Appalachian trail- any mustachians hiked it?

[beaster]

My dream is having enough FI money in the bank then only taking jobs/projects I will actually enjoy from time to time. While imagining this I remembered a desire I had a long time ago to someday hike the appalachian trail. I would like to do this before I am old!! I have two young kiddies now so not exactly sure how I would accomplish this but doesn't stop me from dreaming! Anybody here done it?


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[Gone Fishing]

Only about 20 miles of it.  Hoping to get back into it when the kids are old enough to hang with me.  Don't know if I would ever through hike, but you never know.

[jawnzee]

Have hiked the PCT.  Will be on the CDT and AT next year.  You should probably wait until the young kiddies have flown the coop... (or if you're lucky with getting them into hiking, take one with you! [see: Balls & Sunshine, father / daughter triple crowners, she is the youngest triple crowner at 15])

[beaster]

I have only done through maine and mt katahdin a bunch of times but keep dreaming about thru hike :)


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[stuckinmn]

I've always wanted to do the AT but will have to wait until my kids are out of the house.  I'll be in my early 50s and hopefully still have functioning knees.

Hats off to jawnzee, everything I've read says the PCT is the hardest leg of the triple crown. 

[SingleMomDebt]

I have not done it. But someone take me with. I'll gladly hike for miles and miles with no complaints. :)

[alice76]

I've only done portions of it in CT, MA, VT, and ME (Katahdin). The longest I've been out is 4 nights. My husband and I dream of doing the Long Trail, which runs the length of Vermont and takes about a month. The Long Trail includes 100 miles of the VT portion of the AT. And I also dream about doing the Catamount Trail, which is the cross country skiing version... Maybe our son will join us, but he's still young now.

[Michread]

I did it by reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, LOL!  This book is a MUST read.

[decembeir]

The AT is the first big goal my husband and I hope to accomplish when we FIRE in 2019 (maybe 2020). Hopefully followed by a 2020 PCT thru and a 2021 CDT thru! If any of your children are interested in hiking you could always have them hike with you, many young kids and families have successfully thru-hiked- or if you don't have the time for a thru right now, you could start completing sections.

[hdatontodo]

I hiked parts of it a week at a time during spring breaks -- from Linden, VA to PA.

The Mid Atlantic area has plenty of PUDs (pointless ups and downs)

Apparently you have to be good at planning and doing USPS premailed General Delivery packages in order to do the whole thing.

Trekking poles rock.

Being in my 50's, my knees can't handle hill climbs or walking up 2 steps at a time.

[Louis the Cat]

This is also our first goal after FIRE. It's a ways off for us (2030ish) but we plan to FIRE, pay off our mortgage, and ship the kiddos (twins) off to college all at the same time. Will either sell or rent our current house (or let the kiddos use it if they go to college locally) and then buy the dream house when we get back. (We desperately want a 20s bungalow but they can't be had in our town so we're going to move half an hour north to MMM's hometown and buy one there.) In the mean time, we've dayhiked about 10 miles worth and LOVE A Walk in the Woods even if it is a manual for how not to do it. :)

[BlueHouse]

Why not do one week-long segment each year until you finish it?  why does it have to be all at once?  My Uncle did a segment each year over long (3-day) weekends and I think it took him 8 years to complete.  But for him, it was all about the journey and the many friends he met along the way/traveling to and from his next start/finish location.  He enjoyed all of the planning and it generally took a week to complete the 3 day segments due to all the other logistics.  But he was in his 50s and 60s and 3 days at a time was all he wanted to do without a shower.  It has always sounded perfect to me too. 

[Louis the Cat]

I can see doing it that way as well, but part of the point for me is the endurance aspect of doing it all at once and being off the grid for 4-5 continuous months. Also, showers, laundromats, etc are readily available in the small towns along the way. As I understand it, you never go more than about 5 days without passing through a town.

[Gerard]

If I read Bill Bryson correctly, it's actually that you never go more than five days without passing near a place to catch an expensive taxi into a town.

I need to put in a plug for our local version, the East Coast Trail, about 400 km of volunteer-maintained trail. Kinda like if the AT had views of icebergs, whales, and crashing waves.

[MountainBeard]

I've just done some pieces, but while you're daydreaming about it make sure to consider the whole thing.  The piece up in Newfoundland is beautiful.

[KS]

Apparently you have to be good at planning and doing USPS premailed General Delivery packages in order to do the whole thing.

My father-in-law did the "triple crown" (PCT, CDT, AT) after he retired and yep, planning is huge. I imagine especially so if you're pre-mailing stuff to yourself rather than having someone at home take care of it for you! My mother-in-law was a champ with all the packing and shipping, making sure the timing was right, etc. Also factor in that your stuff will sometimes wear out at unexpected times, so it's great if you do have a person at "home base" to send you your replacements, although there are also some gear outposts along the way. From what I understand though, the AT was basically a big highway compared to the other ones. You are much more rarely alone or very far from civilization, and you pass through places to re-supply much more frequently. It was FIL's least favorite because of that, but that would presumably make it an easier one to start with, logistically.

[sheepstache]

Why not do one week-long segment each year until you finish it?  why does it have to be all at once?  My Uncle did a segment each year over long (3-day) weekends and I think it took him 8 years to complete.  But for him, it was all about the journey and the many friends he met along the way/traveling to and from his next start/finish location.  He enjoyed all of the planning and it generally took a week to complete the 3 day segments due to all the other logistics.  But he was in his 50s and 60s and 3 days at a time was all he wanted to do without a shower.  It has always sounded perfect to me too.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with section-hiking though there are a couple things to consider. For me one of the biggest is that it takes about 3 weeks to beat your body into "trail shape." When section-hiking you have to start all over from scratch each time. Socially, you meet a lot of people, of course, but people who do it all at once get a sense of large numbers of people who are on the trail with them as they pass back and forth depending on pace, 0 days, time off the trail, etc. On the other hand that can be annoying too, depending :) Cost-wise, of course, you have to pay for transportation to each stop and start point, so that adds quite a bit and I don't imagine it's close to offset compared to the price of shipping yourself things or needing to get into town (which, you can be more or less hardcore about how often you go into town and can share rides with people, etc.). There are some volunteers who will offer rides for gas money, I just mean you still have to travel several states to get to the vicinity from your hometown.

There are certainly some advantages in terms of having cheaper food options rather than relying on what's in the towns, not having to do laundry, etc.

Plus, I would agree the unplugging aspect is a big part. I've done some sections in 2-3 week increments and I can never stop thinking about how many days I have left. And while it's nice if something goes wrong knowing that the trip is short, you have less chance to optimize in terms of learning routines that work for you.

ps. quick search tells me NinetyFour and Windypig have thru-hiked it if you wanted to reach out to them.

[hdatontodo]

For week long section hiking, we'd drive one car to the end of the hike, leave it, and drive another to the start.

Or get someone else to follow you to drop off your car at the end and then drive you to the start.

[CopperTex]

Hiking the AT is my #2 goal (after FIRE) and I intend to do it the year after my son graduates high school which means I will hit the trail in March or April of 2023! Can't wait!

[Daisy]

It sure sounds interesting. I've never done a multi-day hike, so I'd have to get my feet wet somehow beforehand.

I just did a week long bike trip but it was a supported ride. It was a taste of multi-day exercise exertion though so maybe it's a start.

I was thinking of hiking the Camino de Santiago close to where my grandparents were born in northern Spain. That one doesn't seem as strenuous as the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Coast Trail. I also think they have inns/albergues along the way so I wouldn't have to carry around camping gear. That might be a good first long hike to try out.

[kendallf]

I'm planning on doing the Great Divide Route (cycling) in the next two years.  Not sure yet if I will do the "race" or just do the route on my own schedule.  I think the thru-hiking (or thru-cycling) is part of the appeal; you have to get your head around the fact that you'll be out there for weeks or months.

[Dicey]

I did it by reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, LOL!  This book is a MUST read.

+1. I love Bill Bryson, especially his audiobooks. In addition, Cheryl Strayed's "Wild" in which she hikes the Pacific Coast Trail is also a very good read. Long distance hikes have always been something that interested me, but my backpacking days are over. Not my idea of fun anymore. My advice? If you really want to do it, make it happen ASAP. You won't regret it.

[beaster]

I actually put a hold on the bill Bryson book at the library before making this post :) Have read Wild too. Thanks for all your replies - lots of great perspectives!


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[Overseas Stache]

My Dad, Mom, My sister (16) and myself (14). Hiked the Long trail, no where near the same as the AT but we were able to complete it all at once during a summer vacation. Really it was the best vacation of my life I highly recommend doing it with your kids it is such a great family bonding experience.

[mak1277]

I'm planning on doing the Great Divide Route (cycling) in the next two years.  Not sure yet if I will do the "race" or just do the route on my own schedule.  I think the thru-hiking (or thru-cycling) is part of the appeal; you have to get your head around the fact that you'll be out there for weeks or months.

I recently watched the documentary on this on Netflix...looks awesome!

[Bart1ma3u5]

I have always wanted to do the AT and figured I would start doing it in sections, however after reading the Bill Bryson book I would really like to try to do it as a thru-hike after FIRE. Defintiely a good read.

[miked]

My wife and I thru-hiked the PCT in 2013. It was an amazing experience. We met a lot of people who had hiked the AT and got the thru-hiking bug and wanted to do them all.

We did it between jobs (resigned, hiked, moved, found new jobs). We didn't see a lot of kids on the trail, but have heard of it being done (including education on the trail). This was done before we discovered FIRE, and I'm sure it set us back by a few months, but even now, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. The demongraphics were as you would expect, a lot of younger folks, and a lot of retired folks.

[Pressure D]

Hi everybody! This is my very first post. I discovered this blog after completing my Thru hike of the At in October 2013. I had wanted to hike since i was 20 years old way back in 1978.  I always held the dream and 35 years later i set foot at Springer Mt. Ga. I had just retired from teaching and coaching. The hike was everything I expected it to be. Trail life is some of the most Badass living you can imagine! I have dreams of hiking some of this countries other great long trails. The people you meet on the trail are some of the most unique people in the world. If you have the Dream to hike the AT , go for it!!!!

[Thegoblinchief]

It's on my bucket list...

[tofuchampion]

I've done small bits of the AT, when I lived in VA.  Those were the absolute best and happiest days of my life, and a Triple Crown is on my bucket list. 

[CCCA]

I've done part of the John Muir Trail in California.  Am hoping to do the rest of it in a few years.

[alice76]

Awesome about your Long Trail experience, Overseas Stache! It would be amazing to do it with our kids in the future. Thanks for the inspiration.

[No Name Guy]

Not the AT, but the PCT, back in '06.

Someone up thread commented about the PCT being harder, physically, than the AT.  Not true according to the AT vets I met on the PCT, so having done both, they'd know. 

The AT is an "Eastern" trail - it's meant for chest beating, not as a practical transportation or getting from "here to there" route.  It goes straight up and down hills, without switchbacks, at steep grades.  The PCT is built as Western trails are - that is as a means to get from "here to there" and move things - it's graded for stock travel and liberally uses switchbacks to ease the grade.  It also doesn't go to the top of every hill it passes, unlike the AT.  Different characters.

The PCT is harder than the AT logistically.  On average, towns are a lot further apart.  100 miles from supply to supply are not uncommon.  Heading north from I-90, the PCT crosses 5 roads for the last 250-ish miles to Canada.  Being deep in big "W" Wilderness is common - rescue is NOT around the corner for the unprepared.  Shelters are for sissies - there are only about 3 on the PCT, not every 5 miles like the AT - carry your own tent / tarp.

Doing the self mailing of supplies isn't an issue or all that complex on either trail - use the information that is available for the trail you're interested in and you'll see it's easy.

As Mikedom said - expect it to be sub 30 and 50+ years old folks.  Very few, relatively speaking, in that middle age range.

If attempting a thru, don't ever, EVER think about your finish, be that Katahdin or Monument 78 until you're less than a month away from it.  Worry about getting to the next town stop, the next supply, the next shower / clean clothes / real food on a plate.  Only look that week ahead, since standing in Agua Dulce (mile 454 and having taken you 3 weeks to a month to get there), Canada is an overwhelming 2200+ miles and 3-4 more months away.  Worry about getting to Mojave / Tehachapi instead (and from there, to Walker Pass and Kennedy Meadows, and from there, through the High Sierra to VVR, etc).

In re the pros / cons of section hiking versus thru:
Section Hiking
Upside:  Section hikers can cherry pick the sections.  They can pick the best times of year for each section.  They don't have to quit their jobs (usually).  Easier to slow down and do side trips.

Downside:  You have to get into shape every time you do a section.  Logistics are a lot more of a headache.  Don't get the comradery like a thru.

Thru Hiking:
Upside:  You do it all, in one fell swoop.  After the first few weeks, you're in trail shape with hardened feet.  Fly to start / fly home - be all end all of personal logistics.  Lots of new friends.  You're a thru hiker - 'nuff said.

Downside - you have to keep moving so only a limited time for side trips.  You have to take the sections when you get there, instead of at their optimal time of year (snow in the Sierra in June, versus doing in August, for example).  The less than scenic sections that you have to hike thru to get back to the real good stuff (although this is STILL better than working).

Of course, YMMV, HYOH, IMO, free advice being what it's worth, 2 cents, yadda, yadda, yadda.......

[Jessa]

I have only done through maine and mt katahdin a bunch of times but keep dreaming about thru hike :)


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Oh, question about Mt Katahdin. My dad and I were supposed to do it this year...only, I am TERRIFIED of heights. We got above the tree line on the Hunt trail, at the part where you have to climb the rebar in the rocks? And I just. couldn't. do it.

Are there other trails where the climbing is less squirrelly? We are going to try again next year from the other side and see if that is any better

[Pressure D]

No name guy very well said on every count. I made good friends who had thru hiked the PCT and they said the same thing.  I can't wait to get on the PCT., when my daughter graduates college.

[Pressure D]

Jessa there is only a couple spots where there is rebar. You gotta just do it. The Knifes Edge is much worse. You can do it!!!

[Dicey]

Jessa there is only a couple spots where there is rebar. You gotta just do it. The Knifes Edge is much worse. You can do it!!!

Or you could practice on Half Dome! I was going to say that the HD cables make rebar look tame, but I just Googled Mt. Katahdin. OMG! I think it's a draw...
You won't regret conquering your fear. Train as hard as you can, then put your head down and just dig in.

[Daisy]

Jessa there is only a couple spots where there is rebar. You gotta just do it. The Knifes Edge is much worse. You can do it!!!

Or you could practice on Half Dome! I was going to say that the HD cables make rebar look tame, but I just Googled Mt. Katahdin. OMG! I think it's a draw...
You won't regret conquering your fear. Train as hard as you can, then put your head down and just dig in.

Oh yeah! I did the Half Dome hike many many years ago. I remember being petrified on climbing the cables when we got there. I just looked up a picture of it and can't believe I did it. I guess after hiking all the way there, I wasn't NOT going to do it. The view from the top was amazing.

[Dicey]

Oh yeah! I did the Half Dome hike many many years ago. I remember being petrified on climbing the cables when we got there. I just looked up a picture of it and can't believe I did it. I guess after hiking all the way there, I wasn't NOT going to do it. The view from the top was amazing.

LOL! Daisy, that was my reaction, too! Crossing the granite saddle to get to the cables nearly did me in. By the time I got to the cables, there was no way I wasn't going up! I had just as much trouble coming down the cables, but overall, I'm very glad I did it. One thing that shocked the hell out of me was the variety of people making the ascent and the relative lack of preparedness. How they made it is beyond me. There were grade schoolers in flip flops! We were very well equipped and conditioned, but we were amazed at how many folks just seemed to be doing it on a whim.

[Mr. Frugalwoods]

I've section hiked about 100 miles of the AT.  Last year I also did a portion of the northern section of the Long Trail. 

I'd love to be able to put together an end-to-end Long Trail hike.  3 weeks is just outside of the window where I think I could get my boss to agree to vacation time.  Sometime in the next couple of years, it's all going to be vacation time. :-)

[magickelly]

A dear friend of mine did this after FIRE between the ages of 56 and 57 in 2012/2013 with his dog. He was a mostly frugal oncologist (and gay, no kids, never married, so easy to save even more money) who just got totally fed up with medicine and originally quit to take 18 months off to fulfill his childhood dream to hike the AT. After completing the AT and diving even deeper into other hobbies he decided to never return to work and is now for all intents and purposes totally FIRE'ed. He's really a mentor and personal idol to me because he was always frugal with the exception of travel (but still frugal travel - e.g. going to Japan 7 times, but each time doing it on $75/day) and in many respects he's a lot like the man profiled in this short documentary minus the part about the phase of living only for material gain - Slomo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn87-mcnoVc. He saved his money, dropped out and is "doing what he wants to."

On the AT... he didn't thru hike it completely in one season though his intent was to complete it in one season as a flip-flop, starting Georgia in February north to PA by mid June, then (after a long break for a music conference and rest) restarting Maine in late July and completing it by November. He didn't quite make it as far north as planned by June, nor as far south as planned by November so he had a huge gap - a touch of NJ, all of PA, MD and a little VA - that he finished in sections the following spring.

Logistically he had a lot of help and spent a good 3-4 months planning logistics. For training, he was already an avid hiker who hiked miles almost daily. He said the biggest challenge was getting the backpack optimized and learning to go slow with the extra weight and not compare himself to the classic 20-something, tall, thin, fit through-hikers passing him daily. The rain would really get to him too and he eventually learned not to hike on really rainy days, better to just stay put and hang out in the tent for the day.

He had a partner taking care of everything back home and doing some shuttling. He also had friends all over the east cost - including me - who met him nearly every weekend or at least every 10 days to resupply. I was his PA re-supply and when he returned to finish PA in the spring he actually brought his car. Every weekend I'd meet him at a specified location where the trail crossed a road and we'd drive the 30-40 miles back to his car. Then he'd have some 5-8 mile stretch that we'd slackpack together that day. Often I'd meet him again on Sunday for another day hike along the AT. (We got really good at picking out two major road crossings that were 5-8 miles apart for our day hikes.) And he started staying at an inexpensive chain hotel every weekend to clean up. It was a really fun time. Needless to say that final section completed last spring wasn't anything resembling linear but he did hike every step of it even if non-linear. He says he's going to write a book "57 and Fat: You Too Can Hike the Appalachian Trial" and he wouldn't give one hoot what any purists might say about his non-linear and two-season thru hike! So beaster, don't worry, you probably have a long way to go before you get too old!!!

[chasesfish]

I've hiked a bunch of the AT in Virginia as a teenager in scouts.  The poster who said it was NOT meant as a through trail is accurate, it's up and down and all recreational. 

Logistics and planning are your only obstacles.  You'll need to plan this well and it's a lot easier now with the access to phones that wasn't available 20 years ago.

[strongmag]

Never plan to do this myself, but I really enjoyed reading this blog about a family who did the through hike this summer: http://kallinfamily.com/

[CCCA]

Oh yeah! I did the Half Dome hike many many years ago. I remember being petrified on climbing the cables when we got there. I just looked up a picture of it and can't believe I did it. I guess after hiking all the way there, I wasn't NOT going to do it. The view from the top was amazing.

LOL! Daisy, that was my reaction, too! Crossing the granite saddle to get to the cables nearly did me in. By the time I got to the cables, there was no way I wasn't going up! I had just as much trouble coming down the cables, but overall, I'm very glad I did it. One thing that shocked the hell out of me was the variety of people making the ascent and the relative lack of preparedness. How they made it is beyond me. There were grade schoolers in flip flops! We were very well equipped and conditioned, but we were amazed at how many folks just seemed to be doing it on a whim.

I took a nice Panorama of the cables on Half Dome.  My wife and I took a loop of climbing cord (tied around our waist) and a carabiner to hook into the cables so that if we fell, we'd be stopped by the posts (hopefully before we picked up too much speed). 



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[TomTX]

Hiked lots of parts, MD PA NJ VA WV  - before college,  some in scouts,  some with family. My uncle is the early retiree dedicated hiker, AT, PCT, Florida Trail, et cetera.

[ToughMother]

I'd LOVE to do this -- I grew up just down the street from the AT and played on the trails in the area.  My new favorite AT book is Grandma Gatewood's Walk.  Check it out.  She's a legend.

[bacchi]

Thanks for the recommendation on the East Coast Trail. We're planning it.

I've done parts of all 3 -- AT, CDT, and PCT -- and may do the entire CDT in 2016, when work is just something I used to do.

[NinetyFour]

ps. quick search tells me NinetyFour and Windypig have thru-hiked it if you wanted to reach out to them.

Nope--I have not done it.  But I would very much like to.

I would also like to thru hike the Colorado Trail.

[pirate_wench]

Thru-hiking PCT this year!