MStudt
official vendor
I figure it's time for me to start my official threaded about my upcoming thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. This has been a work in progress for coming up on a year now. With under four months until our planned departure, we still have a lot to plan for.
Some of you might want to know why someone would carry everything they need to survive for 2200+ miles, and some might understand. There isn't an exact science to this, or even a certain person. Pretty sure you have to be a little crazy, and be able to except the fact that it's going to be very trying. I've been backpacking for around 15 years now, my wife about 10 years, and our dog 5 years. I got started backpacking when visiting family in Oregon/Washington, and haven't stopped since. My wife was interduced by a friend when they took a trip to the Smokies, and has been backpacking since as well. Together we been backpacking all over the US from coast to coast.
Let's get to some details. Our planned departure date is going to be somewhere in the range of 12/28-12/31, but not quite sure. Of course we'll be starting at Springer Mountain in Georgia, and finishing at Katahdin Mountain in Maine. We have no idea how long this is going to take, and we don't really care to find out either. On average it seems that most hikers are finishing somewhere around 145-160 days. That being said, keeping to a schedule like that would put us at Katahdin somewhere around the beginning of June. We're hoping to finish somewhere around the middle to end of June. Keeping to that schedule would also mean that we need to hike an average of 12.15 to 14.48 miles per day. Considering the slow start in January and February due to lack of daylight. We'll need to pack on the miles later on, or just spend some extra time on the trail.
We're still in the process of getting all of our gear together, and figured out. Trying to plan for nights around 0 degrees, and possible hiking temps only in the teens if not single digits is pretty tricky. We're on the right track, and we're really learning how to layer properly.
Below you'll find our blog and Facebook page. Feel free to like them, follow us, and interact with us.
Boots and Backpacks- Facebook and Blog
Thanks,
Mike
Some of you might want to know why someone would carry everything they need to survive for 2200+ miles, and some might understand. There isn't an exact science to this, or even a certain person. Pretty sure you have to be a little crazy, and be able to except the fact that it's going to be very trying. I've been backpacking for around 15 years now, my wife about 10 years, and our dog 5 years. I got started backpacking when visiting family in Oregon/Washington, and haven't stopped since. My wife was interduced by a friend when they took a trip to the Smokies, and has been backpacking since as well. Together we been backpacking all over the US from coast to coast.
Let's get to some details. Our planned departure date is going to be somewhere in the range of 12/28-12/31, but not quite sure. Of course we'll be starting at Springer Mountain in Georgia, and finishing at Katahdin Mountain in Maine. We have no idea how long this is going to take, and we don't really care to find out either. On average it seems that most hikers are finishing somewhere around 145-160 days. That being said, keeping to a schedule like that would put us at Katahdin somewhere around the beginning of June. We're hoping to finish somewhere around the middle to end of June. Keeping to that schedule would also mean that we need to hike an average of 12.15 to 14.48 miles per day. Considering the slow start in January and February due to lack of daylight. We'll need to pack on the miles later on, or just spend some extra time on the trail.
We're still in the process of getting all of our gear together, and figured out. Trying to plan for nights around 0 degrees, and possible hiking temps only in the teens if not single digits is pretty tricky. We're on the right track, and we're really learning how to layer properly.
Below you'll find our blog and Facebook page. Feel free to like them, follow us, and interact with us.
Boots and Backpacks- Facebook and Blog
Thanks,
Mike
