- Food Resupply
- Schedule
- Money
- Gear List
There are many resources that can help you plan your A.T. hike. A good book to get you started is the Thru-hiker’s Handbook by Dan “Wingfoot” Bruce. This book includes mileage for the main trail, side trails, town locations, facilities in towns, motels, and more. It has been the most useful piece of information in helping me to prepare. I planned my itinerary and food resupply locations from the data in that book. The author also runs a website www.trailplace.com.
FOOD RESUPPLY
There are two options for getting your food along the trail. You can purchase it ahead of time and have someone send it to different post offices along the way for you to pick up, or you can purchase food in towns along the trail. You can also do a combination of the two!
I chose to send myself mail drops because I am a picky eater and wanted to be able to have exactly what food I wanted, and because I am on a limited budget (though it may not end up being much cheaper with all the postage cost) and I figured at least I would be able to know my budget better before I went to hike. There are certain perishable things I'll buy along the way, but most of my food will be mailed to me by my mom.
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
Don’t even ask me about money, I can't seem to figure this one out! There are all kinds of estimates of how much money it will take you to hike the trail and I have never gotten one clear definition of what these estimates include. They generally range from $2000-$4000, but they hugely depend on the person and their individual circumstances! You've got to figure out how much all your gear, all your food, various hostels, showers, all you can eat buffets, travel to and from the start and end of the trail, unexpected gear failure, etc. a-re going to cost. I have all my gear now, almost all of my mail drop food, a few gear backups, and $2000 in the bank. I guess we will see how this will hold up!
Don't forget that if you want to have health insurance then you’ll have to pay for 6 months of that. For people with mortgages, rent, storage center bills, car insurance, cell phone bills; there seems to be so much stuff left at home that you still have to pay for while you are gone. I'm personally getting rid of all those bills except for the health insurance.
GEAR
There is so much debate about what gear to carry, what weight your pack should be, whether you should go ultralight or pack for comfort, etc. I have been backpacking long enough to know generally what kinds of things I like to have with me. If you are a beginner, go on some weekend trips with borrowed gear or rented gear. I know that GOPC rents some items out. Also, talk to different people about what kinds/models/brands of gear that they like to use! The staff at any of the GOPC locations know a lot about backpacking from personal experience and all good gear heads love to talk about it. The website I mentioned earlier, or any backpacking forum, is also a good place to go ask questions and find many different opinions.
It is also a good idea to do research on your own. Buy a backpacker magazine (they always have gear test info!). Go to websites of different manufacturers and look at their products, descriptions, and prices after you have a general idea of what you need.
SUMMARY
Overall, packing for and planning your thru-hike is a deeply personal experience, but gaining insights from books, websites, and other people is always a good idea. People at GOPC will always be willing to help out if you have any questions!