Appalachian trail

[SissonOSU]

So me and my college roommate are planning on going into the AT for a total of a month in about two weeks. Basically right now, we are both totally unprepared for this, neither of us has any hiking experiance. We're basically going to wing it lol. I was wondering if anyone has experiance in hiking or has even travelled in the AT. Right now, we plan on not bringing any kind of small stove so we'll eating foods that aren't cooked. If anyone has any suggestions on what to eat, I'd appreciate it greatly considering what we eat is going to be very important hiking daily. Any kind of help is greatly appreciated, even if you have no experiance.

[WanderingOak]

First of all, be prepared for this trip! If you have never been hiking before, make sure that you can physically do the task. Break your hiking boots in before you leave. Be sure to pack a first aid kit, including benadryl. If you can, find a more experienced group to team up with. If you are going to school near the trail, check out the local trail club and see if they offer classes first. I used to live near a trailhead for the AT, and that far out in the boonies, cell phone coverage is extremely unreliable.

One thing that I would suggest is that if you are going to change your diet for the hike, it would be a good idea to do so a few weeks before the hike. That way, if there is any digestive unpleasantness, it will start to manifest BEFORE you are on the trail.

You are pretty much going to be working out every day while you are on the trail, so you will probably need to eat more than you would otherwise. Will you be packing all of your food for the trip, or picking food up along the way? A month's worth of food is rather heavy (esp. if you are going to be eating raw). Some hikers actually mail themselves food to be picked up at mail drops along the trail. A portable bottle filter would be a good idea, so you could collect water on the trail if necessary. You will not be able to carry more than a few days worth of water (less than 2 Liters per day and you risk dehydration), so you will need to plan your trip out in advance to ensure that you are able to get enough water.

Is there a reason why you would be hiking without a stove? I know the fuel could be heavy, but you won't even be able to boil water in an emergency. After a day of soaking rain, when it's fifty degrees at night, and half of what you are carrying is drenched, then any heat source would be welcome. If you don't have a stove, then you couldn't even brew a cup of hot tea. If weight or cost is your primary reason for traveling stove-less, then consider a solid fuel stove. The stove itself cheap (you can make one out of a can), and the fuel doesn't weigh much.

I'm not trying to discourage you, I just want you to understand what you are getting into here...

[StacyT]

Wow - synchronicity. I just saw this book in the bookstore yesterday and thought that I'd like to read it: "A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail" (by Bill Bryson).

In it, he talks about his experiences in hiking from Georgia to Maine - the good and the bad. I've hiked parts of the trail but nothing that caused me to go into survival mode. Maybe check out this book?

[Dharma]

Hi. I thru hiked the AT in 04. I'm just about to leave for work but will leave you with link to Appalachian Trail - Whiteblaze.net Look on the left side for the articles link... lot of great info in there.

I will chime back in when I'm done with work.

"Dharma"

[Dharma]

... and actually there will be threads on whiteblaze about foregoing the stove. Give 'em a search.

[runningbird]

A Walk in The Woods by Bill Bryson is a great book. It's really funny and I think should be somewhat helpful, if not inspiring.

[ang569]

I work with a guy that did this and he said you would more than likely be burning about 5-6,000 cal's per day, depending on how much you walked. He said you need freeze dried meals, which you can purchase at some sort of outdoor store. He said he got a stove called Whisper Lite which only weighs about 1lb.

Anyway, sounds super fun. Just make sure you read up about it.

[aelle]

How cool! Long distance hiking is one of the things I want to do at some point in my life.
I know your departure date is very close now, but until then try to train as much as possible. They say that after a week or so of hiking 8 hours a day up and down mountains with a heavy pack, the trained hiker and the unprepared one will be at the same level of fitness... but for the second one this first week will be pure hell. You're supposed to be out there for fun, so try to avoid hell...

Make sure to pack a first aid kit specific to the area you'll be hiking in (ticks, snakes?) and know how to use everything in it!
Read on Dharma's ressources, WhiteBlaze is a mine of information.

Since you specifically asked about nutrition, here's some unconventional advice I read on an extreme hiker's blog. In everyday life, we are quite sedentary and have low, balanced calories needs, therefore the healthier foods are whole foods rich in fibers and lower in fat (whole bread, brown rice, vegetables...) While hiking long distance, you have extremely high caloric needs and need to put all the energy in your legs, not your digestive track: you need lots of concentrated, easily available calories, ie processed carbs and fatty junk food!
This means that you DEFINITELY need to consciously plan your post-hike diet. It's not easy to go back to normal life after downing easily 5000 calories of fast food a day for weeks.

Have fun, give us updates and when you come back post pictures!

[Dharma]

If you're not backpackers, talk to people who are, maybe at an outfitter like REI. Also the folks on whiteblaze.net are awesome.

Pack as light as you can.

One set of clothes for day time, one set of clothes for night. Two pair of socks. Bring a lightweight shell and pants... if you're not from the east coast... it WILL rain. There are gear lists on whiteblaze.

What section are you doing? If you've never backpacked, do something easy in the mid-atlantic states. Start at about 8 miles a day and work your way up. Don't try to keep up with the thru hikers, they are olympic level pack-mules by now, you'll hurt yourself and you hike will suck.

Most hikers's diets (calorie consumption) didn't change for about 2 weeks. You may tend to over-do your food in the beginning of your hike. You can always give it away to the thrus if you don't want to carry it to the next resupply.

You will never get sick of Snicker's Bars.

As far as what to eat, that's all personal preference. You want high calorie, low weight food. Always have a protein source, I recommend a few pieces of beef jerky everyday. Your peanut butter consumption will also add to that.

For breakfast I had two of those prepackaged danishes you can get at the supermarket or a gas station. They're about 500 cal. each and loaded with fat, carbs, and sugar. Oh, god, yum. For the weight, they're a delicious way to start the day and give the body tons for fuel to move with.

Have something for snacks like gorp, snickers bars, etc. You'll need little boosts along your way between meals.

For lunch I had bagels and peanut butter and/or nutella. Bagels can be crushed down small and will expand when you take them out. I would have two bagels for lunch every day. This is AFTER my diet changed. I could only eat one for lunch when I started. YMMV.

I cooked my dinner every night so I don't know exactly what non-cooked stuff people enjoy. Search whiteblaze. It will be there.

Multi-vitamin is a must. Everything you eat is going to come down to calories and bulk. After a while (might be more than a month) your body will crave fat. It's not a sedentary diet, but it's the diet that propels the body 15 miles a day with 30 lbs on it's back. Follow your cravings, the body knows what it wants.

Have good fitting boots/trail shoes. Duct tape (you should bring some) is the best holding blister-preventer out there. Most everything will not stick because feet sweat so much. Ask thrus for feet advice when you're out there. Check you feet when you stop for lunch/breaks. Head off problems before they start.

Don't party. It will burn through your money like wildfire and why're you in nature in the first place? To have the same experience as college with more trees around? No. Immerse yourself in the experience of the trail.

That was all stream of consciousness. Ask me any questions you wish.
Good luck and have a good hike.

[StacyT]

Wow Dharma,
That post makes me want to hike the Appalachian trail now!! I will...someday...