Early-Mid March (depends on how fast you hike).Originally Posted by r1butler
I have read a few books about hikes on the AT and then have talked to some people that have done thru hikes. The consensus was to enjoy the hike and not just run thru to say you did it. One thru hiker told me that when she got to the shelters at night she would say wow did you see this or that and people would look at her like what...they were in such a hurry that they missed waterfalls, views, and just time to enjoy the surroundings, they were in such a hurry that heads were down and the march was on, that has stuck with me. If you have the time I would take the time.
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I definitely agree- that's why I'm starting in February- no time constrictions, including Katahdin's close date! And you're right. One time, I was section hiking, and I was watching these beavers in their dam, and this other girl buzzed past. Whatever floats your boat though- if you like it fast or slow, HYOH.
then start 1/1/10. there is a send off party 12/31/09, and every year. you won't regret it.
I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.
For some people, a three or four month thru hike is MORE enjoyable than a longer hike. Also, it is possible that MORE can bee seen in the same amount of time by a hiker that covers more distance.
I would really like that, but I won't have quite enough money until February.
June 15, starting in Maine (got to put a plug in for going Southbound!)
-less crowds
-no time limits
-hike in the south during fall
-50's at night through Maine and New Hampshire
Ideally I wouldn't want to start May 1st but the way life is going I might need to push it back to that. I never really considered A SOBO hike for some reason. I wanted to know If any one else did a may 1st start date and what it was like I mean its 15 mile days with 15 0 days so its not booking it too hard....
21.1% Done
I dont know, arriving on springer doesnt really seem like as rewarding as katadin, i see all these pics of katadin and that old sign, but its like just an arbor on springer w/o much of a view (from my observances.)
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That's definitely part of why a lot of people go NoBo- Springer seems so anti-climactic. Besides, I like going north.
(Though for some reason, going south does feel like going down hill. Like treebeard says!)
It all depends. I'm not figuring on starting with 15 mile days (though most thru hikers do usually average 16-18 miles a day, so you're probably right in your figures), and if you get sick and need to stay in town for a week or whatnot, you never know. It all depends on what you want. If you're going NoBo, you should think about whether or not you really want the constraint of Katahdin's closing date hanging over you. I don't like the idea of needing to meet a deadline like that. I think I would always feel rushed.
If you want to understand what it would be like, buy the excellent AT documentary "Trek", as the 4 guys who star in it set out on May 1st from Springer Mountain, and 3 of them complete their thru-hikes. Being you are young, if you are in decent shape, you most likely can too.
May 1st wouldn't be too bad, just be hiking in some hot weather in the summer. If you aim for Sept 15 to summit its 138 days, I took 142 on my hike with 8 days in a row off at one point to go home for my sisters high school graduation. For 138 days that's an average of 15.7 miles per day, easily done, as you wont be carrying winter gear at the beginning of the hike. If you leave in any kind of shape, there is no reason to not start with 15-17 miles per day. I sectioned this Feburary from Springer to Newfound gap with winter gear and was doing 14-17 miles per day with my 57 year old father, with only about 100 miles of training hikes on the AT in NY. You will have some nice long hours of daylight in May, even averaging only 1.5 miles per hour, its 10 hrs of hiking, less than 8hrs for 2mph. If you can do some training hikes with gear beforehand, it shouldnt be a problem, if you can hike 10 miles during a training hike, you can hike 15 once you start, its just a couple extra hours at the end of the day.
If being too crowded (especially on-trail but also in towns) is the issue, you can start anytime. Just avoid shelters and hostels. Camp away from the shelters, use commercial campgrounds, motels, etc. in towns, and resist using a hostel just because it's there in between towns. If you get word that a huge group is staying at a particular motel right when you'll be hitting a town, try a different motel.
Most long distance trails don't have the quantity of shelters, hostels, etc. that the AT does. Backpackers do very well in such environments. It takes a little more knowledge that quickly becomes hands-on experience—and an appreciation for solitude. If and when the solitude gets old, seek out other hikers who may also want to avoid shelters but wouldn't mind sharing a more primitive camping area.
With the excellent guidebooks available for the AT, pre-identifying decent campsites isn't that tough; but even on a day when there might not be anything in print you can be creative and find something useable 95% of the time. For that other 5%, you may need to suffer a little but IMHO suffering at a crowded shelter is worse. YMMV.
Ouch! 15-17 MPD from the start? Hats off to you if you did this, but IMHO it's a recipe for disaster for many just starting.
start date at Springer
Start March 21 first day of spring. If you wait till April, hords of people. If you go Mid March or earlier..expect winter conditions.
David
I was wondering if a thru hiker was wanting to start early to avoid most of the crowds but still wanted to witness the rhodendrons & azaleas blooming in NC/Tenn, what would be a good start date?
No problem starting NOBO May 1st.
BTW - As far as Katahdin, we did summit on a great cloudless day but plenty do summit also on a cloudy overcast, can't see nutihin but the sign. So don't make the end summit and its views, etc your idea as to whether you should go NOBO or SOBO.
Winter in April too. We had 2 snowstorms then.
Expect anything and everything.
You're better off seeing them actually on the Blue Ridge Parkway section in mid VA - of which an early March start would put you there at the right time (early to mid May). Nice displays of rhodo and tunnels of mt laurel.
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