re: Appalachian Trail Completed

Awesome man, congrats. I have a friend that finished about a month ago from Louisiana. Jericho was his trial name.

He said 60. You mail your food to points along the way. More than likely, that's what he did.

Reading your journal I see that the rain gear isn't very helpful. Maybe some kind of wool getup would be better suited? Still get wet but would be wet from rain and not sweat and would be warmer. My experiences with rain gear in my day-to-day outdoor activities have been lackluster as well.

what a neat deal. wish i would have done it in college. too much on my plate now. I have several friends who will hike sections, with the ultimate goal being doing the whole thing, just not in one trip. amazing 6 months on the trail.

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Reading your journal I see that the rain gear isn't very helpful. Maybe some kind of wool getup would be better suited? Still get wet but would be wet from rain and not sweat and would be warmer. My experiences with rain gear in my day-to-day outdoor activities have been lackluster as well.

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Yes, I had a hard time finding the right rain gear. Another hiker swore by his umbrella, others only wore rain jackets or stuck to the the entire rain suit. When it's very cold it's harder to accommodate rain gear but in the end, no matter what, you'll get wet from either sweat or rain.

I found that I liked the poncho a lot but it's useless when it's windy. I got to the point where I just went without, but realized that in the canopy of trees, if it's not raining hard you're somewhat protected. I wore a fedora like hat most of the time anyway. On the last day hiking in rain I used a hat umbrella which really worked out well to my surprise.

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What's a good section to do with two boys?

Both have packed before for two overnighters. They can make 8-10 miles if terrain isn't too tough. Looking for about 50-60 miles summer of 2014. Late summer now due to work. Maybe June but most likely July.

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I'd suggest the Shenandoah Mountains. It's not too rugged but still has some rough terrain. I was able to move at a much faster pace through here because the mountains weren't so much up and down--you hiked along a ridge the entire time. The only drawback is you have to cross the road several times every day (it parallels the Blue Ridge Highway). A lot of boy scout troops in the area hike it frequently too. However, if you go with your boys, don't hike on the Summer Solstice (June 21st) because that's "Hike Naked Day" for thru-hikers of the AT. You'll find a mix of guys and girls hiking completely in the buff, but most tend to just strip down to their underwear instead.

For food, I did ship some mail drops to myself at various hostels along the way but if I had to do it again I wouldn't. The towns with the hostels all had decent stores to resupply at, except for Munson--the general store there closed down early in the year. I had my brother mail me six days of resupply there to carry through the 100 Mile Wilderness. Generally you'll carry three or four days of food before coming to a town or road to a town where you can resupply. We always tried to carry only what we needed (food is heavy). It was much harder starting out in the 100 mile wilderness with six days of food (we could definitely feel the difference in weight).

Truly awesome, brother. I will add this to the master thread as soon as I get back into town. I am extremely jealous, fwiw.

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LSU Tigerhead

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OT Baller status. Glad you had fun and congrats

ETA: Sorry its several months old, but courtesy of well, you - I just saw this

Backpacking RMNP in Colorado the last week of May. Any advice on clothing?

Congratulations!