thru hike in 120 days?

[Invictus]

Looking for personal experience and opinions on doing a thru hike in 120 days! How doable is this and what are the major contributing factors in doing it in such a time?

[johnnyblisters]

I can't speak from experience, but it is doable for sure! If you keep your zero's limited (nero mentality) and keep a steady pace, you can do it. Some factors include physical condition, timing, budget, injuries, the list could go on and on. I'm planning for around 150 as a buffer. If I finish before or after, I still walked the trail.

[warraghiyagey]

Doable if you're fit, lucky and focused. . . don't forget to enjoy....

[garlic08]

These will help: Light weight pack, physical conditioning, long trail experience, and good attitude (not in any order).

I did my thru, with my 64 year-old partner, in 2008 in 106 days. We were both PCT and CDT veterans (hiked them both together), and Pickle had hiked the AT before, too. Our pack weights were low, below 8 pounds base weight in the summer. We were in excellent hiking condition, ready to start out with 20-mile days. We took three zeros. The hiking stayed fun if difficult in spots, so we didn't need any long breaks and we enjoyed the constant forward progress. We're both goal-driven types and we hike well together. We did no food drops, and spent very little time in towns.

One drawback of the fast hike is you'll be mostly alone. You'll meet lots of people as you pass, but you won't gain a much of a "trail family", until maybe the last month when many others start to pick up some speed.

Another thing to consider is a faster hike is a cheaper hike. If you're on a budget, it's a good way to stretch your dollars. I didn't really skimp on anything--ate lots of restaurant meals and stayed in motels whenever the timing was right, and my hike came in under $3,500 including transportation and gear.

Good luck!

[Slo-go'en]

Oh, it can be done and has been, but do the math. 2174 miles/120 = 18.11 miles a day minimum every day. Factor in a few zeros and nearo's and your realistically up to 20-25 miles a day. Thats not too hard to do until you get to New England and your body is already beat up.

The question you have to ask is can you start out and maintain that pace for 4 months? If your in really, really good shape, have done a lot of hiking before and don't have to learn as you go, then maybe you got a shot. And hope you don't get a really bad case of bilsters a week out starting with a 20 mile a day pace.

I think a better approch is just to go hiking for 120 days at a comfortable pace and enjoy however much of the trail you can do in that time. You'll have a better chance of actually staying on the trail the full 120 days that way.

[stranger]

I've never thru-hiked (I have done 3 hikes over 500 miles) so take this with a grain of salt. However, I have maintained a daily average of well over 18 miles per day...and this is not overly difficult assuming you have experience, a relatively light pack or are experienced with a heavier load, and don't mind hiking 11-12 hours per day.

Most fit hikers i know average around 2.5+ miles per hour, so do the math...18 miles, or 23 for that matter...is not that long of a day. The problem along the AT for many people, including myself, is that it's not a wilderness trail, it's much more of a social experience, with many towns and opportunities to spend money, hang out, take time off and be merry with other hikers.

I agree that maintaining an 18 mile per day average could be challenging, but this depends on you more than anything else. If you started out doing 15-20 in the south, then ramped it up to 22-27 through the mid-atlantic and southern New England, then dropped back to high teens through the north, 4 months is no problem.

But when you are packing up in a warm hostel or motel while it's raining outside, and you see your long lost trail friends walking by, it's hard to say hello and hike out into the storm...it's much easier to stay put, hang out, enjoy another shower and pizza, and justify the decision "this one time".

It's all about priorities and discipline, and until you are in the moment it's hard to understand in my opinion.

[Panzer1]

why would you want to do it in 120 days?

Panzer

[Blissful]

Hikers have done it in that frame of time. High miles, early mornings late nights, some night hiking too. But you need to be in top notch condition mentally and physically.

[Invictus]

Hello all and thank all of you for your feedback. I have taken it in and look forward to much more. As for my physical and mental state, I would say that I am in a good place. I am 37 and in very good physical condition. I practice a spritual program that requires alot of discipline and am hopeful that I can draw from that.
I have alot of trail experience and stay on it somewhere throughout all the seasons. I have Acadia National Park for a back yard and am in it on a daily basis. I have done many 20 mi. days in this terain. The huge grey area for me is that I have not maintained these distances for more than 2 weeks at a time. So can I maintain for 4 months? more will be revealed. I am planning a 2011 NOBO so I have a year left to prepair. first section of the season is going to be late may, monson to katahdin. I will do as much of this longer term hiking in the coming months as i can. I will accept whatever outcom lies ahead for me but will attack this goal with vigilance! I hope that you all have a wonderful day~


David~

[Tin Man]

A couple years ago, two brothers in their 20's who live in my neck of the woods reportedly thru-hiked in 99 days.

[max patch]

Take one day off a week for rest and resupply and you'll need to average 21 mpd.

Start no earlier than April 1 to avoid bad weather. Most importantly, you'll need to hike solo and not get caught up with a group. If you hike with a group you wont't make it.

[A-Train]

Hello all and thank all of you for your feedback. I have taken it in and look forward to much more. As for my physical and mental state, I would say that I am in a good place. I am 37 and in very good physical condition. I practice a spritual program that requires alot of discipline and am hopeful that I can draw from that.
I have alot of trail experience and stay on it somewhere throughout all the seasons. I have Acadia National Park for a back yard and am in it on a daily basis. I have done many 20 mi. days in this terain. The huge grey area for me is that I have not maintained these distances for more than 2 weeks at a time. So can I maintain for 4 months? more will be revealed. I am planning a 2011 NOBO so I have a year left to prepair. first section of the season is going to be late may, monson to katahdin. I will do as much of this longer term hiking in the coming months as i can. I will accept whatever outcom lies ahead for me but will attack this goal with vigilance! I hope that you all have a wonderful day~


David~

as everyone said, it is certainly doable, if you stay disciplined. Honestly the physical aspect probably won't be your biggest challenge once you get into a groove.

My biggest piece of advice would be to not start out trying to do 18 miles a day. you will do many days over 20+ later in the hike when the terrain becomes easy. Start out with 10-15 mile days and build up a mile or two every couple of days. If you injure yourself in the first week, what was the point? Stretch, take breaks and take care of your feet (shoes off break every few hours)

[Slo-go'en]

One last thing, be prepaired to camp between shelters more often than not. Along much of the trail, the shelters are spaced a little too far apart to do every other shelter and too close together to maintain a 20+ mile a day pace. This is were the hammock hangers have an advantage over us tent'ers. A hammock can be strung up just about anywhere, while with a tent you have to find just the right spot.

[Mags]

"Dream big and dare to fail"
--Norman Vaughan (Short story? He climbed a 10k ft peak named for him in Antartica..on HIS 89th FREAKIN' B-DAY!)


You've received some good advice overall (ignore the one about night hiking though! Huh? )

I average that pace or more myself and I am an average schlub. The "secret" is consistency. As others said, try to limit your town stops, don't get too caught up in the social aspect of the AT (which can be a minus as honestly, the AT *is* very much a social trail..if you want it to be), and enjoy walking.

If you backpack to camp, this pace may not be enjoyable.

If you backpack to to hike, then walking all day is wonderful.

Getting up with the morning light when the world is coming alive and ending the day in the evening twilight when there is a calmness in the air.

(And, IMO, not camping in shelters give you the best spots! )

Good luck...and have fun!

[Blissful]

(ignore the one about night hiking though! Huh? )

Why? I mean in '07 a lot did night hiking. Esp with the moon out. I mean I never wanted to do it but many did. And I saw some even last week who were going to hike some in late evening to make miles (when the sun went down). I suppose it should say - be prepared to hike into the evening if behind schedule. Which can be tatamount to night hiking depending on the time of year.

[The_Saint]

It's without a doubt possible, but doesn't sound all that enjoyable. Mine took 5 1/2 months last year and I wish I would have taken just a little bit longer. Everyone is different, but I got to stay at alot of hostels and meet some amazing people. The days where I was pushing to finish miles up weren't my favorite. The stroll on the trail is the way to go.

[Mags]

Why? I mean in '07 a lot did night hiking. Esp with the moon out. I mean I never wanted to do it but many did.

You implied you must night hike to do "big" 20 mile days.

You are wrong.

Otherwise many people on the PCT, CDT and other trails would do a lot more night hiking (where 20 MPD are the norm).

Keep in mind I did ~25 MPD on the BMT in February/March and did not hike into the night.

But, I also don't claim it is OK to be out out shape prior to a thru-hike either.

[Invictus]

Again, thank all of you for your feedback. I am greatful for it. I don't like hiking at night so unless it is an emergency I will settle for whatever I get done durring daylight hours. I have sent a message to an old friend of mine, Scott Greirson, that has done this hike several times and once in 55 days assisted. I am looking forward to hearing from him about this hike. He lives in the next town from me and I can hear the lions talk to each other where he works at the trenton animal zoo. I have a great deal of respect for anyone that has even attempted to thru hike. It is a huge deal. I look forward to meeting many of you as we go~

[Cookerhiker]

My longest hike was 300 miles so I can't offer a thruhiker's perspective. The advice you've received is all sound but it seems to me your success also depends on planning your resupply needs carefully and efficiently. The obvious point is don't send mail drops to POs and then find yourself arriving on a Saturday afternoon having to wait until Monday morning for your stuff.

Beyond this, I'd recommend you research each supply opportunity (and if you're going ultralight, you're resupplying more often?) to minimize the time and distance off-trail. Many thrus will say you never need maildrops but perhaps there are some locations where a maildrop is your best option. One such example: hiking the stretch parallel to the Blue Ridge Parkway where you're better off sending a maildrop to the Dutch Haus than trying to find a decent store.

[Johnny Swank]

Totally do-able, if you you have the right mindset and a lighter pack. My wife and I are (very) tentatively planning on a 4-month hike, leaving no earlier than April 15. We've both into hiking all day and taking very few zero days. I took 30+ zeros when I thru-hiked, but we took only 3 in 2.5 months when we paddled the Mississippi River. We routinely carry 5-6 days of food and skip towns when possible, and just make miles every day. Consistency is your friend in that respect.