There are different ways to thru hike the Appalachian Trail (AT), northbound, flip flop, and southbound. I flip flop thru hiked the AT in 2014 and found it a very beneficial way of thru hiking.
My agenda
I left my job and started to thru hike the AT in April, 2014. Most people get started in March, so I decided to do flip flop to follow more favorable weather conditions.
I decided to hike from Damascus in Virginia to Katahdin in Maine, and then from Damascus to Springer Mountain in Georgia.
When I was hiking from Damascus to Boiling Springs in Pennsylvania, the trail was very crowded from hikers who were hiking northbound. I found myself the only hiker with different AT hiking experiences. Therefore, I decided to change my plan and did thru hiking in the order as shown in the following map:
From Damascus, VA to Boiling Springs, PA
From Katahdin, ME to Boiling Springs, PA (I rent a car and drove from Boiling Springs to Katahdin, which took about a day. )
From Damascus, VA to Springer Mountain, GA
I finished the hike on September 31 and it took me 5 months and 10 days.
Benefits of flip flop thru hiking
My hike was optimized for the best seasons at different parts of the AT.
The most difficult part of the AT is the 100-mile trail to Katahdin if you are hiking northbound, or the 100-mile trail from Katahdin for me. The hike is physically challenging because of the rocky landscape, and there is no place to resupply.
If you thru hike northbound and arrive at Katahdin in September, it is cold so that you'll need to pack for the cold weather and about 5 days supply depending on your hiking speed.
If you thru hike southbound, it is important to be physically prepared to complete the challenging 100-mile trail successfully.
After hiking for about 6 weeks from Damascus to Boiling Springs, I was physically prepared for the tough hike from Katahdin to Boiling Springs.
Meanwhile, since it was June when I got to Katahdin, the temperature was relatively amiable and there was no need to carry extra weight for winter necessities. However, If you pick this route in June, consider the disadvantages that there are many mosquitos and it rains often. It was no fun to scramble when the trail was muddy after rains.
Last but not least, I was also able to avoid the crowd on the trails from Katahdin to Boiling Springs and from Damascus to Springer Mountain. Especially, when I was hiking…, there was no one there since northbound hikers had left the area and southbound hikers had not arrived yet.
I hope this article can be of some help when you are planning for your thru hiking. If you want to learn more about northbound, southbound, and flip flop thru hiking, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy provides detailed information.
If there are any questions, you are welcome to send us an email or leave us a message via Facebook.
Σχόλια