Southbound, Why do it?

[moxie]

I thru hiked north and loved "walking with spring". Left Georgia in mixed snow and sunny days. Hiked in summer heat and climbed Katahdin with beautiful foliage but snow on the summit. Every year 150-200 brave souls go southbound. They walk through Maine when the water is dangerous and high, the trail can be a sea of mud, and the black flies are so bad they sometimes sleep in the privy to escape them. By the time they reach North Carolina Labor Day has passed, most hostels are closed, and some southbounders tell me they go for days without seeing another human. Many spend Thanksgiving on the trail and then push hard to reach Springer before Christmas. They hike the Smokies in complete winter conditions. Yet some southbounders love their hikes. If you were a southbounder, why? were you bothered by the conditions mentioned? and if you do it again will you go north or south next time? Most of all, if you prefer southbound to northbound why?

[Chache]

I thru hiked north and loved "walking with spring". Left Georgia in mixed snow and sunny days. Hiked in summer heat and climbed Katahdin with beautiful foliage but snow on the summit. Every year 150-200 brave souls go southbound. They walk through Maine when the water is dangerous and high, the trail can be a sea of mud, and the black flies are so bad they sometimes sleep in the privy to escape them. By the time they reach North Carolina Labor Day has passed, most hostels are closed, and some southbounders tell me they go for days without seeing another human. Many spend Thanksgiving on the trail and then push hard to reach Springer before Christmas. They hike the Smokies in complete winter conditions. Yet some southbounders love their hikes. If you were a southbounder, why? were you bothered by the conditions mentioned? and if you do it again will you go north or south next time? Most of all, if you prefer southbound to northbound why?

SHHHH, they dont know their going south.

[Lone Wolf]

i liked my SOBO better than my 4 NOBOs

[scope]

They hike the Smokies in complete winter conditions.

Uh, as opposed to now? I'd probably rather spend Thanksgiving in the Smokies than March or April.

[JP]

So far I just section hike. I find you meet more people going south and wont get stuck in the same crowd every night. About 40% of the time I am camping alone and 90 to 95% hiking alone which alows me to not stress about hiking to slow or fast.

[Frosty]

I thru hiked north and loved "walking with spring". Left Georgia in mixed snow and sunny days. Hiked in summer heat and climbed Katahdin with beautiful foliage but snow on the summit. Every year 150-200 brave souls go southbound. They walk through Maine when the water is dangerous and high, the trail can be a sea of mud, and the black flies are so bad they sometimes sleep in the privy to escape them. By the time they reach North Carolina Labor Day has passed, most hostels are closed, and some southbounders tell me they go for days without seeing another human. Many spend Thanksgiving on the trail and then push hard to reach Springer before Christmas. They hike the Smokies in complete winter conditions. Yet some southbounders love their hikes. If you were a southbounder, why? were you bothered by the conditions mentioned? and if you do it again will you go north or south next time? Most of all, if you prefer southbound to northbound why?

Last summer I drove from Georgia to Maine. It took me two whole days and I was somewhat uncomfortable driving that long. Yet every year hundreds of people walk from Georgia to Maine. They start early in the spring, when it's cold even in the south. Their water bottles freeze, they battle sudden snow storms and icy rain. Mice and raccoons steal their food. They don't have flush toilets, or even any toilets sometimes. They shower about once a week, and usually have to PAY for lodging to do so. They have to hitchhike into towns just to buy food, and sometimes even have to MAIL food to themselves. When it rains, they have to make camp and pack up their gear in pouring rain. The whole middle of the hike has almost no views or rewards, they say it is like walking through a long green tunnel. In the summer, the springs and streams dry up and they have to carry extra water. In the fall it gets very cold in New Hampshire and Maine, and in Maine there are some rivers streams 100 feet wide they have to wade across! When they get to the end, they are in the middle of nowhere and have to hike and hitchhike for miles just to get to Millinocket, which isn't a whole lot in itself.

Yet some of these people love to do this. Most of all, if you choose to walk 2000 miles instead of drive, why?

[Marta]

Because it is there?

Seriously, I think the weather is at least as good, maybe better, going SOBO. You're in Maine and NH during the peak of the summer (July and Aug.), when it's not too hot and not too cold. You walk with fall into the warm, sunny South. You get peak leaf color for weeks. The bugs are a distant memory after about Labor Day. The small tribe of SOBOs is very loyal and supportive of each other. I noticed a lot more competitiveness amongst the NOBOs.

And hiking in the second half of the year fits into some people's schedules a lot better...

Marta/Five-Leaf

[neo]

i plan on a sobo when i retire,mainly to avoid the mass crowds.
i will have almost completed my north bound section hike neo

[gdwelker]

I don't anticipate being able to do a complete thru hike when I retire for a number of reasons, but had been considering doing Nobo as two section hikes, one per year. Perhaps, given these comments, I should think about making that two sobo section hikes, or from Springer to the midpoint as a NOBO, and from Katahdin to the midpoint as a SOBO?

[Moxie00]

I don't anticipate being able to do a complete thru hike when I retire for a number of reasons, but had been considering doing Nobo as two section hikes, one per year. Perhaps, given these comments, I should think about making that two sobo section hikes, or from Springer to the midpoint as a NOBO, and from Katahdin to the midpoint as a SOBO?

I met a couple of real neet ladies in 2000. They started south from Harpers Ferry in the early spring. They said the weather in the Virginia hills was much milder than the Georgia Mountains and the Smokies. A couple I northbounded with had also done nothern Virginia first, then gone to Springer, planning to skip nothern Virginia going north. When the ladies reached Springer in June they then planed to go back to Harpers Ferry and join the northbounders. This seemed like a great way to hike the trail. They missed the mob at Springer, hiked in good weather, and by June when they got back to Harpers Ferry only about 30% of the people who started in Georgia were still on the trail. I would still do it in one shot, Springer to Maine myself but the ladies plan seemed like a very clever way to hike the trail.

[Topcat]

I hope that someday i will be hiking southbound because i had just finished my northbound and decided i wasnt done yet.....thats my dream anyway

[hobbit]

yeah i can't imagine doing the trail southbound... but i live in maine and the support of walking home will definitley help so much! plus why would you choose to finish at springer in the dreary winter brown when you could finish at katahdin at the end of summer in its beauty also nh and maine is my favorite sections!

[Supernova]

Fewer crowds and as Five Leaf said great comradarie. Plus you get the joy of hearing the first Nobo's that you see in Maine snicker under their breath and tell their buddies that you will never make it and then continue to walk to walk to springer with that extra bit of motivation.

[QHShowoman]

I was originally inspired to plan my thru-hike as a SOBO after reading the trail journal of a successful SOBOer. However, what really hammered it home for me was hearing Laurie Pottieger of the ATC speak on LNT Ethics and about helping to reduce wear and tear on the trail by staggering start dates or hiking SOBO. My biggest concerns so far about a SOBO hike are the stream crossings up north.

[khaynie]

Sobo was awesome. Here are my reasons why:

It fit our schedule # 1

Less crowds

The trail is alive in the spring and summer; the smells, the greenery, wildlife, etc.

Swimming is a daily occurance - this was huge!

The bugs sucked but they soon were forgotten

Hiking into fall was awesome

For us Southern folk...a sobo means walking home

[hobbit]

yeah i can understand if you lived in the south but if i would feel really depressed when i passed my home...

[rafe]

My biggest concerns so far about a SOBO hike are the stream crossings up north.

Not a big deal, don't worry about it. Bring along a pair of Crocs or submersible footwear. Use your hiking poles (I managed without) or grab a couple of sticks/branches for support. They're about 30 yards wide and about a foot deep at most -- maybe more if there's been a heavy rain or snow runoff.

You will, for sure, be dealing with some of the most rugged parts of the trail early on -- southern Maine and the Whites, in particular. And you'll need to be a bit better prepared from the get-go than most NOBOs, as there are fewer opportunities for re-gearing.