Lines on a map

Before I began planning for my expedition, the Appalachian Trail was an ambiguous squiggly line on a map. Sure, I could point out a handful of locations—Springer and Katahdin of course. The Smokies and Shenandoah. Maybe a couple of other odd locations. Beyond that, the AT was simply a long trail full of meandering mountains and dark forests.

 You can almost see Maine. Almost. 

Fast forward to current times.

The planning and preparation stage of a long hike often lasts longer than the actual hike, which is truly a testament to how important it is to be prepared. Lately, I have begun familiarizing myself with this long line on the map and all of the specific points that make up the whole.

This stage of preparations is essential for the very basic reason that you need to know where you are going and what to expect when you get there. I personally would never dream of carrying more than ten days worth of food rations, which means that I can expect to need to stop every ten days at the very least. It's challenging to say with any certainty how long it will take to get from point A to point B unless you are actually on the trail. But a general estimate gives you piece of mind and something to shoot for. 

This bad boy has become my bible. The Thru-hiker's companion is a comprehensive outline of every thing you need to know about the trail: distances, places to stop, places to get water, phone numbers, shuttles, parks, the whole nine-yards. The companion is essential for someone considering a long-hike on the AT (or this one. They both have their pluses and minuses but both include all of the necessary information).

On the Pacific Crest and Continental Divide Trails, it's not uncommon to go 10 days or longer without a resupply. On the AT, this is not the case. Trail towns are more frequent and easier to reach. The longest section without a resupply is in the Hundred-Mile Wilderness in the north of Maine as you approach the summit of Katahdin (it's actually a little less than a hundred miles via the trail. Doesn't that name just pique your curiosity endlessly?). For the vast majority of the trail, you can expect to cross roads leading to towns about every two to three days. There are even several towns that the trail goes through, making resupply a breeze.

For my purposes, I have created an Excel Spreadsheet to lay down all of the numbers. Since beginning this stage, I've better visualized the hike, making the whole expedition feel more concrete and possible. All of the details are coming into place.

For my spreadsheet, I broke down the categories as follows:

-total distance

-clothes worn (what I can expect to wear on an average day)

-clothes carried (everything else: rain gear, cold weather gear, and sleeping clothes)

-packing system (backpack specs, # of stuff sacks and their contents)

-shelter system (I use this amazing thing)

-sleeping system (sleeping bag, under quilt, over quilt)

-cooking system (stove specs and amt of fuel carried on average, plus utensils)

-kitchen supplies (food rations, spices, sugar, etc.)

-essentials (everything else:grooming, sanitation, entertainment, identification, etc.)

 Ahh, home sweet home.

In addition, I've come up with a rough budget that considers food and transportation to and from the trail. I gave myself an approximate allowance of $10/day—some days I will spend way less than this, some days I may spend more. I subtracted this amount from the amount I plan to use for the trail and am left over with how much money I can spend in towns and other expenses.

Food (average $10/day)

+ Travel to/from trail

= Budget

Expected savings

- Budget

= Amount leftover for incidentals

I've also made a list of all the towns, lodgings, and resupply opportunities DIRECTLY on or near the trail. It's a short list but these spots will be PLANNED stops where I can expect to spend at least one night in a bed, take a shower, laundry, and get fresh supplies. These will not be the only stops that I make but they will be the ones I can plan on making and they are spaced so that I will only need about one or two resupply points between each town (approx. 100-120 miles between planned stops. Other resupply points are depending on frequency and how often I run out of food).

This is still a work in progress. I haven't even tackled the option of mail drops yet (mailing resupply packages). Needless to say, a lot of thought and planning is going into this most excellent expedition.