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Post by wanderer on Aug 6, 2016 20:43:09 GMT -8
Hello all! This is my first post. Ever sincd i was little i've had the dream of traveling on foot through the wilderness. Though this feeling has burned strong for years, i've never had the pleasure of doing more than hiking west Michigan dunes for no more than a few hours a a time. A little bit about me:
I'm 17 years old and i live near the shore of Lake Michigan, i love working on cars and the outdoors. Fishing, reading, and making things from wood are a few of my favorite hobbies.
Now that i'm older, i have a car, a couple of jobs, and reaponsibility i'll be able to follow my dream of backpacking and writing a book. I'll likely be starting my first official trip next year in spring. Now my question to you: what is the longest, both in time or distance, trip you've taken? A day in a motel doesn't forfeit your entire trip, however participating in "drop-in" hiking with a car does (in this instance). I ask out of curiousity, i'd like to build up to be able to hike the AT one day. Also, what is the longest ever recorded trip? Not the longest trail, the trip itself. Thanks for your input!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2016 21:25:02 GMT -8
Hi Wanderer, welcome to the forums. First a disclaimer: I don't think longest trip says much of anything important in comparisons between people. I remember it for myself because of the reasons and causes that brought me to those circumstances. I had no interest in trophies or survival record. I certainly did not expect to be talking about it in some electronic forum 42 years afterward.
But the length of time was about 2 1/2 months, or about 75 days, right up through the winter storm that brought the trip to a close. For distance, a wild guess might be a few hundred miles. But that is all mostly empty data devoid of the real story behind the trip. Better to not read much into it.
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desert dweller
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Post by desert dweller on Aug 6, 2016 21:42:51 GMT -8
Welcome, wanderer.
Actually, my longest distance hike, in one fell swoop, was just last year when I hiked 66 miles. It took five days. Before that, about 11 years ago, it was 57 miles and took six days.
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Aug 7, 2016 5:19:47 GMT -8
10 days, 78 miles.
welcome. As life progresses, you'll find it doesn't matter how long the trip is. It just has to happen at regular intervals so you can feel in touch with yourself and nature.
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Deborah
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Post by Deborah on Aug 7, 2016 5:47:40 GMT -8
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tarol
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Post by tarol on Aug 7, 2016 7:10:20 GMT -8
My longest trip was hiking across Isle Royale National Park, it was amazing, I highly recommend you visit here at some point in your life
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toejam
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Post by toejam on Aug 7, 2016 7:34:21 GMT -8
Don't understand why you need to wait til next spring. Weekends happen every week.
222 miles, 20 days, John Muir Trail.
Welcome to the forum.
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Post by wanderer on Aug 7, 2016 7:42:56 GMT -8
Thanks all! My interests aren't only long trails, more that I'd like to travel the world, but by slower means. Buses, trains, boats, and foot are the methods i'm most interested in. One day, if i can build up to it, i would love to hike from north to south on the AT (it seems this is the less likely option for people) then take a train and hike south to north on the trail that runs through arizona, then a bus to the south of the PCT and head north. Obviously season will be an issue here, i think it'd be wise for me to hike one at a time, staying in cheap rentals between trips. I'm also curious about getting a sponsorship at some point. Have any of you had any sponsorships? Thanks!
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swmtnbackpacker
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Post by swmtnbackpacker on Aug 7, 2016 8:02:57 GMT -8
Sounds like you want to do the AT and PCT parts of a "triple crowner", so a lot boils down to daily mileage/minimizing town stays/maybe minimizing pack weight/gear items
I've been out for about a month max, talking with those on the PCT. It's great but, the longer the trip, the more cash ($$) savings need to be built up for food and some lodging to dry yr gear and yrself. Why?
Hunger increases past the 1 week mark, so either (1) dehydrate and ship your own gourmet meals (on a 2 week rotation), possibly waiting in town for the post office to open or (2) resupply in town. If hitching with someone it's expected to help with the gas. You will need to take a rest day and probably that means a room (hostels and sharing rooms helps). Then there's gear and footwear breakdown .... and replacement.
Figure on $800-$1000 per month if doing a "long trail". It can be done for less by not being too picky at the hiker boxes (i.e. 40 packs of instinct oatmeal in initiation strawberry flavor). Also increasing daily mileage means finishing faster and less expense. Many thru hikers work the rest of the year, though you are young enough to get into a field that presently allows the summers (+) off .. I know of a US tax accountant who is off after April, ... better than an educator!!
Lots of decisions but you are young, so as long as you stay in good health, no reason you couldn't do serious miles with comfortable gear.
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whistlepunk
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Post by whistlepunk on Aug 7, 2016 8:05:28 GMT -8
Based on your criteria, about 6 weeks solo, mostly offtrail. If you allow an occasional meeting friends in a campground with a car trip into town for a shower, laundry, pizza and cold beer then four months.
I started the trip because I was mentally and emotionally in a dark place and needed to sort things in my mind. At the end I was ready to come back.
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Post by riversong on Aug 7, 2016 8:25:39 GMT -8
Welcome to the forum! I started out with overnights and week-ends and worked up from there. You are near Pictured Rock lakeshore and Isle Royale that would be great for extended trips. For now, I would start with some week-end trips to state parks and trails near you. Get out there asap!  |
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Post by hangingtrekker on Aug 7, 2016 8:48:01 GMT -8
I have not done any "long distance" trips yet. I would like to at some point, but they take an extraordinary amount of planning, preparation, and funds. Those of us with normal lives with careers can't afford to take significant amounts of time off work to do the kind of traveling you're talking about. If you save up and plan correctly it can be done. You may want to read about Paul Salopek and the " Out of Eden Walk". It may be of some interest to you, though I am sure his adventure is quite full of support, not to mention he is a writer for National Geographic so there is a significant amount of backing from that stand point. As far as the AT goes - the theory with a south to north route is climate. You can start earlier down south. The race, then, is to get to the north end before the weather deteriorates for the winter. If you go south to north you have to start at the break of winter's grip early in the season. Which, you may still run in to harsh weather which ever way you go. The 100 mile wilderness is up in the northern portion in Maine, also, which means if you start up there you are immediately in a tough spot. Unless you have a lot of experience and have done a lot of gear tuning before you head out on that trip you won't have the benefit of time on the "trail" tuning your gear and body to the trip before you hit the 100 mile wilderness. |
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Aug 7, 2016 8:50:06 GMT -8
Welcome! Sounds like you have the enthusiasm to carry you to some great places, so start training now (body and mind/experience) and the sky's the limit!
My longest hiking trip was 15 days, about 200 miles, through the North Cascades. Most of my trips, numbers-wise, have been 1-2 nights, but for the last decade or more I've been lucky enough to do at least one week-long trip each summer. I think that most trips it's somewhere around 5-6 days when the mind changes and the trail becomes home. One day I'd also like to do a longer trip, just to see what it feels like (and, at my stage of life, to find out if I'd get hardened to the trail or break down completely!).
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Aug 7, 2016 8:56:48 GMT -8
By the way, as for sponsorship, I think it's hard to get any of a meaningful level. I know that BlueBear has had some sponsorship for some gnarly expeditions, but I think it mostly was in the form of things like a case of Spam. Not something that will make or break the finances. I'm guessing that to get subsidized by a magazine or something in exchange for your story you'd have to be fairly well established as a writer. The good news is that when you are young, you can work, save up money and avoid debt, and then quit working and take off. As hangingtrekker notes, when you get a family and a regular job and a mortgage (or student loans) you get kind of stuck. That's why it seems like most of the AT/PCT hikers are either young and unencumbered, or retired. (I missed the window for the first, so am looking towards the second). (Actually, that's a lie. I did lots of stuff before settling down. Just not a long trail). |
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markskor
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Post by markskor on Aug 7, 2016 9:14:19 GMT -8
Backpackers are limited by how much food they can carry. For me that tops out at 10 - 14 days. Trip length (total miles)...PCT, AT, etc are merely a series of linked segments between resupply points.
Thru hikers (once conditioned) are more about "The Trail" (and all the subtle nuances that accompany the journey) rather than the miles done.
Suggest first doing a few week-long trips...maybe 50 - 70 miles each, and after you are comfortable with your gear and understand the journey, add another similar trip 2 days later.
My longest trip - Campo to Seiad Valley - the Cali part of the PCT.
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