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  1. #1
    Registered User AlyontheAT2016's Avatar
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    08-25-2015
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    Default NOBO starting April 24?

    I had initially been planning to start May 1, but now I'm thinking I'd like to give myself a little extra time. I'd still like to avoid the bubble, as well as Trail Days, but a NOBO is logistically the easiest hike for me to do. Is an April 24 start (a Sunday) still going to have me miss the bulk of thru-hiker congestion? am I fooling myself?

  2. #2

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    You will miss the majority of it.

  3. #3

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    You're a wise man to start then.
    Have fun.
    Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams

  4. #4
    Registered User The Cleaner's Avatar
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    You'll get to follow the wake of the earlier starters.Trashed shelters and campsites.More towns and hostels will be" hostile" due to ridiculous behavior of the many new hikers on the trail with no real clue of proper hiker behavior...
    Sleep on the ground, rise with the sun and hike with the wind....

  5. #5

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    If you average a typical 15 MPD hiking pace you'll miss Trail Days by about 10 days. That should be enough time to let the bottle neck created by TD to disperse and thin out the crowds. A fair number of hikers south of Damascus will skip up ahead to attend the party and then don't bother to bounce back south, so the trail will become a lot quieter for you as you approach Damascus. But once past there you'll start to run into the slow poke party crowd again pretty quickly.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  6. #6
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Hitting the Smokies before Memorial Day and/or the end of school will be a plus too.

    Wayne
    Eddie Valiant: "That lame-brain freeway idea could only be cooked up by a toon."
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  7. #7
    Registered User AlyontheAT2016's Avatar
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    Default

    Thanks for the responses! It seems like it might be a good decision to make then. Knowing I have an extra week to make it to Katahdin makes me feel way more at ease already!

    And I don't agree that following the wake of early starters will only bring me trashed shelters and hostile trail towns. That's a pretty cynical thing to assume of a large and diverse group of people.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    AT '16: 1,378 miles GA-NY

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