The ear plugs are a must! .....At least for me!
The ear plugs are a must! .....At least for me!
Simply get up at 4AM and pack your stuff and go hike.
Stop an hour or two later and have breakfast at an awesome lookout.
I hiked with a guy on more than one thru-hike who did this everyday.
He would wait for the rest of us at the breakfast spot and we'd all enjoy the great spot too.
I don't understand the problem.
Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams
You maybe have checked into this already but it reminded me of some sleep information I had read about called advanced sleep phase syndrome.
Thruhikers often do go to bed pretty early, don't know if anyone mentioned it but the sun going down is often referred to as "hiker midnight". Three or four o'clock in the morning is pretty early though and you maybe should consider tenting. Or at least get a red headlamp and try to sleep on the inside left or right walls of the shelter where you can slip out quietly in the morning.
"Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
Call for his whisky
He can call for his tea
Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan
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Keep in mind that on Whiteblaze hikers complain about other hikers in the same way that old married couples complain about eachother. Take most of the complaints you read on this site with a grain of salt, understand that they are usually just a list of pet peeves and are't an accurate representstion of what day to day life on the trail is like.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Ear plugs for your sake, tent out for the shelter dwellers sake, this will also mean a better nights sleep for you too. I can be awaken from a nice deep sleep by the fart of a mouse so I tent and hammock a lot, far from the shelters. Ear plugs made a BIG difference in my nights sleep. Sometimes I would wake to find myself alone and well rested having the place to myself. I made some coffee and enjoyed some of the most peaceful moments.
hiking the hour or so before sunrise is the very best part of the day, at least when its not too cold. Nice feeling to do 5 miles before breakfast, and before most are out of their sleeping bag.
My first thought here was hammock...... Away from others and on my own schedule is great. Social time and water at shelter and then hike out 1/2 hr to sleep.
You're worried about the "dopers, sex maniacs, drunks and vandals" on the AT? LOL.
Drunks don't generally make good hikers, they don't last long in the woods. It's a well established rule that Thou Shalt Not Camp or Stay At Shelters Near Roads. Not so much because of "drunks" so much as rowdy local teenagers out to party. Your overall safety (from the lowlife you fear) is proportional to your distance from the nearest trailhead.
Dopers: hard stuff isn't seen on the trail, again, folks on crack or meth or heroin aren't going to last long as hikers. Pot, on the other hand, is ubiquitous.
Sex Maniacs? Really? Why would they come to the woods for their prey? I guess I never gave any of these fears a moment's notice. Nasty feral dogs were pretty much my biggest fear on the AT, and that was really just in the southern part, long ago. They were a real nuisance from time to time.
9 mornings out of 10 I'm hiking well before dawn. Usually around 5:00 AM. I wake up naturally around 4:00 and roll over and eat breakfast and make a cup of coffee in my vestibule while I'm still in my bag. Then I roll over on my back and lay there with my eyes closed until around 4:45ish. Then, I get up - pack, and hit the trail. I try to camp alone but if I am in close proximity to someone I tell them about my schedule, apologize in advance, and pack up as quietly as I can. There are things you can do to minimize morning noise - pack up as much as you can and and set up your stove and breakfast items before you go to sleep, etc.
I like sunrises and you don't get many from a shelter or tent. Hiking though almost always provides at least a glimpse.
I also like seeing lights from homes and cities in the distance.
And I like to hike at least 15 miles before lunch. Hard to do if I sleep until 6-7.