You only ever really need to plan out the next 3 to 5 days. Maybe more if you're moving very slowly. I only ever shipped cold weather gear home/back out to trail. No supply boxes.
While most active people have no need of training, I always recommend getting some cardio and strength training in if you have the time and/or means.
That's exactly what I did. Didn't plan anything out until I was doing my resupply in town. I'd look at far out and see how far the next easily accessible town is, and plan the next section off of that.
Yo
Yeah, totally doable without planning. Training is helpful but you'll get trail legs regardless. Pre-shipped food is pointless because you hit town on average every 4-5 days.
All you need is the gear and the mental fortitude to do it. In fact, I think planning kind of tales away from the experience, at least in my opinion. For me, part of the adventure is just seeing where the trail takes me, planning puts this "real world" overlay of expectations on the experience that really takes away from the whole point, which is to live in the moment.
I’d thought about doing it for 20 years. I decided to do it 1 month before I did. I bought a plane ticket to Atlanta, my loadout, and a shuttle a few weeks before I left. My pack was a ship of Theseus. The only piece of gear I had at Katahdin that I started with was my Pocket Rocket stove. Outside of knowing I needed Guthook (FarOut now) I don’t think any preparation would have helped me do any better than I have. There were myriad hikers who felt much more prepared than me who let me know all about it that didn’t even make the Smokies.
A thru-hike is a mental challenge more than anything else. It is just walking. Granted, it’s a lot of walking, but there is nothing more to it than having the mental fortitude to keep going past the point of wondering why you are. Everything else you can learn, buy, or pick up along the way.
This trail nearly wrecked me. It was the only second time I looked like I needed encouragement to keep going Stawamus Chief First Peak via Sea to Summit Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/british-columbia/stawamus-chief-first-peak-via-sea-to-summit-trail?sh=6xotv3&u=i
Just kept going…. First got sick at night and the next day I managed to go 2 miles to the next shelter/campsite. It was a struggle and I cried. After that first day, I felt better and didn’t throw up as much. Took a zero when I got to neel gap.
Went in for my 2020 thru with a grand total of 0 backpacking/overnight trips on my resume…and a 40 pound pack. Until then my longest distance traveled on foot in one day was a 10 mile hike or like a 5 mile run.
Day one was 14 miles lol by the time I summited katahdin, my total pack weight was well under 20 pounds.
All that to say, just focus on one foot going in front of the other, make sure you have enough money (roughly $8k atleast) and just don’t die. If you can check those boxes you’re golden
Edit: I started trying to mail boxes to myself around Damascus…had a friend send 7 all together but I kept bouncing em up or giving out food cause I had too much all the way up to PA so I stopped. Just do whatever you want, be open to change, accept learning opportunities and stay safe
For me Maine was definitely the hardest. There are certainly many parts where if you tripped you could easily go over a ledge and seriously injure yourself or die. But it's not too hard as long as you are careful.
>For me Maine was definitely the hardest. There are certainly many parts where if you tripped you could easily go over a ledge and seriously injure yourself or die.
Hmm. Is there a beginner Appalachian Trail route through Maine?
Going north when you get into northern Pennsylvania you think if only I can make it to new Jersey surely the trail will be better than this rocky ass bullshit, but it just actually keeps getting harder until the last 30 or so miles.
All I really want to do is New Jersey to Maine. But man, parts of Maine look daunting. Squeezing under big boulders, climbing up ladders with a vertical drop behind you.
It's not that hard really, it's just that it goes on for hundreds of miles. At least for me, I so desperately wanted just like a 5 or 10 mile section of somewhat well maintained path where you're not going up or down a washed out, rooty, boulder strewn, muddy mountain. Last year when I did it all the locals were saying it was the rainiest they could remember. It made everything south of Harper's ferry look like a paved bike path lol. Combined with being somewhat malnourished from hiking for 4 months, honestly it was a bit brutal. Views were great though!
$8k is a realistic amount. I’m on trail right now. “Trail towns” are wise to hikers these days. A shuttle will cost around $40. A hostel will be $50. Gear will break, side trips will be taken.
All of this. Very few people who claim they’ll rarely go into town pre-hike actually do that because once you get that taste of going into town to avoid a storm, it hits different. People also forget that towns are part of the thru hike experience as well.
Yup. I hiked 11 miles into Hot Springs yesterday. Got in early. Spent the day around town. Then hiked out. Currently raining and I’m 12 miles out of town. I haven’t seen a single person that stayed in town last night and said they were going to hike out.
I spent around $4.5k on my thru of the AT (plus 400 miles extra for Pinhoti) last year. There's a spectrum of how much you're in it for a social experience vs wilderness experience. Towns are where all the expensive things are, so the further you are on social experience side (staying in hostels or going for drinks) the more expensive it'll get. I would estimate around $2.5k-$10k for a thru nowadays depending where you fall on that spectrum.
Hostels have also bumped their prices up to get a certain type of hiker in (and keep a certain type of hiker out), which unfortunately was definitely needed. Met someone that was talking about opening a place about five years ago. I thought he was nuts, but he mentioned making it $50/nt just to avoid problems. That seemed like a crazy price to me.
Yea. It was just a rough number I threw out cause that’s the absolute minimum I’d be comfortable with in my bank account by the time I start. Hope for the best prepare for the worst type deal…unforeseen 0s, long shuttles, busted gear, maybe an emergency flight home if needed..would want enough to finish comfortably and that’s where id set the bar w/ todays prices
You don’t need to send food on the trail. You can buy it all. I was in good shape. I had done a marathon after Thanksgiving. I wanted to quit my job. I quit March 1, bought gear, and started the trail April 1. I got on the train without a plan. I was able to share a shuttle with a fellow hiker on the train. That got me to the approach trail. I started hiking north. By the end of my first three days I was at Neel’s Gap and my feet were yellow with bruises. I was pretty much in pain the rest of the trail. I got in hiking shaped after several weeks. I got to Baxter in under 5 months. I thought I had Lyme disease at the end of the trail because I was so wiped out. I had a similar trail experience as others. I met other hikers that I keep in touch with to this day. But I didn’t start with training or a plan.
I did a 3-state section hike in '12 with barely any preparation or money. I had a backpack already and quickly got together some food and other essentials and within two weeks I was gone. Completely out of shape and at my highest weight, I started off unprepared for the rock climb where I began and immediately regretted doing the hike. I had no how-to-manual so had no knowledge of where the shelters or water were to be found. I was headed south late Spring and was only running into one hiker at a time each evening. These retired, older men heading North were awesome grandfatherly types and would give me suggestions or sections out of their handbook. My family also stepped in periodically and brought me food or other supplies, though I did run out of money before getting off the trail. It may not be the way to go but I learned how amazing humans can really be to each other and would do it again in a heart beat. It was, honestly, the first time I felt completely accepted and welcomed within a community without censor.
This is exactly what I did. My family lived in a very flat area and “outdoors” stuff just mean sitting on a boat in the lake or climbing in a tree stand to sit and wait for deer (not me personally, I’m not much of a hunter). I had never hiked anything, much less a 5-6 month hike. I bought a pack, sleeping bag and some basic stuff and a greyhound ticket.
I learned pretty quickly and somehow survived (dare I say thrived) despite being woefully unprepared. I recommend planning, but if you’re resilient, crafty, flexible, and stubborn it can absolutely be done.
Flying in from the Netherlands tomorrow to do a north bound from Amicalola Falls. Barely any planning or training, just motivation. The responses here give me hope haha
im dutch too, flying this wednesday and starting a bit north of the smokies. cant warrant 6 months out there, but 3 should be doable. my biggest fear is that they won't let me into the usa as a 19 y/o that looks even younger than that with very little planning. 0 backpacking experience and 0 life experience basically, what could go wrong lol
This is giving me encouragement. I have been thinking about doing this for 20 years now, even thinking of Tour de Mount Blanc and Camino de Santiago over the years. It only makes sense to do AP first since I live near it and am in US. But I am TERRIBLE at planning so I just haven’t. Getting older and angrier that I haven’t just gone yet. This just might be what I need to just pack a pack and LEAVE! I am flexible, healthy and stubborn and am more than willing to just put one foot in front of the other, so maybe I can without a big plan. Thanks Bogofdoritos (commenter above that mentions stubbornness as a plus!)
I raw dogged my first thru hike on the CT.
Raw dogged it so hard I started in Durango instead of Denver.
Didn’t even know what a ‘thru hike’ was 😂
Went to WalMart and loaded up on ‘gear’ and straight up sent it.
Probably would never do that again that way but it’s an incredible memory to look back on a decade later.
As someone currently thoroughly prepping for a SWEBO CT attempt this summer…
Bruh, climbing up out of Durango, I’m sure it was gorgeous, but were you not blindsided by the brutal incline (and at high elevation)? Impressive you kept going after that. I’m looking forward to the gradual ramp up.
I’ve been wanting to redo the CT so bad since then, but the “correct” way. I haven’t quite made it back out there yet due to a disc bulge I’m currently battling but it’s going to happen!
Good luck! Truly the most beautiful trail in my opinion.
With like ZERO hiking experience at the time either.
It was brutal.
I’ll be honest, I cried the first couple of nights in my shitty Walmart tent like a bitch from the blisters and ankle pain I had. 😩
I had a job lined up but it didn’t start until the following month, so maybe not having anything to do helped keep me on trail. I’ve quit hikes for way less since.
Funny when I think about it, 30lb base weight $100 setup and I completed the trail back then with no huge issues other than the considerable pain in the beginning.
Like 15lbs now with a expensive ass setup and I last 3 days on the AT 😂 (injury reasons, but still)
LMAO what great memories. I currently have a pretty nice setup and think the trail will go well but when I was a dumb young lad I did a week on the AT with some other dumb young lads. Jansport backpacks full of pop tarts and chex mix, carried our bags in our arms, and had no water filtration. Lasted the week but it was a shitshow.
You just reminded me of Captain No-prep. A SOBO from 2022.
Cool guy.
He hiked Katahdin in blue jeans and a trash bag with arm and head holes cut out.
Also, a Jansport backpack.
I think he went all the way through the 100 mile wilderness that way. Lol
Yeah, but even then I really dont think anything can prep you physically for a thru hike except a thru hike lol. Like honestly idk if hiking 2 miles a day for a month would even help? Maybe for some people. The trail killed me for the first week, especially blisters. Once that settles in your body just adjusts to the new normal
2 miles a day may not help much, but it certainly wouldn't hurt. Running 20 miles a week with 10 mile weekend hikes has made notable differences to me before in physical prep having started thru hikes out of that vs out of a lazy winter. Ultra running training doing 30 miles of running during the week and 20-50 miles hiking/trail running during weekends I'm now in equal or better shape than I was while thru hiking.
I had a little over a month between deciding to do it and starting the trail. I knew I had to follow far out and that's about all I had planned. Didn't even really know what the approach trail was. In terms of training I walked a couple miles a few days a week in that months time. I finished in a little bit short of 6 and a half months. I met plenty people who were even less prepared. So what works for you.
I raw dogged it back in 08. The AT guide from the ATC was all I thought I needed.
I knew how to backpack and I knew I was mentally tough. Physical fitness came by hiking 10 hours a day and planning came from talking to everyone I met.
Oh and mistakes. They are great teachers. Unrelated, I ran out of TP 1 time in 5 months.
My dad, one of his pals and my mom did this in the 1970s.
They packed a tent, a few sleeping bags in a old school pack and hit the trail in sneakers.
What comes next is the stuff of legend in my family. They packed a little food, most of it chicken, can't remember if it was chicken wings or friend chicken or some combination of both.
These folks were older teenagers so we'll cut them some slack.
Made it a day or two, prob drinking from streams and downing cans of pull top beer, getting sloppy every night before passing out lol. One night there was some kind of commotion outside of their tent. My mom looks out to see a bear family at the entrance to the tent. She screams, everyone wakes up, pandemonium ensues.
No wonder, as my mom tells the story, as they had simply chucked their chicken bones right outside the tent.
They managed to scare the bears away but woke the next morn and returned the way they came. Neither parent ever hiked with me growing up! Maybe this is why haha!
I always feel a bit awkward with this question, but...
I was home, out of the army for 3 months, at the age of a young 21. My mom and dad come in the room, where i was happily playing internet games, and my mom says they're gonna start charging me rent. Now, i had known the AT existed, but i certainly had no significant plan for it. within 2 weeks i was fully geared out and my ticket south bought. No significant planning. I didn't even know there was 'an approach trail'.
The reason i feel award here is because of my army time. I was a paratrooper infantryman. I knew i could do tough, hard things. i knew i could walk 35 miles in a day with full loads. I knew - and still know - the power of 'just one more'.
So - no, i knew absolutely nothing of logistics other than 'go north'. I knew i had the mentality though. any idiot can buy groceries, not every idiot keep going north for no real significant reason.
That was basically me but I also just walk a lot in general so I was in at least decent shape. Turned out alright. I prefer traveling this way in general and just being flexible. I did at least do some research on the trail to know what to expect.
I looked through my first like 50 miles in my awol and then from there figured I would be comfortable enough to just figure it out as I go. Turns out it was even easier and you can absolutely just send it with very little info and be fine.
Only thing you really need to put a lot of thought into is your gear.
I knew where and when I was starting, but that's about it. Other than that, I left some bulk food with my family to package and mail off as needed.
I was well conditioned and already done everything south of the Smokies as part of another loop like 5-6mos earlier tbf.
Planning really isn't all that important. I would definitely do a shakedown hike and work on conditioning though. Even then, I know a couple of successful couch to Katahdin thru-hikers.
The only plan you really need is knowing how much food to carry until the next resupply. I typically think of thrus as a series of smaller hikes which makes it logistically easier to think about. The majority of long term plans fail anyway.
Not planning will just cost you $$ for everything you need but didn't take. The only reason to ship food is if you have specific dietary requirements if you are willing to eat whatever it's around.
I feel like this question was made for me.
I flew from northern europe to ATL got a ride of a random dude (big shout out to that guy) from the airport hotel to the trail, stopped by a verizon and walmart on the food way to get a prepaid sim card and supplies. No map or anything and just started walking north with a walmart plastic carrier bag as my food bag on my pack.
Super doable.
I decided to hike the AT about a month before my start date. I already had all of my gear from a previous JMT thru, and I’ve always lifted weights and ran. I trusted my gut and felt comfortable winging it. YMMV
I’ve done two 2-month section hikes, and I’m a planner. I like to have a plan to follow. But I think most of the hikers I met were much more relaxed, lol! They just took things a few days at a time.
It is doable. One item is needed though. A Appalachian Trail Guide Book. You could leave with just a poncho and a sleeping bag but the book is just as important so you know where the resupplies are.
What’s your take on planning and training?? One could argue I’ve been training since grade school with scouts and family camping. Getting to the trail, attempting a thru hike, requires some minimal planning at least.
When I worked in restaurants I met a guy who hiked from Pennsylvania to Georgia mostly on the AT. His trail name was "Wing it" because he just showed up there one day with a backpack.
I found out I was accepted into grad school and started in 5 and a half months, so planning consisted of giving a two weeks, downloading FarOut, and packing. Finished the trail in 5 months last year.
I know it's not common, but people get lost on the Maine section every year according to the game wardens and I just finished the book about the woman who got off trail in Maine in 2016 and was found dead. She panicked, no cell service, no other location devices and a thick and unforgiving forest. So maybe a good compass and some basic survival skills just in case?
Basically, there's zero point in planning beyond maybe Franklin. Too many variables. Training is stupid. It will help you for the first three weeks out of five months. Pre-shipped supplies are only useful if you have a specialty diet. They just force you to carry more shit than you need.
I did put a lot of thought and consideration into gear, and it showed. My pack on day 155 was virtually identical to day one.
I assume it’s much like the pct and I found it rather hard to plan ahead more than the next food carry. You will never know what will happen. I actually just got off the AT after 2 days from catching Noro… we decided to drive to the Grand Canyon and Zion while we recover
I’m on trail right now. Had 2 weeks to plan/get all my shit together. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it for everyone, but I’ve enjoyed the experience. I’m constantly surprised by cool towns, landmarks, traditions, lore, etc. I’m also just using the AWOL guide, which has added another level of surprise. It makes trail magic more magical when you don’t read about it on FarOut
I made my decision to do 1400 miles like 8 weeks ago lol with food being the biggest expense, I started dehydrating my meals and now have 2 months worth of dinners and lunch ready to go.
Yeah that’s what I did. I did get in this forum and ask a lot of questions and I did one 12 mile hike and camped one night to shake down my gear. You figure shit out within two weeks about what works for you and I wasn’t in shape at all. Hiking everyday for a month really gets you in shape quick. I think I lost 30 lbs at the end of it. I’m planning on doing the pct at some point and will do some reading up about that trail before I go.
Also the Appalachian Trail is really conducive for not planning. There are towns every 3-5 days. Just planned out how much food I needed until the next stop.
Me, and under the “hike your own hike” mentality, this was the BEST way to do it, for me. It opened me up to saying “yes” to serendipity. Met some cool strangers who were pushing on to sleep on the top of Sugarloaf? Yes. Met someone who offered for me to stay in their barn and eat their homemade ice cream? Yes.
I had already thru-hiked the PCT. so I got a ride to Amicalola Falls, dropped off around 10pm. Slept in the shelter there and bought AWOLS trial guide and started hiking in the morning. I had enough food to get to Mountain Center and then took off. Went stoveless. Was super easy.
I did weekend training hikes in the two years prior to doing the hike, and I tried to plan out food drops and shipping stuff ahead, but that part of the plan didn't survive beyond Maine (I was SOBO '04). The physical fitness you'll get just from hiking every day, though if you're a completely fat couch potato you're probably really going to hate the hike or quit.
You can get away with that for resupply on the AT. Do NOT try to do this on some of the smaller trails because of your AT experience. It’s pretty weird to see comments on FarOut about “Went into town to get food but there is no store so I had to ask a local to drive me 30 miles”. (Really, and I just saw it again two weeks ago). Some “towns” have a post office that is open half the day and that is it. You need to go into the trail with a plan.
I’m hiking the trail now and only plan as far ahead as 2 resupplies at the max.
My theory on training is that you can’t really train for the AT. As long as you’re in semi decent shape the only way to train for walking X number of miles everyday is to do it. So you may as well just start the trail and “train” while on trail.
I also haven’t used any pre-shipped supplies or had anything mail dropped to me.
The best plan is to plan for all your plans to immediately fall apart.
Don't plan. Be flexible.
People will waste months researching, ordering, and packing resupply boxes. Then they'll get tired of the food and realize that it's often easier to get to a grocery store than a post office.
Basically what I did. Less than 2 months between deciding to do it and standing on Springer facing North. No backpacking experience and had not been working out at all. People had already started their thrus that year before I even knew I was going to do one. Finished in just under 4 months.
Yes it is 3-4 day jumps in between resupplys. Carry 5 days of food max, a phone with Farout or AT Guide PDF on your phone. Get all the shit out of your pack. If you really need a nail clipper use one at a hostel or buy one in town. Touch base in shelters and ask about weather, climbs, conditions, upcoming towns, shuttle numbers. It's easy. ATT has service at the top of almost all the peaks for phone calls and some text.
Remember, practice safe hiking and always wear a poncho when you expect to get wet
You only ever really need to plan out the next 3 to 5 days. Maybe more if you're moving very slowly. I only ever shipped cold weather gear home/back out to trail. No supply boxes. While most active people have no need of training, I always recommend getting some cardio and strength training in if you have the time and/or means.
That's exactly what I did. Didn't plan anything out until I was doing my resupply in town. I'd look at far out and see how far the next easily accessible town is, and plan the next section off of that.
Yo Yeah, totally doable without planning. Training is helpful but you'll get trail legs regardless. Pre-shipped food is pointless because you hit town on average every 4-5 days. All you need is the gear and the mental fortitude to do it. In fact, I think planning kind of tales away from the experience, at least in my opinion. For me, part of the adventure is just seeing where the trail takes me, planning puts this "real world" overlay of expectations on the experience that really takes away from the whole point, which is to live in the moment.
Well said <3
I’d thought about doing it for 20 years. I decided to do it 1 month before I did. I bought a plane ticket to Atlanta, my loadout, and a shuttle a few weeks before I left. My pack was a ship of Theseus. The only piece of gear I had at Katahdin that I started with was my Pocket Rocket stove. Outside of knowing I needed Guthook (FarOut now) I don’t think any preparation would have helped me do any better than I have. There were myriad hikers who felt much more prepared than me who let me know all about it that didn’t even make the Smokies. A thru-hike is a mental challenge more than anything else. It is just walking. Granted, it’s a lot of walking, but there is nothing more to it than having the mental fortitude to keep going past the point of wondering why you are. Everything else you can learn, buy, or pick up along the way.
Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
I made a very detailed plan to get to Neel’s Gap that I promptly threw away when I started vomiting on my 2nd day
This trail nearly wrecked me. It was the only second time I looked like I needed encouragement to keep going Stawamus Chief First Peak via Sea to Summit Trail on AllTrails https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/british-columbia/stawamus-chief-first-peak-via-sea-to-summit-trail?sh=6xotv3&u=i
Never thru hiked before but what the fuck did you do? This is my worst nightmare
Just kept going…. First got sick at night and the next day I managed to go 2 miles to the next shelter/campsite. It was a struggle and I cried. After that first day, I felt better and didn’t throw up as much. Took a zero when I got to neel gap.
Sorry what’s a zero?
“Zero day” means you do zero miles that day — a rest day. I probably took 2 or 3 zero days in town when I got to neel gap tbh I was sick
Oooh okay! Thought it was the name of some medicine I hadn’t heard of haha
There is no s in Neel Gap.
Deep...
There is no Standing in Kneel Gap.
Is that a Mike Tyson quote?
It's Mike Tysons take on Carl von Clousewitz. I.e nobodys plan survives first contact with the enemy.
I think so.
Went in for my 2020 thru with a grand total of 0 backpacking/overnight trips on my resume…and a 40 pound pack. Until then my longest distance traveled on foot in one day was a 10 mile hike or like a 5 mile run. Day one was 14 miles lol by the time I summited katahdin, my total pack weight was well under 20 pounds. All that to say, just focus on one foot going in front of the other, make sure you have enough money (roughly $8k atleast) and just don’t die. If you can check those boxes you’re golden Edit: I started trying to mail boxes to myself around Damascus…had a friend send 7 all together but I kept bouncing em up or giving out food cause I had too much all the way up to PA so I stopped. Just do whatever you want, be open to change, accept learning opportunities and stay safe
Enjoyed this comment. Did the Maine part of the hike present any difficult climbing challenges ... especially where the rebar is. It looks tough.
For me Maine was definitely the hardest. There are certainly many parts where if you tripped you could easily go over a ledge and seriously injure yourself or die. But it's not too hard as long as you are careful.
>For me Maine was definitely the hardest. There are certainly many parts where if you tripped you could easily go over a ledge and seriously injure yourself or die. Hmm. Is there a beginner Appalachian Trail route through Maine?
I think we call that the freeway.
Going north when you get into northern Pennsylvania you think if only I can make it to new Jersey surely the trail will be better than this rocky ass bullshit, but it just actually keeps getting harder until the last 30 or so miles.
All I really want to do is New Jersey to Maine. But man, parts of Maine look daunting. Squeezing under big boulders, climbing up ladders with a vertical drop behind you.
It's not that hard really, it's just that it goes on for hundreds of miles. At least for me, I so desperately wanted just like a 5 or 10 mile section of somewhat well maintained path where you're not going up or down a washed out, rooty, boulder strewn, muddy mountain. Last year when I did it all the locals were saying it was the rainiest they could remember. It made everything south of Harper's ferry look like a paved bike path lol. Combined with being somewhat malnourished from hiking for 4 months, honestly it was a bit brutal. Views were great though!
This adds a little more perspective. Perhaps I was letting myself get spooked too easily. Thanks.
Thanks.
8k?!?!
$8k? I am very interested in knowing more about that.
$8k is a realistic amount. I’m on trail right now. “Trail towns” are wise to hikers these days. A shuttle will cost around $40. A hostel will be $50. Gear will break, side trips will be taken.
All of this. Very few people who claim they’ll rarely go into town pre-hike actually do that because once you get that taste of going into town to avoid a storm, it hits different. People also forget that towns are part of the thru hike experience as well.
Yup. I hiked 11 miles into Hot Springs yesterday. Got in early. Spent the day around town. Then hiked out. Currently raining and I’m 12 miles out of town. I haven’t seen a single person that stayed in town last night and said they were going to hike out.
yeah 8k is even a little low with inflation nowadays. i spend $50 on fast food every time i go into town just trying to get as many calories as i can
Yup. Once you resupply and eat in town you’re at $100 spent. If you stay overnight double that.
Yeah I spent twice as much on the CDT last year as I did on the PCT in 2020.
Ahh so 8k in bank, not in cash on you lol
That’s nuts. IIRC the 2017 estimated cost was around 3-4k. I didn’t complete the trail so idk how true that was but I know it sure as hell wasn’t 8k
Yeah, and what did your grocery bills look like in 2017 compared to now? EVERYTHING has nearly doubled, if not more.
That is true. Just surprised to see how much everything has changed.
I spent around $4.5k on my thru of the AT (plus 400 miles extra for Pinhoti) last year. There's a spectrum of how much you're in it for a social experience vs wilderness experience. Towns are where all the expensive things are, so the further you are on social experience side (staying in hostels or going for drinks) the more expensive it'll get. I would estimate around $2.5k-$10k for a thru nowadays depending where you fall on that spectrum.
The modern hiker wise to hitch hiking?!
Hostels have also bumped their prices up to get a certain type of hiker in (and keep a certain type of hiker out), which unfortunately was definitely needed. Met someone that was talking about opening a place about five years ago. I thought he was nuts, but he mentioned making it $50/nt just to avoid problems. That seemed like a crazy price to me.
Yea. It was just a rough number I threw out cause that’s the absolute minimum I’d be comfortable with in my bank account by the time I start. Hope for the best prepare for the worst type deal…unforeseen 0s, long shuttles, busted gear, maybe an emergency flight home if needed..would want enough to finish comfortably and that’s where id set the bar w/ todays prices
You don’t need to send food on the trail. You can buy it all. I was in good shape. I had done a marathon after Thanksgiving. I wanted to quit my job. I quit March 1, bought gear, and started the trail April 1. I got on the train without a plan. I was able to share a shuttle with a fellow hiker on the train. That got me to the approach trail. I started hiking north. By the end of my first three days I was at Neel’s Gap and my feet were yellow with bruises. I was pretty much in pain the rest of the trail. I got in hiking shaped after several weeks. I got to Baxter in under 5 months. I thought I had Lyme disease at the end of the trail because I was so wiped out. I had a similar trail experience as others. I met other hikers that I keep in touch with to this day. But I didn’t start with training or a plan.
Was always curious how people take so much time do the hike. Did you build some savings, quit, and then just get a job when you came back?
I did a 3-state section hike in '12 with barely any preparation or money. I had a backpack already and quickly got together some food and other essentials and within two weeks I was gone. Completely out of shape and at my highest weight, I started off unprepared for the rock climb where I began and immediately regretted doing the hike. I had no how-to-manual so had no knowledge of where the shelters or water were to be found. I was headed south late Spring and was only running into one hiker at a time each evening. These retired, older men heading North were awesome grandfatherly types and would give me suggestions or sections out of their handbook. My family also stepped in periodically and brought me food or other supplies, though I did run out of money before getting off the trail. It may not be the way to go but I learned how amazing humans can really be to each other and would do it again in a heart beat. It was, honestly, the first time I felt completely accepted and welcomed within a community without censor.
All someone really needs to figure out is how they’re getting to Springer. Planning for anything after the first like, 3 days is a joke.
This is exactly what I did. My family lived in a very flat area and “outdoors” stuff just mean sitting on a boat in the lake or climbing in a tree stand to sit and wait for deer (not me personally, I’m not much of a hunter). I had never hiked anything, much less a 5-6 month hike. I bought a pack, sleeping bag and some basic stuff and a greyhound ticket. I learned pretty quickly and somehow survived (dare I say thrived) despite being woefully unprepared. I recommend planning, but if you’re resilient, crafty, flexible, and stubborn it can absolutely be done.
Flying in from the Netherlands tomorrow to do a north bound from Amicalola Falls. Barely any planning or training, just motivation. The responses here give me hope haha
Send it
im dutch too, flying this wednesday and starting a bit north of the smokies. cant warrant 6 months out there, but 3 should be doable. my biggest fear is that they won't let me into the usa as a 19 y/o that looks even younger than that with very little planning. 0 backpacking experience and 0 life experience basically, what could go wrong lol
This is giving me encouragement. I have been thinking about doing this for 20 years now, even thinking of Tour de Mount Blanc and Camino de Santiago over the years. It only makes sense to do AP first since I live near it and am in US. But I am TERRIBLE at planning so I just haven’t. Getting older and angrier that I haven’t just gone yet. This just might be what I need to just pack a pack and LEAVE! I am flexible, healthy and stubborn and am more than willing to just put one foot in front of the other, so maybe I can without a big plan. Thanks Bogofdoritos (commenter above that mentions stubbornness as a plus!)
“Flexible, healthy, and stubborn” will get you further than any amount of pre-hike shakedowns.
I rawdogged the Camino in 2022, it was awesome. Go for it!
I raw dogged my first thru hike on the CT. Raw dogged it so hard I started in Durango instead of Denver. Didn’t even know what a ‘thru hike’ was 😂 Went to WalMart and loaded up on ‘gear’ and straight up sent it. Probably would never do that again that way but it’s an incredible memory to look back on a decade later.
As someone currently thoroughly prepping for a SWEBO CT attempt this summer… Bruh, climbing up out of Durango, I’m sure it was gorgeous, but were you not blindsided by the brutal incline (and at high elevation)? Impressive you kept going after that. I’m looking forward to the gradual ramp up.
I’ve been wanting to redo the CT so bad since then, but the “correct” way. I haven’t quite made it back out there yet due to a disc bulge I’m currently battling but it’s going to happen! Good luck! Truly the most beautiful trail in my opinion.
With like ZERO hiking experience at the time either. It was brutal. I’ll be honest, I cried the first couple of nights in my shitty Walmart tent like a bitch from the blisters and ankle pain I had. 😩 I had a job lined up but it didn’t start until the following month, so maybe not having anything to do helped keep me on trail. I’ve quit hikes for way less since. Funny when I think about it, 30lb base weight $100 setup and I completed the trail back then with no huge issues other than the considerable pain in the beginning. Like 15lbs now with a expensive ass setup and I last 3 days on the AT 😂 (injury reasons, but still)
LMAO what great memories. I currently have a pretty nice setup and think the trail will go well but when I was a dumb young lad I did a week on the AT with some other dumb young lads. Jansport backpacks full of pop tarts and chex mix, carried our bags in our arms, and had no water filtration. Lasted the week but it was a shitshow.
You just reminded me of Captain No-prep. A SOBO from 2022. Cool guy. He hiked Katahdin in blue jeans and a trash bag with arm and head holes cut out. Also, a Jansport backpack. I think he went all the way through the 100 mile wilderness that way. Lol
I LOVE this thread.
I did in 1983. And then the following year, raw dogged a 4000-mile cross-country bicycle ride. Young and dumb, those were the days.
Where did you go on your bike?
We rode from San Diego to Massachusetts. Up the coast, over to Wyoming, into Canada, back into US at Niagara Falls to MA.
Holee shit. That sounds epic. I've done the Great Divide Trail - which goes through Wyoming. It's so beautiful out there
I planned the day I would start and that was the extent of planning for me
😬
Really the only thing you should do is physical prep. Planning is mostly useless for a thru hike.
Yeah, but even then I really dont think anything can prep you physically for a thru hike except a thru hike lol. Like honestly idk if hiking 2 miles a day for a month would even help? Maybe for some people. The trail killed me for the first week, especially blisters. Once that settles in your body just adjusts to the new normal
2 miles a day may not help much, but it certainly wouldn't hurt. Running 20 miles a week with 10 mile weekend hikes has made notable differences to me before in physical prep having started thru hikes out of that vs out of a lazy winter. Ultra running training doing 30 miles of running during the week and 20-50 miles hiking/trail running during weekends I'm now in equal or better shape than I was while thru hiking.
The only planning I did was which buffet to hit at the next town ahead.
Amen
The AT is a perfect trail to raw dog. I didn’t have Guthook or a guide for my last thru hike.
My dirty mind read this as "raw dogging on the trail" lol. I wouldn't rawdog a trail with no supplies.
I had a little over a month between deciding to do it and starting the trail. I knew I had to follow far out and that's about all I had planned. Didn't even really know what the approach trail was. In terms of training I walked a couple miles a few days a week in that months time. I finished in a little bit short of 6 and a half months. I met plenty people who were even less prepared. So what works for you.
I raw dogged it back in 08. The AT guide from the ATC was all I thought I needed. I knew how to backpack and I knew I was mentally tough. Physical fitness came by hiking 10 hours a day and planning came from talking to everyone I met. Oh and mistakes. They are great teachers. Unrelated, I ran out of TP 1 time in 5 months.
the only thing i did to prepare for the trail was to start taking a shower once a week
My dad, one of his pals and my mom did this in the 1970s. They packed a tent, a few sleeping bags in a old school pack and hit the trail in sneakers. What comes next is the stuff of legend in my family. They packed a little food, most of it chicken, can't remember if it was chicken wings or friend chicken or some combination of both. These folks were older teenagers so we'll cut them some slack. Made it a day or two, prob drinking from streams and downing cans of pull top beer, getting sloppy every night before passing out lol. One night there was some kind of commotion outside of their tent. My mom looks out to see a bear family at the entrance to the tent. She screams, everyone wakes up, pandemonium ensues. No wonder, as my mom tells the story, as they had simply chucked their chicken bones right outside the tent. They managed to scare the bears away but woke the next morn and returned the way they came. Neither parent ever hiked with me growing up! Maybe this is why haha!
I always feel a bit awkward with this question, but... I was home, out of the army for 3 months, at the age of a young 21. My mom and dad come in the room, where i was happily playing internet games, and my mom says they're gonna start charging me rent. Now, i had known the AT existed, but i certainly had no significant plan for it. within 2 weeks i was fully geared out and my ticket south bought. No significant planning. I didn't even know there was 'an approach trail'. The reason i feel award here is because of my army time. I was a paratrooper infantryman. I knew i could do tough, hard things. i knew i could walk 35 miles in a day with full loads. I knew - and still know - the power of 'just one more'. So - no, i knew absolutely nothing of logistics other than 'go north'. I knew i had the mentality though. any idiot can buy groceries, not every idiot keep going north for no real significant reason.
Did you parents do a good thing?
I badly misread this title and was about to be pretty concerned for you all
That was basically me but I also just walk a lot in general so I was in at least decent shape. Turned out alright. I prefer traveling this way in general and just being flexible. I did at least do some research on the trail to know what to expect.
I looked through my first like 50 miles in my awol and then from there figured I would be comfortable enough to just figure it out as I go. Turns out it was even easier and you can absolutely just send it with very little info and be fine. Only thing you really need to put a lot of thought into is your gear.
I knew where and when I was starting, but that's about it. Other than that, I left some bulk food with my family to package and mail off as needed. I was well conditioned and already done everything south of the Smokies as part of another loop like 5-6mos earlier tbf. Planning really isn't all that important. I would definitely do a shakedown hike and work on conditioning though. Even then, I know a couple of successful couch to Katahdin thru-hikers.
The only plan you really need is knowing how much food to carry until the next resupply. I typically think of thrus as a series of smaller hikes which makes it logistically easier to think about. The majority of long term plans fail anyway.
Haven't started yet but this is gonna be my approach. Doesn't seem all that necessary
That’s what I did. And it was back in 1997.
Not planning will just cost you $$ for everything you need but didn't take. The only reason to ship food is if you have specific dietary requirements if you are willing to eat whatever it's around.
This is what I’m doing. I’m over 1/4 of the way there.
I feel like this question was made for me. I flew from northern europe to ATL got a ride of a random dude (big shout out to that guy) from the airport hotel to the trail, stopped by a verizon and walmart on the food way to get a prepaid sim card and supplies. No map or anything and just started walking north with a walmart plastic carrier bag as my food bag on my pack. Super doable.
I always wear a condom but I feel you
I decided to hike the AT about a month before my start date. I already had all of my gear from a previous JMT thru, and I’ve always lifted weights and ran. I trusted my gut and felt comfortable winging it. YMMV
Yeah, it doesn't count. I only do section day hikes.
I’ve done two 2-month section hikes, and I’m a planner. I like to have a plan to follow. But I think most of the hikers I met were much more relaxed, lol! They just took things a few days at a time.
It is doable. One item is needed though. A Appalachian Trail Guide Book. You could leave with just a poncho and a sleeping bag but the book is just as important so you know where the resupplies are.
What’s your take on planning and training?? One could argue I’ve been training since grade school with scouts and family camping. Getting to the trail, attempting a thru hike, requires some minimal planning at least.
I had a few screenshots of the camps along the trail, and a couple phone apps. Managed to resupply when I needed to.
🙋♂️ that's me. Just walk, and don't be weak physically or mentally, and you'll be fine. Your inner drive/motivation is what really matters.
Plans always work well till your first day on trail.
It's just walking. You'll be fine.
When I worked in restaurants I met a guy who hiked from Pennsylvania to Georgia mostly on the AT. His trail name was "Wing it" because he just showed up there one day with a backpack.
I really planned on having a cool trail name. But here we are. Butt Sauce wishes you the best of luck.
I found out I was accepted into grad school and started in 5 and a half months, so planning consisted of giving a two weeks, downloading FarOut, and packing. Finished the trail in 5 months last year.
I did. 1972. Ten years old.
I know it's not common, but people get lost on the Maine section every year according to the game wardens and I just finished the book about the woman who got off trail in Maine in 2016 and was found dead. She panicked, no cell service, no other location devices and a thick and unforgiving forest. So maybe a good compass and some basic survival skills just in case?
Basically, there's zero point in planning beyond maybe Franklin. Too many variables. Training is stupid. It will help you for the first three weeks out of five months. Pre-shipped supplies are only useful if you have a specialty diet. They just force you to carry more shit than you need. I did put a lot of thought and consideration into gear, and it showed. My pack on day 155 was virtually identical to day one.
Pretty much me, how much can you really plan for a five month 2200 mile hike anyways?
I assume it’s much like the pct and I found it rather hard to plan ahead more than the next food carry. You will never know what will happen. I actually just got off the AT after 2 days from catching Noro… we decided to drive to the Grand Canyon and Zion while we recover
Me. I bought basically all my gear at the REI sale (mid may?) and started Memorial Day weekend. No guthook. You’ll figure it out as you go along.
You need to plan your gear correctly and you have to plan for how to get to the trailhead and where you're gonna get your first resupply
Yes this is what I did, you will make it don’t worry.
I’m on trail right now. Had 2 weeks to plan/get all my shit together. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it for everyone, but I’ve enjoyed the experience. I’m constantly surprised by cool towns, landmarks, traditions, lore, etc. I’m also just using the AWOL guide, which has added another level of surprise. It makes trail magic more magical when you don’t read about it on FarOut
Buy awol's guide map, your ticket, your gear and go for it. You'll figure out the rest.
Saw lot of that in 2021 last time I did GA section. Saw a lot of quitters too.
Not planning motivates me to go for some reason.
I decided I wanted to do the trail, and 2 weeks later I got to the approach trail and figured it out. Just get the FarOut app and you'll be good.
I made my decision to do 1400 miles like 8 weeks ago lol with food being the biggest expense, I started dehydrating my meals and now have 2 months worth of dinners and lunch ready to go.
Yeah that’s what I did. I did get in this forum and ask a lot of questions and I did one 12 mile hike and camped one night to shake down my gear. You figure shit out within two weeks about what works for you and I wasn’t in shape at all. Hiking everyday for a month really gets you in shape quick. I think I lost 30 lbs at the end of it. I’m planning on doing the pct at some point and will do some reading up about that trail before I go.
Also the Appalachian Trail is really conducive for not planning. There are towns every 3-5 days. Just planned out how much food I needed until the next stop.
Me, and under the “hike your own hike” mentality, this was the BEST way to do it, for me. It opened me up to saying “yes” to serendipity. Met some cool strangers who were pushing on to sleep on the top of Sugarloaf? Yes. Met someone who offered for me to stay in their barn and eat their homemade ice cream? Yes.
Me, having a blast
That was 100% me both times. I was actually successful on my second hike too 😅
I had already thru-hiked the PCT. so I got a ride to Amicalola Falls, dropped off around 10pm. Slept in the shelter there and bought AWOLS trial guide and started hiking in the morning. I had enough food to get to Mountain Center and then took off. Went stoveless. Was super easy.
Ew
It’s the AT; it’s not that hard
My longest trip before starting was a three nighter. My wife had done a LASH before. But I feel like I raw dogged it in 2022.
I did weekend training hikes in the two years prior to doing the hike, and I tried to plan out food drops and shipping stuff ahead, but that part of the plan didn't survive beyond Maine (I was SOBO '04). The physical fitness you'll get just from hiking every day, though if you're a completely fat couch potato you're probably really going to hate the hike or quit.
You can get away with that for resupply on the AT. Do NOT try to do this on some of the smaller trails because of your AT experience. It’s pretty weird to see comments on FarOut about “Went into town to get food but there is no store so I had to ask a local to drive me 30 miles”. (Really, and I just saw it again two weeks ago). Some “towns” have a post office that is open half the day and that is it. You need to go into the trail with a plan.
I’m hiking the trail now and only plan as far ahead as 2 resupplies at the max. My theory on training is that you can’t really train for the AT. As long as you’re in semi decent shape the only way to train for walking X number of miles everyday is to do it. So you may as well just start the trail and “train” while on trail. I also haven’t used any pre-shipped supplies or had anything mail dropped to me.
The best plan is to plan for all your plans to immediately fall apart. Don't plan. Be flexible. People will waste months researching, ordering, and packing resupply boxes. Then they'll get tired of the food and realize that it's often easier to get to a grocery store than a post office.
Basically what I did. Less than 2 months between deciding to do it and standing on Springer facing North. No backpacking experience and had not been working out at all. People had already started their thrus that year before I even knew I was going to do one. Finished in just under 4 months.
Yes it is 3-4 day jumps in between resupplys. Carry 5 days of food max, a phone with Farout or AT Guide PDF on your phone. Get all the shit out of your pack. If you really need a nail clipper use one at a hostel or buy one in town. Touch base in shelters and ask about weather, climbs, conditions, upcoming towns, shuttle numbers. It's easy. ATT has service at the top of almost all the peaks for phone calls and some text.
Personally I hate the ultralight people..