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Thread: Shelters

  1. #1
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    Default Shelters

    I am new to hiking and was wandering if shelters are placed about a days hike apart?

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    More or less. Peoples daily mileage varies a great deal.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

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  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ryan Haldeman View Post
    I am new to hiking and was wandering if shelters are placed about a days hike apart?
    Once you've found your trail legs, you'll find yourself passing a shelter and hiking on the the next a lot of the time. In any case, you should always carry your own shelter, in case you find that a shelter is full, uncongenial, leaky or otherwise unsuitable.

    A beginner might have trouble with one or two long stretches. West Mountain to RPH comes to mind. It's basically in suburbia, so even camping opportunities are limited. Most hikers stop either at Graymoor or Fahnestock.
    I always know where I am. I'm right here.

  5. #5

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    On average they may be a day apart but frequently they are clustered on public lands with long gaps of lesser protected lands or limited by water sources. The smart folks plan ahead and with a few exceptions, there are legal alternatives for camping spots. The whites are somewhat infamous where the hikers that don't want to or unable to use the AMC huts have to go long distances between legal spots.

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    I'll agree with all that's been said and will add that it also depends on where you are along the trail. In some areas/States, shelters are closer or farther apart and/or there are other opportunities to find "shelter." Plus, you might easily do x miles a day on some terrain, but y miles a day on other terrain. So, it just depends on a whole host of factors, not the least of which are what time you get up and get going in the morning, and how many daylight hours you have. Everyone is different.

    I'd say the main thing is to take your time and enjoy your hiking. If you'll do some practice over-nighters, you'll find out quickly enough what your comfort level is.

    Rain Man

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    [I]ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: ... Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit....[/I]. Numbers 35

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