SOLO thru-hiker SOBO in mid July

[brad2291]

I am very nervous about my upcoming hike. I feel I'm not nearly prepared enough.
I am planning 10-15 miles per day the first month, 15-20 the second and 20-25 after that with a day off every week or so. I'm also prepared to take a week or two off to deal with minor injuries if I have to. I do realize that my schedule will change dramatically, but wanted to have a starting point.
I was originally planning this with a friend, but life happened and he backed out. Is a solo thru-hike a bad idea? What do I tell the dozens of people who think i'm going to kill myself? Will I kill myself being semi-alone for 6 months?
I plan to cook one meal per day (dinner) unless i'm in town or can pick up something from a restaurant. I have most of my dinners and snacks (beef jerkey, gorp, clif bars, dried fruit) already purchased. I'm mailing 12 mail drops for the whole trail. If I have severely underestimated my food, is buying it in towns for the trail going to be a problem?
I'm taking a tarp to save on weight. Am I crazy to think I can use it to keep my down sleeping bag dry? I have a msr superfly stove, and i have made a penny alcohol stove. Which will be easier to get fuel for? Which will work better? It's probly just a matter of personal preference.
sorry for making this so long
-poppy

[spittinpigeon]

You won't be alone, you'll meet people. Saving weight with a tarp is great, but bugs aren't. 12 maildrops seems too little, you'll be carrying a lot of food weight.

[Frosty]

If you bring a tarp to start SB, bring along bug netting so you don't get eaten alive. And don't forget a headnet. Crocs are a good bet to start SB because of fords. Good luck. You couldn't pay me enough to hike through Maine in June.

[mudhead]

Even in bug season I have seen plenty of souls on the trail in Maine.

Head net. Sleeping net. DEET.

Have a helacious time.

Be well.

[onicoe]

hey, you'll prolly run into me along the trail. [: my planned to do list fell apart and i'm still waiting for my pack to be made and mailed to me. i only have a few minor things left to purchase but just that fact alone has me feeling unprepared and slightly anxious. i'm using a tarp too. with a good setup and a ground cloth of sorts you should be fine.

i've heard food in new england is easy, plus going sobo, you won't have to deal with the craziness of alot of nobo's buying all the food before you get there. i've read somewhere on here that before you go into the 100 mile wilderness you should stock up on like 10+ days of food? i got resupply points marked out on my maps but they're scattered over different parts of the house at the moment. |:

i think you'll do fine out there, i hope to see you.

[hammock engineer]

I'm planning a little less than you. All the mail drops I am going to do are for guidebook and map sections. I am leaving food at home to be sent with it. I figure if I am going to the PO anyways and paying postage anyways.

Other than that I am just going to resupply as I go. I am planning on downloading the resupply article here onto my pocketmail. Between that and my guide book, I shouldn't have too many issues.

One thing I am thinking about is sending my first mail drop to Monson. That way I can resupply everything I will use up though the 100 miles. If you do this, I would mail it out a couple weeks before you leave to make sure it gets there before you do.

[Johnny Swank]

Hammock Engineer has the right idea. That boy's going to be fine on the trail.

[Ewker]

One thing I am thinking about is sending my first mail drop to Monson. That way I can resupply everything I will use up though the 100 miles. If you do this, I would mail it out a couple weeks before you leave to make sure it gets there before you do.

I would recommend calling them before you go just to make sure they have received it. Baseing this off what happened at Neels Gap when folks sent food drops 10 days ahead of time and they never got there. better safe than sorry

[rafe]

FWIW, once you get past Monson, you can think of the hike as a collection of intense three-day sections: 1) Caratunk to Stratton, 2) Stratton to Rangeley, 3) Rangeley to Grafton Notch, and 4) Grafton Notch to Gorham. There are lots of opportunities for slackpacking around Andover. You could do that section as three day hikes, staying in Andover each night.

In any case, in the above paragraph I've listed about all the "useful" trail towns in Maine. Below Monson, it's about 35 miles of tough hiking between stops.

[hammock engineer]

I would recommend calling them before you go just to make sure they have received it. Baseing this off what happened at Neels Gap when folks sent food drops 10 days ahead of time and they never got there. better safe than sorry

Thanks, I'll do that. I have read somewhere that a package will probibly not make it in time from Bangor to Monson if you mail it the day before you start.

[onehunglo]

It's important to remember that no plan survives contact with reality. Your trail will creat its own plan as you go. I ahve section-hiked from Springer to Harper's Ferry and will flip-flop for the north section, starting at Katadin on Jul 30. See you along the trail. there willb e plenty of SOBO Solo's out there and we will be meeting NOBO's daily. Trail info should be easy to get. Hope you don't mind what you eat.

[Groomez]

brad 2291,
I'm also doing pretty much the same thing as you. I might start in beginning of July. But I guess whenever I get up to maine, and more so the mountain, I'll start hiking. I'm buying food as I go. I sold my motorcycle to do that.

But from the looks of things, they'll be plenty of people to help us out along the way. I'm trying not to plan too much, as I know my plans would be changed.

Anyways, see yall on the trail. I've got red hair and tattoos. Can't miss me

-shaun

[Crawbear]

What do I tell the dozens of people who think i'm going to kill myself?

Tell them you're way more prepared than this crazy guy in Texas starting on July 2! See you in Maine.