Am i crazy!?!

[johnsupertramp]

So heres the plan. I have no idea how i'm getting to Maine BUT.... I will. I have no idea how I'm getting home from georgia BUT..... I am. I know how to get from Maine to Georgia and those are at the ends of my legs. I am extremely new to hiking although i did do one long hike with the Boy Scout: 11 miles or so and they all started talking about the AT. I saw the AT and decided i was going to do it one day. Recently everything has changed in my life such as laid off from work, lost gf, think my car is going to blow up etc. I'm curently in college and 20 years of age I just started buying camping stuff and got it into my mind to go SOBO in June. I'm very physically capable. Here's my question... omiting fincial techincalities am i off my rocker and what advice would you heed to someone whos going to fly by the seat of their pants and do the damn deal?

[Lone Wolf]

You're perfectly normal. I did the same thing when I did my first thru-hike. Just do it.

[MOWGLI]

You're not crazy, but I might change my opinion if you do no hiking between now and June. Us the next six months to understand what you're getting in to. There is no substitute for backpacking when preparing for the AT.

Good luck.

[sparky2000]

What choices do you have? Doctors cost a lot more then the AT - swimming gets one wet - cars are for the wife -

[RedneckRye]

Go ahead, fly by the seat of your pants. Get to Maine - somehow, anyhow- and start walking south. Sure, you'll have some interesting experiences, but probably nothing that will kill you. This was the approach that the vast majority of thrus for decades (Earl till the mid-90's) used. When I did my initial "planning" in 96 and 97, I called the ATC, they sent me an info packet and catalog. I ordered the data book, planning guide, and maps. I had heard about Wingfoots website, but had no access or interest in the internet. I bought a new pair of boots in January, loaded up my gear (stuff I'd been using for a few years), and headed to Georgia the first week of april. Started walking north.

OR.....

Overplan, work out a daily schedule/mileage log, charts for caloric intake, agonize over every possible gear choice and option, spend hundreds of hours on websites, read every SOBO journal you can find, memorize resupply options and trail town maps, buy a digital scale to figure your packweight to the gram, begin e-mailing other '06 SOBOers so you will already have a pre-established community, overplan some more, loose sleep over this stove or that stove, etc, etc, etc...

Just my $.02.

[TJ aka Teej]

Welcome to WhiteBlaze.
Very few hikers starting a thru-hike of the AT have ever done a long distance backpacking trip before. The first person to try was called "The Crazy One."
Good advice above. I'll add: practice with your gear. You'd be surprised how many sobos show up at Katahdin and can't work their stoves, set up their tents, or pack their backpack. Most of them end up doing just fine, though.
And see if you can get to one of the Rucks. Nothing beats meeting other crazies.

[mingo]

you'll never make it

[hammock engineer]

Go for it. I'll see you SOBO. When you get your gear together do as others suggest and do some shake down hikes. There are some good beginning hikes in our area.

[Kerosene]

I second the suggestions to get in a few backpacking trips prior to the start of your AT journey, although it will be difficult to find a reasonable facsimile of the AT terrain in the Midwest. So just get out there to test out your boots and your equipment.

Once you get to Katahdin (by air, bus, train, hitching, or a combination of these), ideally after the peak blackfly season, avoid going out too fast. You probably have sufficient endurance but your joints and tendons need to work up to a constant day-after-day pounding. It would be great if you could hook up with an experienced hiker for the first few weeks just to work out the kinks, get in hiking shape, and learn how to deal with deep fords and wet weather. Scouting helps with some of the basics, but there's a lot more to learn. Even so, a lot of people have thru-hiked the AT without even that level of experience. Enjoy!

[Lion King]

Dude, I had never hiked a day in my life. Walked and ran yes, but hike...no.
Same kinda things happened to me...the AT calls, just answer and enjoy it.

Dont worry or fret, its a waste of time out here.
The dude abides and the trail provides.

[Moxie00]

You can get within 25 or 30 miles of Katahdin by bus. When your time gets close e-mail me here at Whiteblaze and I'll send you the bus schedule. With all the hikers, whitewater raft guides, and woodsmen in the ares if you stick out your thumb you wiill get to Millinocket and there catch a friendly ride to the mountain. Just hang out for an hour or so in ts Applachian Trail Cafe and someone will get you a ride to Katahdin. There is no real place to resupply for the first 100 miles so make sure of your gear and food before you start. The last store you will pass is at Abol Bridge and you can take care of anything you forgot there. Have a ball, many have made it with less preperation than you and had a great hike.

[rickb]

June is a long way off, so no need to take the seat of the pants approach. With the benefit of Whiteblaze, a smart person can get ALL the info they need in a a few hours. Then you spend a Saturday morning buying stuff. Then you go to Maine.

Specific advise:

1. Read the "Thru hiking Papers" a couple times over. The foundation they provide can not be beat, IMHO.

http://www.spiriteaglehome.com/THP%20top.html

2. Buy the ATC guidebook and set of maps for Maine. These will be of little use before you start walking, but they are good for day dreaming on the couch.

3. Go to www.aldha.org and click the on line version of "the Thru Hikers Companion". Then order a hard copy. This will be your "bible" once you get going.

3. Figure out a gear list with the help of Whiteblaze. Keep in mind that gear wont get you to Springer. Money in you pocket for food will, however. If you don't have a lot, don't feel you need the "best" of everything. Remeber that Southbounders need DEET and about 10 days worth of food when they leave Baxter State Park. Keep food to about 2#s per day and remember you will never need to carry that much again.

4. Don't worry about mailing yourself foodor anything else. Buy along the way.

5. Read the "Thru hiking Papers" again.

http://www.spiriteaglehome.com/THP%20top.html

6. Don't date any wonderful/beautiful women between now and June.

7. Walk.

8. Be prepared for people asking you if you are related to Alexander.

[Smooth]

You Go For It John! Overplaning was the biggest buzkil I saw out on the trail. I took three days of food to start. Was not sure I could 'do it' so I told NOBODY, not my mother, friends, or my credit card company. I just started. I took money (2 credit cards) and a dream. Many had preplaned where they would be when, what they would want to eat, and how much. They were wrong. Be willing to change. Bring love.

you'll never make it

[johnsupertramp]

Hmmm..... reverse psychology. I think im goign to carry a keg full of beer the whole way. We'll consider it a make shift hydration pack.

[johnsupertramp]

Hmmm..... reverse psychology. I think im goign to carry a keg full of beer the whole way. We'll consider it a make shift hydration pack.

My response to the clown who says i cant' somehow it ended up at the bottom.

[RITBlake]

Give it a shot, it can't hurt. Well it can hurt, but its always worth it!

[bfitz]

you'll never make it

You have no idea what you're talking about.

[micromega]

Being off your rocker isn't a bad thing. I personally believe rockers are for the old, the feeble, and the faint of heart, so they can sit on the front porch and watch life go by. Get off the rocker. Get out there. Live! Because there will inevitably come a time when you find yourself on the sideline taking a breather, and have a moment to reflect. "I wonder what would have happened if..." Nah. Regrets like that can pile up over the years. Just two cents worth from a guy who, on occassion, didn't have quite as much courage as he needed.

[JP]

John... Every time I have been told I could not do something, it made me more determined to do it. Go for it!!! Pack your pack and find what weight feels good to you. Practice cooking with your stove. Pick out what you think 10 days of food is and see if you can carry that much. Have fun!

[icemanat95]

Are you crazy? Well probably, but that's hardly relevant...most of us are or were.

Is it doable? Yup. Gather up info from here and Hiking HQ, do some test runs over long weekends in varying conditions to pound out some of the details, learn your gear and you'll at least have that taken care of. The rest is pretty easy. The real difficulty in long-distance-hiking is living in your headspace every day. That gets an awful lot of people.

But that's OK too. If you decide one day (or better yet, every day for a week or so in a row, to get off the trail and do something else, that's cool. The AT is supposed to be fun...if it stops being fun, then there is no reason to keep on doing it.