Anybody here ever hiked the appalachian trail before?

whiteblaze.net All the information you need. Do get a good guide book. I hiked it and it is one of the best things I have ever done.

Had a good friend who literally quit his job and spent 6 months on the trail, hiking the entire thing. No underwear and no deodorant, of course. He was a different person, in a good way, when he came back.

I hiked a small portion of the trail. Would love to do the whole thing one day. Not sure how to accomplish that with a full time job.

Thank you TimeOutdoors and Paul Allen for the sources of information

Let me catch your anime arse hiking through my hood bruh

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Anybody here ever hiked the appalachian trail before?

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Yes. As a matter of fact I crossed the entire trail by foot in less than a day. (Actually less than ten seconds... Well, actually in about three steps as I walked across it at Blood Mountain in Georgia. But I've never even come close to doing the length.)

There are several good documentaries regarding hiking the AT. One, I can't remember the name of it, was a multiple episode series that covered one young man's travels along the AT after he decided to dump his full time job for a chance to take some time off and totally clear his mind. It was refreshing to follow him, especially since I wouldn't have the guts to do something like that.

If you decide to make the trek, know that you have my deepest respect for such an undertaking. It's not an easy thing to complete.

That was up near Max Patch, which is easily accessible by road. If I remember correctly, he wasn’t a thru hiker and the victims weren’t either.

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just don't know if I'll be able to leave early enough this year to where I could finish without freezing to death up north

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Start North.

You better enjoy hiking to the point that it becomes your job and be able to handle stress, pain, and loneliness.

Not trying to discourage you, but a lot of people try a hike like this because of the romance of it and becoming one with nature, and don’t realize that it literally becomes a job.

I did one that crosses my state (~400 miles) to train for the CDT, and actually ended up hating the 10-hour days so much that I severely reduced my hiking for a few years after completion.

Being out in nature, by yourself can be an experience like no other, I enjoyed a lot of it. But finding the motivation to get up and start another long day, alone, with the same scenery over and over became a chore.

As far as pack advice:

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Firstly, tips on building a good pack to make sure I have the essentials without overdoing it weight wise?

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Go to your local REI or outdoors store and try out some packs. Feel the straps placements and where the center of gravity sits. You’ll want a lot of easy access pockets within reach for small items you’ll use frequently.

I wouldn’t get anything over 55L and would really look at something in the 48L range for a pack if you can swing it. It’s a weight-to-size ratio that you need to perfect. You want something that can hold all the gear you need, but doesn’t weigh you down as well.

All of that stuff matters and when it comes to it, you’ll want to be as comfortable as possible. There are a lot of great YouTube videos on what to buy, but you really need to try it out for yourself before buying.

REI let’s you try the packs with added weight so you can get a sense of what it will feel like on your back.

I recommend a website called LighterPack

It’s a free spreadsheet that you enter your items and weights down to the ounce so you can figure out what to cut and what to keep. It’s also a good packing checklist before you go.

I would HIGHLY recommend you test yourself on a long-distance hike of about two weeks in your state or somewhere close before deciding on taking off for the AT. You don’t want to spend thousands of dollars in prep and alter your life to get on the trail and realize that’s not the life you want for several months.