5 Day/4 Night section for novice hikers; any suggestions?

[Slake]

There will be 4 of us total. Although we are novices to backpacking/hiking, we are all in good shape (runners). Our thoughts are 20 mile/day, 100 miles total. I have read the SNP is the best section for that criteria. Any other suggestions?

[Rain Man]

Any other suggestions?

Sure, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Or, start at the beginning in Georgia and hike to NC.

My advice? Don't plan on 20 mile days. Plan on 12 or 15 at most (very few daylight hours this time of year). Especially if y'all are inexperienced backpackers, no matter being runners. If you actually do 20, you'll be proud (as opposed to the other way around).

BTW, SNP is probably my first recommendation for your group. Can also do more miles there much more easily.

[HooKooDooKu]

It's one thing to be a runner and doing 20mpd, but climbing mountains with a pack on your back is totally different.
I totally agree with Rainman. As a novice, you want to spend some time working on the camping aspects of your trip... but planning 20mpd sounds more like concentrating on only the hiking part.

[bigcranky]

When are you planning to do this hike? Next summer? Or next week? That sort of changes our recommendations.

[LittleRock]

It's possible to do 20 mi/day on the AT, but I wouldn't recommend it. Several reasons:

1) As others have stated, hiking with a pack over rough terrain is much different than running. Different muscles involved, and unless you live near the mountains it's difficult to replicate the conditions you will experience on the AT at home.
2) One 20 mile day on the AT is tough, but several in a row will beat you down. Don't believe me? Try doing a 20 mile day hike with 30-40 lbs. on your back, then getting up and doing it again the next day. Marathon runners don't typically get up and run another marathon the next day.
3) There are four of you. Your pace will be limited to the slowest person in your group.
4) 20 miles/day starting out is tough in good weather. Bad weather will slow you down, and pushing for miles in bad weather increases risk of injury. 5 straight days of good weather on the AT is unlikely.
5) At that pace, you will be pushing miles the whole time and be too exhausted to enjoy yourselves. Slow down and enjoy the experience!

[sfdoc]

The NJ section,(PA-NY) is about 70 miles; great for 5 days, 4 nights.

[tdoczi]

while i agree that 20MPD for someone who hasnt hiked before isnt a great plan and that running marathons doesnt make one able to hike far carrying a backpack, the suggestion that a 20MPD multiday hike is never enjoyable for anyone ever is just silly. to a lesser extent, i think the suggestion that they should "work on their camping" is also maybe a little presumptuous. some of us (myself for instance) have no interest in being whatever a "good" camper is. sleeping in the woods is hardly a skill. this is especially true if they do hike in SNP.

[Slo-go'en]

You don't say *when* you want to do this hike and time of year makes a big difference. Mid summer with a light pack and plenty of daylight 20 mpd isn't too unreasonable. Late fall, not so much. Even on "easy" terrain doing 20 miles is likely to take up to 10 hours with breaks and that's nearly half the hours in a day. Being inexperienced, it will take you longer to set up and break down camp, so you'll loose a couple of hours in the morning and evening doing that. Groups always take longer to get organized, especially in the morning and if you have to do any of that by flashlight. A solo hiker can get going and move faster then a group can.

[Slake]

Summer 2016

[Slake]

What is the terrain like on that section? Places along the way to restock food?

[MuddyWaters]

Summer is easier, you can go light.
20 per day is not impossible, even for newbies.
Ive done it many times, multiple days up to 25mpd.
Getting harder the older I get for some reason.

You will need to be light though. Very light. Under 22 lb light.
Be prepared, its not the speed, its the hours. Plan to be hiking 10-12 hrs per day.
Dark to dark, minimal breaks.

To hike 20 you need 10 by 12 noon
To hike 25 you need 12 by 12 noon
Plan it, manage it, stick to it.
Slow down if you want. You are out there for fun.

I wouldnt recomend it unless you know you all thrive on that sort of thing.

Have a fall back plan. If someone gets pain, tendonitis, etc the speed gets greatly reduced, might have to end early.

Might be easiest to do in SNP. Dont need to carry much food, moderate terrain.

Honestly, 12-15 is a more reasonable goal for most
8-10 is a reasonable goal for newbies lugging 30+ lb.s.

[wi11ow]

Shenandoah would be a nice beginner hiking spot but my guess is it might be crowded.
I thought Connecticut had some easier hiking.
Massachusetts had really nice shelters and they all have bear boxes. That might be nice with a group of four.

[Odd Man Out]

My first AT hike was in VA near Roanoke. The "triple crown" of well known sights (Tinkers Cliffs, Dragon's Tooth, McAfee Knob) can all be done in a 5 day hike. In 5 days you could also go a bit further south and include Sinking Creek Mtn (I liked that section a lot). There will be some going up and down mountains, but by AT standards, I think it is pretty average. An advantage here is that dispersed camping is allowed (not always allowed, especially north of VA). As mentioned above, don't plan on 20 mpd. One nice thing about dispersed camping is that you don't have to know in advance exactly how many miles you are going to do in a day. I certainly failed miserably at accurately predicting my daily mileage on my first hike. Also, if you Google Appalachian and click on the Pictures tab, you will see a bunch of pics of people on an overhanging rock outcropping - that's McAfee Knob. Probably the most photographed spot on the whole trail.

[LittleRock]

Shenandoah is a good choice for novice hikers. The trail stays close to a road nearly the whole time so there's always an easy opportunity to bail out if you need it. The hiking is scenic and not difficult, but it may be crowded. Still would advise against doing the whole 100 mile section in 5 days - a week would be more reasonable. Thru hikers who have been on the trail for months typically complete Shenandoah in about 5 days.

[GoldenBear]

There are a kazillion (well, maybe HALF a kazillion) factors that can affect how many miles the four of you can hike in one day. Unfortunately, because you are all novices, both individually and as a group, you don't know ANY of these variables. I strongly recommend the four of you get at least a vague idea of what a comfortable pace will be for the four of you BEFORE you plan a five day hike. Maybe you can do 100 miles in that time period, maybe you can't. Unfortunately, you have no idea.

At the very least, try out an overnight on a weekend -- ten miles from trail head to some camp site, ten miles back the next day. Boring? Yes -- but that's the POINT. By learning what your group's pace actually IS, and how well you set up & break camp, you can then decide how many miles you want to attempt on a five day event.

And BTW, I agree SNP is a great place to begin, simply because it's ridiculously easy to bail out. If you realize that you over-estimated your abilities, you just hike to Skyline Drive -- no harm, no foul.

[bigcranky]

A lovely 5-day, 4-night hike in Virginia starts at the Headquarters building for the Mt Rogers National Recreation area, and hikes sobo on the AT for 65 miles to finish in Damascus. There are several shuttle drivers who could take you from Damascus to the HQ building, and getting to Damascus is easy off I-81. This section has a lot of different features -- deep woods and waterfalls, big climbs, open balds and beautiful views, wild horses, a beautiful gorge, and it finishes in a great trail town. Five days is a good amount of time for it. If you want to add a few more miles, start at the I-81 interchange at Atkins/Groseclose for a ~75 mile hike.

[Gambit McCrae]

I would put money on it that 4 people, who don't backpack, are not ALL going to be successful at 5, 20 mile days in a row. I backpack ALOT. Almost every weekend and am coming up on 50% complete of the AT, and I have never ; hiked 5 continuous 20 mile days. Yes I can get in a 25 miler, or back to back 18s but then I start falling shorter in mpd then if I just did a consistent 12-15. My argument is ignoring the capabilities of thru hikers that have been living on the trail for 3 months

[saltysack]

Agree...I hike frequently...recently did JMT and had to play catch up after being sick a day and having a booked flight home. I pulled (5 in a row ) 20+ mpd and ended up doing several hours per day night hiking. Not by choice but necessity....about ran out of batteries!!! giving a choice I would never plan on consecutive 20+ mile days... With that said I'm planning on doing the 77 mile fht in 4 days next month.......I'm too stupid to know better...


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[Skyline]

A lovely 5-day, 4-night hike in Virginia starts at the Headquarters building for the Mt Rogers National Recreation area, and hikes sobo on the AT for 65 miles to finish in Damascus. There are several shuttle drivers who could take you from Damascus to the HQ building, and getting to Damascus is easy off I-81. This section has a lot of different features -- deep woods and waterfalls, big climbs, open balds and beautiful views, wild horses, a beautiful gorge, and it finishes in a great trail town. Five days is a good amount of time for it. If you want to add a few more miles, start at the I-81 interchange at Atkins/Groseclose for a ~75 mile hike.

The section you describe includes the "Best 50 Miles on The AT" in my opinion. SOBO from Dickey Gap to Damascus. I'd call it a Sampler of almost every environment you'll find on the entire AT.

[Skyline]

Agree...I hike frequently...recently did JMT and had to play catch up after being sick a day and having a booked flight home. I pulled (5 in a row ) 20+ mpd and ended up doing several hours per day night hiking. Not by choice but necessity....about ran out of batteries!!! giving a choice I would never plan on consecutive 20+ mile days... With that said I'm planning on doing the 77 mile fht in 4 days next month.......I'm too stupid to know better...


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The Foothills Trail is a scenic wonder. But don't underestimate its difficulty. There were times I thought I was back on the Rollercoaster on the AT in Northern Virginia.