Hello. It's GREAT to jump into this nifty cool "Whiteblaze" forum--nearly 17 years since completing my 2 year thru-hike of the A.T. Look forward to interacting with y'all, veterans and prospectives alike!
--Cosmo '95-'96
Hello. It's GREAT to jump into this nifty cool "Whiteblaze" forum--nearly 17 years since completing my 2 year thru-hike of the A.T. Look forward to interacting with y'all, veterans and prospectives alike!
--Cosmo '95-'96
Ok this all new to me. I am fascinated with AT since my husband's cousin hiked in 2010 (I think). Anyway, we went down to get an introduction into hiking the AT by Blaze in the end of Oct 12 and yes we were introduced to Super Storm Sandy. She hindered our hike and altered our plans, but I am happy for what she did for us. Although we did not stay on the trail over night like I had hoped, we did two day hikes that I totally loved. Right now my favorite places on the AT are Dragon's Tooth and McAfee Knob. I am planning on coming back, just not sure when. I am hoping towards the end of May, but I don't know where to start my hike. I will only have 1-2 weeks time. Got any suggestions?
I am considering including the Grayson Highlands in the hike, but I also want to experience being around some thru-hikers, as if I ever am unemployed or when I retire I do want to thru hike. And I think it would be a great benefit to hike and visit with some long distance hikers.
Hi all.....I have been lurking for sometime now! My husband and I are planning on hiking 300 miles of the AT in 2013 and the rest of it 2014! We are looking forward to this amazing adventure that is ahead of us! Thank you in advance for all your priceless info you will share with us!
Good Morning WB!
I am migrating from /r/AppalachianTrail over on Reddit. I am in the early planning stages for a 2015 NOBO Thru. I've never done long-distance hiking, but that will be changing! I have no gear (as of yet) and have only done day hikes & a bit of camping. My plan is to acquire some cheaper used gear in 2013 and get my outdoor "legs" under me through all-day hikes, weekend trips, and maybe a week long hike at some point in the Fall.
Then in 2014, I'll be starting to acquire newer gear - find what works for me and what doesn't. Also, more hiking of course! All in preparation for setting out in early March '15 from Springer
- Michael
I've been lurking here for a while, so I decided maybe I should finally join. I have future plans to thru hike one day but it will be a few years in the future before possible due to family, current jobs and debt. Thank you for creating a place for this mass of information.
Welcome from NC!
Hey there, Michael. I can hear the enthusiasm bursting forth from your post. Nice! Definitely keep pursuing this dream. But why do you have to put it off til 2015? Still in school? I'm only asking because sometimes when we put things off TOO far into the future, the needling little distractions of life have a way of bumping off a dream without you hardly even noticing it.
Definitely, one doesn't need two years to train and prepare and gather gear for a thru hike. A year is good, for sure. You don't want to sprain an ankle, get stress fractures etc. And certainly you don't want to run out of money (this happened to me during my thru hike in 1995...aaaaugh! ), but if there's nothing stopping you (e.g., school, weddings etc.) I exhort you to try for spring of 2014...
blessings,
Cosmo95
Grayson Highlands is DIVINE. You'll love the pygmy ponies the most...
Better to ask lots of dumb questions now--before your hike; saves you from having to recount lists of dumb mistakes you made later on!
Trust me--I know!
So ask away!
Helllllooooo there all! Thank you so very much for this forum,....I've learned so much reading here, as I gear-up for 2014 (maybe,....possibly.....we'll see). I had so many questions...and found most of the answers here. So, I finally registered,...so look out....I'm going to go ask things!
Hello everybody,
Im new to the forums and I'm excited to check out all the content.
Wish you all the best.
Hello,
I too have been lurking and reading thru various threads -- excited to find out there are so many people so similar to myself, intrigued by all the people with so much experience, and happy to see so many sharing their experiences and insights. This looks like a great forum, and I'm looking forward to learning more. I am a young 50-something who enjoys getting out hiking and camping as often as possible...although I haven't yet combined those two activities into one: backpacking. I've done a fair amount of canoe camping in the past, but my camping experience in the last several years has been car camping. I don't knock that -- I've enjoyed every minute (especially since I go in the "off seasons" to avoid the crowds) -- but I'm interested in expanding my horizons a bit and trying some backpacking. Maybe I'll never do any part of the AT, but I can't think of a better aspiration...and I can't think of a better place to start than here.
Looking forward to learning more. Thanks.
welcome to whiteblaze.theres a lot of great information here. if you havent already done so, check out the articles on the home page. if you have a specific question, just go ahead and ask.there are a lot of really good people here . remember though, there is no one "right"way to hike, so you may get conflicting opinions from time to time, but in the end, its all good
Hi all, I been lurking for sometime and finally decided to sign up.I can't retire for another ten years so I' m just a section hiker. I love the trail, it's one of the only places where I feel like I belong. I'm hoping to make some new friends and learn how to make my pack a weeee bit lighter.
Dude