Ask crash about hiking the Appalachian Trail

[crash]

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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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Man, sometimes the mosquitos and the gnats were so bad that I felt like screaming. It's usually not too bad while you're moving, but once you stop they start divebombing you like you're Pearl Harbor.

I started putting 100% DEET on my hat, I don't care if that stuff does melt plastic and kill rats, it keeps the skeeters away.

[mjkidd]

[ QUOTE ]
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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I agree, except

AT data book > Thru Hiker's Handbook
Polar Pure > Aqua Mira > Water Filter

[nyc999]

Great thread crash and thanks for answering my earlier questions.

Did you ever get sick along the way? If so, how bad was it and did you keep going or stop for a few days?

[crash]

[ QUOTE ]
Great thread crash and thanks for answering my earlier questions.

Did you ever get sick along the way? If so, how bad was it and did you keep going or stop for a few days?

[/ QUOTE ]

I never got sick from drinking bad water, I did get the flu once. (I could tell it was the normal flu and not a stomach thing b/c I didn't get the [censored].) I holed up in a hostel in Maine for a day to recover, then took it easy for a while.

All the books say to purify your water. The trail goes near farmland, and so there's cow crap runoff into the streams. Also, ponds and streams obviously have critters like beavers in them. One thing to watch out for is giardia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardia

This gives you the trots and worse. I purified my water, and I never got the trots. I've read that many people can have giardia and show no symptoms, though. I find it hard to believe that I could drink from so many streams and never get a stray drop of unpurified water in my mouth.

I recommend chlorine water treatment, it's easy and your water tastes just like city water. Aquamira drops, or chlorine tablets (notice I'm not talking about plain bleach). I don't like iodine, I found it to taste bad. Plus if I'm not mistaken, iodine doesn't kill cypto, another stomach bug.

See

http://friends.backcountry.net/m_factor/watertreat.html

for more details, or get a hiking magazine that reviews water treatment systems.

[Yeti]

im interested in walking a bit of the trail, maybe maine/nh as you said that was your favourite bit. what would be the best month to do it in? would september be any good?

[crash]

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im interested in walking a bit of the trail, maybe maine/nh as you said that was your favourite bit. what would be the best month to do it in? would september be any good?

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I think August/September would be awesome for NH and Maine. I finished in the middle of September and had great weather in Maine. Just as a warning, I think in the White Mountains in NH they can have snow in any given month, so August/Sept. is no guarantee that you won't get some major storms. Keep in mind I hate hot weather so I'm biased toward cooler temps.

Another good option would be Vermont during the fall color season. The hiking isn't too tough in Vermont, and I bet the peak color would be awesome there.

http://www.vtonly.com/forecast.htm

[cbloom]

Yeah I dunno about doing the whole thing but maybe a few weeks in the North. I'm so sicking of grinding poker, I wanna do something interesting.

What would be the best like 1 month segment to do?

[mjkidd]

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im interested in walking a bit of the trail, maybe maine/nh as you said that was your favourite bit. what would be the best month to do it in? would september be any good?

[/ QUOTE ]

August in Maine and NH is glorious. September is also very good -- perhaps even better if you prefer fall to summer. Make sure to bring plenty of warm clothing if you're out in September, particularly late September. Between blackflies and the cold, the rest of the months fall off very quickly and are not recommended. MAYBE early October would be worth it, but prepare to freeze your balls off.

[crash]

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah I dunno about doing the whole thing but maybe a few weeks in the North. I'm so sicking of grinding poker, I wanna do something interesting.

What would be the best like 1 month segment to do?

[/ QUOTE ]

See my post above. I think if you're in shape, a one month trip that included the White Mountains in NH and then part (or all) of Maine would be cool. If you're not in shape it might be a mistake to start with the Whites. I'm thinking three weeks in Vermont would be doable by most people.

I should say that the White Mountains are serious hiking, the weather caught me off guard and I had been hiking for 1500+ miles by then. I got myself in a minor jam at one point.

[mjkidd]

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah I dunno about doing the whole thing but maybe a few weeks in the North. I'm so sicking of grinding poker, I wanna do something interesting.

What would be the best like 1 month segment to do?

[/ QUOTE ]

Maine, starting the first week of August. The whole state is like 300 miles or so, you can easily do this in less than a month if you're in decent shape. You could probably include the Whites in NH if you have a whole month.

The Whites are great, but super-crowded; I much prefered Maine. The first 150 miles of Maine are great, lots of cool spots, but they are pretty tough. It will be difficult hiking, but you should be able to handle it if you're in decent shape and are determined. The last half of Maine is actually one of the easiest sections of the AT, and also one of the most beautiful. There are many glacier ponds that you can swim in -- chilly, but so clear you can see the rocky bottom 5-6 feet down. And the weather is usually perfect: mid seventies, clear, good sleeping weather at night. Cool, but not cold. One night I slept on a beach of a pond, built a fire, and slept in the open under the Milky Way.

And now I'm sitting at my computer doing work. [censored] me to tears.