Wow! Congratulations, you have made one of the biggest decisions of your life, you are going to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail (or some other long distance trail). Now what?? The logistics of this can be daunting at times, and with so much literature and posts about the trail and every aspect required to hike it, it can seem impossible to wade through it all to get what you need. But relax, you know how to walk and that is the most important thing! Everything else will come. Here is the simplest version of steps that my mind could conjure up:
- Pick your start date.
- Have and or acquire the necessary gear
-Tent, backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, shoes, hiking outfit, stove, water filtration, guidebook - Save up enough money to walk in the woods for 6 months (and pay whatever bills you have to pay in real life). Figure out minimal re-supply needs
- Get to your starting point, and walk!!
1. Figure out when it is feasible for you to have enough money and to be able to take 5-6 months off of your regular life. Mark your calendar and begin the planning/research process. Tell everyone you meet and you know about your plans. Your mom, your brother, your hair dresser, your taxi driver, your waitress, EVERYONE. Make it less of a distant dream and more of an future plan. Manifest your hike into reality. Even if you are scared as hell, tell everyone. Even if you don’t think you will succeed, tell everyone. Even if no one will believe you, tell them. Even if people think you are crazy, tell them. Even if people think you do not have enough experience, tell them. The more people you have to hold you accountable, the better. For two years I talked about hiking the trail, but as a 16/17 year old girl with zero experience in the woods, I don’t think anyone believed me. I don’t think my own mother took me seriously until I bought my plane ticket, one way, to Georgia. Maybe they believed I would try but I assume many doubted by ability to succeed.
I posted in an Appalachian Trail women’s only group, asking them all of my worries. With my high school graduation coming up, everyone was preparing to go to college, but my heart wasn’t quite yet ready for that. I talked about how badly I wanted to thru-hike, and how school would always be there when I returned from the trail. I talked about how I feared that if I put off this dream of mine that life would get in the way. I begged for advice on which path to take. I was overwhelmed with responses of people urging me to follow my dreams. Someone responded that it seemed like I had already made up my mind, and I think I had, I just needed someone to believe in my plan and what I desired to do.
2. I had no backpacking equipment when I decided I was going to thru-hike. What I did have was plenty of time, birthdays and Christmases to acquire nicer, lighter gear that costed a bit more. This was also my priority in life at this time, with no kids and no bills I was free to devote my resources to this dream of mine. The gear does not make a hiker. Let me repeat that for the ultra-lighters in the back, THE GEAR DOES NOT MAKE A THRU HIKER. Undoubtably you will come across people who want to talk about their fancy ultralight gear and how it is the best tent/backpack out there. Sure, if you have the money and resources it is worth it to invest in nicer gear that will last a long time, but by no means is it necessary. Grandma Gatewood (the first woman to hike the trail) wore keds shoes and carried an army blanket, a raincoat, and a plastic shower curtain in a homemade denim bag slung over one shoulder. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you are carrying, it is how you carry it.
3. The internet recommends that you save up $1,000 for every month that you will be out there. In my opinion, that is a very lavish thru-hike. I think in total (not including gear) I spent around $2,500 in the 143 days that I lived and walked in the woods. I would say anywhere between $2-3000 is a very do-able budget. I met people doing the whole trail for $1,000 and I met people that did not have a budget. I think you can make a thru-hike happen with any amount of money (within reason), it is just a matter of knowing how much you have and sticking to that. The less time you spend in town, the less money you will spend. The only thing that you NEED to spend money on out there is food, and the occasional new pair of shoes/ other equipment needs that may arise (hint, buy your shoes from REI, they allow exchanges for up to a year). On the other hand, if you want to be able to eat a warm cheeseburger, drink a cold beer, and sleep in a real bed in every town that you cross, take that into account when you are planning and save a bit more.
I am someone who likes to have a safety net, so I budgeted for a higher end hike, then at every corner I made the decision to go with the cheaper option or to save money (ie. sleeping under a bridge in a town on the opposite side of the river from a hostel that wanted to charge $10 for me to set up my tent). With all of the money I saved from being cheap on trail I was able to ride my bike across the country the following summer.
For the AT, resupply options are bountiful and there are really only a few areas where it pays to send yourself a box. I think I sent myself 5 boxes total. For the most part though, I would plan on 3-5 days worth of food to get me to the next option to go into town, when I got to that road I would then hitch-hike into town to get another 3-5 days worth of food. There are ample amounts of logistic information that has already been compiled by amazing past thru hikers for all or any long distance trail you might think to google. The logistics of resupplying is the most stressful part for me, it can all seem so overwhelming. Like all things, it’ll come with time and repetition.
4. Figure out where you want to start. Are you going NOBO/SOBO/Flip Flop? How you are going to get there? Do you have people near-by, can you rent a car, are you going to fly? Then get there, get dropped off at the trail, take an Uber, call a trail angel, hitch hike or walk if you have to. Get there, however you need to, with all of your equipment, and walk. It is as simple as that. Then it is just one foot in front of the other, and soon you’ll be knocking on Katahdin’s/Georgia’s/Canada’s/Mexico’s door.
Side Note: When tragedy strikes;
Now this all reads fine and dandy but life doesn’t always follow the nicely laid out plan as well as we’d like. Sometimes you break your leg, or your funds/time/energy needs to be diverted towards something more important/eminent. That is okay. Life happens, the trail will be there when the time is ready. The intention behind this post is to break the whole process down a bit and shine light on the fact that in the end, we are just walking (for a very long time). Things will work themselves out and the trail will provide when the time is right.
Until next time, peace and love
-Lioness
