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The
Journey
Mike
and I will be attempting a southbound (SOBO) thru-hike of the
AT. Although a northbound (NOBO) hike is more traditional, the
sobo hike is a popular choice for students and other hikers
who are unable to begin hiking until June. Hiking sobo is different
then hiking north in several ways.
From
a social perspective, a sobo hike is far less crowded. This
means less competition for shelter and hostel space but it also
means more solitude on the trail, especially as you get farther
south.
Physically
a sobo hike is more difficult. Sobo's have to hike the two toughest
states right off the bat. Because of swollen rivers, sobo's
face many ice cold river crossings, muddy trails, and washed
out bridges. Sobo's are also forced to face long stretches of
trail without a chance for re supply. These factors make for
a very challenging hike.
We
will be leaving for Maine on June 1st to begin our hike. If
the park is open (it could be closed because of snow) we will
summit Mt. Katahdin and begin hiking south. No matter when we
start we know that the trail will push us to our physical limits
and test our mental toughness.
The
pace we are looking to maintain during their hike is 15 miles
per day. At this pace we will finish the AT in 145 days (or
21 weeks), which would be sometime in the middle of October.
While that is the schedule set for the hike, it is more likely
that the expected pace will be an average of 18 miles per day
or more. If we can maintain this mile per day average we'll
find ourselves on Springer Mt. in approximately 120 days (or
17 weeks), finishing in late September.
The
AT State by State (miles are approx)
Georgia
- 75 miles (5-6 days)
Tennessee & North Carolina - 371 miles (20-23 days)
Virginia - 544 miles (28-35 days)
West Virginia - 2 miles (1 day)
Maryland - 41 miles (3 days)
Pennsylvania - 232 miles (12-15 days)
New Jersey - 74 miles (4-5 days)
New York - 88 miles (5-6 days)
Connecticut - 52 miles (3-4 days)
Massachusetts - 90 miles (5-7) days
Vermont - 146 miles (9-11 days)
New Hampshire - 161 miles (9-15 days)
Maine - 281 miles (16-19 days)
Total
miles is 2168, completed in 120-145 days
