pack and spend a night on the trail. While a meal/shower would be nice everyday, I would think I would feel like I was missing out on a big part of the trip by not staying on the trail most nights.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by BillyGr View Post
    Would it add much difficulty if one broke that into 4 pieces, doing half of each half the opposite way?

    So say, for the northern half staring as you mention at Newfound, go north to about ½ the distance, find a side trail to drop off (down?) to a road.
    Next day, start at the northern access to the park, hike south to the same side trail as the day before.
    That way you covered the distance in two shorter (easier) days, and added only some extra downhill, avoiding the uphill that would be needed to start the 2nd section at the point where you ended the first section by going the opposite way.
    That likely won't help much - most of the options for side trails going down to roads are nearly as long as just finishing the other 1/2 of the AT route. One thing that will help is taking advantage of the Clingman's Dome road. It will cut about 8 miles off your hike through the southern smokies. That still leaves you with two very tough ~30 mile day hikes, one south from Clingman's Dome to Fontana and one north from Newfound Gap to Davenport Gap. I'm sure it can be done - but it doesn't sound appealing to me.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kaptainkriz View Post
    When breaking the trail up this way, is there a particular way to document progress? I'm new tomthe section hike convept and this is sectioning in the extreme.
    http://www.atdist.com has a feature to track progress using browser cookies.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ktaadn View Post
    Congrats! What were your logistics like? Did you have a shuttle or have someone move your car each day?
    Thanks for your reply and those of several others. I will answer them in succession as there are many good questions. I, and the ATC, believe that alternative means of doing the AT reduces crowding and pressure on shelters, springs and other limited resources. Day hiking leaves a very light footprint on the trail and heightens the exposure in neighboring communities. One of the best benefits of our day-hiking was the time we spent in local communities and the people we met.
    OK, logistics - they were major. I spent much more time researching, planning and exploring access points than I did hiking. My wife, in a Buick Lucerne that went to places the designers never intended, shuttled me at least 70% of the time. We would always visit the pick-up points to be sure she knew where to bring my post-hike beer. She would drop me off in the morning and meet me in the afternoon. When she was unavailable or the access was too remote or difficult I hired shuttlers and would leave my vehicle at the end point and be driven to the trailhead. Many times shuttlers, rangers, etc. did not know the access points. I used Google Earth, old maps and local knowledge to find them. There's nothing like going to a happy hour at a local watering hole to ask if that woods road is still there, passable, and where I can hire a kid with a big truck. Everyone was so interested and helpful. The AT is not wilderness, not even here in Maine, and with local knowledge you can get there. My longest hike was 27 miles.

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