Yes please let's meet up for an exchange.
(My timeline is extremely flexiable and I might spend extra time in areas I'm already familar with near Clayton and Franklin)
Thank you all for excellent advice!

It may sound uber basic but as someone with foot issues I'd say get some GOOD quality hiking boots.....AND.....get them broken in before you go. Spend whatever you have to. You'll regret if you don't. And I think Smartwool socks are the best for hiking. Also not cheap.

Research and planning are your friends. I almost always see thru hikers when I go on my little local hikes that include stretches of the AT here in NY. Some people just look really, really tired (as well they should) and some look totally and painfully miserable. I always figure the miserable ones did the least planning and overestimated how much they could do.

Ryan used to hike in $20 Payless sneakers and he would go through 5 or 6 pairs on a thru-hike.....he has since seen the light and now will purchase a good pair of hiking shoes for $80-100 bucks (we always look for a good sale) and they will last for at least one thru hike....maybe he will have to get another pair depending on how much mileage he does on them at home prior to the trek or if he used them on a previous hike etc etc etc. But YES, quality footwear is essential.

-Amanda from Seattle

Speaking of footwear and gear.....

Have you read about Granny Gatewood?

https://www.amazon.com/Grandma-Gatewoods-Walk-Inspiring-Appalachian/dp/1613734999

She was amazing but sometimes while reading you kind of shake your head and ask yourself why would an obviously intelligent women hike with so little and so seemingly unprepared. Even people back then were taking *some* kind of gear. Yikes. And she did it more than once, along with other trails.

She's a better woman than me!!

Actually, that's not entirely true. Most shoes I've used last about 500 to 700 miles, even the $80-100 shoes. Most Payless shoes were no different on that count, although there were a couple of notable exceptions where the shoe fell apart after about 10 miles. Just one pair of those defective shoes will definitely throw off the average! So there are bad shoes out there, but most of the Payless shoes I've tried lasted at least 500 miles. The ones that didn't I generally considered defective.

I've never used $100 shoes fell apart after 10 miles, but in terms of cost effectiveness, two sets of $20 Payless shoes ($40 total) will carry me further than one set of $100 Merrells, so I wouldn't diss the Payless shoes. Especially for those with a tight budget. Cost does not always equal quality.

The reason I generally use more expensive shoes nowadays are for a few reasons:

• Oboz shoes, which generally run me about $100, regularly last me 1000 miles or more! They'll carry me further than any other name-brand shoe that I've tried. So in terms of cost per mile, it's much more competitive than other popular hiking brands like Merrells.
• I actually have an income, so money is less of an issue for me. When I did my first thru-hike in 2003, I was unemployed and had zero income. I was, pardon the pun, on a shoe-string budget.
• I can order Oboz online (Zappos, ShoeBuy or REI--depending on whatever is providing the best value at the time) and have them shipped to me. Saves me the effort of going into a store--which most small trail towns won't even have. It's just more convenient.
• Because Oboz will last me for over a thousand miles, I don't have to worry about replacing them as often. One less thing to worry about on long-distance hikes.
• And when I'm doing a thousand miles outside of the United States where shipping shoes from REI might not be very economical or practical, I want a shoe that can last the whole distance. When I hiked the Jordan Trail, I made sure to bring a new pair of Oboz so I knew I wouldn't have any trouble with them wearing out halfway through.
• But even the mighty Oboz won't last an entire thru-hike on something as long as the Appalachian Trail. Everyone replaces their shoes on the really long distance trails. Some of you might remember that I hiked about a mile on the AT barefoot because one of my shoes fell apart. It was a $100 shoe! (Merrells) I started with new shoes, and and it fell apart at around the 500-mile mark. I replaced it with my first set of Oboz because that was the only brand the outfitter sold and that lasted over a thousand miles (much to my surprise and delight). If I kept buying $100 Merrells, I'd have had to use five sets at that pace to complete the trail. As it was, I only used three pairs, and I probably could have used just two pairs if I had started with Oboz.

But long story short, I still think cheap Payless shoes can be perfectly adequate for thru-hikes--especially for those who are on a shoe-string budget and those doing less than 500 miles. And for those on a tight budget, it's still cheaper to buy 5 or 6 pairs of Payless shoes than two pairs of Oboz--just less convenient! And it's definitely way cheaper than buying 5 or 6 pairs of Merrell shoes!

-- Ryan

Ha ha, boy can I sympathize. I used to say I would NEVER RV camp.

Ah, youth.....

Lucky you. With my foot issues I couldn’t walk from my apartment to my parking space in Payless shoes.

So, Ryan, as one who has hiked the PCT, what do you think about someone hiking it with an 8-mo. old baby. Some of your experiences seemed harrowing to me--I can't image doing it with a baby in tow. (I read about it on Yahoo news today).

I think it's pretty extreme, but good for them. Let the kid get enjoy some nature and fresh air at an early age. =)

Depending on the section of trail (like the Sierra Nevada in a heavy snow year), it might be better if they skip it. Just depends on the current conditions, experience of the people doing it and the support teams they have in place.

I definitely wouldn't sign up to do it with a kid that couldn't walk yet, though. It's hard enough already without carrying a baby and all their needs.

-- Ryan

Packing in/packing out diapers. Ug. And if you're nursing, it would be really hard to consume adequate calories. Your whole backpack would be wet wipes! Not really. . .

It's hard to do that if you are NOT nursing!

-- Ryan

In one of the Barefoot Sister’s books, I think it’s the sobo one, they hike for a while with the “family from the north” who have a nursing babe in arms. It’s pretty scary, mainly because it’s winter. If you like AT books I’d recommend them both—they do a yoyo.

This was in our local news this week. What do you think GT? Another goal to set?

https://www.pressherald.com/2020/12/20/yarmouth-man-to-attempt-triple-crown-of-hiking-all-in-one-year/

A hard no for me. Sounds miserable!

It sounds like it's also their first thru-hike. I'll give them that--it's an ambitious first thru-hike! (The Camino I don't really count since it's a mere 500 miles and as about as different as cats are from dogs.)

But honestly, I'd put their chances of success very low. Three months to do the Appalachian Trail? In the winter?! And they talk about about summiting Katahdin at the end of March, but I'm not even sure it would be legal to climb it then. I don't think that mountain usually opens for climbers until May or something.

And while the organizations that champion these trails don't have the authority to close them, there are organizations that do have such authority. I had to detour around on Indian reservation when I did the PNT because of closures, and half of Glacier NP was closed because the Indian reservation that previous allowed access to the east-side of the park was closed.

There will likely be alternates they can use to get around closures--and that might even help them if it's walking along a road where they can move quicker if it's not too far out of the way.

But all-in-all, I'm skeptical of their chances of success without any previous thru-hiking experience. They could just grow sick of the hiking after a few months and feel like quitting for all they know.

But good for them for trying anyhow. It's nice to have big dreams! =)

-- Ryan

Check out this guy who did the triple crown in 2018. Watch the little youtube video.... He does say it was miserable and like a job. LOL
https://www.thesca.org/connect/blog/tyler-lau-just-completed-calendar-year-triple-crown#:~:text=Tyler%20Lau%20is%20the%20first,in%20fewer%20than%20365%20days.
-amanda from seattle

Another good article about a woman who did the calendar year triple crown. Her previous experience? She had already triple crowned TWICE before!! In fact, Ryan met her on his first AT back in 2003 and she lives up here in WA area and is pretty famous in the hiking community. Ryan saw her give a talk at a local sporting goods store and we actually won the chance to go on a hike with her from our local WTA, but we never redeemed it.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2367426/heather-anderson-completed-calendar-year-triple-crown

-amanda from seattle

I knew her before she was famous. *nodding*

I also shared a shelter with her on my second AT thru-hike in 2015, but I didn't realize it at the time since she got in at midnight and left at 4:00am or something and we never even had a chance to speak. (She was trying to set a trail record at the time so she didn't stay still very long.)

-- Ryan

four hours of sleep! x_x

Do you have the CDT on your to-do list?

Old Blue

It's on my "maybe someday" list. =)

-- Ryan

and that is what I saw without opening the site.........yikes. over 3,000 miles

condo

I’ve encountered thru hikers while walking on parts of the AT that are near where I live in NY and they usually look miserable. Lol

I think doing it during Jan/Feb/March
is dumb and very likely dangerous. Ah youth.

One of the major problems with the Continental Divide trail is that so much of it is road walk still after all these years. And if anyone knows Ryan, he really hates a road walk. It is often called the hardest and least fun trail of the triple crown. Also, every summer season, there are wild fires and fire reroutes. So it is a very challenging trail for sure.

https://www.halfwayanywhere.com/trails/continental-divide-trail/cdt-advice-2018/

-Amanda from Seattle

I've heard people say that about the AT. Many people I know who have done the CDT seem to think it's the best of the bunch--like a PCT on steroids!

But everyone who has done the PNT knows that one is harder than any of the triple crowns. Bunch of wimps. ;o)

-- Ryan

Hello Friends!
What recommendations do you have for best letterboxes that can be had via a good 5+mile hike or a good camping spot? Thanks for considering my request.

Do you have any particular part of the world in mind?
Almost anywhere in Massachusetts will put you near a plethora of boxes.

Pacific NW?
Massachusetts is good intel. Thanks

Anybody on here into cycle touring?

Yes! I work full time but definitely would be interested. Are you thinking road bike or mountain?

I usually do road. I don't get out that often either.