A day in the life of our thru hike

Want to know what a typical day was like for us?  

We would wake up anywhere between 4:30 and 6.  Depending when we went to sleep and what was ahead of us that day.  I'd usually be the one to crawl out of the warm tent and get the food bags from the bear hang or bear box and start coffee.  If it's not raining, when I leave the tent I'll bring my sleeping quilt and airpad out with me and hang them on the clothes line to air out a bit. (I sleep hot and sweat a lot)  Once coffee is ready we'll sip and take turns packing up whatever we have in the tent. (It's easier to go one at a time in such a small place.)  Then we change back into our hiking clothes,  which were typically damp and cold, so that's fun!  But it's like jumping into a cool swimming pool.  It's awful for 3 seconds then you're used to it.

Once we're done with coffee we pack up the tent.  He carried the tent and poles/stakes, and I carried the rain fly and footprint. Two person tents are not light usually so it's nice to split up the weight. 

Then we eat breakfast.  Depending on the day we have something hot or just eat a bar. One of us will go fill our water bags from whatever water source may near nearby, if we need and filter water into our bottles.

A quick dummy check of the site to make sure we didn't leave anything behind and that it's how we found it, and we start hiking.  

We usually stop a few times throughout the day. Snacks/meals, potty breaks, water collection, or rest depending how hard the trail is that day.

We did anywhere from  5-13 miles in a day which is much slower than "normal" thru hikers.  But this was our first thru hike so thats plenty. 

Once we arrived at camp for the night we'd immediately drop pur packs and take off our boots and socks and put on our camp sandals.  (Provided it's not raining.)  Find a good spot for the tent and start setting that up.  Sometimes if we were starving and it was later we'd eat first, but some of the camp areas filled up so we tried to claim a spot first.  Since we have a slightly larger tent than the solo hikers we wanted to make sure we had a good spot.  

Once the tent was up we'd usually change into dry clothes and hang up our sweaty hiking clothes. (Again if it wasn't raining) Then eat and take turns setting up our beds.  If we were staying at a camp area/shelter there was usually a communal area for eating away from the shelter and tent areas where we'd hang out and chat with other hikers if there were any, or just each other or listen to podcasts.  

As it got darker we'd head to the tent.  We were usually too exhausted to do much more anyway.  Once in the tent we'd go over the maps and get a plan together for the following day.  Decide at least our first stop and have a couple plans for final stop.  Not always knowing how the terrain will be we need a plan B most days. 

Then we'd lie down and either listen to a podcast or just pass put.  We were usually asleep by 8 most nights.  Yes that's really early but A) we were beyond exhausted and B) Once it's dark there's not much to do.  And it gets D.A.R.K. dark. 

So that's it really.  Pretty simple.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

8.16.23

Image
Kinda slept in a little.  We slept a little better last night.  Got up and had an amazing breakfast at the inn.  Such an amazing place! We decided to get one more overnight in at one of our most favorite spots, Bromely mountain.  It's a bit of a haul up the mountain and just as we remembered it.  But the ski hut we stayed in last year has some improvements.  A FRIGGIN DRYER!!!  We remembered they have power up here so people can charge their stuff but the put in a dang dryer!  That is a huge gift for hikers.  Lot of AT hikers up here hanging out and drying stuff. On the way up we totally ran into one of the SOBO AT hikers we met giving away soda yesterday!  Late Start.  And later on met another SOBO hiker we'd helped yesterday who's name I forget.  We explored the area a little.   Walking down another path that leads to the ski resort.  We didn't walk all the way down or anything but just around.  It was just so stupidly foggy.  We aren't getting the vie
Read more

The Long Trail, Part Deux

Image
We're just a few days form leaving to head back out to Vermont to pick up where we left off and get the last 91 miles done!   We're both feeling less prepared and in way worse shape than last year.  So that's fun!!  That said, we have a better idea of what we're in for and have made a few gear swaps to hopefully save us some weight.  And we sat down with the map, Far Out and OnX to make a loose plan of attack for easier days with lower miles, leaving room to get more in if we're feeling ok any day.  With this plan we can finish in about 12 days.  We're planning on 2 weeks but I have a feeling we'll get more miles in towards the end.   There are fewer resupply stops which means carrying more food with us, unfortunately.  And we're also starting at the hardest part of the entire trail.  But we're still excited to have this done. There's something about our names being marked down forever in a log that feels really special. Even though it'll be
Read more

Day 24

Image
Miles hiked; 8 ish? No idea. LT miles: 191 Got a much later start than we'd like.  Getting a ride to the trail proved difficult and expensive but we got a ride about an hour later than we'd hoped.  Then got stuck in construction for a good half hour.  Today will be an unfortunate push uphill with the fullest packs. After being dropped off we realized the section of the trail was closed.  With a sizeable detour.  And we kept getting lost up and down massive hills.  Why is this trail fighting us so hard this year? We got to the first shelter, not even on the LT by 1:30.  Ate lunch and reassessed.  The next shelter, our original stop is nearly 6 miles away.  But ..... we're already thrown off and....well....stubborn.  so we soldiered on.  It's gonna be late and maybe a mistake.  But that's the LT for ya. Our shortest day just became our longest.  But hey that means every day after this will be easy!  BAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.   Arrived near 8pm.  So tired.  Brutal day.   No
Read more