Hiking pace first few days

[Tevo]

I've read that it's better not to start by doing too many miles per day. I'm curious how many miles per day others usually do (or are planning to do) for the first week. I've planned to go from Springer to Gooch Mtn Shelter day 1, then Neels Gap for day two. Might be pushing it.

[Lone Wolf]

what's your age, weight, pack weight, experience?

[Luddite]

I've read that it's better not to start by doing too many miles per day. I'm curious how many miles per day others usually do (or are planning to do) for the first week. I've planned to go from Springer to Gooch Mtn Shelter day 1, then Neels Gap for day two. Might be pushing it.

From Springer to neels its about 30 miles i think and that may be pushing it.

[SwitchbackVT]

This is my tentative game plan.

Amicalola Falls-->Stover Creek ~ 11 miles or so
Stover Creek-->Gooch Mtn Shelter ~ 12.3 miles
Gooch Mtn Shelter-->Blood Mtn Shelter ~ 13.2 miles
Blood Mtn Shelter-->Neels Gap ~ 2.3 miles...then probably hike a few miles that afternoon, we'll see.

Here's a cool website for calculating AT distances too (though slightly outdated i'm sure)

http://www.atdist.com/

[Spokes]

Plan on getting to Neels Gap on day 3 and you should be fine. Adjust from there.

Cheers!

[Scooby99]

Did a section a few years ago from Springer to Newfound Gap in February. Got a late start first day, made it to Hawk Mtn shelter, next day camped a few miles past Gooch, third day into Neels Gap, made it there before 11a, shouldn't be a problem in 2 days if you get an early start. Left in okay shape, doing 10-11 mile day hikes with pack in NY in the snow, pack weight around 17lbs.

[Slo-go'en]

This is my tentative game plan.

Amicalola Falls-->Stover Creek ~ 11 miles or so
Stover Creek-->Gooch Mtn Shelter ~ 12.3 miles
Gooch Mtn Shelter-->Blood Mtn Shelter ~ 13.2 miles
Blood Mtn Shelter-->Neels Gap ~ 2.3 miles...then probably hike a few miles that afternoon, we'll see.

That's do-able if your in reasonably good shape to start with.

As soon as you see what Blood Mtn shelter looks like, you'll say the heck with this and go the rest of the way to Neels Gap. Your going to end up staying for a night there anyway, so might as well get it over with.

[Serial 07]

roll in to neel gap on the third day...

[SweetAss03]

Garbonso-
That is the exact table I did in 2003. Easy money. I stayed in blood MTN shelter, it was not pretty then, and I am sure it is worse now. BUT the sunset was worth it. Went to Meals Gap but didn't spend the night, moved on to Cowrock MTN. For the night.

[Tenderheart]

I wouldn't do over 7-10 miles per day until I got all the bugs ironed out. I think it was the great Loon that said "too much, too soon, too bad". I hiked from Springer to Gooch Gap in '04 on the first day of a week long trip. My feet got so blistered on the bottom that I could barely walk. I didn't even know it until it was too late. I limped to Neel Gap and went home. Don't blow your dream by being over zealous.

litefoot 2000

[Smile]

You can do easier 5-7 miles from shelter to shelter if you start at the top of Springer. Which I would recommend, skip the approach trail

Ease in, there is no rush and your body and feet with thank you.
You could head in the afternoon to top of springer, and do an easy 2.6 to Stover Creek, get comfy, play with your gear and set up for a leisurely dinner and first night.

Then head for Hawk Mountain Shelter 5.0 miles away. Relax the rest of the day, you might want to go on to Gooch Mtn., but what's the rush? At lunch you may feel terrific, but there is some work to be done to get to Gooch.

Next day, easy 7.3 miles to Gooch Mtn. Shelter, you're really easing into this so you should be feeling good, no blisters, no rushing.

Suches GA is your next road crossing, and it's only 1.4 miles here. At the TWO Resort (two wheels only) there is an AMAZING restaurant open for dinners, check to be sure it's still open when you're passing through. I've been through there in Early March, and had one of the best meals on the trail there IMHO. Laundry and cheap cabins a few miles away, call ahead and you can snag a ride there. You might want to skip Gooch and just make this a stop, depending on your budget and how you feel.
Otherwise it's an 11.9 miles to Woods Hole Shelter, than a reasonable hike into Mountain Crossings after Blood Mtn.

Keep in mind, this is a good start for someone who is not in excellent shape, or wants to really ease into this. IMHO pushing too hard the first few days can really ruin the hike, section or thru.

[finskie]

I've gone out too hard before, and payed the price. IMO a start of 8m then 11m then 15m progression is good for me, and I build from there.

[finskie]

I've gone out too hard before, and payed the price. IMO a start of 8m then 11m then 15m progression is good for me, and I build from there.

I'm not saying to progress in 3 days... just a similar step up. The average normal walking speed is 2mph. So 8 for a few days translates to 4 hrs of hiking, give or take some due to elevation. Also, I feel this depends alot on how often you hike already with a pack on.

[wvgrinder]

Don't be a horse race. Be a marathon.

[TheChop]

You've got around 150-160 hiking days if not more. You don't want to blow the hike up trying to make 30 miles in the first two days. I have a saying that resting for five minutes too long has never ruined a hike but getting up from a rest five minutes too early certainly has. I believe the same principle applies here.

Another thing to take into account is you're going to be starting off that first day and there's no need to rush through it. There will be a lot of days of just walking and only one day of making a little ceremony and ritual to start the hike. Don't want to get to Springer and say to yourself, "Got to get running so I can make miles."

[bigcranky]

We stayed at Gooch Mountain Shelter on our third night on the Trail (Springer on the first night, Hawk Mtn on the second). Several hikers came in very late, having started at Springer that morning thinking it was an easy 16 miles for the first day. They were hurting pretty good, especially one guy from Kansas whose knee was in pretty bad shape.

One thing is that the 8 miles from Springer to Hawk is pretty flat, so hikers keep going and hit Sassafras and Justus in the late afternoon. Those are pretty steep for a starting hiker, and getting to Gooch Mountain turns into a death march. There used to be good camp sites at Justus Creek (about 12 miles in, just past all the climbs), but I think there was a relo a couple of years ago that bypasses them.

Be flexible, listen to your body, and bring an extra day of food.

[Cookerhiker]

Even if your aerobic fitness enables you to start 15+ mpd, I'd recommend shorter days in the beginning to help your body adjust - especially feet and knees.

[map man]

The typical hiker keeping a journal at trailjournals.com, and making it all the way to Katahdin, takes 5.5 months to complete the trail (about 168 days) and covers 10 miles per hiking day in the first 75 miles in Georgia, and 12 miles per hiking day in the section from the Georgia border to Fontana. By extrapolation, hikers doing 15 miles/day right out of the chute are on a pace to complete the trail in around 112 days, something less than 5% of successful thru-hikers do. So you would be in very fast company indeed if you can do 15 miles per day right off the bat without breaking down. As Lone Wolf implies, you can improve your odds by showing up in great shape and keeping your pack weight light, but 15 miles a day is still a tall order for most hikers at the start of a thru-hike.

You can find the numbers I'm quoting in the articles section in the article "AT Hiking Rates, Section by Section."

[Monkeywrench]

This is my tentative game plan.

Amicalola Falls-->Stover Creek ~ 11 miles or so
Stover Creek-->Gooch Mtn Shelter ~ 12.3 miles
Gooch Mtn Shelter-->Blood Mtn Shelter ~ 13.2 miles
Blood Mtn Shelter-->Neels Gap ~ 2.3 miles

I believe that is exactly what I did at the start of my thru. Your legs and lungs may be in great shape when you start your thru, but your feet likely will not be used to hiking every day, day after day, so you should take it a little easy and let your feet toughen up before you start pulling big miles.

[Monkeywrench]

I believe that is exactly what I did at the start of my thru. Your legs and lungs may be in great shape when you start your thru, but your feet likely will not be used to hiking every day, day after day, so you should take it a little easy and let your feet toughen up before you start pulling big miles.

I did not stay at Blood Mountain Shelter, however. I camped at Slaughter Creek. I'm glad I did, as Blood Mountain shelter looks like a cold, dank, dungeon of a place.

Some church group was cooking up cheeseburgers and all the fixin's for hikers when I got to Neels Gap, and I remember eating more than my share of them!