I think I want to go thru-hiking on the applachian trail.

[Rorschach]

That means going all 2100 miles of it in one trip, as opposed to just doing sections (though some people say anyway that you do the whole length is through hiking even if you do it over the course of several trips, go figure).

 

It's something I've thought about before, I'm an avid hiker, I go once or twice every couple weeks, never for anything more than just a day trip so it would be a pretty big challenge, bu it seems like something I'd love to do. Load up with a 20-30 pound back pack of supplies, bring about a weeks worth of food (I looked it up and they say if you pack a weeks worth you'll find a store along the trail before you run out). Then it's just 5-7 months of hiking through the wilderness.

 

I even live pretty close to one end of the trail, so I could just fly to the other end and walk home basically haha.

 

I'm thinking about planning it for the summer of 2012, it'll take 5000 dollars just to supply the trip, let alone all the lost income, and by then I'll have been at my goal weight for a good while (assumably).

 

Sounds like a good time to me, 5-months of camping, whee.

 

Besides, with that amount of time spent in the woods animal attacks are possible, and any excuse to carry a loaded gun is just bonus fun time.

[Art_Critic]

 

Besides, with that amount of time spent in the woods animal attacks are possible, and any excuse to carry a loaded gun is just bonus fun time.

 

Don't forget to bury your waste away from your campsite.. bears...

 

I think it would be fun.. you know if you wanted to start out light you could just take a week off work and hike/camp for 4-5 days, at least that way you would work out any bugs in equipment and supplies..

[johan]

Of course you've read Bill Bryson's A Walk In The Woods.

[Rorschach]

Never heard of that book.

 

But yeah right now I'm in the 'conceptual' phase where I'm just throwing the idea round in my head, I don't even own all of the gear I would need for the trip to test it.

 

There is going to be alot of things I need to go through before I went for sure, luckily this is maine and hiking is a big past time, I live 20 minutes or so from the L.L.Bean factory store (which is totally in the top 3 stores I love, haha) and they can get me all of what I need when the time comes.

[johan]

Never heard of that book.

 

But yeah right now I'm in the 'conceptual' phase where I'm just throwing the idea round in my head, I don't even own all of the gear I would need for the trip to test it.

 

There is going to be alot of things I need to go through before I went for sure, luckily this is maine and hiking is a big past time, I live 20 minutes or so from the L.L.Bean factory store (which is totally in the top 3 stores I love, haha) and they can get me all of what I need when the time comes.

 

That book counts as a must-read for you then.

[Rorschach]

That book counts as a must-read for you then.

 

I'm hesitant, most books along those lines are full of political opinions that drive me straight up the wall. Authors as a rule tend to lean to the political left, authors who write about personal experiences they've had with nature even more so.

[johan]

It doesn't have that crap in it. Check it out.

[Star Gazer]

I've toyed around with the idea of doing the John Muir trail (which I thought would be a big deal), but what you're considering just sounds...intense!

 

If you're gonna do it, make sure you educate yourself completely and really plan ahead.

[USMCHokie]

I'm thinking about planning it for the summer of 2012, it'll take 5000 dollars just to supply the trip, let alone all the lost income, and by then I'll have been at my goal weight for a good while (assumably).

 

Be prepared to lose another 20-30+ pounds on top of that...I had a friend who took a semester off from school to do the trail...he came back a stick...and he was a very big and muscular guy...he lost a ton of that muscle...

[Rorschach]

Be prepared to lose another 20-30+ pounds on top of that...I had a friend who took a semester off from school to do the trail...he came back a stick...and he was a very big and muscular guy...he lost a ton of that muscle...

 

A small price to pay

 

But yeah this is going to be a serious undertaking and I have alot of learning, planning, and training to do before I ever try it, but I just thought it would be really awesome and figured I'd tell people what I was going to try for next.