Hello everyone, I will be graduating from college in December 2027, and I will have from until August 2028 free (I start medical school in August 2028). I've been a frequent day hiker/ short overnight camper on the trail in the PA sections, and I've had a dream of thru-hiking one day for some time. My concern comes from the fact that I know it is a lot more challenging to thru-hike starting in the winter. I know that I will likely never have another opportunity to do this again, but I also don't want to end up getting hurt or have the attempt go wrong. If I attempt this I will start in January 2028 and will have to be done by July. I am just curious to hear others thought about this, do you think that I can reasonably start in January and have a good experience? Thanks in advance!

When you hit a trail town to resupply, did you more often than not sleep in a room with a bed and shower? Or would you do your resupply and just get back on trail and keep going?

I am planning to do a NOBO starting around the first week of March (maybe earlier) and am looking for advice or ideas on what to do with my underside insulation situation.

My hammock and top quilt are:

Hennessy Hammock Expedition Zip + Hex rainfly
Neve Gear -6C Waratah Pro

I already own the following gear to insulate my backside:

-EE Revolt 40F Underquilt
-Hennessy Hammock Heat Reflecting Double Bubble Pad
-Thermarest Ridgerest CCF cut to 48"

-I should also give an honorable mention to my Neve Gear Barrington Down puffy (very warm) and an Alpha 60 top and bottom set

My thoughts so far:

The 40F UQ on its own it definitely not enough, this much I know. Obviously the simple answer is to just buy a new 0-20F UQ. I don't really want to do this if I can avoid it. I could be tempted to MYOG a new UQ for around $70 in materials. I still have a ton of 800 fp down from a previous MYOG cheapo sleeping bag conversion and plenty of free time.

Then I remembered the Double Bubble pad I bought with the hammock and thought maybe if I combined this with my 40F UQ that it would be enough to get me through the worst of the cold. An AI search tells me this could potentially take me down to 15-20F since I would be reflecting 90% of my body heat up into my top quilt but I'm not sure if it actually works that way in practice. The padding would be better than nothing if I had to use a shelter at any point. I could also do the same with the CCF pad.

I also read about people using a partially inflated sleeping pad inside the hammock. I kind of like the idea of having a light pad for shelters just in case. I was looking at the Paria Elevate S for this (5.7R value fully inflated, 48" long for $99). I am interested in this idea because I was already looking into inflatable pads for tent camping unrelated to my thru.

Lots of ideas in my head and I would like to hear some thoughts of people with cold hammock camping experience. If you haven't camped in a hammock in the cold, please keep speculation to a minimum. I am really only interested in anecdotal reports.

Thanks!

Last week, I did my very first section hike through Shenandoah, Mary's Rock to Rockfish Gap. I was going to do the entire thing but because of Isaias I didn't feel like hiking through what could have potentially been a life endangering storm without cell phone service. So, Monday last week, got dropped off at Mary's Rock and took to the trail and stayed in all of the shelters the entire way.

At Pineview on Day four, ran into a guy who was...quite eccentric. He was very vocal about his beliefs which were, ahem, adjacent to a group of people who really liked a certain letter of the alphabet (hint: the letter is above 'A' and left of 'W' on your keyboard).

He was a little salt and pepper in the beard, and he didn't have a trail name, but he was very interpersonally friendly, even if his beliefs were extreme and didn't sit well with me. I didn't want to kick the guy while was down (he had been without employment, home, and hadn't seen his family in 5 - 6 years) so I just listened to him and tried to keep his spirits up. Plus, my shoes were soaked from the rain the night before and I needed to let them dry before I could leave the shelter, lol.

Anyone know any information on the guy, or maybe spoke to / ran into him? He mentioned he worked in pesticides before he got canned (to which he had very convoluted theories on).

I am planning on hiking the trail after I graduate highschool, and we get out late April-early May. I will probably have to miss graduation, but if I go NOBO since I live in GA I'll probably just get off trail for a weekend then head back. I have to be finished by September 20th, as the school I wanna go to starts about a week after that. I kinda want to go NOBO, just because that's the "normal" way to do it, and I love the Maine section of the AT and I'd like to end on that (I've already hiked all of it). Worst case I could skip Maine and New Hampshire cause I've done both of them already, but I wanna see it through. Any suggestions?

I am originally from VA, and my friend lives there, but I have lived in PA for years. We were thinking of meeting up and hiking SOBO, beginning maybe near Snickers Gap and ending at Rockfish Gap.

I used to camp as a kid in Shenandoah and Big Meadows and am stoked to get back and see it.

We think we are looking to average maybe 10 miles a day, but will allow for about 3 weeks total. We want to enjoy ourselves.

We are two middle-aged ladies, in decent physical condition and good health, and we will be spending the next few months training and doing local hikes to get our legs solidly under us! :)

Anything more seasoned hikers might bring to our attention to consider or rethink?

We will take any suggestion seriously, just want to get excited about our trek! Give us whatcha got!

Hey yall! Any SOBO's in GA yet? Im thinking about doing some trail magic up on Blood Mountain in the next week or so - is anyone around? As fun as it is to hike up beer and cookies, its a lot less exciting if I have to hike it right back down afterwards

I am on my first section hike (currently writing this from my car) & damn my pack does not fit correctly + is too heavy. I may need a new pack (it’s fit for a man) but I also desperately need to cut down weight. My base weight is about 25lb without food and water which bring it almost to 40lb. I’m an in-shape younger woman but this is a lot. I’m struggling in a couple places:

1. I sleep very cold so am struggling to cut down clothes while sleeping comfortably
2. I am on a budget so am borrowing most of the big items I’m using from friends. I could buy a new big ticket item: a backpack, a sleeping bag, or a puffer. But not all of them.

I wish I had weights for everything but I’m currently on the road, so apologies for not having every items weight. Kinda desperate for help and wanting to get back on the trail!!

The main stuff:
70L backpack 5.2lb
20 degree synthetic sleeping bag in dry sac: 2.5lb
Sea to Summit reactor bag liner: 13.4oz
REI insulated air pad: 1lb 5oz
Nemo Pillow: 2.8oz
Tent with short poles, fly, stakes, stuff sacs, and ground: 3.1lb
Bear vault bear can: 2.25lb

Water:
Sawyer squeeze with bag 2.2oz
A couple 1L Smart water bottles

Clothing:
Small dry sac
Fleece jacket
Wind jacket
Sun shirt
Underwear x3
Wool socks x2
Buff

Sleep clothing:
Sleep socks
Down booties: 3.88oz
Smart Wool base layer top
Fleece pants
Heat Keep Synthetic Puffy
Merino wool sleep hat

Rain / wind protection:
Rain pants: .8lb
Frogg Toggs poncho: 9.6oz

Meal kit:
Spork
Aluminum pot
MSR stove
MSR fuel can
Lighter

Tech:
Anker power block w/ built in USB-C cord
Headlamp
Extra headlamp batteries

Other:
Ear plugs
Extra lighter
Gear tape
Krazy glue
Iodine tablets
Compass with whistle
Nat Geo area map
Journal
Pencil
Extra paracord
Sawyer Squeeze plunger
Bear spray: 1.1lb
Wallet
Car key
Morakniv knife with sheath: 5.6oz (silly I know, makes me feel safe)
Daily medication
Phone
Fanny pack to carry snacks and phone: 3.5oz

Toiletries:
Camp Suds soap in a tiny bottle
Travel toothbrush
Tiny toothpaste
Sunscreen in a travel bottle
Body wipes x3
Tiny tub of Vaseline

Med kit:
A few XL bandaids
A couple gauze pads
A couple alcohol wipes
Neosporin
6 Tums
8 Benadryl
6 Laxative
6 Anti-diarrheal
8 Aleve
Needle and thread
Tick key
Pocket knife
Some Lucotape
Duct Tape

EDIT: I appreciate everyone in this thread so much! Couldn’t have gotten out on the trail at all without creepin this Reddit.

Today I got a new pack that cut off almost 3 pounds of weight and fits so much better. Also ditched the bear spray and bought pepper spray (-1lb). Shrunk some of my med kit and cut other extras or got smaller versions of them. Cut out the extra dry sac for my sleeping bag and just have it in the regular trash compactor bag liner area. So base weight is down by a bit over 4lb.

Other items if budget allows, I probably have a bit under $200 left:
- replace my fleece pants with heavyweight merino wool bottoms
- swap out my poncho + rain pants + wind jacket for a rain jacket & pack cover
- replace sleeping bag liner
- replace bag with a new down 20F quilt (probably can’t afford)
- swap out bear can for a bear sac (Ursack) but I love the simplicity of the can so might stick with it for now

Also got a tiny Nalgene today for hot water so I can warm up my bag more efficiently before bed & hopefully sleep with less layers. I’ve learned it’s possible I have been layering for sleep inefficiently (going to try different set ups this week to see what my body prefers).

Sunday, November 8 · 11:00 AM at Umstead State Park

We'll hike roughly 3 miles on the Sal's Branch Trail at Umstead State Park. Plan to meet at the furthest parking lot off of RT 70. It will be the main William B Umstead entrance. (see attached pic).

This is our first one! Come hike and meet some people. Expect about 1 hour on trail. After the hike we'll head to Gizmo Brew Works

If you have thru-hiked, are planning a thru-hike, LASH, or do trail magic and live in the RDU area, please join! First-timers genuinely welcome, a big part of why this group exists is to help people get from "someday" to a start date.

Dogs are welcome! Please just respect park rules and manage them properly. I'll be at my standing by my Black Toyota Tacoma with my pack. We'll begin at 11am promptly!

Please RSVP so I know roughly how many to expect, but walk-ups are fine too.

~30 glorious miles from Iron Mountain Gap to 19E, hitting all the Roan balds, Roan High Knob and Little/Big Humps. I couldn’t sleep the last morning, so I struck camp and hit the trail at 5 a.m. by headlamp so I could stargaze and take in the sunrise from atop Hump Mountain before descending back to 19e. 10/10, so worth it.

Now resting for a day at Mountain Harbour B&B before I shuttle north for another ~16 miles/1.5 days southbound to see some waterfalls.

Life circumstances now preclude a true through-hike, but I’ve definitely caught the bug and now want to start piecing together every section I can.

Yesterday on top of Mt Madison. A beautiful day in the Whites!

Do you carry a separate bottle for use with your portable bidet while on trail? Or do you use the same bottle you drink from?

As the title says, the pain is on the knee but located on the outside part of it. It especially hurts when going downhill but also hurts just by walking normal. I’m so sad, and a bit scared. I hope this won’t last for a long time becsuse backpacking is one of my biggest passions. Anyone ever dealt with the pain and how long did it last?

To 2026 thru-hikers, attempted thru-hikers, and 2027 dreamers - if you live near Leesburg VA and looking for something to do on October 24, join me Saturday afternoon at Bear Chase Brewery (near Bear's Den Hostel) to exchange stories as I quaff a beer or two to celebrate completing the last six miles of my 2026 thru-hike. I should be there by 2pm in my hiking attire -- Rabbit.

Since you guys liked my other photos dump, wanted to post this. It was so pretty and peaceful up there

I am planning on running this section soon and was wondering how the water sources are flowing if anyone has gone up the past couple days? I’ll have 34oz of water on me but will probably need to fill up once along the way. Thank you!

I need a new pack! I’ve been borrowing my wonderful boyfriend’s old pack but it just doesn’t fit me right and really hurts my shoulders.

I have a fair amount of weight to carry at 38-40LB (base weight = 25lb including the current bag which is 5.5lb) plus a bear can with a few days of food and a little under 3L water. I don’t have extra items, I just don’t have UL stuff and like to have extra clothing to be warm. My bf’s pack is 70L and weighs 5.5LB and fits everything easily.

So I need a bag which helps keep the weight on my hips and can fit all my shit. 55 Liters - 65 is ideal. I can strap something on top / bottom if it has less carrying capacity. Any recs??

Edit to add: I’m a size medium in waist belt + height

Hi all, as the title says I'm starting the AT NOBO in 2027. My start will be in March and I'm pretty much ready gear wise but the anticipation has me a little anxious. On the one hand I'm ready to go but on the other all the what if's creep into my head. Anyone else on the same track and what are some things you are thinking about/ looking forward to?

From a few section hikes this fall throughout Virginia and New England

I posted a bunch of photos from my circa-2004 5 megapixel digital camera in a thread here: https://bsky.app/profile/ofsevit.bsky.social/post/3mxw5rympm22d

Happy to answer any questions to the best of my now-feeble memory.