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anyone ever done a thru-hike?

futureman

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7793

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45 minutes ago, futureman said:

appalachian trail, pac-crest trail?  also looking at continental divide trail.  if I did I’d probably only go a few hundred miles and not a couple thousand.  just curious if anyone has any experience with this kind of thing.  

Read (or listen to) A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson.  He hiked the AT and wrote about it.

 

Don't watch the movie.  It's terrible.  The audiobook is great, though.  

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GottaB

GottaB 595

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My uncle attempted the Appalachian trail. 2/3s the way down he was crossing a bridge and was hit by a car (lady said she was blinded by the sun), tossed over the rails and broke some bones. He spent some time in the hospital and recovered. He still hikes but I don’t think he ever went back to complete the trail.

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thrillhammer

thrillhammer 684

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i'm more into loops.  two nights is plenty for backpacking.  fucking water is heavy.  i ain't carrying more than three days worth.  There's a trail out in west texas you can do.  I forgot what it's called.   Goes right through Caprock Canyon state park.  It intrigued me for a fleeting moment until I remembered how heavy water is.  

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45769

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2 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Ever since I saw Wild I’ve been intrigued with hiking the Pacific Coast Trail. But then I think for that kind of vacation time I’d need to take, I’d rather get drunk in Europe and fuck my wife.

Haha, not a bad alternative.  A thru hike mentality is really a unique thing.  You need to be in the right situation in life.  If you are married, as I am, you have to have an extremely cool and understanding wife.  I don't have kids, which is also huge.  You also have to have a unique desire to put yourself through it, which admittedly is a little nuts.

I've been planning on a thru hike for probably the past 4 years, after getting into hiking and backpacking seriously about 6 years ago.  The mental part is the hardest part.  5 months of doing anything day after day is difficult, let alone a physically and emotionally challenging thing like a thru hike.  That said, I know a couple people who have done it and it changed their lives forever, for the better.

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BBQ2Bayou

BBQ2Bayou 807

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2 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

He did over 500 miles.  I wouldn't call that fuck all.  And he writes from a perspective of someone who has never done anything like that before, similar to OP.

I'm not calling him out because he's not able to hike the whole thing. I probably couldn't do 50 miles in a week right now. I'm calling him out because he's so far beyond full of shit about everything, and he's a fat, lazy, fuck stick and he sure as fuck didn't do 500 miles. Nothing wrong with that, but don't act like you're some badass. 

He needs to stick to telling stories in British pubs and act like he was born there and not fucking Iowa.  

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futureman

futureman 22565

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1 hour ago, Chewbacca said:

He did over 500 miles.  I wouldn't call that fuck all.  And he writes from a perspective of someone who has never done anything like that before, similar to OP.

this is actually exactly along the lines of what I’m thinking.  don’t have the time or the stubbornness for a thru hike.  tentative plan is continental divide trail through colorado from border to border.  

and I want to bring my dog.  my family is from east tennessee and I love the smokies but I read that dogs aren’t allowed in smoky mountain natl park. 

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DoobieWah

DoobieWah 1476

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On 2/21/2019 at 12:47 PM, futureman said:

appalachian trail, pac-crest trail?  also looking at continental divide trail.  if I did I’d probably only go a few hundred miles and not a couple thousand.  just curious if anyone has any experience with this kind of thing.  

 Sober and intentionally?  No.

Drunk and lost? Many many times.

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futureman

futureman 22565

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Just now, High Plains Drifter said:

 

How about you ask some specific questions, and I'll think about answering them?

 

I thought you could just start from when you first got the idea in your head to the aftermath of the hike.  all the details in between.  really flesh it out. 

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45769

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2 minutes ago, futureman said:

I thought you could just start from when you first got the idea in your head to the aftermath of the hike.  all the details in between.  really flesh it out. 

In third grade, I cheated on my history exam. In fourth grade, I stole my uncle Max’s toupee and I glued it on my face when I was Moses in my Hebrew School play. In fifth grade, I knocked my sister Edie down the stairs and I blamed it on the dog…When my mom sent me to the summer camp for fat kids and then they served lunch I went nuts and I pigged out and they kicked me out…But the worst thing I ever done — I mixed a pot of fake puke at home and then I went to this movie theater, hid the puke in my jacket, climbed up to the balcony and then, then, I made a noise like this: hua-hua-hua-huaaaaaaa — and then I dumped it over the side, all over the people in the audience. And then, this was horrible, all the people started getting sick and throwing up all over each other. I never felt so bad in my entire life.

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futureman

futureman 22565

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1 minute ago, High Plains Drifter said:

How about you ask some specific questions, and I'll think about answering them?

how many miles will a pair of shoes last?  is it absolutely necessary to get water proof hiking boots?  no sneakers?  

typically what kind of food?  lots of processed nutrient dense stuff, e.g. power bars, etc?  trail mix?  how many calories do you need daily?

how much water per day?  

how many miles per day?

did you take a dog?  did you see many people with dogs?

did you see any bears or mountain lions?

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futureman

futureman 22565

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1 minute ago, Biff Tannen said:

In third grade, I cheated on my history exam. In fourth grade, I stole my uncle Max’s toupee and I glued it on my face when I was Moses in my Hebrew School play. In fifth grade, I knocked my sister Edie down the stairs and I blamed it on the dog…When my mom sent me to the summer camp for fat kids and then they served lunch I went nuts and I pigged out and they kicked me out…But the worst thing I ever done — I mixed a pot of fake puke at home and then I went to this movie theater, hid the puke in my jacket, climbed up to the balcony and then, then, I made a noise like this: hua-hua-hua-huaaaaaaa — and then I dumped it over the side, all over the people in the audience. And then, this was horrible, all the people started getting sick and throwing up all over each other. I never felt so bad in my entire life.

out of rep

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High Plains Drifter

High Plains Drifter 11057

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2 minutes ago, futureman said:

how many miles will a pair of shoes last?  is it absolutely necessary to get water proof hiking boots?  no sneakers?  

typically what kind of food?  lots of processed nutrient dense stuff, e.g. power bars, etc?  trail mix?  how many calories do you need daily?

how much water per day?  

how many miles per day?

did you take a dog?  did you see many people with dogs?

did you see any bears or mountain lions?

Was that so hard?

ITs been a while...

Depends, boots last longer, shoes less. No sneakers, but some thru hikers I saw were wearing trail runners or some such. I prefer boots but there are pros and cons to each. Before you go, you should already have broken in your boots/shoes, and have also broken-in back ups ready to go to be mailed to you. Find a brand/style you really really like and buy three or four pairs. Maybe 400 to 500 miles? More for good boots. If you are worried about shit like wet feet, maybe thru hiking the PCT is not for you.

I lived on PB, tortillas, powdered refried beans soaked in water with a little olive oil mixed in. Powdered milk.  Little bit of dried fruit and nuts. I literally had dreams of food. I didn't use a stove, but most do. Probably need (more or less guessing) three times the normal calories? You will be hungry all the time. Get used to it. You will lose weight. You will rapidly gain it back and then some when you finish.

PCT and CT pretty much had plenty of water. I never carried more than a gallon max, 90% of time it was way less than that. I used iodine tablets, most use a filter. With some research you can figure out where the dry stretches are and plan accordingly.

Lose the dog.

Yes, saw bears, including one with cubs. No mountain lions but they were probably around in some areas. I would worry more about bears than mountain lions because bears will eat your food. Use some sort of bear proof sack for your food, keep the smells down, no food in the tent, don't camp where you eat.

My single best piece of advice is the younger you are when you do it, the better. Extended through hikes are hard on your body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45769

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2 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

Was that so hard?

ITs been a while...

Depends, boots last longer, shoes less. No sneakers, but some thru hikers I saw were wearing trail runners or some such. I prefer boots but there are pros and cons to each. Before you go, you should already have broken in your boots/shoes, and have also broken-in back ups ready to go to be mailed to you. Find a brand/style you really really like and buy three or four pairs. Maybe 400 to 500 miles? More for good boots. If you are worried about shit like wet feet, maybe thru hiking the PCT is not for you.

I lived on PB, tortillas, powdered refried beans soaked in water with a little olive oil mixed in. Powdered milk.  Little bit of dried fruit and nuts. I literally had dreams of food. I didn't use a stove, but most do. Probably need (more or less guessing) three times the normal calories? You will be hungry all the time. Get used to it. You will lose weight. You will rapidly gain it back and then some when you finish.

PCT and CT pretty much had plenty of water. I never carried more than a gallon max, 90% of time it was way less than that. I used iodine tablets, most use a filter. With some research you can figure out where the dry stretches are and plan accordingly.

Lose the dog.

Yes, saw bears, including one with cubs. No mountain lions but they were probably around in some areas. I would worry more about bears than mountain lions because bears will eat your food. Use some sort of bear proof sack for your food, keep the smells down, no food in the tent, don't camp where you eat.

My single best piece of advice is the younger you are when you do it, the better. Extended through hikes are hard on your body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You did both PCT and Colorado Trail?

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futureman

futureman 22565

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4 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

Was that so hard?

ITs been a while...

Depends, boots last longer, shoes less. No sneakers, but some thru hikers I saw were wearing trail runners or some such. I prefer boots but there are pros and cons to each. Before you go, you should already have broken in your boots/shoes, and have also broken-in back ups ready to go to be mailed to you. Find a brand/style you really really like and buy three or four pairs. Maybe 400 to 500 miles? More for good boots. If you are worried about shit like wet feet, maybe thru hiking the PCT is not for you.

I lived on PB, tortillas, powdered refried beans soaked in water with a little olive oil mixed in. Powdered milk.  Little bit of dried fruit and nuts. I literally had dreams of food. I didn't use a stove, but most do. Probably need (more or less guessing) three times the normal calories? You will be hungry all the time. Get used to it. You will lose weight. You will rapidly gain it back and then some when you finish.

PCT and CT pretty much had plenty of water. I never carried more than a gallon max, 90% of time it was way less than that. I used iodine tablets, most use a filter. With some research you can figure out where the dry stretches are and plan accordingly.

Lose the dog.

Yes, saw bears, including one with cubs. No mountain lions but they were probably around in some areas. I would worry more about bears than mountain lions because bears will eat your food. Use some sort of bear proof sack for your food, keep the smells down, no food in the tent, don't camp where you eat.

My single best piece of advice is the younger you are when you do it, the better. Extended through hikes are hard on your body.

 much obliged. 

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F250

F250 28945

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I have a friend that hiked the APT when he was 18 right after high school graduation. He said about half way through the APT he met up with some old hippy dude. They hiked together for a couple of days until the hippy dude got weird at their camp site one night. The hippy sparked up a joint and shared it with my friend. After awhile the hippy sits on a rock wearing jean cut off shorts and proceeds to let his balls dangle out while grinning at my buddy. My friend told him to cover up and the hippy apologized and then proceeded to dangle and grin 10 minutes later.

That's all I have to add to this thread.

 

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davidg

davidg 4040

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There are a lot of great blogs on thruhiking and the whiteblaze.net forum is homebase for AT thruhikes and has big subforums for PCT and CDT.  When I was getting ready for a Philmont trek I started following https://www.walkingwithwired.com/  as she was hiking the CDT.   She has one of the most documented thruhike blogs with near daily posts while out on the trail.

Have you ever done any multiday backpacking trips?  If not, my main suggestion would be to get your gear, exclusive of food and water, down as light as possible.  For me, this is about 15-17lbs for all my stuff.    For a thruhike it might increase a bit, especially since bear canisters are required in a lot more places these days.  

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Bone3421

Bone3421 716

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how many miles will a pair of shoes last?  is it absolutely necessary to get water proof hiking boots?  no sneakers?  
typically what kind of food?  lots of processed nutrient dense stuff, e.g. power bars, etc?  trail mix?  how many calories do you need daily?
how much water per day?  
how many miles per day?
did you take a dog?  did you see many people with dogs?
did you see any bears or mountain lions?
You want to start at like 10 miles a day...ramp it up to 15/20 miles a day when you get your trail legs...food you want high calories for low weight
Junk food is king here...and you want to aim for like 3/4k calories a day if i recall...you will be burning a shit ton and want to avoid "bonking" out

When i researched last year i believe you wanted to carry like 2lbs of food per day and water on colorado trail was bountiful besides a 2 long stretches so was told you could get by with like 2 32oz nalgene bottles
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thrillhammer

thrillhammer 684

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3 hours ago, F250 said:

I have a friend that hiked the APT when he was 18 right after high school graduation. He said about half way through the APT he met up with some old hippy dude. They hiked together for a couple of days until the hippy dude got weird at their camp site one night. The hippy sparked up a joint and shared it with my friend. After awhile the hippy sits on a rock wearing jean cut off shorts and proceeds to let his balls dangle out while grinning at my buddy. My friend told him to cover up and the hippy apologized and then proceeded to dangle and grin 10 minutes later.

That's all I have to add to this thread.

 

sounds like a scene straight out of deliverance.   you definitely don't want to take a gun, due to weight plus legality, but i always have a bigass blade.  i always camp, and sleep in my tent with, my geology hammer that I've had since college.  but i never backpack with it because i don't use stakes in my tent backpacking.  every ounce counts.  you can wear the blade on your belt though, so it won't count as packweight.

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RDCanecutter

RDCanecutter 26553

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7 hours ago, futureman said:

and I want to bring my dog.  my family is from east tennessee and I love the smokies but I read that dogs aren’t allowed in smoky mountain natl park. 

If you are genetically East Tennessee, you will just take the dog without worrying about the rules, and if somebody makes a fuss, you and the dog will set upon them as a team.

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futureman

futureman 22565

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15 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

If you are genetically East Tennessee, you will just take the dog without worrying about the rules, and if somebody makes a fuss, you and the dog will set upon them as a team.

genetically I am half east tennessee mountain redneck and half texan.  culturally all texan.  

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45769

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16 hours ago, davidg said:

There are a lot of great blogs on thruhiking and the whiteblaze.net forum is homebase for AT thruhikes and has big subforums for PCT and CDT.  When I was getting ready for a Philmont trek I started following https://www.walkingwithwired.com/  as she was hiking the CDT.   She has one of the most documented thruhike blogs with near daily posts while out on the trail.

Have you ever done any multiday backpacking trips?  If not, my main suggestion would be to get your gear, exclusive of food and water, down as light as possible.  For me, this is about 15-17lbs for all my stuff.    For a thruhike it might increase a bit, especially since bear canisters are required in a lot more places these days.  

All of this.  Wired is really detailed and has done pretty much every long trail in the world.  The popular ones at least.  She gets a little longwinded, but for pure info, she's great.

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45769

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15 hours ago, Bone3421 said:

When i researched last year i believe you wanted to carry like 2lbs of food per day and water on colorado trail was bountiful besides a 2 long stretches so was told you could get by with like 2 32oz nalgene bottles

Switch that to Smart water bottles for weight savings.

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