Originally Posted by
colorado_rob
Yeah, I do suppose one could reasonably still do a long hike if he/she had direct support. Still, he/she would probably want an occasional actual shower/hotel/hostel, and to do some laundry I would think. It would be tough to do a long hike w/o ANY town support, but it is feasible, especially in the summer (lots of swimming to get clean).
Another option if hiking with another (friend, spouse, whatever) is to do a leap-frog resupply hike with two vehicles. My wife and I did the CO trail this way, it worked really well, it would completely eliminate the need for any outside interaction whatsoever, assuming you're willing to only clean yourself and clothes in the wild.
In case you've never heard of the leap-frog method, basically you drive two cars to the far end of the trail, take one car back to the beginning of a 4-5 day section (or whatever time works), hike to the end of the trail, get the one vehicle, drive back two sections, hike to the other vehicle, drive back another two sections, repeat, repeat. Load both vehicles with all resupplies needed, then hike away. This method would even work hiking solo, as long as you had a pal help you out at the start (and end) with your 2nd car.
I met a guy "pringles" on the AT doing the entire trail this way (solo). I saw him every day for a week or so, always hiking southbound, though he (and I) were making our way northbound, if you follow all of that. He was called "pringles" because he always carried a couple cans of these horrible, yet wonderful "chips" and passed them out to the northbounders.