Well I wish you the best of luck!!Originally Posted by forrest!
Im doing a yo-yo
hey, im Dakota Joe and I am 530 miles into my Yo-Yo going NoBO right now and plan to be at Katahdin by June or July. hoping to hook up with a Sobo group or partner. I have a 2 to 2.5 mile pace in the mountains and 3 to 4 mile pace flatland. I can do 20 miles from 8 to 5 with climbs. I am already out here and will have 5th tier trail legs by the sobo run. I am flexible for pace if you dont have your legs. look me up at www.facebook.com/theadventuresofdakotajoe to see my winter Nobo hike or check me out and dont believe the negative whiteblaze hype. yes i started with walmart gear and have humped it all 530 miles and its still good. its not gear you need out here, its guts. just thought id say hi cause ima be goin sobo and already have awesome trail contacts and current knowledge
"I want you to doubt me. I don't want you to believe, because this is something I must use to succeed." -Eminem
Good luck to you DJ - I doubt this old man could keep up, especially just starting out. Maybe we will cross paths somewhere.
6/1 is around the corner, I have plane tickets, reservations at KSC and Joe Dodge in NH. I have allotted 16 days to get to Pinkham notch. The first night I will probably just stay at KSC. I was wondering if anyone has field tested the Guthooks AT hiker? Next week, I will test the app on the approach trail. I hope that even if there is no cell phone coverage my iPhone will access my location with gps under the canopying trees. Knowing exactly where I am, would, for this hiker be a tremendous advantage mentally because it would help me focus my attention solely on the next mile.
Ostrogoth: Sounds like you plan to be off to a quick start! 16 days from Katahdin to Gorham is going to mean high mileage early on with no zero days to rest. Last year, I started 6/1 and made it to Gorham (with excellent weather conditions) in 22 days, including a zero in Monson. I'm sure you've heard all about the crazy terrain, bugs, high water, etc. If you are a strong hiker, going big on the first ~300 miles will be lots of fun and rewarding. The days are long and the hiking is inspiring. But I know staying at Joe Dodge is not cheap, so paying a cancel fee would be a bummer if you don't make it on time. The AMC has a strict no-refund policy for cancelling within 2 weeks. I would rather have extra time to kill in the North Country. My 2 cents. Regardless, I hope you have as much sunshine and mild temperatures as I did!
Righteous MEGA '13
Righeous
AT SOBO '13
Montani Semper Liberi- Mountaineers are always free
I'm guessing you've never hiked in Maine before. I hope your in really, really good shape. If the iPhone has an actual GPS receiver in it, you should not have trouble with location. But don't waste too much time looking at it, you'll need to hike sun up to sun down to cover 20 miles in Maine. Best of luck and don't hurt yourself pushing too hard to cover those miles. Help is a long ways away in Maine.
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Thanks for the words of wisdom men. I not only have reservations at joe's but also at a number of huts so it will give me incentive to stay on track. I have not hiked Maine but I have hiked mt Washington a zillion times, when I lived in nh. To prepare for some of my other climbs I used to climb it with a 50 pound bag of rice in my pack,,the running joke was that there where starving people on the summit and I was on a rescue mission. I also have done many double summits of Washington up one side then down the other side then back over that's about 8,300 elev. gain and loss over 16ish miles in 12 hours I don't think I will have a day like that. I am in great shape now today I did 13.5 miles in 3hrs and 25 min. By June I will be that much better. Also, a week ago I did 13.5 miles daily for 8 days straight with a 20 lb back pack. As important as the physical conditioning is the mental game, I feel focused and strong in that department too. I will have a spot that I will turn on at the summit of K. I know that it won't transmit under the canopy but when I pop out of the trees it should send a signal. This week my wife and I are going on a hike up the at approach for a few days and I will report back my findings on that guthook app.
Hi to all that are venturing out on the AT, will be joining you during the third week of July for a sobo. Finished a nobo in July of 2013 and had a great time coming up from the south, looking forward to heading down this time for a change. Guiseppe
Finally, somebody leaving after me! Good luck, see you out there!
Forrest
Willow here. I am starting my southbound thru-hike a year early. I will start around the first week of June so I can take my time and enjoy my hike. I am also not very fond of winter backpacking. I hope to meet you all as you pass me :-)
I'll be starting my SOBO hike on July 15th, so I'll be in the late-start group. I look forward to meeting you folks along the way! My trail name is Chin-up.
I hope to start 6/1 weather and park rangers permitting. If this is not possible I'm thinking of starting down trail, maybe at the other end of 100MW and doing a mini flip flop. Any one got ideas about this strategy.
I do have a tent site reserved at KSC for 6/1 night (which I will be happy to share).
Like some others would like to go up Abol trail and down Hunt, from what I have seen Abol might be a little tougher but shorter. (I will not go near the Knife edge).
If you go to100 Mile Wilderness web site you can arrange a SOBO special package that includes pickup in Bangor, overnight stay, drop off at trail head and advice from a registered Mn guide amongst other services.
Ready (mentally and working on the physical) to get going, looking forward to meeting you all.
Hello SOBOs. Starting 6/23. Trying to get ready in flat south Georgia.
BRAFC I am also starting 6/1..see you there.....I went up the approach trail today to gear test Guthooks AT app on my iPhone. It worked like a charm. I could see where I was on the trail at all times and it was easy to find out how far it was to the next campsite or stream. Also, I was standing at a fork in the trail and I could clearly see a dashed trail running off to the right and the approach trail was left...later in the day I was in the Amicalola visitors center and I ran into TakeThisBread, he had recently arrived from MA and was getting ready to hit the trail I think tomorrow, he was in high spirits and had a mean and lean pack. Hopefully I will run into him again in a few months.
Find a football stadium steps to walk up and down and up and down and up and ... you get the idea.
See you out there!
How cool is that?
All you SOBOers need to keep us informed. We can hook you up with some trail magic, if you let us know where you are on the trail. Have a blast!
Conditions permitting, I'll also be hitting the trail on 6/1. In the mean time I'm putting hours in with my pack on steep hills. I don't have a huge amount of backpacking experience, but maybe I can make the first few weeks less of a nightmare by physical preparation.
Can't wait to get out there and meet you guys!
Howdy All! I'm still putting together a plan but as of right now I'm hoping to start SOBO early June. Trying to prep from Chicago is a bit of a challenge, I get a lot of strange looks at the gym in boots on the stair master.
Glad to see I won't be alone starting early June. I would love a stream crossing buddy!
Hello Amt, i'll be starting june 14th, if you wait until then i'll hike with you.
Just bought my plane ticket and made reservations at Baxter. Starting July 10!
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