~*~ Preparation ~*~

“It took me about 25 seconds”

As I had mentioned while planning my hike on the A.T., there is no right or wrong way to plan a thru-hike. I had also quite simply stated that It might be easier to just go hike rather than try and plan everything. Well, that’s just about what happened with planning (or lack thereof) the Long Trail. This was our “Consolation Hike” or “Plan B”. There was no planning at all other than picking up the latest guidebook from the GMC. Though to be fair, we had just spent a substantial amount of time backpacking on the A.T., so we knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into and what gear we would need. I think this is the least planned out trip I have ever taken – I almost feel slighted because I didn’t have months and months to obsess over every little detail.

I’d like to tell you we planned this and did all of the right things, but the bottom line is that we just went out and hiked. Even the mail drops were easy – we merely repacked the mail drops that we had already set aside for the A.T. into new boxes. I can tell you that planning mail drops is much easier once you have a better idea of what you are eating on a long distance hike. Snickers & chocolate are absolute staples in the diet of hikers. My dentist would cringe and we surely would have nutritionist balking at us. Funny being that for years I worked in Child Nutrition.

~ Tentative Itinerary ~ virtually non-existent. There’s 270 miles to hike and I planned on taking about a month to do it. What happens on a day to day basis will just have to play out on its own. The only other factor was our 4 mail drops that we would be receiving via USPS. My mom lives in Vermont, so she was sending them to us as we needed them.

~ Backpacking Links - I spent a lot of time online before we left for the A.T., reading forums, reading other thru-hikers’ trail journals, asking questions and purchasing needed supplies. Although I didn’t use them specifically for L.T. planning, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention them again because I believe they are incredibly valuable on many levels. The best source of information is other hikers – they will never let you down and they will always give their honest opinion on trails, gear, weather and more. People are very willing to share their experiences and offer advice when you need it. I look forward to being able to mentor other hikers at some point.

~ Weighing Gear – One evening and a scale made this possible. Every little thing was placed on the scale and weighed so I could figure out my average base weight. This chart shows all of gear, cold and warm weather gear and formulas have been changed to calculate our starting base weights. They are not exact, mind you, but they are close enough for our satisfaction. Truth be told, we aren’t gram counters and could care less about the weight but we were curious – and happy with the outcome. Bonus!

~ Maps & Books – We purchased the only two books available to Long Trail hikers: The Long Trail Guidebook and the End to Enders’ Guide. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed in the map selection or lack thereof. In the end, there was only one map of the Long Trail that would suffice for an end to end hike. I plan on contacting the GMC at some point to voice my opinion and ask a few questions. I bet they’ll be thrilled to death to hear from me, don’t you think?

~ Trail Journals – By far, one of the best sources of information on thru-hiking, no matter what trail you want to tackle. This is a site where hikers can record their journals and the rest of us can read them. It’s important to not only read journals of those that have completed the trail, but also those who have gotten off the trail as well. It’s a learning experience in itself. You can find gear lists and reviews to see what worked for people and what didn’t. There is mail drop information, mileage, and fun stories. I used the trail journals as reference primarily for mail drop information with the LT.

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