I'll be attempting my thru of the AT soon. Any last tips or advice?

I start soon! Thanks to all the old vets here that have helped. I've been lurking for many years and planning for the past few. It's time. I watched YouTube explode with hikers since I started learning more about the trail around 2011. I've seen a lot of ups, downs, failures, and successes. I've tried to glean as much as I could from them all the while knowing little of it really matters as far as my hike goes. Here are some stats for me:

• Start date: April 14
• Approach Trail: Yes
• Registered with ATC: NO
• Base weight: 14lbs
• Skin out weight: 24lb
• Pack: ULA CDT
• Tent: SMD Lunar Solo
• Sleeping Bag: Nunatek
• Cook: Alcohol stove
• Training miles: 500+
• Training miles with proper elevation change: about 200

My first goal is to clear GA in 6 days. I want to be clear of the smokys by day 15. I've done these sections before, but not recently. I know how to avoid towns and am comfortable being dirty, tired, and worn down. In fact, I prefer it. I'm hoping my grit gets me through it all. If I can get past the smokys in that timeframe, the rest of the hike will be uncovered ground. I hate going backwards, and I relish the chance to keep moving forward. Pray for me!

you don't need tips or advice

Need and want are tow different things. You don’t NEED the breakfasts at Mountain Harbour (Roan Mtn) or Shaw’s (Monson)…but you do WANT them, :D

A prayer and Godspeed on your journey to Maine.

Hike Your Own Hike is the best advice. Maybe you end up with a group, maybe you prefer hiking solo. The best thing is to do what you truly want and feel and don't let others or what might be considered "the norm" to impede on your hike and how you want to go about it. Hike Your Own Hike and Hike Safe!

Don't let the "impossibility" of the goal get you down. Take the hike week by week, and in no time you will be wondering how you got to Maine so quickly. Good luck and have fun.

Yea, this is the kind of advice I would have cringed at and scrolled past one year ago. But I completed my thru hike in 2021. And my biggest piece of advice to you (and personal regret) is to not stress about crunching numbers/miles, and actually have fun out there. Everybody worries so much about whether or not they're going to make it (and how many miles they need to put in if they're going to make it). But let me tell you a secret... Its almost impossible NOT to make it if you really want to finish and you've budgeted enough money to keep yourself on trail.

The bigger story is that this is your one and only chance to hike the AT in its entirety. You're almost certain to never do this again. And if you do get through this whole thing without making a lot of amazing friends, and having a lot of amazing adventures, the fact that you finished will actually feel like a small consolation.

The best advice I can give is to start sleeping outside every night in your backyard or on a porch or deck and get really used to living on a sleeping pad in all conditions. Do it so much you prefer it to a regular bed. Also: Set up your shelter at night with a headlamp etc. See if it leaks in an all night rainstorm. Purpose of all this is to experience no gear surprises when out on the trail.

Clearing GA in 6 days is reasonable. Clearing the Smokies in 15 could be a stretch, after doing GA in 6. Really no big deal if it takes a couple days longer.

Thanks for the support everyone. All great advice! I'm not too hung up on miles and won't pass up any unique opportunities should one arise. I'll definitely be hiking my own hike out there. Having thru hiked a few other trails over the years, I know plans mean little once the journey begins. I hope to finish up in late August or September.

Get photos with yourself and other folks in it. Scenic views are rarely looked at again. I ran into one thru hiker who spent a lot of time with a large clunky camera taking the perfect summit sunrises and sunset shots and great scenic views. He had several binders of them. I asked him a year later what he would have done different, and he was quite candid that he wished he had spent more time taking people shots and getting trail names lined up with the faces and less getting the perfect shots.

It's a marathon, not a sprint. Don't be fixated on speed. I've seen so many hikers get injured and burned out by 20+ mile days, and then limp through Maine with a bad attitude.
Other than that, you sound good to go... Good Luck!

When trekking the Smokies, skip Gatlinburg.

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Originally Posted by Mr. Bellamy

When trekking the Smokies, skip Gatlinburg.

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Why? I stayed there two nights last summer after finishing a section hike from Damascus to Newfound Gap and I loved it. Good restaurants, nice stores, very good winery, friendly people and just positive vibes. I would love to come back.

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Originally Posted by peakbagger

Get photos with yourself and other folks in it. Scenic views are rarely looked at again. I ran into one thru hiker who spent a lot of time with a large clunky camera taking the perfect summit sunrises and sunset shots and great scenic views. He had several binders of them. I asked him a year later what he would have done different, and he was quite candid that he wished he had spent more time taking people shots and getting trail names lined up with the faces and less getting the perfect shots.

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This is a great piece of advice!

Attempt not. Do.

Don't skip the Approach Trail....

Arrange to be met at BSP. Take the Knife Edge and Helon Taylor trail down to Roaring Brook. Logistically it's a PITA unless someone is meeting you and you need a backup plan in case of bad weather (The Saddle Trail) but IMO skipping it is missing "the icing on the cake" of a thru hike. IMO the equivalent of skipping the approach trail to skip this hike down but far more spectacular.

Remember it is your hike. Enjoy it on your terms, and have a great time.

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Originally Posted by peakbagger

Arrange to be met at BSP. Take the Knife Edge and Helon Taylor trail down to Roaring Brook. Logistically it's a PITA unless someone is meeting you and you need a backup plan in case of bad weather (The Saddle Trail) but IMO skipping it is missing "the icing on the cake" of a thru hike. IMO the equivalent of skipping the approach trail to skip this hike down but far more spectacular.

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I've added this to my notes. And I plan on starting tomorrow morning before sunrise at the arches at Amicalola and taking the stairs on my way to Springer. Thanks for all the advice guys. I just finished a recommended book "As far as the eye can see" and I am inspired! Peace be with you all. Pray for me. Here we go!

All the best to you as your journey begins.

My only advice: do whatever it takes to make it as enjoyable as possible.

Hello WhiteBlaze! Reporting in from Waynesboro, VA. I leave out of here tomorrow and enter Shenandoah. The last 800 or so miles have been a lot of fun. The first 400 were incredible and hard working, and the past 400 easier but with more uneventful stretches. This is where the people you meet on trail keep you going. I've met so many kind souls! Georgia was over so far, North Carolina/TN were the most eventful with amazing views. It's getting hot and I'll be happy to get to Harpers Ferry and out of VA. I've hiked on and off with 3 of the 15 or so I started with. Lost a few before the smoky mountains, and a few somewhere along the the way to Damascus. VA took the rest of them off the trail for various reasons. If not, I haven't seen them in a few weeks, so maybe they are far behind. I'm hiking with a brit (Foghorn), a female swede (Droptop), and a guy from Texas (Worm), so conversation has been interesting. I feel strong and my kit is a little lighter with advice from others along the way. I just changed out a my moab shoes for new ones. I've spent about $1100 so far, and every day is a new adventure. I will check in again around 1600 miles.

If you made it this far, you’ll make it. Congrats.

Finished my 10 year section hike last July. Last week came back and rehiked SNP (108 miles Waynesboro/Rock Fish Gap to Front Royal). So enjoy the wayside grills, Blackberry shakes, camp store resupplies, showers, views, and relatively mild trail. I did enough to choose to spend a week this summer redoing it.

Harpers Ferry "half way" picture just around the corner after SNP and the roller coaster.

Good choice of start date. I used to start on April Fool's Day (April 1st) but after trial and error I found that it's a bit too early. April 15 is the perfect start date because it's the right balance between early and late and lets you avoid some bad weather and maybe even snow in the Smokies.

Apparently this year there is a group called "The Brits" which features two hikers from the UK and two hikers from the US. If you know about this, please tell me more!

Hello Whiteblaze! We head into the 100 mile wilderness tomorrow morning. Almost to Katahdin! What an amazing time I've had. I've continued to meet so many great people on this trail, and I've already got a tentative partner for the Camino next year. It's just me and DropTop now, and we've been leap-frogging each other since we met a few months ago. She's been a blessing. It is truly great to have someone to split hostels, hotels, food, and other things with. I've spent about $4200 so far which is under my $6000 budget. I plan to do whatever it takes to get a sunny day on Katahdin even if I have to wait a few days. I feel strong. It's almost over.

Awesome. Thanks for checking in!

Due to weather last year I decided to summit 2 days later than I could have. Stopped early at last shelter, and burned another day zeroing at Abol Campground.

Hello Whiteblaze! I almost forgot to post an update here. I've completed the Appalachian Trail and it was outstanding! Thanks to this forum and the members for all the valuable information I used to plan my hike. I was able to summit on a pleasant day with the sun and the clouds. The trail provided for me the whole way whether it be drink in a cooler, a ride with a stranger, or a gifted meal or hostel stay. I believe I am bit by the bug as they say. I guess time will tell. I met some new friends on the trail that invited me to their ranch in Arizona. We are planning to visit Grand Canyon to do some hiking there before I make my way back home. They say this is a great time of year to go. Looking forward to seeing the canyon out west and being in a different environment. My beard is long and my memories are strong. I will never forget this journey!

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Originally Posted by MapleHiker

Hello Whiteblaze! I almost forgot to post an update here. I've completed the Appalachian Trail and it was outstanding! Thanks to this forum and the members for all the valuable information I used to plan my hike. I was able to summit on a pleasant day with the sun and the clouds. The trail provided for me the whole way whether it be drink in a cooler, a ride with a stranger, or a gifted meal or hostel stay. I believe I am bit by the bug as they say. I guess time will tell. I met some new friends on the trail that invited me to their ranch in Arizona. We are planning to visit Grand Canyon to do some hiking there before I make my way back home. They say this is a great time of year to go. Looking forward to seeing the canyon out west and being in a different environment. My beard is long and my memories are strong. I will never forget this journey!

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Thanks for the follow up and congratulations! Bit by the bug huh? Hope to see your next trip report here. Enjoy the Grand Canyon.

Thanks for all the updates! Congratulations! Time to update your whiteblaze signature line. : )

Keep walking north, and don't publish it around the world..

How are you getting along?

Sorry, when I was reading this thread, it hadn’t loaded properly. I see now that you have finished. Congratulations!