Thru hiking the AT

[creeky]

It would be really nice to see a nice long post, or blog about your trips experiences. What worked, what didn't, what you would do differently, people you met, etc.

Congratulations!!

[peejman]

Congrats! Hope you enjoyed the experience.

[Guest ab28]

not sure if this will post or not.

[Guest ab28]

[Guest ab28]

Crap, I didn't realize the pic was gonna be that huge, sorry. I am not angry in the pic, it looks like it, but I was squinting because the sun was in my eyes, I left my sunglasses with my pack.

Edited August 16, 2010 by ab28

[Oh Shoot]

Crap, I didn't realize the pic was gonna be that huge, sorry. I am not angry in the pic, it looks like it, but I was squinting because the sun was in my eyes, I left my sunglasses with my pack.

No worries, it didn't make it.

It's linked to your c: drive, so only YOU will see it.

We don't have access to that.

PM me if you want to email it to me and I'll post it.

- OS

[Major Kong]

Thanks for sharing this. It's been a great read.

[vontar]

Congratulations!!

Just wondering, I know there would be some areas of the trail you would run into more people then others but I wonder on average how much time between running into people on the trail?

I can image like the Virginia Creeper section you had more people around then you wanted and not counting towns, would you be 2 or 3 days with out human contact?

Did you every join with any one else going in the same direction and hike as a pair or small group for section of the trail for any length of time? example more then a day or 2, such as even setting up a joint camp site with people you met on the trail?

Edited August 18, 2010 by vontar

[Guest ab28]

Congratulations!!

Just wondering, I know there would be some areas of the trail you would run into more people then others but I wonder on average how much time between running into people on the trail?

I can image like the Virginia Creeper section you had more people around then you wanted and not counting towns, would you be 2 or 3 days with out human contact?

Did you every join with any one else going in the same direction and hike as a pair or small group for section of the trail for any length of time? example more then a day or 2, such as even setting up a joint camp site with people you met on the trail?

I hiked alone, but would hang out at shelters at night with other hikers. I summitted with 6 people I had been hiking with since Virginia. I almost always tented, as shelters had no protection from mosquitos and deerflies, and people snored, late hikers would come in at 10PM, ect. I met dayhikers pretty much all the time. I only went a few days without seeing anyone else, but when I did I usually just said hi and moved on. My huge beard pretty much identified me as a thru-hiker, and I got random questions from people about hiking. I preferred hiking alone, as I could go at my own pace, take breaks when I felt like it, and have a long lunch. I did hike with a few people sometimes, when I was ready to get to a town, and we all just cranked out the last few to get there.

[Guest ab28]

It would be really nice to see a nice long post, or blog about your trips experiences. What worked, what didn't, what you would do differently, people you met, etc.

Congratulations!!

I will have to do this in a few days or so. I have been pretty busy the last few days repairing gear, relaxing, and working on getting my car fixed. It will probably be pretty long, and keep in mind some of my ideas might seem "weird" but they are very practical for hiking.

One of the biggest things that was reinforced in my mind day after day was how important pack weight was. There was a direct correlation between pack weight and hiking enjoyment. I am 5'11 and 150, and I was not comfortable with more than about 25 lbs pack weight. I could hike faster, hike longer, take less breaks, and not feel so beat at the end of the day. I mention this because I see many people talking about their super-duper 60 lb bug out bags with ammo, ect. I am not bashing anyone here, but it is a general thing. If there is anything I learned on the AT, it would be to keep any survival pack you are going to use fast and light. You need to be able to move, and sometimes keep going. If you carry a heavy pack, you will get careless towards the end of the day when you are tired. I sometimes even did this with a lighter pack, and went faster than was prudent for the terrain at times, just to get done. If I bug out, it will be with my hiking gear and a .22 rifle. I am not telling anyone what to pack, and you gotta choose the gear that works for you, same as a thru hike. I found that fast and light is ideal gear for me.

[Will Carry]

Good on ya mate! Thanks for posting. You will have something to tell your grandchildren. I like hiking alone to for the very reasons you gave. I hope you took a shower before gettin' on the bus home.

[Oh Shoot]

Here are three pix AB28 sent me to post. I knocked them down to 800px long side.

He can describe them in another post.

[vontar]

Do you see that UFO to the left of the Katahdin sign? o wait maybe it is a bird.

Good read. I figured you of all people at this point would have some ideas on BOB's

[Guest ab28]

First pic is me on the Kennebec River in Maine. The second is breakfast at Shaw's hostel in Monson, Maine, with 115 miles left. One thing I noticed about the AT was all the good food I ate. Many of the hostels made home cooked meals. I would eat a town meal as well, when I resupplied. According to what I read, the average thru-hiker burns 5000 calories per day, and you always run a calorie deficit, even eating. In town, my favorite meal was a footlong meatball marinara sub with everything. This was 5 and change at Subway, and I would follow that with a couple pints of ice cream.

The last pic is my summit of course. That thing in the background is a bird. It looked like a crow, but it was huge. I saw several up there, and it would have probably came almost to my knees with it standing.

[Guest Letereat!]

You should be able to finish in about 3-4 weeks. ......................If you hitch-hike the majority of it. :rock:See if you can pull it off, and make a rolling utube vid, thatd go viral 4 sure...mabey

[Guest ab28]

Most of my gear I have modified myself. I fix gear and do all my own repairs, as well as make some of my stuff. My

gear list and explanations are below. My base pack weight(everything but food and water) was around 14 lbs. I kept

experimenting with gear until I found what works for me.

Shelter and sleep system

Appy Trails Mark 3 tarptent-cut down and resewn to a 1 man tent. I got rid of the support pole and tied it off to a

tree with 550 cord. I resewed tent grommets with paracord also. Total weight with stakes is around 17 ounces.

Thermarest blue 4 season ground pad long-24 oz. I cut this down to fit me, weight is around a pound.

Lightweight tarp for ground cloth, cut in half, estimated weight 4 oz.

I started with a 0 degree down bag which I converted to a quilt(3 lbs). I switched to a tarp survival blanket and

sleeping bag insert(21 oz). This was fine until I hit low 50's. The survival blanket would have kept me alive, but

it was too cold to sleep in. I picked up a synthetic 15 degree bag in Rangely, Maine. It is 3lbs, but I slept well

and am keeping it. Synthetic is bulkier and heavier, but retains 70-80 percent of warmth when soaked. I keep my bag

dry, but in the woods, stuff happens and you never know.

Clothing system

Cotton sucks for clothing, and thermally it is worse than being naked if it is wet.

Long sleeve synthetic wicking T-shirt and cargo pants(weight unknown, but these are pretty light and they dry fast)

2 pairs wool socks(kept my feet warm even when they were wet, which was often)

3 pair women's underwear(weight 0.5 oz, men's underwear were 2.3 oz, they had the same wicking ability, and were

surprisingly comfortable. I got some at wal-mart for $3 a pair, they lasted 800 miles. I would wear a pair to hike

in, change at night after drying off with baby powder, and keep another pair for when I was doing laundry.)

Thermasilk shirt(2 oz)

polypro tops and bottoms(I got these towards the end of the hike, seemed to work well)

nylon rain jacket and rain pants(I got rained on all day while hiking because this stuff is too hot to wear hiking.

It is mainly for cold rainy days. I also use it as a thermal layer in camp when it is a bit colder. Weight is

probably about a pound for the pants and jacket together.)

Merrell hiking shoes( I used 2 pairs of these, the sole peels off, this is easily repaired with 550 cord. I also

relaced the laces with paracord.)

Gregory 2400 cubic inch pack, heavily modified, with extra pouches sewn on.

Army PT shorts and a tshirt(camp clothing to change into so I don't have to wear the sweaty hiking stuff. On colder

days my raingear was my campwear.)

Teva flip flops(wore these after done hiking for the day, they are lightweight and let my feet air out.)

35L nylon dry sack(used as a packliner, kept all my gear dry in really bad rainstorms. Weight 2 oz)

Toiletries(not all are toiletries, but this is what is in my ziploc)

Baby powder, 1.5 oz travel size. This is mandatory after walking all day in rain. I powder my feet and croch before

changing into my camp clothing.

Travel size toothpaste and cut down toothbrush(I also carried Campsuds to wash clothing, and I brushed my teeth

with it for a long time. I would refill the small tue with a big one by holding them tightly together and squeezing

the big one.)

Rolled up TP(also used moss and wet leaves)

Spare set of AAA batteries for headlamp(I was forced to nighthike several times due to circumstances, and spare

batteries were an important safety issue)

Aleve

Bleach in 1 oz dropper bottle( 2 drops per quart, shake, wait 30 mins. I got free bleach at hostels, and it was

just as effective as the expensive stuff, and much lighter than a filter.)

Zinc oxide diaper rash ointment(Stronger than sunscreen and I don't sweat it off. Also used for chafing issues.

Carried a 4 oz tube, wal mart brand, $1.59)

Cook system

1L titanium cookpot(I cooked in this, and used it for getting water out of shallow streams. Weight 3 oz.)

wal mart 25 cent teaspoon( I ate with this and used it the whole thru)

esbit tab stove(I broke the folding wind tab off a full size esbit stove and used that instead, it was lighter,

protected on 3 sides, and the pot sat a half inch over the flame, so I only had to use half a tab to boil water)

pot grabber(cut off piece of an old Thermarest pad)

Bic lighter(wrapped with 50 yards dental floss and 3 needles. Dental floss is strong thread, and after you tie it

off, burn the excess and it won't unravel)

Cook system total weight- 12oz, 24+ burns with 12 esbit tabs

misc carried gear

Military issue magnesium firestarter(I used this for 3 weeks, building fires twice a day. I also wanted to see how

it handled being sweated on and exposed to the elements for 5 months. The magnesium is slightly pitted, and the

strike rod has worn down some, still fully functional.)

backup LED keyring light(Inova, 6 bucks at wal mart)

headlamp(Petzl Tikka 2, 3 AAA batteries, never failed me)

wallet(cards and money with a ponytail holder around the cards instead of a wallet)

Gerber STL 2.0 pocketknife(1.1 oz, I carried this on a long 550 cord lanyard with a cut down diamond rod for

sharpening. I sharpened people's knives constantly in shelters and at hostels. I didn't meet another hiker who

carried a way to sharpen their knives. With all the practice, I can put a razor edge on one now. I also trimmed my

fingernails and toenails with this knife. Also, the magnesium firestarter dulled the edge.)

novel(libraries sold these cheap, and it helped sometimes when I got bored.

AT data book(this was light, and sometimes I regretted the lack of information. The thru hiker's companion is much

better.)

Shooting glasses, clear. I wore these on night hikes to keep from getting slapped in the eye with low branches.

20 ft paracord(self explanatory)

Water system

1 oz bleach(mentioned previously)

2 2.4L Platypus water bags(around 1.5 oz each, these things are tough, I dropped them on rocks and fell backwards

onto my pack with a full one and it didn't bust. I carried these for camp water.)

2L Gatorade bottle(used the entire thru hike, I had a piece of t-shirt on it to filter out floaties)

I made 550 cord lanyards on all my water bottles so I could carry all of them in one hand, and use my hiking pole.

(some of the terrain down to the water was challenging). I also had a fastex buckle on my gatorade bottle so if it

fell out of my pack pouch I wouldn't lose my water.

Food

Food varied, usually I had a big restaurant meal in town, or went to a store and got meat, apples, and bread. I

liked to leave town with about 6 apples and half a loaf of bread. This was heavy, but I ate it quick.

8 cheddar broccoli rice sides with 8 2.5 oz tuna pouches.

4 lbs off brand fig newtons or cheap cookies.

pop tarts

candy bars(snickers or milky way, the fig newtons were cheaper though, so I hardly got candy bars)

ramen noodles

oreo cookies or nutter butter

graham crackers

bag of cereal

peanut butter or nutella

I carried a first aid kit off and on, but it was mostly for small stuff. You cannot carry a kit for anything big

without it being too heavy.

[Guest ab28]

My total expense on my thru hike was $2,500.

[MacGyver]

Nice info.

I agree with you on being fast and light. I think that's why you see so much gear shed on the trail within 100 miles of either terminus.

[Guest ab28]

Nice info.

I agree with you on being fast and light. I think that's why you see so much gear shed on the trail within 100 miles of either terminus.

There is always a compromise in gear. I want to be comfortable. I would like to bug out with an AK and 500 rounds of ammo. There is always a sacrifice. I have to do without a lot to go light, but I enjoy the hike more. I am much more able to deal with discomfort after this hike. I had days where I got rained on for 14 hours straight, and could not wear my raingear because it was too hot. I had several days where I slept maybe 5 hours in 3 days. The hike at times felt like a grind, but overall it was a very memoriable experience, and I will enjoy my section hikes at local parks much more now because of it. I won't have to feel like I have to crank miles or anything. The AT thru was great, but towards the end it started feeling like too much of a good thing.

You will never be able to carry everything you need. This is true in combat, survival, or hiking. I choose to go lighter, and deal with more discomfort. I do not shortcut on safety though, I have a sleeping bag, tent, and adequate clothing, as well as being well versed in wilderness skills. A small example of knowledge replacing gear was when I got really good at trimming my nails with a pocketknife. Now I don't have to carry nail clippers. They are light, I know, but apply that type of thinking to every piece of gear and you see what I mean.

[Capbyrd]

I like your setup. A personal note though from my experience in Maine and other weekend or week long hikes is that we substituted Gold Bond for baby powder. It is a little more costly but you can use for chaffing issues as well.

And for our trip on the AT, polar pure was our water purification. I'm not sure how many bottles you would need for a thru hike but I wouldnt think more than two or three. We used one for 6 people on a 10 day trek.

Either way, I really enjoyed your posts both during and now after. Congrats on the achievement.

[vontar]

Thanks for the update. It was certainly a good read. Read it tonight, will probably read about your gear acouple more times so it can fully sink in.

[Guest ab28]

Thanks for the update. It was certainly a good read. Read it tonight, will probably read about your gear acouple more times so it can fully sink in.

Yeah, everything I learned gearwise was a hard lesson. If I can save some people the trouble, it was worth it. You have to find the gear that works for you, I can only make suggestions. I have never seen anyone else use the setup for sewing I have though, a Bic lighter with 3 needles and 50 yards of floss. It is simple and efficient. I got several other thru hikers to do it. I enjoy sharing ideas with people, as there are many things I have not thought of, and the same for others.

[nb forrest]

This has been an awesome thread and congrats on your accomplishment. I hiked a small section last month and I have not been able to get it out of my mind. I envy anyone that is able to hike the whole trail.

[vontar]

I think we should ask a mod to make this a Sticky for so many reasons.

This thread really hits what this forum is about and he ab28 got out there, lived it and experienced it first hand.

I know I for one and I am sure others will use this thread as examples for a very long time to come.

[Guest ab28]

bumped in relation to my newest Appalachian Trail post.