3 comments
as a bit of an endurance junkie, this sounds like a lot of fun but i'm curious how much such a trek costs and how doing it without a crew works, specifically what he did for food, water and electricity. are stores on or near the trail regularly enough that your not carrying days worth of stuff? i ought to look into it much more.
as a bit of an endurance junkie, this sounds like a _lot_ of fun but i'm curious how much such a trek costs and how doing it without a crew works, specifically what he did for food, water and electricity. are stores on or near the trail regularly enough that your not carrying days worth of stuff? i ought to look into it much more.
There are some stores near the trail, but mostly you are sending yourself resupply boxes that are held at post offices and lodges/resorts near the trail. Usually you carry about 5 to 10 days worth of supplies between resupply points, but since he was covering so much ground fast, he was resupplying every two or three days. The AT isn't that remote in most places and there are plenty of resupply points. I've done some section hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail -- I just did a 50-mile hike in August -- but I've never done anything like this. Most people who do these long thru-hikes average about 20 miles a day. This guy was doing over twice that amount. Cost wise, the biggest thing is paying your rent/mortgage for several months while you are hiking and not making any money. The ultralight weight gear is expensive, but once you get your kit together it should last you several years. As for food, this guy was probably just eating energy bar type things and other food he didn't have to cook. His gear kit was so light he couldn't carry a stove for cooking hot meals. For water, you carry a small filter and just filter from whatever stream/lake you pass. Electricity, there are some solar chargers people are carrying on top of their backpacks so they can charge their cell phones, but this guy was probably just mailing himself a new battery in his resupply boxes.
There are some stores near the trail, but mostly you are sending yourself resupply boxes that are held at post offices and lodges/resorts near the trail. Usually you carry about 5 to 10 days worth of supplies between resupply points, but since he was covering so much ground fast, he was resupplying every two or three days. The AT isn't that remote in most places and there are plenty of resupply points. I've done some section hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail -- I just did a 50-mile hike in August -- but I've never done anything like this. Most people who do these long thru-hikes average about 20 miles a day. This guy was doing over twice that amount. Cost wise, the biggest thing is paying your rent/mortgage for several months while you are hiking and not making any money. The ultralight weight gear is expensive, but once you get your kit together it should last you several years. As for food, this guy was probably just eating energy bar type things and other food he didn't have to cook. His gear kit was so light he couldn't carry a stove for cooking hot meals. For water, you carry a small filter and just filter from whatever stream/lake you pass. Electricity, there are some solar chargers people are carrying on top of their backpacks so they can charge their cell phones, but this guy was probably just mailing himself a new battery in his resupply boxes.
I guess I should start a hiking sub here since there isn't one.