The overall itinerary for the trip is a bit confusing. Kevin is currently entered into a contest to win a trip to the Beijing Olympics. If he wins that contest, than a 2 week break will be required in Mid August. Below is the decision we came too based on how the contest turns out.
We will either do Plan 1 or Plan 2. We will make the decision on June 26th, when Flotrack announces the
winner of the Beijing Contest.
-Flotrack Contest
-See Kevin's
video under 'Phase 1 Voting Results'
-Coast to Coast Relay 2004
Plan 1 (If Kevin's video does not win the contest)
-Start May 29th - Finish October 7th
-5 day break halfway, at Harpers Fairy, WV
-ADV: Get a break. True North Bound Hike.
-CON: Have to get picked up in WV, and dropped back off 5 days later. Cutting it close to Maine Trail Closings on October 15th.
Plan 2 (If Kevin's video wins the contest)
-Start May 29th - Finish October 21st
-Take about a 2 week break in August so Kevin can attend Olympics.
-After the break, get dropped off in Maine at Katahdin and hike to were we got picked up. ('Flip-Flop')
-ADV: No worries about missing trail closings in Maine. Long Break for Adam. Trip to Beijing Olympics for Kevin.
-CON: Not a true North Bound Hike. 'Flip Flop' (Still counts as a Thru-Hike). Long break could make heading back to the trail difficult to get used too. Someone has to pick us up close to home for break, but bring us up to Maine after the break.
***Post Hike Update***
The itinerary during our hike was constantly changing. We found out in early June that my video didn't win the Flotrack Contest, so Plan 2 was thrown out early on. At that point, in Tennessee, Adam and I were set to follow some variation of Plan 1. However, since our pace was slow in the first month, we were not committing to anything. We decided that we would make the decision to Flip-Flop when we arrived in northern Virginia, if we ended up falling far behind pace. However, when we reached northern Virginia, our pace was swift, and we were several days ahead of our planned schedule.
We both were feeling good at this point, just about halfway through the trip, so we decided to push straight for Katahdin, also delaying our week long break until we got closer to Connecticut. This would make it easier for our parents to pick us up and drop us back off. We planned on the dates of August 17th - 23rd for break, hopefully being somewhere in the New York area. Let's just say we flew through the Mid-Atlantic States. We made it all the way up to Manchester Center, Vermont on August 17th. (This was more than 200 miles beyond what we had expected.) It was a lot of mileage, and we were tired. But that's just how it worked out. This happened even with the two-day rest we took in Connecticut at my grandparent's house.
After our week break we hit the trail again where we had left off, near Bromley Mountain in Vermont. We got beat up pretty bad the rest of the trip. From New Hampshire until the end of the trip in Maine our average mileage dropped. The White Mountains, along with the first 100 miles in Maine were much more taxing than anything we had experienced up to that point. We had set up an aggressive plan for the rest of the trip from Manchester Center, and actually fell over 3 days behind it, mostly because of the White Mountains. Overall, however, we were pleased with the pace. We finished in 112 days, including breaks! This is 15 days ahead of our estimated straight-through plan.
A quick overview...When Northbound Thru-Hiking, your pace is likely to start out slow. The South has a lot of elevation changes and some long up and down climbs. These climbs will be easier for someone with a good endurance base. So get out and do some cardio work before setting out on the hike. As you hit Virginia, you will find certain days that you can hike 20+ miles, and some days where it's hard to hike 12. Over the Mid-Atlantic States you will hit the rocks, but your pace will still increase because the large elevation changes disappear. In New York you start to see the hills again, but they are not too tough. Connecticut and Massachusetts are nice states for hiking. The hills are plentiful, but overall the elevation only changes by a few hundred feet. Once in Vermont, you start hitting bigger mountains that grow increasing more difficult for about 400 miles. Unlike the mountains in the South, these are much more jagged--no switchbacks, lots of rocks, and straight up ascents and descents. You are likely to slow down in this section, so plan accordingly. Once through this 400 mile section, you will arrive in the middle of Maine. This part is beautiful and for the most part very flat! Enjoy it, and hope for a clear day on Katahdin. No other view on the trail can compare to the one that you get on the entire second half of the climb up Katahdin!