Avoid bad advice

[jdavis7590]

Last year at this time I was all over the internet researching for my extended section hike of the AT. This year I completed half of the trail. Springer mountain to Harpers Ferry. Just over 1000 miles. The majority of advice and comments I received while doing my research last year was completely wrong. I’m writing this to help the few this year who were like me last year.
First off, yes you can spend a fortune hiking the trail but I personally hiked on $250 a month. This included re-supplies, hostel stays, Trial Days, Alcohol etc. I hear all the time that the more money you have will result in a better time. False! I had a blast and didn’t break the bank. The idea you need thousands in gear is false too. Personally, I bought everything I needed for under $500 and everything still functions as advertised to this day. I met several guys who started with Walmart gear and upgraded thru hiker boxes along the way.

If your pack with food and water is over 35lbs go back to the drawing board. Weight is your enemy. By the time I got to Virginia very few thru-hikers I met were over 25lbs with a full resupply. Half the stuff you intend to bring is not needed. By the time you’re out of the Smokies you will have already changed your diet and learned to eat skinny so your resupplies will be less too.
My point with this thread is no matter what you hear on these websites, most info will not apply to the AT. Within the first 40 miles, Neels Gap at least, most of the ones who refused to adapt gear-wise or physically/mentally got in over their head dropped out. But the real hikers rise to the top after the Smokies. Anyone that makes it pass the Smokies can do it mentally/physically barring a trail ending injury.
Don’t feed in to the poopy advice that’s dribbled around these sites. There is more than one way to hike this trail and it doesn’t require a second mortgage.

Message me if you want to see my gear list and how it changed, what my diet was, how I resupplied and any other questions you may have.

[Storm]

Good post. There is more advise on these pages than any one person can use. You have to be able to pick out the stuff that you want and disregard the rest. It's always good to have options.
I for one can't seem to make a buck stretch on the trail. Guess I like my town stops a little too much and at my age need the rest.
It is great that you could hike as inexpensively as you did. The majority can't. I always advise people to take more money than they think they will need.

[Time Zone]

First, kudos on your hike.

Interesting that you say that the majority of advice you got was "completely wrong" - where did you get that advice? Here on Whiteblaze? BPL?

You claim that you were told you needed to spend thousands on gear, which is associated with UL, but you seemed to have gone very light yourself. Did you buy mostly used gear? I bet many here would like to see your gear list.

PS, Using a quote (in BOLD) dubiously attributed [1] to Mark Twain hurts your credibility, IMO.

[1] http://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/06/22/why/

[jdavis7590]

A lot of the advice I recieved that was "completely wrong" or off the mark was from this site. You can see from my activity on the site thru the years that I didn't ask many questions myself. However I would read other threads and review the responses. My opinion is that a percentage of this advice was discouraging. My experience while talking to other hikers this year is that this was true. So many things get spread around that discourage instead of promote. I went light with supplies purchased mainly from amazon. I'm sorry that my signature robs any credibility I may have with you. However I like it and your postscript seems like an attempt to be mean. I don't like mean people so...... (raspberry noise with a thumbs down).

[scrabbler]

If you've got such great advice, post it. Your gear especially.

[Dogwood]

That's one of the most skewed posts I've ever read on WB.

Any advice taken out of context of individual appropriateness blindly followed can easily lead to generally good advice being judged bad advice. It is the individual's responsibility to hike their own hike, to own the consequences of their hike.

The conclusion of vast amounts of bad advice given here regarding hiking the AT are distorted beyond worthy of further comment.

[saltysack]

Take it for what it's worth....opinions are like a$$holes.......everyone has one!!!!!!love to hear you advice and see a gear list....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MuddyWaters]

What your saying is people gave you bad advice.

What the truth is...you to selectively listen to advice

Pretty sure most advice here would echo:

Keep pack light as possible
You dont need to spend thousands, but $$$ makes it easier to be light
People have hiked trail on $1000, most wouldnt find that fun today.

Also realize you can tolerate DOUBLE the weight loss rate for half trail, than a person might for the whole trail. So you could get by with less food and less $.

You may not have needed gear for same range of temperatures either, or had to take cold weather zeros in town. ( You didnt say when you hiked)

You may have had a great time, but it is a bit disengenuous to imply more $ wouldnt have made it better. $250/mo is very spartan . People have done it for less in recent yrs too. Most dont want to and are probably incapable of it.

You had a great hike. Thats whats important. You apparently did it your way..and didnt follow certain advice.....thats great too. No single advice is right for everyone, people have to figure out what works for them.

[Wolf - 23000]

Jdavis7590,

I’ve been saying something similar for years. It not necessary as bad advice but what is often overlooked by many new and old time thru-hikers is, “What do you want from your hike?” You mention cost for example. Many hikers now are spending crazy amount of money, compare to yourself who spend $250 per/month. Many hikers today enjoy spending the extra time in towns, sleeping in hostels, eating out in restaurants, etc. Others hikers enjoy spending more time on the trail and less time in towns. I’m sure you spend some time in a few hostels but didn’t feel like you needed to visit everyone.

Gear works the same way. I’ve seen some thru-hikers carry 65 pounds on their back and had a great time. On the flip side, you can also thru-hike XSUL where there are no more pounds left to be reduce. Which one is better? It goes back to what do you want from your hike? If someone is carrying it, there is a good chance they want to have it with them. Some hikers get cold easy, others can handle the cold. I’ve also seen plenty of hikers freeze their butts off because they were packed for summer weather rather than Georgia March/April weather. It is one of the reasons why I don't like gear list.

Just my 2 cents.

Wolf

[Hikingjim]

I'd be interested in this complete gear list that is under $500 and is suitable for a March start. Please post.

$250/month? Sure, I could do that if I wanted to be really economical and meticulously plan out mail drops, etc. But I make more working than sorting out all that crap, so I'll take the hit and buy some expensive food along the way and eat stuff that's easy. How much you need/want to spend is pretty different for everyone...

[jjozgrunt]

Advice offered here is by people based on their experience which may or may not include hiking the AT, it would depend on whether the question was specific or general. Everyone is different and what suits one person may not suit another. It does not mean the advice was bad just that it didn't suit you or how you wanted or did do the AT.

I actually started to follow you on youtube but after taking a month to get to Fontana Dam the videos stopped so I presumed you pulled the pin. Now I have little idea of what things cost in the States, which is why I am making sure I have plenty available. Having said you stayed 6 nights in hostels in the first month $100+ leaves $150 on food, booze etc $5/day. Food and booze must be ridiculously cheap in the USA, I may not spend as much as I thought, except on beer. I love social media.

[nsherry61]

. . .The majority of advice and comments I received while doing my research last year was completely wrong. I’m writing this to help the few this year who were like me last year. . .

So, if you'll humor my paraphrasing a bit:
1) The trail can be enjoyed for as little as $250 per month instead of the $1000 per month often recommended on this site?
2) Gear can be acquired for as little as $500 instead of the $1000 - $1500 often quoted on WB for peoples' gear lists, especially if you scrounge upgrades from hiker boxes along the way?
3) Don't do the hike if you can't get your complete system, including food and water to below 35 lbs as apposed to what is often recommended on WB which is try and keep you pack below 35 lbs, 25 is better, but whatever, hike your own hike.

Was there anything else that was wrong information you gleaned from WB? Those three items, although central to planning are a very small amount of information compared to what is shared on WB.

Of course, WB authors have also told stories of people that have hiked the entire trail starting off with no money and scrounging food and gear along the way and told other stories of people that have run out of money and quit when they started off with $3000-$4000.

There is the $300 gear list challenge that has been discussed on WB on some threads and $1000 tents on other threads.

I share your sense that there are nay-sayers on this sight, and personally they drive me crazy! BUT, to suggest that everything you've gotten from this site is wrong and/or bad advise is patently absurd, especially since every piece of advice you are offering in your critique has also been offered on WB.

I challenge you to find, and share with us, anyplace where there is as large of concentration of experienced AT hikers as can be found on WB. . . aside from actually being along the AT.

As with any truly open forum, there are lots of BS artists that consistently add their two cents. If one can't manage to separate out the BS artists from the more honest expertise, maybe ones best source of information is a book (which will also surely have plenty of less than perfect advice for any given individual on any given trip)?

Good luck

[rickb]

Almost any advise on WB is tempered with alternative opinions by the outliers like yourself.

While the MAJORITY of folks would say that attempting a thru 5 month thru hike with just $1250 to cover ones's expenses is a recipe for disappointment, the beauty of WB is that there is enough diversity here that opinions like yours will be voiced -- and thinking people can consider them.

What's even better is that when outlier adivise is shared (valid as it may be) that is a recipie for disappointment the collective wisdom of many other who have "been there and done that" are sure to chime in.

The down side of all this is that most people are like sheep, and take the same path as everyone else. That is not WhiteBlaze's fault, but one of human nature.

[Traveler]

Last year at this time I was all over the internet researching for my extended section hike of the AT. This year I completed half of the trail. Springer mountain to Harpers Ferry. Just over 1000 miles. The majority of advice and comments I received while doing my research last year was completely wrong. I’m writing this to help the few this year who were like me last year.
First off, yes you can spend a fortune hiking the trail but I personally hiked on $250 a month. This included re-supplies, hostel stays, Trial Days, Alcohol etc. I hear all the time that the more money you have will result in a better time. False! I had a blast and didn’t break the bank. The idea you need thousands in gear is false too. Personally, I bought everything I needed for under $500 and everything still functions as advertised to this day. I met several guys who started with Walmart gear and upgraded thru hiker boxes along the way.

If your pack with food and water is over 35lbs go back to the drawing board. Weight is your enemy. By the time I got to Virginia very few thru-hikers I met were over 25lbs with a full resupply. Half the stuff you intend to bring is not needed. By the time you’re out of the Smokies you will have already changed your diet and learned to eat skinny so your resupplies will be less too.
My point with this thread is no matter what you hear on these websites, most info will not apply to the AT. Within the first 40 miles, Neels Gap at least, most of the ones who refused to adapt gear-wise or physically/mentally got in over their head dropped out. But the real hikers rise to the top after the Smokies. Anyone that makes it pass the Smokies can do it mentally/physically barring a trail ending injury.
Don’t feed in to the poopy advice that’s dribbled around these sites. There is more than one way to hike this trail and it doesn’t require a second mortgage.

Message me if you want to see my gear list and how it changed, what my diet was, how I resupplied and any other questions you may have.

I have found over time the comments here represent pretty much the full spectrum of the hiking community, from day hikers, to weekenders, section hikers, and long distance hikers. Each category has specific needs and concerns that have to be addressed, so like most things in life, one has to take comments one reads here and apply them to you and what you are doing.

Not sure you have a legitimate gripe here. You asked (or read) various posts of people's thoughts, ideas, and experiences, which is a good first step in getting a full spectrum of experiences you can utilize. That few, some, or many of these experiences, ideas, and thoughts did not suit you or you found your experience did not support is not surprising. What is surprising is returning to disparage those who participated in the conversation with their thoughts.

For example, you insist anyone carrying a 35lb pack needs to "go back to the drawing board". Clearly your experience with that weight led you to lighten the load a bit, though many people do carry that amount of weight for long treks. Your experience was different than theres, that doesn't make you or them "wrong", just different.

The "idea you need thousands in gear" is typically expressed in a sentence that you can spend thousands in gear when you may not have to. Some people go the full new UL gear route for long distance treks and get the very latest in shelter, packs, sleep gear, and footwear. That can be pricey, but if you have the money why not. Others are at the other end of the spectrum and will make a water bladder with a bit of shower curtain and glue. Most of us are somewhere between the two extremes.

Funding and budget is relative to one's comfort and needs. There again the spectrum exists from those spending $7,500 for a full end to end trek of the AT to those spending $500. Somewhere in between is where most of us are, not breaking the bank, but not having to hold a bit of cardboard begging for change at traffic intersections.

Obviously, people have differing opinions of how things can/should/could be done. If you wanted to drive from Boston to St. Louis, you would get a number of different ways to do the route. Same holds true for this forum (and others). Rather than whine about the "poopy advice" perhaps offer some of your own experiences, adding to the national conversation and lending to the spectrum of experience that others may benefit.

As you stated, "there is more than one way to hike this trail", which is correct. There is also more than one way to return with critique.

[rafe]

There is more than one way to hike this trail and it doesn’t require a second mortgage.

That much is certainly true.

Topics that generate the most interest on these forums do so because there is no correct answer.

One such topic, a perennial favorite in fact, is "How much will it cost?" It doesn't take a rocket scientist or a Nobel prize in economics to guess that the answer will vary enormously, depending on a vast range of factors.

The best you can hope for on a public forum is honest answers from personal experience. It's your responsibility to decide which of those make sense to you.

[rocketsocks]

aaw, did um's get some bad advice, sounds like it was your research that was lacking.

[Tipi Walter]

First off, yes you can spend a fortune hiking the trail but I personally hiked on $250 a month. This included re-supplies, hostel stays, Trial Days, Alcohol etc.

But the real hikers rise to the top after the Smokies. Anyone that makes it pass the Smokies can do it mentally/physically barring a trail ending injury.
Don’t feed in to the poopy advice that’s dribbled around these sites.

Message me if you want to see my gear list and how it changed, what my diet was,

Where is Lone Wolf when you need him? IT'S JUST WALKING.

When I backpacked sections of the AT in '84 and '87 I lived on $40 per month and greatly augmented my diet with town dumpster diving and the collection and cooking of wild edibles. Oh and a heavy reliance on the Mighty Oat and oatmeal in all its forms. It also helped to be a vegetarian. I never spent a night in town but did hitch frequently for supplies (like into Luray from Shenandoah etc). Years before I left a town so why in Odin's name would I want to go backpacking and return to a town to spend the night indoors???????? The lure of the so-called "warm bed" and "hot shower" is comical and is a trap---don't do it!!

And the last thing I wanted or needed was alcohol---it is poison. Plus, Trail Days held no allure and probably didn't even exist back in 1984. Why would I want to leave the woods and the trail to glom onto a campsite filled with a thousand tents and squander my time with crowds of people in Damascus? Makes no sense.

Your quote "But the real hikers rise to the top after the Smokies" is very strange, as if section hikers or backpackers doing other trips are not real hikers. Plus, AT thruhikers even after a full thruhike (or half a thruhike) encompassing 4 or 5 months have just scratched the surface of Backpacking Knowledge and are really just beginners. Let's see what they do backpacking-wise AFTER their thruhike. If they continue to pull trips and keep backpacking for the next 40 years, then we'll talk.

Poopy advice dribbled on these sites? Then why are you here and why should anyone message you for a gear list or advice??

And anyway, Datto covered all this exhaustively in his AT Thruhiking Thread---(with it's 269 posts)---
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...rs-In-Planning

[Bronk]

Curious if that $250 included your food resupply. You say you ordered it all from Amazon...did you do this before your hike and then do mail drops or order from Amazon and have it shipped to your maildrop locations? If your food was all paid for ahead of time I can see getting by on $250 a month...if that $250 includes all of your food then I think it would be very difficult to do this without mooching and stiffing service providers.

[pilgrimskywheel]

I love it! I love it all! I'm the only one here who knows what I'm doing - let me tell you all about it! My advice: don't take any. Especially from somebody NOT wearing a pack - from someone who doesn't smell faintly like something you might throw away and was where you're going today yesterday. If you're talking to someone in the seated position and they're operating a motor vehicle or a computer your listening to chin music. The sun came up on a totally different trail than it went down on last night. In fairness, listening to histories both real, embellished, or imagined from the trail's past can give you little - a little - insight into the trail the sun came up on today. (That's a little chin music concerto in B flat.) My final advice on avoiding it is hike the AT in winter - there's nobody there!

[jdavis7590]

I’m sorry that I’ve offended some of you. LOL Some of you are passionate. I stand by what I said. Too many people insist there is a minimum cost per mile. Too many bash and discourage when folks post their future gear list. I’m obviously not a literary genius but my point was to take these type of responses with a grain of salt. I personally saw hikers who hiked on a shoestring budget who went the whole way and had fun. It is adventitious for the industry to create an idea that more is better. While preparing last year, hiking this year, and talking to folks who want to go sometime in the future, almost everyone had the alarm of cost. When I asked why they thought it would be so costly they typically recite something they heard on the internet or out of a magazine. My experience was several websites including this one. I’m personally glad I ignored most of the discouragement and decided to try the trail anyway. I never said that spending thousands was a bad idea or impractical. Do what you want. But to tell people that hiking on $250 a month will leave you holding a sign begging for change is disingenuous. I hiked comfortably halfway thru on a $250-month budget and I certainly was not the only one. One of my friends made it to Maine on a total of $1200. He didn’t steal or beg as far as I know. He saved enough to go to Hawaii and hike the trails there. I won’t argue the merits of “hike your own hike”. Yes, some people must go into most every town. Some must eat out and get a motel most every time. Some however stay on the trail and that is where the money is saved. Attack me if you must, after all I inadvertently attack some of you. I’m sure that some of you who have hundreds or even thousands of posts have been encouraging and on point every time. Bwahahahahahahahaha