Date: 2008-02-17
To: Questions and Answers
Miles today: 0.0

Since getting back to civilization, I spent quit a bit of time updating my trailjournals site and putting videos up on youtube. I have had quite a few prospective thru-hikers email with questions about their upcoming thru-hikes. I've done my best to answer as objectively as possible, but as we all know, everyone's hike is different. I've compiled all of the emails that I've sent out and decided to put them in a trailjournals entry. Hopefully, some of you out there reading, will find some benefit from it. This will be a very long entry, and not very organized...so I apologize in advance. Happy Trails everyone!Email to NickFirst a few things you should know about my thru-hike that were a little different.I went significantly faster than the average thru-hiker. This wasn't because I was trying to be some kind of badass or something...it was simply because I got held up on my start date, and had to be done by mid august for school. I only took 1 official trail "Zero" day....but I did take off 6 consecutive days at the half way point to visit with my friends/family. Most people don't take a "break" in the middle, rather they just take a lot more zeros along the way. In total, I spent 107 days on my hike, 100 of them actually hiking. Most thru-hikers that I met followed very closely to the mantra of "hike your own hike", but I feel that if there is one suggestion I can make to you it is:Try to budget more time for your hike. 22 miles per day average is just too much. If I could do it again, I would give myself at least 4 if not 5..or even 6 months. The average hiker does it in 6. I would have loved to have spent more time in trail towns and experience more of the "off-the-trail" fun. Although, the more days you spend in town, the more money you spend too. If you don't take breaks in town though and spoil yourself....you will go mad and probably end up quitting. You need the mental/physical breaks of town stops.On to your questions:I started may 1st (which is very late) and for the first 8 days, I was pretty much entirely alone. I passed a few other hikers, but no big groups. This was the loneliest part of the southern half of the trail for me. Had I started april 1st....i would have been inside the HUGE crowds and it would have been quite different. Once I got to Fontana, I started catching people and even though I was hiking "alone", I was always meeting people. Sometimes I would hike for an afternoon or even an entire day with someone, but ususally I wanted to hike faster then they did. I did hike with one guy through the entire 75 mile stretch of the smokies and into Hot springs (but he decided to take 2 zero days there). As far as the northern half, I started to get very lonely and depressed in Massachusetts. i don't know why, but I almost quit there. I just kept telling myself "one more day". Once I was in New hampshire and the whites....I started feeling real good again. When I got to Maine, I hooked up with another hiker "wrongturn" and we hiked the entire state of Maine together to Katahdin. At that point in my hike, I welcomed having a hiking partner. I was tired of hiking alone, especially since it was the hardest sections of the trail. I needed a griping partner. Wrongturn hiked at my pace too, so it worked out great. I don't know if I would have made it without him. Favorite Parts:In the south, my favorite section was Hump Mountain (right past Roan Mtn). a bunch of beautiful bald mtns in this section. It's incredible. Also, McAfee knob was beautiful.In the north, Franconia Ridge, Saddleback Mtn, and of course Katahdin (it really is an awesome mtn to finish on)Least favorite parts:In the south, the smoky mtns...it was full of day-hikers and tourists. very crowded.In the north....without question: Massachusetts. I hated the state. Mosquitos were horrible, and overall it was just enough mileage where you are getting close, but you are still very far away. I just got realy crappy going through this state. The Berkshires are beautiful though. Most people get the "virginia blues" or the "Pennsylvania Blues"....for it was the "Mass blues".   Oh and that reminds me....the rocks in PA really aren't that bad. (you will hear stories about them though)toughest part of the trail:Without question: southern maine (until Caratunk)when you are in the White Mountains, you will think that its the hardest part and that it can't possibly get any worse...but then you'll get into Maine and you'll realize it can. Specifically the Mahoosuc range (and the ever so fun Mahoosuc Notch).As far as "Highs"...I had many of them.   there were times where I came out into clearings and had to literally stop in my tracks because of the view. I really needed to clear my head on this trip, and I did. I imagine everyone's highs are different...but you will have many...trust me. You'll have several awe inspiring moments, or epiphanies, or life changing days...or whatever you want to call them. For me, walking along Franconia Ridge, literally brought me to tears. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced. It took me 1800 miles to get there though.Didn't have too many "unexpected" experiences. I used the ATC's thru-hiker companion and I had all the maps. (I'm kind of a nerd like that). I was pretty anal when it came to knowing where I was and what was coming. I liked to know if a big mountain with a 3000 ft climb was coming up. I even had an altimeter watch so I knew when I was getting close to summits. Other hikers though, just followed the blazes.   Only one time in 2174 miles did I ever get turned around and head the wrong direction for about a mile. I figured it out quick and turned back around. The entire trail is blazed very well.   Never actually got lost, although I thought I did a few times. The blazing is terrible in the smoky mountains and I thought I took wrong turns several times. No real crazy experiences. I did meet about 5 hikers in total that were not quite all with it, but only one of them actually made me feel kinda threatened. I ended up leaving that shelter and camping up the trail a bit that night.that reminds me....I slept in shelters most nights. They are spaced out such that you could practically stay in one every night. Even if I hiked alone though most of the day, there were almost always other hikers in the shelters at night. Only in Connecticut and Maine Did I have shelters alone.You will have to hitchhike if you want to get into some towns. For me, this was kind of weird. I've never done it and was kind of intimidated by it. You get used to it though. Money: This one will depend on what kind of hike you want. i spent a lot of nights in Hostels and Hotels. i also bought a lot of town food when i was in towns. In total, i spent about $5000 for my hike, but I was only out for 107 days. If you tent/shelter every night, have all your gear now, and pre-buy food...you could probably do it for under $2500. If you take 6 months, and stay in a lot of rooms and buy a lot of town food, you could easily spend $10,000.Hope this all helps."2nd email to NickMe: If you start in feb or march, you will be ahead of the crowds. As long as you maintain an avg of 14 miles/day or more, most of them won't catch up either. It will be cold in the smokies and around Roan.Nick: The plan is to try an take a complete zero day once every two weeks orso... (in theory)... and then try to get myself a showerand a nights sleep in a bed every 5-7 days or so... if i feel good,wanna keep going, then i'll keep trekking - if i feel crummy then imight throw an extra day in or so. This might not be fully possibleeverywhere i go granted, but thats what i'm shooting for.Me: Thats the best way to look at it. You should plan some stops, but you will feel it out once you get out there. In my itinerary, I planned to stop at Hot Springs NC and Damascus VA....but I ended up also stopping in Erwin TN. Things like this will happen.Nick: By the sounds of it , i think i'd be in roughly the same ball park asyou cost wise... I 'd spend more days on the trail to cover thedistance - granted, but i'd have more nights in hammocks along the way- and a longer breaks in between. (I got the feeling youwere using Hostel's pretty often). Was also hoping to live quite a bitoff of mail drops too, hopefully save a little extra cash there. Soundreasonable or am i totally off?Me: I didn't stay in a lot of hotels/hostels on the first half...but I stayed in a lot in the 2nd. In CT and MA, there was a stretch where I stayed in rooms 4 nights in a row. I was miserable. I did all mail drops for my food. If you look at my trailjournals, you can see where I had them. The only place I didn't have a mail stop for food was Caratunk ME. I ended up still buying a lot of town food and separate snacks though. Mailing priority boxes and a bounce box did get very expensive for me. (just an fyi...it will cost a lot to ship)Nick: Hey that reminds me ... just out curiosity, did you see more hammocksor tents along the way? Still debating which wayi wanna go.Me: In general....more tents. BUT....hammocks made a huge showing this year. THey are getting more popular, that's for sure.Nick: Here are a few things i've noticed from journals read...-Day hikers can be a pain in the ass. Especially when it comes to theshelters... My understanding is that these were pretty muchcreated for the thru-hikers, but for the most part, anyone helps themselves to.-PA to NH is pretty dull, and where alot of people drop out or highlyconsider it.From your journal, it sounded like these places just kinda draggedalong - and would have been really great to have someone tohike with.Me: Day hikers are usually pretty cool..except in really crowded tourist spots (like clingmans dome and at the Huts in the white mountains). Most will honor the thru-hikers and make room in the shelters. Only once did I run into assholes....and I just tented anyway.Nick: Haha, man it's scary... i'm too similar. I'm already studying the maps/ guidebooks / and elevation.Which brings me to my next question...How did you go about planning this?Me: Using the Thru-Hikers companion, I wrote out a tentative itinerary (which for the most part I stuck to). I just spaced out shelters about 20 miles apart. I attached my itinerary that I did literally 2 days before I left to start hiking. I deleted the first half of it, but it still shows the 2nd half. I started in Georgia, and just "virtually" hiked my way up to maine. I also am attaching a good PDF from ATC.Email to Seth:Mice.   ah yess....Mice. There really is no way to avoid them. They are found pretty much in or around every shelter on the trail. Here is what I will tell you honestly. I would hang my pack after I took my supplies out for the night on the shelter's "mouse hangers". These hangers consist of a string and usually some kind of old tuna can or something. For the most part they worked well. Make sure that all of your food is sealed. A lot of times I hung my food bag separately from my pack just to be safe. Always leave the zippers in your pack slightly open. If the mice are around, they will find a way in. The best thing to do, is leave the zippers open a little. They might go in...but they will just look around and realize there is nothing good...and leave.   If you keep all your zippers and pouches closed, the mice might chew their way in. In all, I never had a problem with mice chewing through my pack or getting to my food...UNTIL Maine. For some reason, the mice in Maine are friggin mutants or something. I woke up one night and actually witnessed mice leaping through the air about four feet from the shelter to my food bag. It was quite impressive. Even still, though, My food only got raided once, and all they took was a small bag of peanuts I forgot to close.   Mice are in the shelters and sometimes run around your bag. Only once do i actually remember feeling one run across my bag. If others did...I slept through it.   They are more annoying than anything. But do try to be diligent in Maine.   I think I was also a bit lucky. Seems most thru-hikers have at least a couple stories of mice getting to their toilet paper or food. Just be careful and use common sense and you should be ok. They usually come out and are most active right at dusk (around 8:30-9:00). PO drops:I wish I would have researched this a bit better. What I didn't realize were all the places that held packages for thru-hikers that weren't PO's. Pretty much any hostel, outfitter, or hotel on the trail will hold packages for hikers too. If you look in the thru-hikers companion at places description, it will say something like "packages held for thru-hikers sent to the following address: xxxxxxxx".   I didn't know this, so I only used post offices. This worked ok, but Post offices have really crappy hours. All are obviously closed on sundays, and a lot are either closed on saturdays or open only for a few hours. So if you are on a schedule and you get to town at 2PM on saturday, you have to wait until monday morning to get your packages. kinda sucks. As far as your question, I did exactly what you said. I tried to use only Post offices that were within the one mile (bolded). The furthest that I had to go to a post office was Gorham, NH...but I hitched into town. The furthest I walked to a Post office was probably Montebello, VA. All the post offices were very easy to find and usually right on the trail or right in the middle of town. You start to figure our that there is a pattern to where they are located and you usually know where to look.   this brings up hitchhiking. a lot of good towns are far from the trail. I honestly didn't hitchhike until Vermont. Every town and PO, I walked to up till then. In Maine though, every town is at least 6 miles away from the trail. If you want to go into Andover, stratton, or Rangely...you have to hitch.   You'll get used to it.the most common stoves were cannister style (ie pocketrockets) and alcohol. I used a small alcohol stove and carried about 7-10 days worth of fuel. I only cooked once a day. You never go more than 7 days without coming across somebody with fuels. Cannisters might be a little less common, but Everyone carries denatured alcohol. Usually you will find big cans outside of stores or hostels and you just fill up yourself and get charged like 10 cents an ounce or something. With cannisters, if you carry a big one, and only cook once a day, you will probably only need to replace them 3 or 4 times. I would carry an extra one in your bounce box just to be safe. The companion lists any place with known fuel with an "f" in its description. Like I said...the companion has everything.18 Miles per day is a lot...but doable. As you know I was on a very tight schedule. I only took ONE trail zero day. Most people take over 20. I did take 6 days off in a row at Harpers Ferry, so I technically had 7 zero days...but that was more of a block break...not zero days in trail towns.   The real question is...do you have a specific date which you have to be finished by...or do you just want to average 18 miles per day? If you have no set time limit, than you can still take as many zero days as you want. If you are doing 18 mpd in order to finish on time, your hike will be much different than the other hikers that you run into. Yours will not be "as fun". You will be jealous that the other hikers get to take breaks....but that's just the way it is.   You will also pass a lot of people and probably not hike with any one person for more than a day or two. (unless you find someone else who wants to average 18mpd). My schedule was pretty simple. My alarm woke me up at 6:30 and I was usually packed up by 7:00. I liked to be on the trail by no later than 7:30. If I knew i had a big day...i would get up earlier. I ate on the trail, and took short breaks every few hours. I usually stopped hiking before 8:00 pm. (I didn't like night hiking). I didn't go fast...I just hiked all day. I stopped in as many towns as I could, and always made time for hostels, and town food.   There were many times I said "No" to people. I would get asked to go places or to things and I had to turn people down because of my schedule. I knew it was the only way I would finish on time. As it was, I got to Penn State on August 20th, and started orientation for my graduate program August 22nd. It was close. You have to find something to keep you motivated. I did three things. I carried a small card with two photos on it. One of the Mt. Katahdin sign, and one of a sentimental sign in New Jersey that I had to make it too. Any time I felt like quitting I would look at them. I also had a few personal things that I carried the entire trail to keep me motivated. Every night after looking at my maps and planning my next day, I would fall asleep imagining what those last 100 steps towards Baxter Peak would be like.   even with all those motivators...I still came within a hairs breath of quitting in Massachusetts. I was literally trying to call my family to come pick me up, but couldn't get a signal. Had I gotten one, I would have quit. I came that close.One more thing about mice....At night...hang your hiking shoes/boots from a nail or hook in the shelters too. mice have a habit of going into your shoes at night if you leave them on the shelter floor... and chewing them up (because of the salt). They also like to crap in them.   Hope this helps and if you have any more questions....please ask away!-john2nd Email to Seth:There are some places on the trail where it is very hard to average 18 mpd. In particular, the White mountains, and most of maine. I averaged only about 14 miles per day in the Whites, and an 18 mile day in Maine was a full day of hiking. In Pennsylvania, you can easily hike 35 miles in a day if you start early. In Maine, the trail is so crappy (rocky, rooty, bad shape), that you simply can only get 18-20 miles in a full day.3rd email to Seth:There were three points along the trail where I "wanted to quit"....but really only one where it almost happened. The first time I wanted to quit happened during that first 10 days. I'm sure everyone has it. Once you realize that you've done 20 miles a day for over a week and you're barely into North Carolina. I remember getting to Neels Gap (mile 32) and thinking that I was making progress only to see the large AT map on the wall and realize that I had barely moved from Springer. I just begins to sink in that "Oh man...I'm going to be doing this for a long time". A lot of people quit at this point. I'd say probabably 25% if not more. This one is not too tough to get past. The second time I almost quit was in Central Virginia. Virginia is over 540 miles long...and you will get tired of it. I got extremely sick (stomach bug of some kind) around Montebello and seriously thought about quitting. I gave myself 2 days to get better...and if I didn't....I was going to quit. Luckily I got better.The third and worst time was in Massachusetts. I don't know what it is about that section of trail...but for me, I was miserable. You have made it over 2/3 of the way...so you feel like you are getting close. But...you are still 600+ miles away. The scenery is crappy there and the mosquitos are Horrible. Everything just came together on a really crappy day....July 16th. When I didn't get the cel signal, I told myself "one more day". The next day I was in Vermont and things started to get a little better. As far as what it was specifically that kept me going...well I had a few things.I had the photograph of Mt katahdin that I carried and looked at all the time. I also had a photo of a sign in NJ that kept me motivated at least until I got there. (if you watch my videos on trailjournals, I explain the significance of this sign). In maine, I had a great hiking partner for all 280+ miles. That definitely helped. Maine is by far the hardest hiking of the whole trail. Your body is wrecked at that point and it is hard to even get out of your sleeping bag in the morning. Having someone to hike with in maine was a good thing for me.   the big motivators for me though, were more personal. I had 2 very difficult years prior to my hike. My father died in 2005 and I never felt that I got a chance to say my mental goodbyes. A big part of the reason I was hiking was to do that. I had some other goodbyes I had to get through as well.   I knew that with grad school starting, this would be my only chance at a thru-hike for a while. If I gave up, I would not get another chance next year. This was something I've dreamed of doing since I was about 8 years old.   On the really tough days, I thought about my dad, and about how he'd want me to keep going...and I kept going. I carried his dog tags the entire trail and looked at them often. I also had other family and friends keeping track of my progress. My 7 year old cousin, Patrick, was tracking my progress on a 4 foot long map with push pins. I didn't want to let him down.On july 16th though, I was standing at the Memorial on top of Mt Greylock and I was miserable. Everything came together and I felt that 1500 miles was good enough. I was getting hundreds of mosquito bites, I had an infection in my toe that wouldn't go away, I was worried I couldn't keep up my pace, I had a PO box get lost, I was pretty sure I had lyme disease, I missed my friends, it was very hot (almost 100 degrees), the scenery sucked, I still had 600+ very tough miles to go, and it was the anniversary of my dad's death (to the day). I wanted to go home. I ended up getting a hold of my mom a few days later in Manchester Center VT and she told me that had I called her on the 16th, she would have made me hike a few more days just to make sure anyway. Guess I'll never know. As a side note, the guy that I hiked with in Maine, (trailname Wrongturn)...had the same experience in 06. He made it all the way to Massachusetts and did quit. He ended up regretting it so much, that instead of starting where he left off this year....he started all the way over again. He wanted to be a thru-hiker....not a section hiker.   Im sure I would be regretting just as much now had I quit in Mass.You just need to find a few good motivators....and then one that you are extremely passionate about. Don't use that one though until you absolutely need it. The urges to quit don't last for all that long. You just have to be patient and use whatever it is that will motivate you best. A lot of it is simply how badly do you really want this thru-hike. is it just a neat thing...or is it something you absolutely must have.---end of emails---I'm still looking for more emails....but I hope that that these were useful. -John