Hello, I'm looking for some advice/ reassurance about my hike right now. I originally started early March but due to a broken foot early on, and more recently a 2 week family vacation (hello to anyone who knows who I am from that lol), I'm a little worried about when I'm going to complete the northern section of my hike. 

I just started the whites and I'm in Lincoln right now, I'll be waiting out some weather and won't start hiking again until Friday from around liberty. Long story short, my morale is very low right now. I currently don't know anyone on trail since coming back from my trip and there's very few nobos around me atm. On top of that I'm having a hard time adjusting to the decreased miles and increased difficulty on trail. I feel bad at hiking now since it seems like I'm struggling more than the few people who are around me. I think I'll get to gorham after around 9 more days of hiking, and hope to be finishing in Maine early October but I'm a bit nervous that I'm running short on time. I know southern maine is pretty much as tough as the whites but is there hope that I'll be able to do long miles again on trail? I feel like I need to "make up" for the short miles I'm doing now in order to finish the first week of October. 

I'd appreciate some advice or emotional support from anyone else who had a similar timeline, I know people finish in October pretty often but I feel shitty watching all my friends starting to finish while I'm fighting for my life out here (I'm very excited for them obviously, just insecure!). Additionally I skipped 350 miles down south after breaking my foot so I have a pit in my stomach about not even being as close to finishing as I seem like I am. Overall I'm still having fun and I'm too close to quit, I'm just having a hard time coping with how hard it is right now and could use some support 🥲.

…should I keep my trail name, or blank slate it?

Hey yall I’m currently thru hiking NOBO and made it to NH today (woohoo!). Unfortunately the math ain’t mathin for me to make it to Katahdin in time at a pace I feel comfortable with. I’ve been sending myself sections of awols guide and I don’t have ME or the north half of NH yet so I’m not 100% sure what’s ahead. I’d like to jump up maybe 100 miles to give myself an extra week or so to get to Katahdin, but I’m worried about coming back down to do the whites in October. Here’s what I’ve been thinking, I’d love to hear y’all’s suggestions as well cuz I’m basically just going off vibes at this point.

A) Flip up from Glencliff to Gorham. I have some boxes waiting for me at Hikers Welcome so I would like to hike to Glencliff at minimum.

B) Flip up from Andover to Stratton or Caratunk.

C) Flip up from Rangely to Monson.

$10/month to send text messages via Starlink when out of cell service range seems like a deal for thru hiking, anyone have any experience with it?

Are the majority of SOBO thru hikers past PA ?

Going from Springer Mtn to Fontana Dam (NOBO), stepping off September 7th. Help me make some last minute adjustments.

https://lighterpack.com/r/c1fs8x

I'm sitting around 24lbs without food or water, and around 21 not including my worn weight. I think that's PRETTY good, but i'd love some insights from you all. I have luxury items starred and know that I could get rid of all of them and save a few lbs right off the bat- but I really want some of them for comfort and ease of mind.

The strings are: 5 days-4 nights resupply 1, 4 days-3 nights resupply 2, 3 days-2 nights/3 days 3 nights for final pickup at Fontana Dam if all my miles go as planned.

The first stretch is the longest, but it's also the lowest mile days. I intend to use this time to get acclimated to the work, and enjoy myself on the trail and enjoy the camping aspects before putting my head down and challenging myself to get the miles done because I enjoy Type 2 Fun. If i've done my maths right (never a guarantee) it'll be a 13.06lb -9.8 and 9.8 resupplies.

To save myself the headache i've made all the dinners and lunches different every day, but the same manufacturers (Peak Refuel and Greenbelly)- and the oatmeal breakfasts are premeasured with a scale and i've practiced dolling it out each morning.

Edit: I have 2 liters of water on the packing list, but that's variable based on consumption and availability from known watering spots.

Heading out Friday for our first backpacking trip: Dragon's Tooth to Daleville, 3 days / 2 nights, camping at Catawba Mountain and Lamberts Meadow.

I just saw that VA DEQ has the Roanoke region at 57% of normal rainfall with depleted groundwater and low streamflow. Now I'm worried about the sources we're counting on.

Specifically:

1. Is the Campbell Shelter spring still running? This is the one that matters most — it's the last water before the 8.4 mile stretch to Lamberts Meadow. If it's dry we'd be carrying 11 miles from Catawba Mountain.

2. Catawba Mountain Shelter** — flowing, trickling, or dry?

3. Lamberts Meadow creek** — still reliable?

4. Any water between Tinker Cliffs and Daleville we should know about?

Has anyone been through in the last week or two? Also curious how much people are carrying right now, and whether anyone's had to bail or reroute because of water.

We're two people, no stove, so it's all drinking water. Thanks in advance.

Did a day hike from Grayson Highlands State Park to Mt. Rogers via Massie Gap and the Rhododendron Trail and it was absolutely gorgeous. I was so enchanted by the wet forest at the summit and had never seen anything like it. The whole thing smelled like Christmas.

What do you keep in the mesh back pocket?

Currently just keeping my sun hat there.

I recently released a podcast episode on Finding Wisdom with John Desilets about his book Appalachian Fail: What I Learned From My Failed Thru-Hike. It was a great conversation about his experiences on the trail, his mentality, and how he found meaning out there. I thought you all might like it. LMK!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1JsHN5UJvUUOxWcPFM61lk?si=cK4VrWAGTJ-dZMgDafUOrQ

It's my understanding that there is no dispersed camping here. If I'm looking to pitch a tent, how far from a shelter should that be? Also, how busy are the shelters this time of year?

Hoping to get some honest feedback about my upcoming hike. I have 22 days that I can spend on the trail. Is it realistic to think I can do Nantahala > Damascus in that span? Accounting for 2 Nero or Zero days, I’d be looking at ~16mi/day, 330 miles total. Even if I can, should I? While I’m trying to get a diverse range of sceneries, I similarly want to enjoy myself while on the trail. Thoughts?

I have read some other posts on here asking about GSMNP so I apologize for compounding, but I just want to feel reassured going into a potential itinerary for my next section hike. Context, I have hiked 600mi of the trail thus far and would really like to cover the Smokies from Fontana to Hot Springs by the end of the year. Right now the time I have carved out gives me 9 total days on trail, probably including 1 zero. This puts me at an avg of 13 miles per day which I feel very comfortable with. I've done 18-25 days when it was necessary and though it was hard, I was able to do it. The shennies took me 6 days which is just about the same milage as the smokies. So - knowing all that, is my plan doable? There's a lot of mixed input on whether or not the trail in SNP is tough but from the vertical I see on FarOut I don't interpret it to be much different than other sections I've done. Also, would you recommend hiking NOBO or SOBO?

Edit: should also mention I am planning to do this late Sep into early Oct, so thankfully the spring and summer weather troubles will not be a factor. I did a 4 day loop there back in 2018. Hot, humid, raining the whole time. Pure misery. I would really love to correct that experience lol

Out of curiosity, where do you find one encounters the most day hikers?

Bottom frame stay exploded.. with 300 miles left on trail
Maybe I’ll go without a hip belt to reduce an oz or two 🤔

My friend and I are doing our first backpacking trip, and we decided on a section of the AT she liked.
The plan is to start at the metro station right off State Highway 22 and head south for about 10 miles to Morgan Stewart memorial shelter, sleep, and then turn around back to the car the next day.

Google is telling me there is a water pump at that shelter, I’m a little nervous trusting Google + nervous to be traveling 10 miles without a water source except that. There is Nuclear Lake, but she told me she doesn’t feel comfortable drinking from it because of its history…and I don’t know if I would either, unless you guys do that?

I wanted to bring 3 liters of water with me just in case but I’m also not excited to bring nearly 7 pounds of water if I don’t have to lol.

Also, unrelated question but we can put up tents near the shelter right? Not in the lean-to, we know better, but are there spaces for tents? Thank you!

Looking to chip away at the AT in 1-2 week chunks a few times every year, so I'd love to hear which sections stood apart for you!

I've got a 2-week block in late September and want to spend roughly 10 days on the AT. I'll start at Harpers Ferry and head southbound, with the goal of making it to the intersection of the trail and Route 33, near Elkton, VA. (But if anyone thinks heading northbound toward MD/PA would make for a better trip, I'm open to persuasion.) My main question is whether it's realistic/useful/worthwhile to try to plan out my hike in great detail, with a day-by-day itinerary, or whether that will simply be a waste of time. I worry it may be a waste of time because I've never done a trip this long and I'm not confident I can accurately estimate the distances I'll be able to do. Based on my past hiking and backpacking experience, something like 10 miles per day seems reasonable. But maybe cumulative fatigue will turn that into more like 7-8 miles by day 3+. Or alternatively, maybe I'll get my hiking legs and discover that I can comfortably do 14-15 miles. I just really don't know. Do others have experience with detailed advance planning either turning out well or being a waste of time?

Thankfully, this isn't a situation where it's critical that I hit any particular endpoint by my final day. I have a friend who can pick me up in their car anywhere within ~4 hours of DC.

ETA: Some folks have given me good food for thought about NOBO vs. SOBO. I'm now leaning more toward NOBO into MD/PA.

I currently do Hikes around 10-15 miles a day and Bushcraft with my gear where I live and hope to do the AT. Is it possible using military bags like mine (5.5 lbs empty with pouches) or is it necessary to get a lighter bag eg Osprey.

I'll have a short (half day...could be morning or afternoon) chance for a McAfee Knob day hike in mid September.

What's the current parking situation at VA-311 trailhead? Will a 0600 arrival secure a spot?

Same question for the Catawba

Sustainability Center parking. I know it adds some distance...that's not an issue.

Also...thoughts on the ?parallel? McAfee Knob fire road trail? Hiking with a dog..

I plan on doing a section hike (my first) of the MD section in Oct.

My question is, are bear hangs/cannister necessary along this section?

I started NOBO this year and about 2 weeks ago I fell in the rock field coming down Mt Madison and ended up with a sprained wrist. The orthopedic doctor has cleared me to return to the trail after Labor Day. With this in mind my parents have agreed to take me back to trail the weekend of 9/13. I am trying to figure out the best way to do the last ~300 miles. I think there are 3 potential options:

Go Northbound from Gorham. Based on a rough itinerary I should make it to Baxter State Park on 10/7. This includes a planned 0 at Shaws before the 100mi wilderness. I am worried I would be cutting it close for the ferry over the Kennebec which appears to end 9/30 and any early closings of Katahdin

Go Southbound from Katahdin. The main issue is the camping and trailhead permit required for Baxter State Park... looking at it Katahdin Stream is fully booked the night I would summit Katahdin.

Go Northbound from Monson. Hike through the 100mi wilderness and get the thru hiker campsite at the Birches. Summit Katahdin and then shuttle back to Monson and proceed Southbound to Gorham.

Any advice would be appreciated!