Planning My Hike
by
, 04-01-2015 at 19:56 (2305 Views)
I have been secretly wanting to hike the AT for about 10 years. Since then I have been dreaming of and working towards a time when I would actually be able to make that desire a reality. Last year I achieved the level at work which would give me the financial means and time off to actually begin.
There is always that desire to complete the entire trail at once, but I have to be realistic in my plans. I am going to break the trail down into manageable sections over the next 5-10 years. That means that I need to do 150-200 miles a year, depending on how fast I want to go. Today I've been looking at the calendar for this year, and I am ready to start laying out the details on my first section.
Tentatively I am planning to leave the first week of June from Caledonia Park on Rt 30 in Chambersburg PA and head south towards Harpers Ferry WV. If I do 15 miles a day that is roughly 4 days, and less if I do 20 per day. I have the entire week off so I may even decide to go farther, so I will pack extra food just in case. Caledonia to Harpers Ferry is 60 miles.
I may also do a quick day hike from Rt 30 to Carlisle... Caledonia to Carlisle is roughly 20 miles.
The second major trip I am planning to take is from Harper's Ferry heading south through Virginia... I haven't given that one too much thought yet, but I may just go as far as I can go in say 4-5 days.