Date: 2017-10-25
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Miles today: 0.0

When I tell people that thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail typically takes between five and seven months, with the average being just under six months, the response is usually surprise that it takes so long, even though they know that the trail is almost 2,200 miles long. I¢ve concluded that most people have no idea what a mile is. Yes, they know that it is 5,280 feet and perhaps they know that a mile is about 2,000 steps.  But knowing something in the mind is quite different than knowing something with the feet. Think back to the olden times, before smart phones, before the Internet, before the telephone (the kind connected with wires), and even before electricity. How far would you walk to visit a friend not knowing if they were home? I think that¢s about how far a mile is. At the average walking speed of 3.1 miles per hour on good surface, that¢s about twenty minutes. The AT is seldom a good surface, and hiking rate of 2 to 2.5 miles per hour is more typical, with an allowance for additional time for steep climbs.  In general, people accustomed to driving everywhere are clueless about distance. It¢s usually a bad idea to ask a person in a town along the Appalachian Trail how far it is to the grocery store or to the restaurant with the all-you-can-eat buffet. The answer is invariably, ¢Oh, it¢s about a mile. It¢s real close.¢ No, it¢s actually several miles along a busy highway without sidewalks. It¢s close to drive but not to walk.  Hikers are not much better at estimating distance. I¢ve learned not to ask hikers coming the other direction how far it is to the spring, the shelter, or to the top of the mountain. It¢s always further than they say, and that might be because all miles are not the same length. Morning miles are much shorter than late afternoon miles. Downhill miles are shorter than uphill miles. Switchbacked uphill miles are infinitely long. If I really want to know how far something is, I can bring out my iPhone, open Guthook¢s AT Guide, activate the phone¢s GPS and place myself accurately on the map. Tapping the spring, shelter or other feature returns a very accurate distance along the Trail. What about when I¢m asked how far something is on the Trail by hikers coming the other direction? My routine answer is a cheerful, ¢It¢s just over the next ridge!¢ That¢s usually a lie, but makes them so happy, at least until the reach the top of the ridge and see only endless ridges stretching beyond.Most people are not satisfied learning that it takes about six months to hike the Appalachian Trail. They will followup with ¢How far do you walk in a day?¢  The math is really simple. Dividing 2,200 miles by 183 days yields 12 miles a day. A five-month hike means averaging about 14.5 miles a day. In reality, there are occasional rest days in town, what hikers call zero days, meaning zero miles hiked. I prefer short mileage days going into a town and leaving a town, so I can cram in more meals. So most full hiking days are between 15 and 20 miles, depending upon terrain and condition of the tread way. That would be very optimistic for New Hampshire and parts of Maine. My longest days have been 28 miles and required supreme motivation, food in one case and freezing weather in another. But that¢s nothing compared to the current record for the fastest unsupported AT thru-hike, set in 2017 by Joe McConaughy (Stringbean) of 45 days, 12 hours, and 15 minutes. That¢s an average of 48 miles a day!I won¢t be doing that. One advantage of a flip-flop hike like I¢m planning is that there is no time pressure. Northbound thru-hikers face the need to complete their hike before the northern terminus on Katahdin in Baxter State Park in Maine closes for ice and snow usually in mid-October. Southbounders can¢t start until June or July and face the risk of snowstorms in the southern mountains in November and December. As I write this, NOAA is forecasting a 20% chance of snow for Newfound Gap in the Smokies tonight.  I won¢t be facing those constraints. I will start in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy¢s annual Flip Flop Festival, starting hiking on April 29 following a send-off pancake breakfast. My cousin Debbie will be joining me for the first 100 miles to Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, and we are planning short daily distances, mostly under 10 miles. I¢ve learned that the longer the hike, the shorter my distances the first couple of weeks should be, to allow my body, and especially my knees, to adjust to life on the trail. My distances will increase, but I¢m not planning many 20 mile days. I won¢t be setting any records, although there is one record that is tempting. Tomorrow, Dale Sanders (Greybeard) will complete his Appalachian Trail thru-hike at age 82! Maybe in another 17 years, I can break his record. I have the luxury of taking some time off during my hike as well, without fear of snow. I should reach the Hudson River around the end of May. I¢ll take Amtrak¢s Ethan Allen Express up to Rutland, Vermont and spend a few days back home in Burlington letting my feet rest after the rocks of Pennsylvania. I¢ll also come home for a few days in late June from somewhere in Vermont, to switch out my sleeping bag and jacket for warmer ones before hiking New Hampshire and Maine. After summiting Katahdin in early August, I¢ll be home for several weeks, until the temperatures in Virginia start to moderate. Around Labor Day, I¢ll return to Harpers Ferry and complete my hike on Springer Mountain in Georgia in early November.  I don¢t have to rush to complete my hike in time to start a college semester, like so many of the younger hikers. I don¢t have limited vacation days from work. Oh, the joys of retirement! I¢ve made a schedule, but mostly because I enjoy planning hikes. It won¢t be controlling me.If I stick to my schedule, I will actually hike on 166 days, including near-zero (NERO) days into and out of towns, for a daily average of 13.2 miles. Actual elapsed days, including two weeks home in August will be 191 days. ¢If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans,¢ says Woody Allen. Woody Allen doesn¢t hike, but he does have a English country-style Manhattan townhouse, and that ought to count for something.