Hello Everyone,
The time has come to cross off another item on my bucket list by hiking the AT. What tips, tricks, and all around advice can you share with me? Expected start date is the end of the month. I would like to be in Maine by August. I'm in good shape, thanks to my normal running and cycling regimen; but hiking would be new to me. I will be buying most of my gear from REI in the next few weeks. Is there anything in particular you would recommend?

Thanks again,
Accountant

I have nothing to add except that I envy you. Good luck!

I'd recommend watching Red Beard's gear reviews and AT videos on YouTube, good info there.  Unfortunately, if you haven't already put in an order, it may be tough getting some of the cuben fiber Z-pack gear or other high speed/low drag ultralight stuff.  I'll be starting 3/24 with an Osprey Atmos pack, Nemo sleeping bag, inflatable Thermarest, and a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 tent and a wooby until it warms up.  Shooting for a total cold weather weight of around 25 lbs.

If you have any chafing concerns, boxer briefs (I use Underarmor) have been great.

I'd read Warren Doyle's book on hiking the AT (1 page!).  Basically he states it is going to suck, but to expect it, and to embrace the suck.

I blister very easily and have found the Injini toe sock liners to be very helpful, as well as Vaseline (or Trail Toes) on the feet for wet days.

I'm going to try out a pair of Seal Skinz waterproof socks for cold, wet, snowy days as trail runners don't keep my feet warm at all, but hiking boots are just so dang heavy.

Good luck, hope to see you out there!

I love REI, but they can quickly “advise” you into carrying 20 pounds of useless gear.  It’s taken me several years to pair my load down.  One month doesn’t give you a lot of time, but I would do a lot of research on some of the light-weight trekkers.  Get your pack soonest and do some day hikes with it.  

My wife and I are just section hiking it now.  There is an expansive art to logistics planning, or you can wing it like many and just hike town to town; more expensive, but a common practice.  Some stretches will require a week or more of food, note those sections and plan accordingly.  Water should be much of an issue this year, but the biggest challenge is balancing water weight with distances between water resupply.  Most maps annotate springs, so that helps, but some springs are dry or much harder to get to.

Footwear is essential.  I would avoid heavy boots.  Get a comfortable pair of cross-trainers or light hiking boots and buy a second (maybe third) pair and have them ready to ship if your others blow out.  

If you’re pack/trail weight exceeds 40 pounds…you’re doing something wrong.  Of course that implies you’re buying the lightest you can afford.  My base weight is down to 16 pounds and I keep my full  trail weight right around 30 pounds (estimating 5-6 days on the trail and only carrying 2-3 liters of water).

Focus on the essentials: a good pack, quality shelter, solid sleeping bag and good hiking shoes/boots.  The first three are the most expensive and for good reason.  We have used a layered approach to clothing so we didn’t pack “an extra change” to reduce weight.  Still, I hiked wet and slept dry.  

Find any of the small hostels and outfitter for the first few hundred miles as you will refine your kit or at least take advantage of a hot shower and cleaning your clothes and gear.  Having a family member or friend serve as a logistician to mail packages helps, but there are numerous areas that will hold packages for resupply; another option to just wasting time hitching a ride to town every week or two.

Temperature changes will be significant this time of year.  It can be as warm as 70-80 degrees during the day and a storm can blow in and drop it into the 20’s with several inches of snow.  Plan accordingly.  Distance will improve just allow your body to adjust slowly.  Section hiking sucks, because it always takes us 3-4 days to get our “trail legs”.  We typically average 8-10 miles a day initially, but have worked up to 15-18 mile-days.  Some will push out to 30 miles a day, but that’s after you’re well conditioned both physically and mentally.  The best conditioning for backpacking is backpacking; nothing else replicates it.

Good luck and we also envy you.  Keep us updated as you get kitted out and make your plans.

ROCK6

You need to start hiking now ..get your shoes /boots get them broke in. Buy a second pair...break them in.
Rock hit a bunch of what I woulda posted.
Keep your load lite...of course lighter ya go the more $$$ it'll cost ya.
Honestly ...your physical conditioning and foot issues are most important ..
Hiking for say 6-12 miles with 30+ lbs is totally different than jogging five miles or cycling 25....

Good luck!

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Some stretches resupply is hard to get unless you have someone meet you as close as they can get to the trail. To be successful you need a detailed plan and that includes resupply, bailout, injury, bears, boars and BigFoot encounters. Seriously if you do not have this planned already might want to skip trying this year and start next year. A lot to think over and plan between now and go time. What about a firearm? Plan on taking one? Do you know the laws for every state and park you will be in? I don't . Concealed means concealed but rules are rules.  

GPS locator, SAT phone,  are things that would be nice to have.

You should have bought your gear last year and tested everything out.

My advice...

Don't take too much gear, but bring enough to survive and be comfortable.

Put one foot in front of the other. You will get there and figure the rest out on the way.  I know that seems basic but my adventures have taught me that what it really takes to do a monumental task is the will to do it. Walk down the trail, don't stop, and live the experience.

REI.. you must be rich.

"A walk in the woods" is a great biography about survival and perils of the AT.

Good boots & pack

whiteblaze.net

Happy reading!

This is going to sound harsh but I am going by what you typed...

If you have never hiked any long distance in the wilderness, the AT is not where you should start. Your physical health being as described will make you over confident and you will end up injured. It will not matter if you purchase all of the best ultralight gear. A weeks worth of food and some water can add lots of weight and can overload a backpack. When you haul yourself, gear, and food through 5000+ feet of elevation change in a day over 10 miles, it is amazingly easy to injure yourself.

If you have no backpacking skills, the AT is not the place to start. You have no idea what you need in terms of shelter, pack, sleeping bags, clothing, etc. You don't have the experience to know what works and what doesn't. You will want to cover as many different scenarios and you will carry more than you really need. Everyone starts with too much, and eventually comes up with what works for them. You will need basic bushcraft skills, because when something breaks or goes wrong, you need those skills previously learned to keep you alive. A previous poster is right about the weather. Being at high elevation when a front rolls through can be a miserable experience. Oh did I mention you might as well be comfortable with being wet, all the time?

There is so much that you need to learn before attempting such an adventure. Take this year and do a bunch of short 3-7 day trips to get used to backpacking. Once you get some miles under your belt, then tackle the AT. Trust me, backpacking will not only test your physical ability, but your mental fortitude also. I've had lots of fun backpacking, and encourage everyone to do it. Just realize at times you will be beyond miserable, and ready to quit. But you will be so far away from help that you will have no choice but to keep going. This is where most quit on the AT and lose interest in backpacking, because it is hard, and difficult. I've seen it personally, and it is sad because those persons were so close to getting past that suck, and enjoying the outdoors.

I have a cousin who did the AT last year. He was an experienced hiker before he went and practically lived in the woods. He was young and in perfect shape and health. He completed it, but injured his feet in the process. It took quite a while to heal. His advice was to learn to live with discomfort, hunger, and take as little as possible. He did not think he would do the AT again, but he was glad for the incredible adventure. I tell you this, because even with all of his experience, he had several close calls. What kept him alive, was his skills he had learned over the years.

I don't intend for this to be anything but a reality check. In the end, I hope you do get to go on the AT adventure, with some experience under your belt. Good luck,  maybe I'll see you on the trail one day.

+1, This.

One does not simply decide to do this and plan it within a month.  
Have you bought your food for the next 5 months?
Do you have your resupply parcels packed and ready to go?
Do you have 2-4 pairs of boots/shoes broken in and ready to go?
Who is your home resupply logistics person?
Have you practiced pitching your tent/shelter in all weather conditions in less than optimal campsites?

I will echo what others said above, but add that if your gear is over 30lbs, you're doing it wrong.  The trail is about miles and meals, not stopping to lolly-gag or fish in picturesque country lakes/rivers.
You don't need the arfcom method of 6 ways to do everyting woth lots of redundant gear, like starting fire (many go the whole trip without a fire, or very few) or a giant FAK to set bones, stitch wounds, and heal lepers.    

Look into the blogs/facebook/forums posts by Andrew Skurka.  This guy has it figured out.

1. Start at Amicalola Falls with an empty pack.
2. Pick up the necessary gear from the trail as people dump shit when they realize they shouldn't have loaded 60# of crap.
3. Enjoy a soda at Neels Gap and admire your free gear.



ETA: As others have said, though, if hiking is new to you you're gonna have a heckuva ride.

Seriously, prepare well and when you are ready (this year, or the next) have the time of your life being miserable, while at the same time enjoying beauty and an accomplishment to remember.

I am going against the grain here like my earlier post. Mankind is a machine made for walking. People crazy walks all over the world out of necessity in sandals and a jug of water. You can do this if you want to.

I am not saying go out and be a total moron. Obviously you need to be smart enough to know how to stay dry, stay healthy, and do basic first aid. But people walk the trail barefoot. People who are blind have hiked it. People in all sorts of condition.

You will take the wrong stuff. You will need some stuff you didn't take. You will figure it out. Go have an adventure.

i have walked from springer to damascus, VA about 525 miles.

its pretty difficult -  GA, TN and NC are like a roller coaster, up and down all day

it will take about a month to get your trail legs, after you get acclimated you become a hiking machine, your "job" is to get up each day and hump the trail

you cant get enough calories and cant carry enough food because of the weight, hence you will lose weight

the hardest part was being wet all the time, it rains a lot

i saw people that never had backpacked before and they did fine, you just have to have the right attitude

the people that have a daily mileage goal they have to make or to have finish by a certain date usually dont make it and dont have fun because they are constantly worried about finishing

you take it one day at a time.  some weeks you may lay around camp for a day or 2, if you push every day you will get hurt

The problem with GA is you hike your ass off to get to the top and there ain't a damned thing to see. At least TN and NC have a payoff. Some awesome views to be had.

Awesome advice above.

Go checkout WHITEBLAZE.com it's the ar15.com of the AT world.

If you make it to Monson ME let me know, I can provide a bed and food for a few!

I started reading one of the many AT stories /books last night. Its from a Christian angle (Guy is a retired pastor) .
What I've seen so far is this.
1- logistics is key
2- your feet like posted. Treat them like gold dipped in unicorn blood.
3- your gonna be in a ton of suck.but it'll be a good suck.
4- you'll get a cool trail name LOL
5- lots a ""trail magic /caries /angles "whatever that donate time...food...essentials to the hikers...

Besides that..I don't get the leaving trail for hotel stays...or slack packing...or any of that. Now this will (if any """thru hikers "" read it piss em off.)
but ain't that section hiking? Sure you took 5 months to finish a trail..but hitching rides to a motel /hostel to rest /re charge would benign different than say myself hiking 20 miles...getting to my truck at a designated trail head...driving home...sleep /eat /shit etc and 1-2 days later pic up where I left off.
Maybe to me...I just see it as a you gonna walk it...walk it.
Sorry for the derail. But the books aren't bad for seeing what folks go through out there...

Id wish the FT would join the At in one long east coast trail...id love to see how many would pick to start /finish down here....

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I've never done it, but I have a friend who has - three times, the last when he was 70.  Badass dude.  He loved to tell stories of how much new gear he would find abandoned on the trail.  He would collect it, ship it home at the next town, and sell it on eBay when he got home.  He said it always paid for the trip.



The takeaway - travel light and do without.  You can always add gear if you really need it.



BTW, we live near the trail in NH where it crosses route 112 after Mt. Moosilauke.  PM if you need anything when you pass through.  There's signal there.

The getting off the trail for a day or two is more for your mental health than anything else, and a lot of times your resupply is so far from the trail you may not be able to get there and back in one day.  There is nothing "less manly" about taking a day or two off every few weeks.

Didn't say it wasnt "manly "...resupply aka hiking five miles off trail to a drop point then back is different than going into town for two days of hotel and town..and honestly if I ever get the chance ill prolly for the same just for the experience of it all.

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OP, there is a approx. 24 mile loop trip you can do at Standing Indian mountain in NC. You park the car at Standing Indian campground, go up Kimsey creek trail to Deep Gap, go north on the AT over 2 mountains and past 3 trail shelters, then take a spur trail back down to your car. It would give you some desperately needed experience with a minimal time investment.

And the fire tower on Albert Mountain provides about the only view in GA.

OP?

Replies?  Follow up?  Did you leave us?

Clapper's book?  He is a super nice guy, very genuine.

A guy over on Whiteblaze.net, I think he goes by MapMan, looked at trail journals of thru-hikers who kept good records.  The average thru-hiker takes about 21 zero days on their trip.  Imagine working a physically demanding job for 12 hour days, you would need a day off every so often to rest.

Yeah.   "Legging it "
Finished it last night. Its a lil jumpy but not a bad read. He repeats what's important in order to finish.


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Clapper's son was the pastor of our church, so Hoosier has been a guest speaker on multiple occasions both before and after his hike.  He is the one who made the trail real to me, rather than just something I'd vaguely heard about.

Reading his trail journal is also what convinced me to start towards the end of March, rather than the beginning.  Also the reason I'll be packing a woobie in addition to a sleeping bag until warmer weather arrives.  I don't think he mentions it in the book, but in his journal he mentions riding out a cold, stormy night in a privy.

I'm still here. It's been a busy week and I haven't had time to check in. I resigned from the Company on Monday. It took a week for the CEO and I to work out a transition plan. My last day will be May 19th. So, I have a little more time to plan, acquire, and test my gear. Since I will be leaving so late in the season, I will be doing a reverse hike. I will fly to Maine and hike South. My expected start date is June 1st.

Thank you for all of the guidance and recommendations. I will start reading WhiteBlaze.com and Andrew Skurka's blogs. I haven't started purchasing gear yet; but boots and a pack will be acquired this week. That way I can start breaking in and becoming accustomed to both.

All advice is welcome, please keep it coming.

Accountant

South Bound holds a great deal of appeal to me, as there won't be the "bubble" you get NOBO starting late March, early April.

The reason I opted for the NOBO option is that I was afraid I wouldn't have the legs for Katahdin and the Whites fresh out of the gate.

Good luck!

You need to be doing day hikes to check out your gear.

Check the opening dates in Maine for SOBO.  My wife said you may have to start a little lower and then go back up to complete as the last of the Maine section won't open until May/June depending on snow levels.

ROCK6

Good luck, man.  It is a lot of walking.  Seriously.  Not joking.  You're just walking.


The AT has a lot of uneven rocky terrain.  For me, boots were very painful.  Go with good running shoes.




Food on the AT is mostly about calories.  A single light pot and a long handled spoon will do fine.  




Don't worry much about your hygiene, no one else does.  Seriously, just brush your teeth.  And bask in your own stench.  It's an odd source of pride on the trail.




Just make it easy on yourself.  Get a light pack and light, essential gear.  Knives and spades and fishing kits and flashlights and iPod speakers are not essential gear.  




Good luck, you hippie.  


 


ETA:  Going off trail for a few days is no big deal.  It's part of the experience.  You're basically walking through America's history, and so there's plenty of good stuff to see.

Ha! No one has ever called me a hippie before! Something to aspire too!

Good luck OP.  If I ever lose my job I'm going to do the same.

Keep us updated here on your preparing and while on the trail if possible.

Do a shakedown at Mountain Crossings at the start of the Georgia section. Don't skimp on base layers and water/wind proof gear. DO NOT camp in the gaps. The wind rips through them all the time. That's a quick way to get super cold and very exhausted and if cold/wet is a prescription for hypothermia. You can go the ultralight route with alcohol stoves and a 12 pound pack but that is very risky in bad weather. Sleeping in the shelters is also a bad idea, in my opinion, as you'll have mice running over your bag and face in the middle of the night along with the fact you potentially have other people to deal with who may or may not be squared away. Pick one or two comfort items that you really want. For me hiking on the Georgia section of the AT 20 years ago, that was a white gas stove and pot set. Also, for your first night out, buy a good steak and freeze it at home. Let that thing unthaw in a ziploc bag the first day on the trail and cook it up when you get into camp. Cook this up with a packet of powdered mash potatoes with bacon bits added in. Do this as much as reasonably possible along the way. No point in going freeze dried any more than you have too.

Food - on the trail, bacon bits find their way into everything and are extremely lightweight. You can find them in the salads aisle of any grocery store. However, if you buy bacon, you can cut this up and mix it with eggs in an REI Coghlan Tube and just pour straight out of the tube into your pot for breakfast. I've just found cooked bacon bits to be easier to use. Also, Lipton's noodle packs and rice packs are useful for dinner meals. For breakfast, I wouldn't bother with french press coffee such as the Jetboil coffee press. They do work, but Starbucks VIA coffee is really surprisingly good and eliminates the need for an extra stove piece such as a french press.

Water - Plan out the streams where you'll get water resuppply and always have a backup with no less than one liter of water on you at all times. Oftentimes streams dry up so plan accordingly. Use a water filter and have a bottle of purification tablets as a backup. Also include Gatorade or lemonade or other beverage additives to make the stuff palatable and remove some of the crap taste from water purification tablets. Make sure your stove can melt snow if needed. The SVEA 123R can do that for sure. A Jetboil can as well. Alcohol stoves, not so much.

Candy - use this to keep you going throughout the day. Milky Way bars and Three Musketeers were always my go to candy bars. Yours will be different undoubtedly.

Guns - if you're going to carry, then carry light. A Glock 27 is often used on the trail with Buffalo Bore or other hard cast gas checked bullets. However, watch the local laws on carrying and use a rig that keeps it concealed. Hill People makes a nice setup. You can always use bear pepper spray instead of a pistol for both humans and bears. Probably lighter that way.  

Stoves - Fuel can be difficult to come by for canister stoves and they WILL NOT WORK in cold weather below 30 degrees unless you keep them in your sleeping bag, etc to keep the canister warm. However, they are uber simple to get going and you just need to keep the canister as warm as possible. If you can't make hot food, you're really not going to like the cold. I'd suggest a white gas stove that can use 87 octane gas in a pinch. My go to stove is a SVEA 123R but you may find something else works for you. If you use the SVEA make sure to get a pot set that works on it.

Security - Keep an eye on who is on the trail with you and who may have an unusual interest in you, your gear, your itinerary, your campsite plans, etc. If you think you are being followed in an improper manner, pay attention to that voice in your head. If you are concerned about it, get off the trail and get up high to circle back and check your back trail or let your problem person pass by. Again, staying at the shelters is not your best bet.

Shelter - Don't go with just a tarp unless you really really know what you are doing and can set it up in snow or rain. The REI Half Dome 2 has worked well for me in recent years here in Texas. Look at what the folks at Whiteblaze.net are running as they can guide your choices. Also if you are uncertain, just call Mountain Crossings for a free opinion on what to go with.

Fire - I didn't usually make one as I carried a stove that could heat up good food for dinner and breakfast as well as coffee and soups. However, if you feel that you may need one and may need one in bad weather, a road flare really works at getting a fire going with wet wood. Just a thought and they aren't heavy and in bad weather can get a fire going super quick.

Clothes - Carry a warm balaclava, good liner socks and merino wool socks to go over the liners. Have good boots that work for you and aren't too heavy. I'm not a fan of running shoes for hiking the AT but maybe that'll work for you. I've found Merrill Goretex to be exactly my speed and they keep my feet dry and are light enough for the job. Goretex shell parka and wind/rain paints are a necessity. Do NOT wear cotton. Just don't do it. Its a prescription for cold and wet which can very easily equal hypothermia.

Weather - At least in the GA section, you should understand that the weather can drop from 70 to 25 in a matter of 12 hours with 7 inches of snow and ice on the ground. That's going to be tough if you don't have the right gear. A good sleeping bag with good tent is a decent start. Add in a poncho liner or sleeping bag liner to that and a bivy will help bring your comfort level down to a 20 degree mark. I'm currently running a Western Mountaineering down sleeping bag rated for 20degrees. If its rated for 20 it just means you don't die at 20. You WON'T be comfortable unless you have on other layers of clothes in the bag. Again, I absolutely love a poncho liner added into my bag. Layer up and you should be fine. I've found that US Army leather gloves and wool inserts work very well in cold cold weather with wind. You may find something else that works for you. The weather will be your biggest enemy and has killed at least 3 people that I know of on the AT since 1975. Don't become a statistic. Make sure your clothes are able to keep you warm when wet as you will be wet for at least some of your time on the AT no matter how hard you try. Merino wool and goretex help a lot. Don't be afraid to hunker down for an extended period of time if snow and ice start socking you in. This is one of the few times I'd consider using one of the shelters and getting a fire going as soon as possible.

Good luck with your hike and if you run into logistical issues and need a hand, PM me and I'll be happy to help you out.

Writer

Tell your wife "thank you"! I did some additional research and she was right. Based on my revised start date (6/1), my hike will be a flip-flop. I will start at the halfway point (Harpers Ferry) and hike North. Upon reaching Maine, I will return to HF and hike South. That should give me ideal weather in all states.

Accountant

Thank you!  I will carefully consider your information.

Accountant

Yeah, my wife is the wizard She also just found out a guy was killed by a widow-maker near a shelter in MD; they are planning to shut down that section of the AT to clear up the debris around all the shelters.  We typically planned our hikes to shelters as they typically had water sources nearby; however, we always set up camp away from the shelter.  A good night's sleep is essential, so make sure your shelter choice is comfortable and you can sleep warm for the early part of the season.

ROCK6

Great advice which I adhere to as well. Shelters are almost always near water sources and make good waypoints but I'm happy to say I've never stayed in one.

Gentlemen,
Things have been progressing smoothly. As you can see from the picture, I have procured most of the necessary gear. A pack, tent, sleeping pad / bag, stove, clothing, water filter, ect, ect.... have all been procured. I am only lacking a few odds and ends. Current, total pack weight is 19 pounds. With the remaining items, food, and water; I hope to be under 30 pounds total.

The start date for my flip flop is still the end of May, when I return from South Africa. It's going to be a glorious summer in the woods!

Nice Osprey pack. Replace that Nalgene with a plain ol' PowerAid bottle. Ounces = pounds.

Looks good so far.  Hopefully you will post a complete packing list and resupply plan for us.  That would be greatly appreciated.

I am envious

Can you please share your gear list?  Thanks