any advice?

[charliethruhike]

So next summer I am hiking the Appalachian Trail, and writing about it on my blog! What I am looking for are things that most experienced hikers know, that it would help everyone to know! also anything that you see as "I wish I had known that".

[bfayer]

I can guarantee that you will get all the answers you will ever want on here, many of them conflicting.

I am just a weekend section hiker and I don't know what your background is, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Above all else, match your expectations with you abilities! You will see a lot of posts on here about how they do 20+ miles a day or how this section or that section was easy. When you start hiking don't do more than your abilities allow. If you can hike 20+ a day great, but dont think you need to just becasue someone else told you you should.

Also keep your pack reasonably light, you will enjoy yourself much more if you only pack what you need.

Welcome to WB!

[hikerboy57]

you might also want to check out trail journals.com. there are plenty of people who have completed the at or are still on trail. you can benefit from thier experience as well as ours.
also, check out the articles here on the home page., plenty of stats, info on resupply, etc.
welcome to wb.

[moldy]

You plan on bringing dogs?

[FarmerChef]

Biggest thing I wish I knew was to "do as the Romans do." Even as a section hiker, the more I adopted what Thru's did the easier it became. How did I learn? By being on the trail, the same way you'll be as you get started. Read lots of trailjournals journals - look for the ones with lots of entries, you'll get more detailed descriptions that way. Don't sweat it too much, just take it slow in the beginning and let it ride. Enjoy yourself, don't plan every day weeks in advance. Your plans WILL change once you hit the trail on the first day. It will not be all roses and posies. That much you know. But it will be much harder than you could imagine some times and much easier others. Just take what the traill gives you on a day to day basis. Don't fight it. The trail always wins. Most people out there are good and want to help you. Be polite, respectful, courteous and kind and you will get the same if not more in return. That's all I got right now. Hope it helps.

[Slo-go'en]

Keep in mind that very, very few dogs have completed a thru hike. Starting out with a dog also greatly reduces the chances of your finishing a thru hike. Much has been said on this subject here on WB and much more will be said, maybe in this thread now that the subject has come up.

I know, your dog is different and your *sure* he can do it. Right. That's what they all say and soon find out different. Besides the long term physical challenges for the dog, finding places to stay in town and getting things done is a lot more difficult, time consuming and expensive then if you were alone. From a simple logistics view, Fido greatly complicates your life. If your serious about doing a thru hike, leave Fido home or have a plan to get him home when the time comes, as it will come.

Other than that, don't start too early, pack as light as possible and have more then enough money stashed away.

[Odd Man Out]

... don't plan every day weeks in advance. Your plans WILL change once you hit the trail on the first day....

Or as it is often suggested here - write out a detailed plan for your hike on a piece of paper, then on the first day, use that as a fire starter.

[johnnybgood]

In other words, enjoy the journey as much as the destination.

[hikerboy57]

outside of moldy, where did the dog come from, didnt see any mention of a dog in the op

[ams212001]

outside of moldy, where did the dog come from, didnt see any mention of a dog in the op

His blog has numerous posts about his dog and talks about them doing the trail together.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Keep in mind that very, very few dogs have completed a thru hike. Starting out with a dog also greatly reduces the chances of your finishing a thru hike. Much has been said on this subject here on WB and much more will be said, maybe in this thread now that the subject has come up.

I know, your dog is different and your *sure* he can do it. Right. That's what they all say and soon find out different. Besides the long term physical challenges for the dog, finding places to stay in town and getting things done is a lot more difficult, time consuming and expensive then if you were alone. From a simple logistics view, Fido greatly complicates your life. If your serious about doing a thru hike, leave Fido home or have a plan to get him home when the time comes, as it will come.

Other than that, don't start too early, pack as light as possible and have more then enough money stashed away.

While I am one of the most pro-dog folks on this site, everything that slo-go-en said is accurate. While we could sit here and lecture you about various things dog related, I think it's easier to sum it up with this:

(Keep in mind this is general advice, it may or many not all apply to your situation. I'm also mostly listing the negative stuff, since you probably already know all the reasons why it's awesome to have your dog with you.)

- Bringing dogs changes the entire dynamic of your hike, it becomes the dog's hike and it's wellbeing comes first, your hike comes second.

- Don't consider bringing a dog unless you and the dog have backpacked together extensively beforehand. This means doing full or multi-week trips; dayhikes and overnight shakedowns are not sufficient practice for long distance backpacking.

- Have somebody at home that is available to take the dog in and care for it in the event that the dog needs to go home. Also make sure you have a way of getting your dog to this person in the event that your dog cannot continue the hike with you.

- Using a leash will prevent many conflicts in the trail. In my experience about 95% of dogs I've met on the trail (my dog included) weren't trained well enough or didn't have the right temperament to be off leash safely. Unfortunately everyone seems to think that their dog is one of the 5% that is just perfect and this is why so many people bitch about problem dogs on the A.T.

Again, I don't mean to be a downer, but this is a list of the things that will prevent or fix most of the common problems people encounter when hiking with dogs.

[lemon b]

Just have fun. That's what its all about.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Or as it is often suggested here - write out a detailed plan for your hike on a piece of paper, then on the first day, use that as a fire starter.

That's great advice!

[Mags]

Wrote this article as it addresses many of the questions that frequently come up:
http://www.pmags.com/a-quick-and-dir...alachian-trail


Good luck. Be safe. And have fun!

[BirdBrain]

The biggest lesson that I have learned is that there is no one perfect way to do a hike. That was hard for me to except. Many will proclaim their way to be the best and that other people's ways are BS. Ignore the noise. Find what works for you. Be open to every reasonable tip. Be ready to change everything once you have a week or 2 on the trail behind you. You won't know what works for you until you have actually hiked some distance. It is wise to plan as best you can and try to limit the snags. However, there will be snags. It is all part of the adventure.

[kayak karl]

everything i planned for didn't happen. everything that happened was not planned. surprise surprise.

[charliethruhike]

A lot of great advice! is there anyone on here that would be opposed to being quoted in a post on my blog? Negativistic stuff is good too because I definitely already understand a lot of the positive side of having a dog in the wilderness with you.

[Tipi Walter]

Here are some things---

** Start sleeping outside in your backyard and get used to using a sleeping pad, either an inflatable or a foam. It takes several days---a week---to get used to sleeping on the ground.

** If you're doing a summer hike, go ahead and get a headnet now. Sea to Summit sells a good one.

** Keep sleeping outside in the yard or on a deck or patio.

[Dogwood]

Any advice?

You might consider but do not take everyone's advice!

You don't need the perfect or ideal gear set-up/rain jacket, etc(whatever that means?), hiking philosophy(whatever that means?), itinerary(whatever that means?), hiking budget(whatever that means?), trail diet(whatever that means?), etc to happily thru-hike the AT. All these things and a great many other things are constantly evolving as it pertains to yourself and to others. What is right FOR YOU at the beginning of your hike will change as you continue on your thru-hike. Embrace that! You will evolve as a hiker as you are evolving as a human being. What you can use is a great amount of laughter, flexibility, adaptability, commitment, independence that necessitates a greater responsibility for your actions and lifestyle, and being a good manager of yourself and your hike. Being a good manager is required of all who complete thru-hikes. This includes managing not only logistics but your body and especially what goes on between your ears. You do not and can not know all that will take place on your hike. Don't try to do this as you'll probably wind up getting hung up in the minutiae. and get overwhelmed. Get comfortable managing being outside your present comfort zones especially as it pertains to your thought processes. Walking around town in the rain w/ your pack on, sleeping outside in your shelter, practicing walking(sounds silly but if you don't enjoy LOTS AND LOTS of walking for long hrs(10 + hrs) WHEN YOU'RE NOT GOING BACK TO A HOUSE W/IT'S CONVENIENCES WHEN THE WALKING IS OVER FOR THAT DAY you will have a difficult time doing a thru-hike), abstaining from electronics(TV, internet, AC, ph., etc), preparing and eating at home what you will eat on the trail, getting familiar with all your gear(practice using your stove, setting up your shelter, adjusting and geting used to wearing a backpack for 10 hrs /day, etc), etc can all help.

ENJOY the journey. Staying in the moment not living in the future and not reliving the past is helpful FOR ME in this regard. Maybe, it can help you too.

[Dogwood]

Carefully read through AND CONSIDER and then reconsider what Slo-go-en and STE wrote about taking along a dog on a thru-hike.