South bound supply route

[mlivin01]

I will be a southbounder. Must do it in 4 months so need to optimize time. Some towns seem way to far off the trail and it seems to me it would waste too much time. So can anyone send schedule to towns for fast resupply versus where best to do mail drop in order to maximize miles for each day? for example, i think going into a town that is 7 miles off the trail will take too much time. so ideas and sample scehdules please?

[Slo-go'en]

First, we need to know which trail your talking about. Can we assume the AT? If it is the AT, don't worry. Getting into town is as easy as sticking out your thumb. No matter what, shopping, doing laundry and getting a sit down meal in town while you charge your phone will take up half a day so the little extra time it takes to get in and out of town isn't significant.

Seeing your not a young kid, I'm sure your going to want to spend more then a few nights in town anyway to sleep in a real bed and get a shower. You have to work on doing "NEROS" Near Zero days, where you get into town late afternoon after doing a bunch of miles and then head out early the next morning. That way you minimize the amount of time spent off trail but get your town chores done.

Good luck, a 120 thru hike isn't impossible but it does mean 20+ mile days much of the time. If you've not hike the AT before, finding out how hard those 20 miles can be will be a shock.

[map man]

Do you have any objections to hitching or getting shuttle rides? Or are you hoping to be able to walk to the places you resupply? Your answers to those questions will influence our answers. For example, the roadside walk to Waynesboro VA would be a lengthy and unpleasant walk, if walk you must, but it is a very easy and fast resupply if you go by vehicle because there is a list of volunteers happy to shuttle you there.

[MuddyWaters]

I wouldnt target 4 mo unless you are experienced long distance hiker, familiar with AT terrain.

You can hit only towns 2-3 miles from trail that you can easily walk into. The catch is, you will be doing~ 150 miles between some resupply, not 40. Plan accordingly and no problem.

[mlivin01]

it is the AT and sorry for the miss.

I figure has to be less than 5 months or I will need to work on my divorce papers along the way as well. so between 4-5 is what I want. And yes I am 59 but hopefully living at 8K feet in NM and doing a lot of hikes will get me ready. But I know that the day end and day out of 15+ miles a day is not for the faint of heart. I like the idea of Nero's and not zero's but that could change after the first 100 miles.

Thanks for the advice.

[Slo-go'en]

All you can do is try - but don't try to push too hard through Maine. That trail was built by sadists I once spent a summer hiking in and around Yellowstone, often climbing 8-9,000 foot mountains. I was in my 30's and in good shape. Then I came home and tried to do a little AT hike in southern Maine. It kicked my butt. YMMV.

[peakbagger]

If you want to go over to the dark side you can take an old AT route into Gorham NH (skip the Centennial trail) and head directly down to Gorham via the Mahoosuc trail. Then when you hit Rt 16 turn left to head into town and post office or right just a about 3/4 of mile up RT 16 to Walmart. Next day head out of town via another old stretch of the AT (the Carter Moriah trail and you have saved a long in and out to town.

[4shot]

My $.02...a 5 month time frame is very reasonable and many, if not most, thru hikers could achieve that. However, the 4 month "target", while certainly achievable, moves the hike into what I call "death march" mode. Hiking to a deadline takes away the joys of being out there, which is to (at least for a little while) escape from the day to day hassles of schedules and routines. Of course, others will disagree and that's ok. ymmv.

[firesign]

I will be a southbounder. Must do it in 4 months so need to optimize time. Some towns seem way to far off the trail and it seems to me it would waste too much time. So can anyone send schedule to towns for fast resupply versus where best to do mail drop in order to maximize miles for each day? for example, i think going into a town that is 7 miles off the trail will take too much time. so ideas and sample scehdules please?

I completed my 2014 sobo thru in 4 months. Like others have already stated, it did feel like a death march towards the end.

What contributed to my success?

Preparation: lose body weight, lose pack weight and train for reality.


I built up to a 550 mile thru hike in Scotland which I completed two weeks before my 29 May start in Maine. I believe that the groundwork that we put in before, increases our chance of success. I lost about 42 lbs before I arrived in the States, could easily knock out 28 mile days and never carried a pack that weighed more than 30 lbs even with 6 days food . The bottom line was that I was already conditioned for long days hiking. ME and NH were a challenge as was NY. I had no real interest in the social piece and only stayed in about 10 shelters choosing to use camp sites. I averaged about 8 hours hiking each day, never stopped to chat, take lunch or take side trails. For me, it was all about getting to Springer nothing else, which I did two weeks quicker than planned. I used AWOL's 18 mile plan as a planning guide and carried about 4 days of food on average to avoid hitches into towns. I lived off granola and cereal bars and concentrated on slow release energy foods. It was an absolutely brilliant challenge and I would not change anything apart from the resup boxes that I sent down the trail - a waste of time! Replacement poles, trail runners and socks were all General Delivery through Amazon. Best of luck.

PS take the number for a good lawyer incase you take 5 months!))

[Donde]

You don't really need mails drops. Maybe in Port Clinton, Atkins, and Fontanna Dam maybe. Just hitch in and out of town it is not a big deal.
Also forget the time constraint it will ruin your hike. If you have to get off and go back home to deal with some stuff then do it, and continue after or next season. Hopefully your lawyer can deal with most of that for you, and all you will need is access to e-mail maybe the occasional post office or fax; I say that as someone whose divorce was finalized while on their first thru. Have a great hike.

[BillyGr]

You don't really need mails drops. Maybe in Port Clinton, Atkins, and Fontanna Dam maybe. Just hitch in and out of town it is not a big deal.
Also forget the time constraint it will ruin your hike. If you have to get off and go back home to deal with some stuff then do it, and continue after or next season. Hopefully your lawyer can deal with most of that for you, and all you will need is access to e-mail maybe the occasional post office or fax; I say that as someone whose divorce was finalized while on their first thru. Have a great hike.

I think the point was to do it in less than 5 months to AVOID having to fill out divorce papers.

[Donde]

Ooohhhh right. Okay well guess if you wanted to stay married then just try to hitch in and out of town as quick as you can. Though I gotta tell ya the divorce thing is great its really improved and increased my hiking.