Why SOBO?

[Lone Wolf]

Here is your SOBO challenge:

You start in a very remote area so make sure you have experience. Gear changes or shipping equipment home won’t happen in the first few days.

Your first two days are in BSP. You will likely then camp at Abol Bridge before entering the 100 Mile Wilderness. You then have 8 to 10 days in the 100 Mile since you won’t be in trail shape yet. Yes, I know you think you are training hard. Just trust me on this one. Few of the SOBOs I met on my thru appreciated the difficulty of being on trail 10 to 12 days before the first shower and resupply. Most had a very expensive food drop left for them in the 100 Mile. Most had too much weight. Most failed before exiting the 100 Mile and had a very expensive shuttle out of there.

NOBO and flip flop means you will be in trail shape and that area wont be nearly as hard. You will go thru in 5 days and no food drop will be required. You will be accustomed to the significant discomforts or wet feet, bugs, no shower, heat, cold, etc.

I met several people on both the north half and south half of the 100 Mile Wilderness that were turning around. Both section hikers and SOBOs. Never saw such a thing on the other 2,000 miles of the AT!

After you leave the Whites you will hike through a lot of overgrown trail. Summer will be on strong. Many areas have poor trail maintenance. It’s much different than early spring when the trail isn’t as overgrown yet. I did a flip flop and experienced that overgrowth from HF was to Springer.

A SOBO is certainly doable. Just make sure you know what you are getting into.

so you've walked SOBO?

[rdljr]

It took me a total of 14 days to do the 100 Mile Wilderness, In my defense I planned it that way and only did 1/2 at a time. Not being a thru but knowing what I was getting into, I took the easy way out. I know that the the Northern half I did as the SOBO were in full swing and some of them looked great and prepared others looked like it would take a modern miracle for them to make it 100 miles forget all the way. I did the southern half when the NOBO were rushing to finish before BSP closed for camping. Again I was amazed how some of the people had made it that far, and others you could tell would give up large body parts before they quit. In life you have both types of people and hiking is just a slice of life, if you look you can find all types. Some types take to it and do it for life others say , I tried got the tee shirt and no thanks.

Looks like this year all that will be found is the super fast and the section hikers, but next year the mix will start again in full swing.

[mgmtrnr]

The Appalachian Trail is from Maine to Georgia.

The sidewalks in Damascus don't lie.

Damascus sidewalk sign.jpg

[Astro]

GA to ME, ME to GA, or even flip flop, thru or section, who cares, just enjoy it while and whenever you can.
I am just hoping every part of the AT is open again soon.

[mgmtrnr]

Also, forgot to add, if you do decide to go SOBO and you like waterfalls, take the time (and the extra few miles) to see Gulf Hagas. It's in the 100 Mile Wilderness but don't be in such a hurry to get to Georgia that you pass up the things you need to see. The waterfalls are beautiful and well worth the hike.

Most other hikers will try to talk you out of it and say it isn't worth it but...hike your own hike (I heard that somewhere).

[rsully]

I got my first taste of the Smokies over 55 years ago and can't get them out of my soul. I moved to NC 40 years ago and have loved spending that time hiking all over the state, but especially in the mountains. When I was 17, I saw the Whites of NH for the first time and knew that someday I would be back to really spend some time there.

I want to hike SOBO because I want so badly to see mountains that I've never seen before. I want to start off slow (have to at my age) and enjoy New England to the fullest. I want to be able to focus on the beauty around me instead of having my focus always being drawn to the end point of Katahdin. Having been toughened by the hardest part of the trail, I hope to be able to "cruise" through the Mid-Atlantic as Fall in the Southern Appalachians draws me home to its familiar peaks and ridges.

My son and I are starting our thru-hike in Maine in June of '21 (with the flies). Even though we'll be hiking 2200 miles together, neither one of us likes crowds. So we'll be going SOBO.

[KBo1988]

Rerun alert: I posted this a long time ago, but what the hell. Probably better than some of my drivel.

_________

The main reason for this post is suggest that the draw of Springer can be every bit as powerful as Katahdin. As a southbounder you get to feel a series of accomplishments right off the bat that can help give you the confidence to make it all the way. First you get to climb the badest mountain on the whole AT and report on your triumph to the hardened northbounders you meet up with. Then, you get to do the 100 mile wilderness. After that you will know that the Trail is something that you REALLY can do. (SOBOs might consider blowing off the Whitehouse Landing).

Wow. You get to follow this up with moose and spruce grouse and the Bigalows. When you get to Gorham, you will KNOW what you are capable of and that the AT is amazing in so many dimensions. But you also have the Whites to look forward to in a matter of days. Its really cool not only to hike them, but put them behind you knowing you have met yet another challenge.

But it gets better. Walking through pastures and up fire towers and wonderful places that just keep on coming. By this time you have probably been asked about bears 20 times and have been forced to say, no I haven't seen one. You can't wait, but are confident that your day will come in NJ or VA. You wonder if you really want to see a rattlesnake, and if the Smokies are everything that the NOBOs said they were (they are). As you move on, you walk along ridges that commond a view not of an endless sea of trees but of farms that are every bit as beautiful. Perhaps more so. The better-known hostels and AYCE places become something to look forward to in a way that is hard to understand, and are a motivation in themselves.

Along the way you wonder about how beautiful the trees must have been in the spring, expecially the rhodadendron, but console yourself with the knowledge that only a SOBO can stop and check out Hawk Mountain during fall raptor migration, and are pleased that you started a conversation with the quiet birders because they were able to point out a couple bald eagles among scores and scores of hawks. You get to enjoy a mid-week Fall quiet along the trail that is magic, and realize how crowded the Whites and Maine really were.

And Springer calls as to you as loudly as Katahdin ever could. When you reach your first 4000 footer down south (is it the Priest?) you laugh at how easy hiking it was. In fact, you can't help but wonder if the Northbounders hiked a different trail than you find yourself walking every day. Tough mountains down south? Yea, right ;-). The only thing that takes you by surprise is the fact that days are becoming so dang short, at a time your body has never been stronger.

When you get to Springer you may be alone and the sky may be gray. Its hardly a spectacular place, but you walk over to the plaque and know how special it was getting there. No champagne and hoots, but a quiet satisfaction that will stay with you for a long time.

A fine place to end a hike.

Rickb
ME=>GA 19AT3

Thanks for the great write up, rickb! I enjoyed the descriptions and feel like i got a better idea of what to expect…or best i can thru words.
Im leaving SOBO 2023, been planning/waiting 2 yrs mostly to save money and give work and my wife time as well
Im 53 and first thru although ive been backpacking 3-6 day trips along the AT (mostly Smokies) for 15 years or so.

[HankIV]

I went SOBO Mid June ‘21 at age 58. In above average shape for that age, but no prior long distance hikes. Had originally planned to do it in ‘20 and my youngest was going to graduate from college so the timing was better. Stuck with it in ‘21 for a variety of reasons.

I didn’t find it “lonely” until the Shenandoahs. Just one night alone in MA before PA. Maybe a third after Harpers Ferry. Good camaraderie with a handful of folk, but no tramily. I was very happy with the amount of socializing. I enjoyed hiking with Fall, although seeing those first sourwood leaves turn in PA late August was a bit alarming!

If your budget permits it, I think the most rewarding and helpful platinum blaze is to stay at the AMC huts in the Whites. I had no trouble booking mine while taking a zero in Gorham. That let me lighten my food bag quite a bit, and stay right on trail. And the food was a nice break after mostly eating on trail in Maine. If you subtract the cost of the food (after all you’d eat something) the cost is not that prohibitive. If you join the AMC, there is a decent discount.

[Odd Man Out]

...Also consider the "Cool Breeze" flip-flop. Start in Harpers Ferry or perhaps within a few hundred miles of there around early May. Spring is in that area and you are hiking north. Once you hit Maine, around mid to late July, flip back to HF. Where it will be hot but starting to cool off. Hike to Springer arriving in October. ...

I would also do some kind of flip flop. So many options.
The Under a Rock Round Trip Flip Flop. Start at HF in April-ish. Get a zip lock baggie and put a $100 bill in it and hide it under a inconspicuous rock where you start. Hike to ME, flip to GA, and hike back to HF. If the money is still there, go to the pub and buy everyone a beer.
The Coin Flip Flop: Go to the trail in HF in April-ish and flip a coin. Heads you go to ME. Tails you go to GA. No cheating. Do what the coin says. Then come back to HF to do the other half.

[somers515]

The Under a Rock Round Trip Flip Flop. Start at HF in April-ish. Get a zip lock baggie and put a $100 bill in it and hide it under a inconspicuous rock where you start. Hike to ME, flip to GA, and hike back to HF. If the money is still there, go to the pub and buy everyone a beer.
The Coin Flip Flop: Go to the trail in HF in April-ish and flip a coin. Heads you go to ME. Tails you go to GA. No cheating. Do what the coin says. Then come back to HF to do the other half.

Are these Odd Man Out original ideas? I like them!