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AT advice


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  • #1256971
    Joshua Thomas
    Member

    @jdthomas83

    Hello again,
    After putting some thought into my Colorado Trail trip next year and talking to family ; I decided to go with Thru- hiking the Appalachian trail instead of the Colorado trail because its longer and I have heard alot of good things:). Having made a decision I was wondering if anyone here has done this trail and has some advice to the gear I am going to be needing. As far as I can tell it will just be 3 season gear, but was wanting to hear your advice or a gear list of items I will need ect; or a website that has a checklist of items. Also for the people that have done this trail should I go southbound or northbound? Thank you.

    #1591169
    Angela Zukowski
    Member

    @angelaz

    Locale: New England

    Go Northbound if you want to end your trip with the Whites in NH and Maine (my personal fav state!). Go NOBO if you want to socialize more because more people go northbound (unless you start insanely early). Go NOBO if you want to leave in March or April.

    Go SOBO if you want to see less people/spend more time to yourself. Go SOBO if you want/need to start later. And go SOBO if you want a slightly anti-climatic ending (no offense to those who have – but in my opinion a plaque on Springer versus Mt. Katahdin… Katahdin wins hands down!)

    I'm sure people who have done thru's will have more to add. I'm about to embark on mine!

    Whiteblaze is a good forum for AT info but BPL has better gear reviews etc. – I use both. There tends to be more bickering on WB!

    #1594551
    Vick Hines
    Member

    @vickrhines

    Locale: Central Texas

    Go to whiteblaze.net for the most concise articles on AT planning: gear lists, timing, how much food to carry between resupply and so on. I've done it twice and plan to do it again. It's a great walk.

    #1594562
    Frank Deland
    Member

    @rambler

    Locale: On the AT in VA
    #1595274
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Go NOBO without a doubt. I noboed in 2009, and wouldn't change that for the world. As long as you're out by 5/1, you'll be ok if you're in good shape and ready to put some miles on.

    #1597706
    Jeffrey Kuchera
    BPL Member

    @frankenfeet

    Locale: Great Lakes

    Go southbound unless you like hiking with the masses. I did a SOBO and found it to be a very relaxing and less crowded hike with much less competition for campsites, shelters, and bunks in hostels. A NOBO would provide more oppurtunity for a socializing of course. My SOBO definitely provided this introvert with enough social contact and there will be other SOBOs as well as the masses of NOBOs passing by you. The nice thing about SOBOing is that you more or less will have the trail to yourself once the NOBOs pass you and school is back in session. You may find yourself hiking in a small tight knit unit with a SOBO or two or three. We generally hiked alone but rallied at water sources, vistas, and camps. I usually hiked off and on with a small handful of other SOBOs and when the rest dropped out, I definitely aligned myself with two SOBO friends as we decided to group up and stick together for winter, though a SOBO hike can be finished before winter really sets in. Also, go SOBO, start with some of the most beautiful and rugged country, enjoy a leisurely stroll thru the mid-atlantic, bask in Virgina's 625 miles of beauty, visit the land of the giants in TN and NC, and stroll Georgia's ways to the finish. Some may say a southern walk is anti-climactic but there was nothing anti-climactic about walking 2000 miles from Maine to Georgia. I can't really see any thru hike having an anti-climactic ending. Start at the right time on your SOBO and skip the crowds of other thru hikers firing off of springer at a rate of 20 per day, skip the bugs, skip the mud, skip winter, have the shelters and campsites mostly to yourself by the time you hit Mass. Seriously, I was recently down in GSMNP and thru-hikers were beating a track thru that place in an almost continuous stream. I think you get my drift so I will quit with it now. Enjoy your hike no matter which way you go. Peace n Trail Grease.

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