Lost Pond, New Hampshire Appalachian Trail
Got this question from a reader last night and figured I’d share my response to him with you. It’s the standard advice I give to someone who wants to section hike the Appalachian Trail but doesn’t have much backpacking experience.
Go slow. Learn what you need to be safe and an independent hiker. Backpacking is a skill and it takes a while to pick it up. Doing multi-week section hikes without the requisite experience can endanger you or others, and turn into a miserable nightmare. The Appalachian Trail is quite safe as long as you know what you’re doing. Coming up to speed can be overwhelming, so find a mentor or club to hike with that can teach you the ropes, and help you have a safe and life-changing experience.
Question(s):
I am a high school teacher/photographer and I want to hike a section of the A.T. this summer during my break. I am thinking of starting in Harrisburg, PA, and hike to Harpers Ferry. I have done research on what gear I need, food I should take, and anything else I may need. However, the information that I find is great and informative, but I am finding an overwhelming amount of knowledge, so much that I don’t even know where to begin. I figured I’d take a tent, then I read some of your blogs on hammocks, and I’ve also came across tarps. So, I am back to square one which is not knowing what I will sleep in during my hike. I am writing you to ask if you can give me some basic information for beginners, or provide me with some links, that will help me get started. What should I purchase from the A.T. Conservancy…Thru-hikers Companion, maps, anything else? Should I take a tent, hammock, or tarp as a beginner? Do I need a sleeping bag or a sleeping mat? What foods should I pack? Do I need to pick food up at a resupply point or can I pack that much food with me? Do I have to worry about being safe from people or animals? And if you have any other information that you would like to share I would greatly appreciate it.
Response:
Based on your questions, I’d advise you to build up your multi-night backpacking experience before you set out on the Appalachian Trail by yourself. My wife made me do the same thing, and she is always right!
Ladder on the Massachusetts Appalachian Trail
Depending where you live, I’d hook up with a local hiking and backpacking club and take a half dozen 1-2 night trips with them in good weather and bad, so you can get used to new gear and learn the ropes of cooking, hiking in the rain, avoiding hypothermia, and taking care of wet feet. You’ll experience all of these on the AT and it’s best to have more experience ahead of time so you don’t endanger search-and-rescue if you get into trouble or inconvenience other hikers who stop to help you.
If you live on the east coast of the United States, or near it, I’d join the closest Appalachian Mountain Club Chapter and start going on beginner-to-intermediate trips with them. AMC leaders and fellow hikers will teach you the skills you need to be safe, although some extra credit reading is also advised. Try Andrew Skurka’s Ultimate Hiking Gear Guide, Colin Fletcher’s The Complete Walker, and Rick Curtis’ The Backpacker’s Field Manual. These are three of the best skills books out there. Reading will only take you so far, but it will complement your trip experiences.
You don’t need any protection from any animals on the Appalachian Trail as long as you hang your food at night to prevent bears from getting at it or put it on a bear box at a shelter. You also don’t need protection from people, unless you are very promiscuous. If that’s the case, I’d advise you bring condoms. :-) Sorry to be flip about this, but the biggest danger you’ll face is your ambition and stupid rookie mistakes.
As for maps and reference material. I’d advise you purchase David Miller’s AT Guide which provides mile by mile descriptions of the trail and complete trail town resource guides. It is an AT essential. I like maps but many people don’t bother carrying them for the section they’re hiking because David’s book is so comprehensive – you’d get them from the ATC store though if you want them.
Gear – defer buying anything for as long as possible and try to borrow all your gear instead. If you feel like you must buy a tent, get yourself a Tarptent Rainbow, for the simple reason that you’ll still like it after a year. You will need a sleeping bag, sleeping bag, etc, even if you end up getting the floor in an AT shelter.
Vermont Appalachian Trail
Food – really go on some beginner trips. I carry real food, not the dehydrated, chemical laden slop they sell at REI. I carry a stove and cook simple meals. If you are hiking the trail, mail drops do make sense although they can be a bit inconvenient. Unfortunately, many supermarkets in small towns have been replaced by gas station quick marts that have crappy food. Study the AT Guide to see if the section you’re hiking has any good food stores; otherwise send yourself stuff. Don’t bother though if you’re just hiking a week. Carry it.
I hope that helps. I don’t mean to discourage you, but you don’t want to try hiking the AT without any backpacking experience. Sleeping on the trail for four or five nights in a row is a lot different than doing a one night trip. You need to walk before you can run. Ramp up gradually and you’ll be fine.
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Phillip, Snickers are not real food :) In the backwoods, food becomes the new politics.
That is some great advice. I’ve seen too many people run out to REI and buy a few hundred dollars of gear that they didn’t really need or end up using. And end up going out on their own and getting hurt or having a miserable time.
For the guy with the questions about that stretch of trail, there are some great sections through PA and MD for beginners. I’ve taken many friends through the southern half of PA to give them a taste of backpacking and its most always worked out for them to have a great first backpacking trip.
Isn’t that ladder in Vermont? Right after the Stony Brook Shelter?
Good advice—I haven’t tried the backpacking meals by Mary Jane’s Farm—but they might be more ‘real’, I think mostly because I think they try to be organic.
I cannot agree more on the food and gear issues. I find that most rookies to the trail (myself included at that time) tend to rely on their fancy gear more than their own skills. I prefer the simple meals as well. I even dehydrate some of my own meals. $8-$10 a pop for a pre-packaged meal that doesn’t even taste good is beyond my ability to handle.
Simple food, simple gear, and simple enjoyment. Makes life good.
How about a followup post for those more experienced with multi-day trips on logistics of how to break it up into 3-4 week sections assuming you don’t live really close? Do you fly in and out (hitch to/from airports?), drive to one end and try to get a shuttle back to your car, etc.
Check out my Long Trail page and trip reports. I drove from Boston to Vermont for each section and figured out a different shuttle each time. I’d leave my car along the trail, get a shuttle to my start point, and hike back to my car.
Also Meetup.com is a good resource for local hiking groups that organize local section hikes. If you live near the AT there’s probably a fair amount of them.
In my opinion, tents are a simple and reliable shelter to get some experience with. I did my first AT sections in Boy Scouts with no experienced leaders and we made a ton of mistakes. Look at every trip as a learning experience/experiment and try to write down what you did right and wrong.
I run Outdoor Club South and we regularly host both weekend trips and extended (3-5 nights) trips on the AT. We also host a backpacking 101 event in the late summer to prep for Fall trips.
Our largest chapter is in Atlanta but we have chapters in 14 cities now.
Here are the 4 chapters closer to the AT.
atlanta.outdoorclubsouth.com
knoxville.outdoorclubsouth.com
asheville.outdoorclubsouth.com
chattanooga.outdoorclubsouth.com
Good resources – these are meetups, but the way.
Lost Pond looks amazing btw great pic!
Great piece with soild advise about the things *** that are controllable. *** I esp. like Ray’s comment about not relying solely on great gear but also our skills – critical. However, so the full story is told, there are nasty uncontrollables that infrequently pop up on any trail, not just the AT, that a rookie, all of us really MUST be aware of. Properly deployed bear cannisters or bags and a happy ‘take your condoms’ mindset don’t protect us effectively when we run into feral hogs or VERY strange folk running from the law. Those aren’t ‘rookie mistakes’ & it does happen. You do what you like, but another 40 oz of dependable & legal protection against the likes of Hogzilla & Meredith Emerson’s killer are vital when the absolute worst happens. Very low statistics about these sorts of things are great from the safety of our computers, but when you’re staring at a freak at 2am who has invited himself into your tent & is clearly intent on malice or a pig that has his eyes on your leg, you’ll be very happy you’ve got 13 in the clip.
I prefer a light saber over a glock. It’s a better fire starter.
Unfortunately, I can’t camp in your universe, but only have access to John’s. That being the case, his comment is sound advice to anyone starting out.
You’re entitled to your opinion. I’m not prepared to kill people on vacation and think there are better ways to avoid Jason.
an elegant weapon of a more civilized age….
:-)
i think a boar spear by cold steel would be best, and it doubles as a strong hiking stick. seriously in my thur hike i never saw a wild hog or raping hillbilly. ray jardines book took me from newb to pro in very short time….
Another normal. How can you stand to be so boring? Just kidding. Ray’s book is a great resource.
taking firearms into the woods is no more or less sensible than being armed everywhere else, but personally im glad most people dont do so, nor do i intend to pack my 9mm. besides, it weighs too much and im a gram counter
Criminals are lazy by definition. I’ve never seen a shady character anywhere that required walking more than a quarter mile, especially uphill. Just don’t camp by a road.
I’ve had a freak or two in my tent before. Definitely recommend the condoms in that case, don’t think a gun would have helped the situation ;)
Also you forgot to mention Zombies…
I might think a little about your route. There is a fairly steep climb out of Harrisburg and a long section of road after that (if i remember correctly). That might take a bit of the fun out of it if you are not in condition. From Mt Holly Springs south it is very nice and I might think about that. Or could you start in Harper’s ferry?
This is a good primer for people looking to Section Hike. One important aspect of section hiking that isn’t addressed above (even though it doesn’t really apply to the initial query), is the fact that section hikers have the ability–assuming job and other life demands allow for it–to hike sections when they are most desirable (i.e. not when its 100 degrees or when the Black Flies are in full force). This is a tremendous benefit.
One of the greats of any time was George Washington Sears. He wrote: Go light; the lighter the better, so that you have the simplest material for health, comfort and enjoyment. – Nessmuk (his pen name.)
(I was reading Paddlinglight.com this morning so this is fresh in my mind.)
This was written in the late 1800′s. Though better known as a great paddler for his trips through out the north east and down the Missiissippi, into the Gulf of Mexico in a 9′, <10lb canoe, this is applicable to all forms of camping and hiking, too.
A typical 10lb pack (base weight) has changed little since that time, as much as we would like to think it has. A tarp, sleeping gear, and tin pot & spoon were enough. Materials have changed. The pack is lighter. Our concerns with poluted water have risen. Wet weather gear is lighter, our concerns with being wet have risen. And so on… Basically the base weight has not changed since that time. Knowing how to handle the outdoors is increasingly being traded for extra gear. Comfortable with being in the outdoors can be a difficult skill to master. Be it for one night, one week one month or one year. Basically, the longer you stay out, the more you need to learn about living outside. The more you learn about being out, the less you need to carry. Many times I have heard the story from beginners that they started with "x" equipment only to drop it all and buy "Y" equipment on the trail. Better to learn by taking short hikes as Phil mentions.
Training. Your physical condition, is important for enjoying any hike. If all you can think of is the work involved in hiking up a hill, it WILL be a chore, not fun. Training for long distance hikes can be anything from walking with a loaded pack to running. But, you *have* to get out. Hiking an hour per day with a 40lb pack WILL get your back, shoulders and leg muscles in shape. Not something you should plan on for the first month on the trail. It will ruin your fun. Sore hips, sore shoulders and back, well, it just isn't. And it will contribute greatly to your overall depression iff you happen to run into a week of poor weather at the start. Ramp up gradually from 20min per day to an hour per day over two weeks. Then increase your pace for the next two weeks. Then increase the time you spend training. When you hit the trail, it will not bother you. Alternate days with running after the first month. Good for endurance if not strength… Something you need to hike 20mi per day for two or three months.. .
Learn the skills, both mental and phisical, it takes to be outside. Get in shape for the hike. Drop everything except the bare essentials, because, that is likely what you will do ON the trail anyway. After the half way point, things get MUCH easier.
When I did the 100 miles last summer I passed two young guys on my first afternoon, we were about 6 miles in. I stopped at the next shelter around 10 miles in and they came in about one hour later.
Just looking at their packs, they did exactly what your instincts tell you to do, what the REI salesman wants you to do, and what Phillip tells you never to do. They had bought all of the things the nice salesman told them to buy and brought a “just in case” backup of everything. Their packs were HUGE, bulging, and had to be 75 pounds each. I felt really bad for those two.
The next day it started to rain (which wouldn’t stop for two more days) and I hustled out of camp early wanting to get 20 miles or so. As I walked by we talked briefly and I heard them say as I left, “man, he doesn’t have much stuff…” That night I was settling in and the two guys came rolling in, exhausted and looking beat up. I told them that I was happy to see that they made it that far, inside I was shocked to see them. They joked that we would do the 100 miles as a group, I never saw them again.
I learned the hard way when I started two years ago. I brought “just in case” stuff, too much food, I pushed for way too many miles the first few times I went section hiking. The first time I went out my pak must have weighted 50lbs. Last summer I had the base weight down to around 15lbs, and this summer it will be 8lbs. I have built up my gear, hiking style, and comfort slowly (after my near disastrous first hike!) and know what I need to bring and roughly how long I need. And with eBay, buy/sell forums, and DIY, I haven’t spent a ton of money to get there!
Nice thing about buying all your stuff at REI when you’re starting out… you can return it all for lighter stuff once you realize how heavy it is! I would actually advise to buy all starter gear there if possible. Its a great hedge against not knowing your true gear needs and being stuck with it. Plus if it breaks or gets damaged…
Once you figure out what you want, return it and shop the sales. Now I get most of my gear online, save a ton, and have a huge REI gift card in my pocket for xmas presents or emergency purchases.
The sales people aren’t big on promoting lightweight gear. Seems like it would save them a lot of returns if they were.
Another thing I would add to this is take baby steps. Do an overnight. Figure out what you did wrong. Then do two nights. Rinse and repeat.
section hiker for years. used to carry 40+ , a load and would break down my ankles, knees, and spirits. best advice (gotten from experianced ultralight hiker when healing in Mass) was to purchase a postal scale. years of comparing grams and ounces and I have chiseled down to a 13# base pack inc. tent and alot of luxury items. makes hiking a pleasure. the postal scale
advantage of section hiking; a year to adapt to the lessons learned
I disagree with the response above. It’s definitely possible to comfortably hike a section of the AT without any experience. An AT Thru-hike was my first overnight backpacking experience at the age of 47 (I’m female) and I finished the trail in 4.5 months and did really well. That said, I did a TON of research and by the time I started, while I lacked hands on experience, I didn’t have the questions this guy is asking. So I guess it all depends on whether you’re willing to do the prep work to educate yourself so that you know what you’re getting yourself in to.
Wish people wouldn’t think about carrying a gun on the trail. I don’t think there’s any need for it, and it can just as easily be used in the wrong circumstances as in the necessary ones (accidentally shooting a fellow hiker doesn’t seem outside the realm of possibility). That being said, Philip, how about a post on safety from fellow humans while hiking? Especially for us hiker chicks who worry about being taken advantage of by scary…um…people. I have yet to backpack solo but would like to give it a try without being worried about other members of my own species; they worry me far more than bears, snakes, and other non-human critters.