Inn to Inn Section Hike

[newbie2014]

I am in my mid 40's and have been thinking about doing a section of the trail for a few years now. I have never hiked or backpacked before this, so am a total newbie. I have been hitting what few trails there are in Wisconsin, but we are a pretty flat state. A couple of friends (46 & 50 yrs. old) will be joining me and we are looking for any help/advice we can get. We are going to be wimps and try to do an inn to inn hike to start. We will be going the third week in August. We hope to do 5 days and around 60 miles. Is this even realistic? Any help on what state we should be in? Not sure where to start. We are hoping to make this an annual thing, but will actually camp next year as long as we survive this year. Would be happy for any/all advice!

[Coffee]

I would suggest Shenandoah National Park's central district. Start at Swift Run Gap and hike north to Lewis Mountain where you can reserve a cabin. Hike north to Big Meadows the next day and get a room at the lodge. Then hike north to Skyland and a room at the lodge. Finally, finish the hike by going north from Skyland to Thornton Gap.

The mileage may be a bit lower than what you are looking for but it would work "inn to inn". It is also a very nice hike. Be sure to make reservations, preferably mid week, to avoid crowds.

[newbie2014]

Thank you so much!

[map man]

I see you are from Wisconsin. Are you familiar with the Superior Hiking Trail in northern Minnesota? A large group of lodges and inns participate in a lodge-to-lodge program there and here is the relevant link:

http://www.boundarycountry.com/hiking.html

They offer different packages and maybe one will suit you. I can vouch for the fact that the Superior Hiking Trail is a well maintained and beautiful trail.

[greenmtnboy]

You could try the White Mountains in NH, the hut system is spaced less than 10 miles apart and they have lots of facilities for hikers, meals, etc.. In Vermont there are many B and Bs that Catamount trail skiers have used to advantage as well as hikers in the towns from Bennington to Rutland. Many states have B and Bs not too far from this as well as other long trails.

[Starchild]

You can do Dalton, Cheshire, Bascom Lodge (Mt Greylock) and Williamson (All in MA), all about 10 miles apart, all have accommodations, Willimanstown one is about 0.8 miles off the trail all the rest are pretty much on trail, though one is a church hostel, if you want to step up accommodations add 0.8 miles for Cheshire.

[kofritz]

the whites offer hut to hut but reservations and costs could be an issue. boiling springs & swatara gap areas in penn with shuttles is easy too..

[Kerosene]

The Whites will also require a lot more climbing than the other options mentioned. I think the Superior Hiking Trail would be an ideal test, followed by the Shenendoahs.

[1azarus]

The Whites will also require a lot more climbing than the other options mentioned. I think the Superior Hiking Trail would be an ideal test, followed by the Shenendoahs.

...followed by the Massachussets trip, followed by the White Mountain trip (nothing even remotely whimpy about the White Mountains...)... You have your hiking trips cut out for you! I would nominate this thread as most useful thread of the month! By the way, just for a reference, when hiking on a trail you will probably average around 2 miles an hour -- so a twelve mile day will mean six or seven hours of walking.

[peakbagger]

A somewhat long drive is Maine Huts and Trails, LLBeans is a major sponsor. The huts are all very nice, they cook breakfast and supper and I think you can order a bag lunch. I almost think you can get your gear shuttled. Its mostly valley hiking> they have four huts so you can be out for 5 days. Hot Showers.

[rafe]

Folks with recent AT slackpacking experience might be able to chime in. While it's not exactly inn-to-inn, slackpacking accomplishes the goal of letting you hike with just a day pack, with lodging, breakfast and dinner in town.

For example, there's easy slackpacking from Rte 26 in Maine (Grafton Notch), out to Maine Rte. 17, courtesy of the hostel(s) in Andover. That's about 35 miles of challenging and scenic trail, in chunks of about 12 miles per day.

Inn-to-inn hiking is big in Europe. A friend was telling me, just a few days ago, about an inn-to-inn hike he did with his wife, around Mt. Blanc.

[Starchild]

Yes slackpacking, shutteling and doing and/or car leapfrog hike (leaving one car overnight at the trail head to return to it the next day, repeat as needed) does open up much more of the trail, but also does change the hike. Not that it is undesirable. It becomes more of a stay at one place and do dayhikes type of trip as opposed to a continuous journey and progression.

Again subjective, but I would prefer to try the inn to inn plan as it sounds nice to try out, and as pointed out there are only a few spots where that is possible on the AT. It would also perhaps help you decide how you want to do the rest of the trail, either backpacking or shuttle/day hikes, while getting a good taste of both aspects.

You could also do the 100 MW (or sections of it) by seaplane daytrips.

And BTW the inn to inn AT was one serious contender to how the AT was originally envisioned.

[pipsissewa]

Newb: I highly recommend THIS OUTFIT. Their motto is "Footpaths by day, country inns by night." They have trips in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, in the Blue Ridge and Smokys of North Carolina and in Shenandoah of Virginia. My first hiking trip was with them in the White Mountains 25 years ago and I've been hiking and backpacking in the Whites, the Black Hills, Yellowstone, Glacier, Yosemite, King's Canyon, Frank Church, etc. ever since! It was a great way to get started for me! Good luck!

[rafe]

And BTW the inn to inn AT was one serious contender to how the AT was originally envisioned.

As I understand it, Benton MacKaye envisioned a series of mountaintop camps or settlements, all connected by a trail. Not inns, exactly. He expected folks to hang out for a while. What would have surprised Mackaye, I think, is the very notion of walking from Maine to Georgia in one go.