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#42
05-19-2007, 07:13 PM
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Re: Ask crash about hiking the Appalachian Trail
I hiked it in 1991. It seems like a lifetime ago now. A wonderful, unforgettable experience.
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#43
05-19-2007, 08:31 PM
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Re: Ask crash about hiking the Appalachian Trail
[ QUOTE ]
Did you ever run into any problems with bees? I really hate bees and I would probably end up walking over a huge hornets nest in the middle of the forest. [/ QUOTE ] I only got stung once. I heard some bad stories of people really getting stung multiple times, they must have hit a nest or something. Wasn't a big problem for most people though. Mosquitos were a different story.
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#44
05-19-2007, 08:44 PM
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Re: Ask crash about hiking the Appalachian Trail
[ QUOTE ]
When you start, I assume you need winter clothes. How do you get rid of it when it gets warm? Also, how do you get them back when you get up to Maine and it's starting to get colder again? Or do you just carry it with you the entire time. Doesn't hitchhiking and going to motels and restauarants kind of defeat the purpose of hiking the whole trail? Or is it standard among hikers? What about cleaning your clothes? How much clothes did you pack for the trip? Did you set a goal for the amount of miles you hike per week? Let's say your goal is to hike 100 miles a week. Did you try to hike 20 miles a day for 5 days so that you had 2 free days to relax at the end of the week? [/ QUOTE ] so.. many... questions.... you'd be surprised; you don't need too many clothes in the beginning. On the cold days (20-30 degrees for a high) I would wear a long sleeve cool-max shirt, a fleece pullover, and a vinyl jacket (very lightweight), one layer on legs. Hat and gloves too. After hiking for 30 minutes I'd ditch the jacket. After one hour I'd ditch the fleece. At night, you don't need many clothes if you have a decent sleeping bag. If you don't need something anymore you can just mail it home. It helps to have a go-to person at home who can mail stuff back to you if you need it. Maine wasn't that cold in August/Sept. (my year at least) so I didn't need too much up there either. I washed clothes maybe once a week or so. I suppose going into town may defeat the purpose for some hard-core people, but it was standard to take a day off now and then. Plus once I found my drinking buddies we were always up for a beer after a few days of sweating our asses off. Toward the end all I had was two short sleeve shirts, one long sleeve (all of those synthetic material like cool-max), and a fleece pullover. Two pairs of Umbros (to use as boxers), two pairs of shorts. One very thin rain jacket which I never used. I had a rough idea of when I needed to finish (mid september) and made sure I kept that in mind. I didn't keep to any schedule too much. For example, I spent two days at dartmouth playing beer pong and ogling the college chicks, I just needed a break at that point.
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#45
05-19-2007, 10:49 PM
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Re: Ask crash about hiking the Appalachian Trail
While I've never done a long thru-hike like the OP, I am fairly experienced backpacking up to about 7 nights. If anyone was seriously interested I could answer a few questions about equipment to look at or point you in the right direction.
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#46
05-19-2007, 11:17 PM
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Re: Ask crash about hiking the Appalachian Trail
[ QUOTE ]
While I've never done a long thru-hike like the OP, I am fairly experienced backpacking up to about 7 nights. If anyone was seriously interested I could answer a few questions about equipment to look at or point you in the right direction. [/ QUOTE ] post it bra.
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#47
05-19-2007, 11:32 PM
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Re: Ask crash about hiking the Appalachian Trail
a couple essential items IMO:
1. http://www.trailplace.com/ get "Thru-Hiker's handbook" by Dan "Wingfoot" Bruce tells you where to get food, water, mail, etc. 2. Water treatment: AquaMira http://www.aquamira.com/preparedness...reatment-drops This stuff kills pretty much every thing, and is lighter than most filtration systems. Many people who had filter pumps (that I knew anyway) had problems with them. 3. a headlamp 4. a thermarest (self-inflatable pad you put under your sleeping bag). Not the lightest of the sleeping pads, but a good night's sleep is key IMO.
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#48
05-19-2007, 11:37 PM
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Re: Ask crash about hiking the Appalachian Trail
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] While I've never done a long thru-hike like the OP, I am fairly experienced backpacking up to about 7 nights. If anyone was seriously interested I could answer a few questions about equipment to look at or point you in the right direction. [/ QUOTE ] post it bra. [/ QUOTE ] The people over at "The lightweight backpacker" Link and Backpacker forums are always a big help. They are like the 2+2 forums for backpacking. Those are probably the best resources on the web.
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#49
05-19-2007, 11:38 PM
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Re: Ask crash about hiking the Appalachian Trail
How bad were the mosquitos and other unpleasant bugs? Thats the one thing I hate about hiking/camping in the Summer.. the bugs!
Nice trip report thanks... BB
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#50
05-20-2007, 11:30 AM
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Re: Ask crash about hiking the Appalachian Trail
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] While I've never done a long thru-hike like the OP, I am fairly experienced backpacking up to about 7 nights. If anyone was seriously interested I could answer a few questions about equipment to look at or point you in the right direction. [/ QUOTE ] post it bra. [/ QUOTE ] The people over at "The lightweight backpacker" Link and Backpacker forums are always a big help. They are like the 2+2 forums for backpacking. Those are probably the best resources on the web. [/ QUOTE ] Yeah, also get Backpacker magazine's annual "gear guide" where they answer a lot of questions and point you in the right direction.
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