The AT is a great hike as there isn't any real pressure from weather so you can start really slow and let yourself get fit on trail. Having said that the more time you can spend hiking with a pack on your back before setting off the better.
It's a good idea to be really comfortable and familiar with your camping setup before setting off too.
Don't plan much beyond your first two or three resupplies, things will change after then.
Don't sweat resupply on the AT. It's not a remote trail and the infrastructure around it is high. Use guthooks, or whatever it's called now, farout? There is no reason to not to. After the AT if you want you can hike stuff that is less paint-by-numbers.
Never quit on a bad day, it's very easy to go home, it's harder to get back on trail. If you want to go home hike on for another week. If you still want to go home hike to the next resupply point.
It's worth keeping in mind the main reasons people quit a thru-hike like the AT:
Boredom
Injury
Running out of money
Running out of time
Unforseen personal shit happening off trail
Knowing these you can accept the stuff you can't control and make efforts to manage the ones you can control.
Something I don't see people talking about much when it comes to thru-hiking the triple crown trails is how much of the hike is filler. It's a slow, unexciting activity. But in that is the peace and stillness that makes long-distance hiking an established, maintained trail so appealing.
Start saving as much as you can, arrange your life so it can go on pause for 4-6 months, and get hiking!

You need a good trail name

>>2779418
Definitely get the FarOut guide. It’s not just a map and elevation profile. The guides contain information about towns, such as how to get there and where to resupply. There’s up to date information about established campsites (to stay in or to avoid) and water sources. FarOut is probably the best source for that kind of information.

>>2779540
>>2779568
Appreciate it, I will look into FarOut. The AT site offers a trail guide every year but is currently sold out so this will be great. Didn't know it was an app, which kinda sucks but if it helps it helps
Any particular advice on what type of food to bring? I'm trying to avoid spending extra money in towns unless I absolutely have to. People say towns are the most expensive part of the trail but then they exclusively buy beer, eat out and blow it all on junk food so I don't know how true that is. Regardless, I anticipate hotels would add up quickly so I want to do my best to stay out of them.

Any books you guys would recommend I bring? I want to be off my phone as much as possible as well

>>2779551
I always wondered about this. Is it something other people give you or is it something I make up beforehand? The latter seems kinda lame but if it's the former I can understand it

It might be a while. According to various bonafide groups, about 1/3 of the AT is currently inaccessible. Large sections of the trail are heavily damaged from mudslides and flash floods, so bridges are washed away and there are tons of blowdowns. Several trail towns were flooded.

https://thetrek.co/appalachian-trail/hurricane-helene-brings-flooding-to-at-trail-towns-hikers-warned-to-avoid-first-865-miles-of-at/

>>2779585
Traditional: it is given to you
Easy mode: you pick it yourself, and tell other groups you meet, that someone gave it to you

Inb4 someone says their name is rapey mcdogfucker or something

>>2779626
My trail name is Peanut Butterscotch!

>>2779605
That sucks but I won't be going for at the very least another year, more like year and a half. Hopefully it should be good by then

>>2779626
thats so corny

is it possible to dodge the kumbayah live laugh love stuff?

>>2781440
if you act like a miserable antisocial faggot people will naturally avoid you. problem solves itself

>>2781460
What's your Trail Nickname bud?
Sparky?
Lasso?
Fireman?

>>2781465
Quinoa flower three possum skidoodle

>>2779626
There are two traditional ways as well.

That guys name is Blue. He was hitchhiking into town when the cops tried to pull over the driver. The driver took off and led them on a chase. He eventually flipped over into a ditch and the cops found 3 kilos of meth in the trunk. Blue was arrested but eventually convinced the police he really was a hiker, and they not only let him go but gave him a ride back to the trail from the police station. They turned the lights on when they stopped to let him out, and like 15 people had gathered because someone was barbecuing at the trail head.

That others guys name is Red. He wore a red shirt, so we call him Red.

>>2781440
You’ve got it wrong. It’s people being social and trying to force a culture rather than letting it happen organically. It’s more cringe than it is hippy dippy love or whatever.

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>>2779583

There's tons of good advice out there on this. I think the best stuff is in Mike Clelland's book Ultralight Backpackin' Tips. Don't get triggered but the word ultralight, it's a good book with solid advice. But the stuff on food is very good imo. For the first couple of weeks aim for like 2500 - 3000 cals a day, after that ramp it up.
Towns can be expensive, but time = money. If you can 'heroing' or 'neroing' is the best resupply strategy. Get in, have a meal, either at a diner or from the supermaket, once you've eaten do your resupply shop. When you've resupplied decide whether you want to stay in town or not. Ideally don't. Hostels suck imo, 30-40 dollars to sleep in a stuffy hot room full of people snoring. On the AT I ended up skipping hostels and saving the money so I could once in a while get a motel room to myself.
You don't need to zero either. People will go on about it but if you pace yourself right there is no need to take a whole day off from walking. I did the CDT last year and took three zeros. One was to get snow gear sorted for CO, the other two were to deal with off trial admin the cropped up while I was hiking.
Dunno about books, that'll come down to hiking style I suppose. I can't read on a long thru hike as I'm moving all day and fall asleep in a matter of minuets once I stop.

>>2781465
It's actually Cuckster because of all the thruhikers I let fuck my wife in my tent while I patiently waited outside for them to finish

Sounds exciting! Pack light, plan resupplies carefully.

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>>2779583
>>2779418
I followed the paper AWOL guide. It's nearly identical to the apps with mileage, water sources, town maps, etc but not on phone. Really easy to follow, only time I used phone GPS was to get around in towns. Plus it's a cool souvenir once the hike is done.
Cell service was very unreliable, and it would have been a huge pain to worry about charging and battery packs. Also noticed people with the app would check their phones constantly, just walk keep phone in backpack.
Ppl will suggest maildrops for food and gear, bounce them up the trail, whatever. Don't fucking bother sure you might have to live off honey buns a few days but small town postal service is a joke. Imagine getting into a town 20 minutes later than planned and being stuck for 3 days until until post office opens.
Other items to bring,
- GOOD headlamp. Recommend Fenix. NOT Petzl.
- Ben's ultranet. Or other no-see-um bug headnet. There will be bugs.
- Injinji toe socks & leuko tape. If you get small toe blister, wrap toe in tape in morning, put on toe socks, the tape will not fall off. Regular socks your toes rubbing together will rub the tape off. I did not have blister problems.
- Normal food. Anything will last a couple days. Bread, eggs, cheese, deli meat. Ensure calorie shakes are gas, way better than clif bars. Had success with a whole tub of protein powder.

>>2783360
>maildrops for food and gear
posting food on the AT is not needed, unless you have dietry requirements. I mean in NY I was eating gas stations food at least once a day. There is so much access to food. Sending gear is another story though. If you don't have someone who can post you replacement stuff or you're from a differetn country then having a bounce box is pretty handy.
>being stuck for 3 days until until post office opens.
This does suck a lot though. I got stuck twice as I arrived into town and had new shoes waiting for me in the PO. Luckily I arrived on Sunday so it wasn't a massive wait.
What can be fun though is if you are interested in messing around with your kit is to post items you think you might not beed to a PO two weeks ahead of you. It's a low risk way of exploring what you do and don't actually need in your pack.

>>2779418
gravity filter
the less stuff the better. You can always buy stuff on the trail
sobo > nobo

don't need to worry about food resupply. I only had one hickup where the only resupply for 50 miles was a gas station and they closed down that summer. Walked a bit and packed out french fries and chicken for the next 2 days.

>>2781514
>On the AT I ended up skipping hostels and saving the money so I could once in a while get a motel room to myself.
This but don't pass up the opportunities to, say, sleep in a barn with six other people for the experience. There will be free places to stay and some that make money by donation or selling pop and pizza for a dollar each.

>>2783376
>posting food on the AT is not needed
but definitely makes for a better experience. I shipped chocolate protein powder for hot chocolate at night and because there's not much protein in oatmeal, ramen and sardines. Also favourite candies/snacks that you know you wont find. Also reading material - leave the book you finished in a free box.

>>2779418
Get the most recent map too. I had a free map 3 years out of date and I got stopped by land owners crossing private property and went down side trails to town that no longer existed.

>>2783360
>good headlamp
Is not AAA based.
18650 has about 3x energy density as 4xaaa.
Fenix has such a headlamp.
Agreed on petzl being cheap.

>>2783402
>gravity filter
What's the point, it takes me about 1min to squeeze a liter through a sawyer. You have to mind the setup anyway so it doesn't overflow.
>food
Agree that eating trash tier food for weeks is not enjoyable. Buy a dehydrator and prepare healthy actually good meals.

>>2783462
>What's the point, it takes me about 1min to squeeze a liter through a sawyer.
1) it takes 5s to scoop a bag of water
2) you can press the flexible bag up against a rock to collect from a seep in the mountains
3) by the time you set up your stove/tent you have filtered water
4) can scoop multiple water bottles full of water at one time and hang it at camp
5) you can hang the bag up in a tree and use the hose for hand washing or even a shower

>>2783531
I mean, compared to filling a 2-5L bag and pressing it through the squeeze, just leaving it to drip seems pointless. Especially when gravity slows down as the top bag empties.
I can press out a liter in a minute or so.

I actually carry a 10L s2s bag (the grams...) For camp showers and washing. I made a gravity system between that and a smart water but stopped using it as such due to above issues.

>>2783402
>free places
yeah they are handy, the church basement in the werid town with the bar, dam I forget the name. But that was super handy.
>definitely makes for a better experience
subjective, I only deal with mail drop if it's a requirement, like to avoid really long hitches. Otherwise I much prefer buying food as I go.

>water treatment
I'm a chemical user. Aquamira is my go to, I premix it in a little dropper bottle for the day.

Yeah I thru hiked it and would recommend

You don’t want to carry a lot of stuff, I started with a base weight of 12.5 lbs in February and finished in early June with a base weight of 8.5 pounds. I used a palante pack and a gossamer gear solo tarp as my shelter. You don’t need to buy a 500 dollar tent to have a shelter setup that weighs less than a pound. It’s like 100 dabloons weighs like 8 ounces, has a lot of nice quality of life features, I love it. The palante is nice because it has a snack pouch on the bottom, you want to eat a lot of carbs, fats, and proteins. You won’t be eating enough calories.

For resupply just plan them to be at major road crossings, then just stick your thumb out and ride to the grocery store. Alternatively mail yourself food as a general delivery to a post office.

You don’t need a water filter on this trail. I used aqua mira drops, they are good stuff. You aren’t drinking out of cattle troughs like out west and the streams are pretty clear. Water is overly abundant. I carried a 500ml bottle with a sports cap for during the day, and a 1 liter bottle to top off for camp, I rarely ever carried more than 500ml during the day.

I didn’t use a stove, I cold soaked couscous in a plastic jar.

I recommend starting in late Jan early Feb northbound, stay ahead of the bubble. Most people start in march and really fucking slowly work their way up in a group. You need to beat them. A small bubble of southbounders starts in summer when Katahdin opens. I started in February, beat the bubble, and finished right after Katahdin opened, finishing before I saw very many southbounders at all. If you go sobo you will have less people going the same way, but you still need to break through the bubble. I definitely recommend early NOBO.

Ask me any questions, I will check back later

-Jolly
Nobo 2024

>>2779585
>>2779626
They are given to you on trail yes. Hyperlite clones will give themselves a name like "pheonix" or "wonderlust" or some shit, they are easy to spot. Best one I have heard was "poop hands", he introduced himself to people after giving you a fist bump or shaking hands with you.
>>2783462
A headlamp is nice, you will probably want a rechargeable one. I found a rechargable mini flashlight at Delaware Water Gap in the hiker box in the church. I would hold it in my hand while I night hiked, I found that worked better especially in fog.
>>2783680
Dont use a gravity system to filter water, you will sit around all day waiting for water, just use aqua mira and focus on the hike

>>2786280
Also, hitchike as much as you can. You don't want to pay for shuttle services, that will kill your budget FAST! I completed the trail and only spent 9 bucks on rides. 5 dollar shuttle at Fontana Dam 2 dollar bus to walmart near harpers ferry, 2 dollars back. Thats it.

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>>2786280

>>2786280
Not op but I was planning to hike next year, do you have any thoughts on a late start northbound? I'm thinking mid April to give the trail a few months to clear from the storm damage and miss the bubble. Other option is a standard southbound but I'd rather go northbound if I can help it.

>>2786293
I did a little two week section from springer to hot springs a few years ago in may, it seemed like I was on the ass end of the bubble. Mid april probably isnt late enough to trail the bubble, if anything you would just catch up with it. The bubble moves slowwwwwwwwww af. Most people will do really short days and dick around, blowing their money, make it to the trail days event in Damascus, then quit. After that it should start to get less crowded. Less than a quarter of nobos make it, I think it is probably around 15ish percent in reality, but a lot of people falsely report their hike, but thats just a number I asstimated (pulled out of my ass).

Ideally I would do early nobo, but if I only had late nobo or regular sobo as an option, I would definitely choose sobo. If you went late nobo there would be pressure to get to katahdin before it closes for winter. You can avoid that by doing a "flip flop". With the flip flop you arent technically a legit nobo or sobo, you are your own thing. You hike from one end, then part way there you fly to the other end, and hike back to the middle point. It technically is a thru hike and isnt a section hike since you are still doing the whole trail in one season, you are just bouncing around and doing it all in a weird order. Its not my style since I am a point A to point B type of guy, but it might be on the board for you. With the sobo you are going to pass through the bubble, but since you are headed the opposite way you only need to see those people 1 time, the sobos are generally in smaller tribes since there are less of them and they are therefor more tight knit of a community. I would say early nobo is also very tight knit since there are very few, I was alone nearly the whole time. I saw 2 other thru hikers from southern virginia all the way to new england. There is no time pressure on a sobo hike, as long as there are no hurricanes. Maybe start sobo on the IAT from Cap Gaspe Quebec.

>>2786297
The hurricane really fucked up most of the trail support infrastructure south of Marion. The hostels in Damascus are destroyed, hot springs is fucked, uncle johnnys hostel in erwin is gone. It was really devastating. The trail is still there, there are just a bunch of trees down, and there arent many places to stay because of damages to towns. I can't tell the future as far as when hostels will re open, so just plan your resupplies accordingly. If shit is still fucked when you want to hike, dont let it stop you as long as the trail is clear, mail yourself boxes as a general delivery, do research on what towns are still in good shape and which aren't. It would be a very interesting experience. The AT passes a lot of towns, so I think people have over reacted (to an extent) about how you cannot hike the trail. Right now I think you could hike the trail, but you just wouldnt have hostels to stay at and stores to shop at on the southern 1/3 of it. Once the trail is cleared nothing is stopping you. Remember, you are on foot and equiped for the outdoors, not driving a obese family van through storm damaged roads. Just be respectful to those effected.

>>2786298
Thanks for the writeup! Second opinion help a lot.

>>2783680
>leaving it to drip seems pointless. Especially when gravity slows down as the top bag empties.
>I can press out a liter in a minute or so.
>>2786282
>Dont use a gravity system to filter water, you will sit around all day waiting for water
You are doing it wrong. You put the bottle on the ground and the bag 8' up in a tree this gives you 2.3x8=18.4psi. When the bag is drained you still have 2.3x7=16.1psi. I don't care how strong you are but you are not filtering faster in a squeeze device. Even if you are putting 200lbs of force through the 30 sq inches that are your hands you will only have 6.7psi at the filter. I can filter 5L in under 2 minutes filter speed is mostly about backwashing the filter regularly. No serious group of hikers brings a bunch of snqueeze devices. They bring one or two gravity devices.

>>2779583

If you bring any guides, make sure to just scan them to a pdf or something and put them on your phone or tablet. Paper maps are ok but books are way too heavy lug around for that long.

>>2779605
>about 1/3 of the AT is currently inaccessible

About a third of the trail was closed right after hurricane but that's no longer true. Most of the trail is relatively fine except for an exceptional amount of blowdowns in some stretches and obviously a couple of bridge washouts you mentioned. Sawyers/trail volunteers are already putting in some serious work in those areas down south. The AT will be hikeable in 2025 but there will be detours and a few shelter closures, but that happens every year. Obviously this is just going to be a worse year.

>>2786298

Damascus/Hot Springs are definitely the most affected by the storms. I've seen some videos of the recovery efforts and a lot of the people there are optimistic about being ready for the 2025 hiking season. I was never planning on going to Trail Days but they're trying to get ready in time for that so they can make money. The most respectful thing to do imo is to just hike the trail normally and spend money in town and use shuttles if you can afford it.

>>2786293

From what I've seen on the AT conservancy site and some youtube videos, most of Georgia is ok except for some blowdowns. Sawyers are already making progress on areas down south. I don't think that waiting a couple months is going to make a huge difference. There are a few stretches and shelters that simply won't be available in 2025 and we'll have to take a detour or yellow-blaze past them. I'm just starting when I was normally planning to start in late February

>>2786283

I know you said you didn't take the expensive shuttles, but do most of those guys take card/venmo? I'd rather avoid carrying more than a couple hundred in cash at a time. It sounds like most of them want at least a hundred bucks a head and you gotta be grouped up with people for that price.

>>2786298
The biggest thing I'm dreading about next year is having to yellowblaze around closed areas. I'm one to break the rules here and there but apparently the forest jannies are threatening people with jail in closed spots.

>>2786590
yeah, most will take paypal/venmo/cashapp etc etc, and you just pay them in town when you have service, if you have service and are close enough to a town you can just use uber and lyft and it will be cheap. One guy just ordered door dash to a road crossing and got a rid back into town with the door dash driver.
>>2786491
you are a retard, aqua mira is liquid drops, not a squeeze device

>>2786718
also, some hostels that arent located immediately by the trail will usually offer a free ride to the hostel, use this to your advantage and plan hostel stays according to you resupplies, if you are going to stay at a hostel, you might as well resupply, some charge extra to go to the grocery store, but some will just say "hey im gonna go do some errands in town, want me to drop you off on the way there and pick you up in an hour?"

>>2786591
there was several sections of the trail that were closed on my hike, new york had a whole mountain park thing closed off, everybody was going ape shit about people who said they were gonna do it anyway, I am a purist so I did it anyway, I didnt get caught

I didnt even buy a national park pass for the smokies, shenendoah, or any others, I only ever got a permit for Katahdin, which was absolutely zero hassle just make sure youve got cash

>>2786718

Thanks for the info on payment services. I plan to just take Uber to the trail from Atlanta next year. Gonna get a hotel room next to the REI to buy stakes/fuel/non-carry-on stuff then just use Uber. I just hope they aren't too offended by my smell after I actually start the trail.

>>2786724
I got the amtrak to gainesville, walked to the edge of town, then hitched to Dahlonega, then hitched to Amicalola

I would leave the stakes at home if I were you, there are plenty of sticks and rocks all around, one less thing

Everybody plans to buy fuel at the REI in Atlanta, its basically a meme at this point, they are always out, I can't tell you how many people in Georgia told me they didn't have fuel for that reason, I am glad I went stoveless, I never missed eating hot food, maybe I am just crazy but as long as you get a couple good recipes cold soaking is just better

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>>2779418
im starting february of next year
hope we run into each other, OP