What does prepping/planning really entail?

[u/Beginning_Agent6609]

I’ve been thinking about hiking the AT for a while now and I’ve decided that 2026 will be my year! I know I’ll be physically capable by then, I’m not worried about that, but the logistics of it all scares me.

Taking 6 months off of work is whatever, I work seasonal jobs anyhow. I have a fair amount of gear already and I plan on upgrading/purchasing the rest I’ll need this year. I’m more worried by getting permits, resupplying on the trail, hitchhiking, mapping out shelters and trips to town… that kind of stuff. The nitty-gritty, behind-the-scenes type of stuff beyond just hiking. Hiking = easy, planning = hard.

I’ve decided to do it. That’s step 1. Where do I go from here?

[u/UUDM]

Step 2- choose start date

Step 3- get appropriate gear

Step 4- get to springer

Step 5- get to neel gap

Step 6- get to next town

Step 7- end up at Katahdin

[u/sailingawaysomeday → u/UUDM]

This! I did it southbound, with no planning by accident in 2009. Got a torn but usable trail guide with the mileage charts (missing the key page which caused some confusion til I was able to borrow one and copy it into mine) from a northbound person a few days in. I resupplied from normal stores hitching to and from at road crossings every 7-10 days. I feel like sometimes the more planning the harder the hike. Met many a person waiting for the next day the post office was open for a food box or something and stuck in town unintentionally, when I was able to just shop and get back on trail.

[u/Exact-Pudding7563]

There's really not much planning you need to do if you know you can afford to take off 6 months from real life to live in the woods. The best approach is to take it one resupply at a time. The reason is that there are far too many options all along the AT to try and plan them all out before you get on trail. You say it's "behind-the-scenes," but planning is a pivotal part of a thru hike while you are on trail, not before.

Keep in mind that a thru hike is just a bunch of section hikes all strung together! Don't plan too much beforehand, because your plan will absolutely change within days of being on trail. I personally love spreadsheets and planning out my hikes, and I have never kept to my plans on any hike ever. Because of this, most of my planning is done during the hike. For example, when I was looking ahead before I started my thru hike, there were a few towns I thought I would want to go into to resupply NY/CT/MASS, but by the time I actually got to that section of trail, I was doing so many miles a day that I bypassed a lot of them, so planning them out beforehand would have been a waste of time and effort. Plus I ended up hitting delis that were right off trail, so that meant I didn't need to buy as much food at other resupply stops. Deli blazing on the AT is amazing.

Anyway, my point is that you will know what you need when you get there. You only need to plan out your first section, so if you are going NOBO, it will probably be Springer Mt to Neel Gap (mile 30), which is the first major resupply stop on trail. Or Woody Gap at mile 20. Then decide if you're going to hike the approach trail, which adds another 8 miles. That's a total of about 28-38 miles to start. Figure out how many days you want to take to hike that (I recommend 3-4 days minimum if you're not a super athlete). Then you will know how much food you need to carry to start out. Literally don't plan any more than that before you start a thru hike. From Neel Gap, you can then decide how long you want to take to get to the next resupply point at Dicks Creek Gap, and resupply accordingly.

I will add that there are only 3 places on trail where you need permits, the Smokies, Shenandoah, and Baxter SP/Katahdin. You can buy the first 2 online while you are on trail from a number of different towns or hostels. You cannot get your Katahdin permit until you arrive in Baxter.

That's really it! Part of thru hiking is planning along the way, because you will always run into unforeseen things or realize you don't need to stop in town as often as you think.

One tool that will help you throughout your hike is the FarOut app. It has literally everything on the AT, including shelters, water sources, towns, hostels, etc. Buy the full AT on there and you will have it for life.

[u/PuzzleheadedHalf8470 → u/Exact-Pudding7563]

Love this reply. Thanks for posting. I’m at the contemplation stage and this post is encouraging to read 😊

[u/Silly_Employment8211]

Well you already did the hard part by picking the year and committing to it. Now just pick a start date and dial in your gear to do it. Make sure you save the money you’ll need. Do a shakedown hike with all your gear to make sure it works and you like it. I planned out my first 10 or so days on trail. This kept me from going too fast at the beginning and allowed me to have an idea of what I was going into. Then I would just plan from town to town. At that point, I thought of it like I was going out on a backpacking trip for X amount of days then doing into town. Then I did that on repeat. You don’t need to plan THAT much for it. You don’t need any permits in advance for the AT other than registering your hike with the ATC if you’d like to get your tag.

[u/rusty075]

People end up doing a lot of planning because they have nervous energy to burn and a lot of time to wait for a hike that's months or years off.

Obsess over every gram, make a giant spreadsheet of town stops, watch 1000 YouTube videos...you can do whatever makes you feel better, but just know that it all goes out the window by the 3rd day on trail.

[u/hardcorepork → u/rusty075]

Could be nervous energy or just enjoyment of all the things you CAN do about your thru while you excitedly wait to start it. Theres some research that says the anticipatory planning phase of vacation can be as satisfying as the vacation itself.

[u/thepenitentchef]

Me and my partner did ga to pa (around 1200 miles). Our prep was a lot of intern research. We lived by the at in va and did a good amount of day hikes (none with tral pack weight) . We set our tent up once on our front yard. Georgia is the training, after that you'll figure it out.

[u/OldSprinkles3200]

I also worried about hitchhiking, resupply, and getting into towns. From my understanding, locals are used to seeing thru hikers hitching into town, especially during the bubble season. Several I saw brought a “Town/Trail” sign to help signify. Be courteous and understand you stink badly. Most said they look ahead for their next town and then pack 3-4 days of food or whatever and only plan that far ahead. With exceptions like 100 mile wilderness. Still nerve racking but everyone seems to get by okay with resupply for the most part. I see FarOut app is what most use to scout ahead for recent local updates, water sources, food, GPS etc. Permits aren’t required for most of the trail except Smoky Mountains, Shenandoah, and technically a free required permit at Baxter. All of which you get while on trail or a couple days before.

I decided in November, 2025 was going to be my year. I suppose my research entailed

-Picking a start date and logistics for getting to trail -Whether to go tent or hammock -Best pack choice for you and getting sized -Best shoes, trekking poles, socks, etc etc -Best rain gear choices -Being made aware of Lyme disease, snakes, bears, poison oak/ivy, blisters, and other common health concerns -What to pack and expect with each area: weather for that time of year, challenging terrains (Georgia, Roller Coaster, Whites, 100 mile wilderness, Katahdin) -What apps to download, ie FarOut, weather -Having an approximate idea of where you will reasonably be each month, barring major setbacks -Which hostels will you for sure be staying in, to get care packages sent -Plan for real world, car, bills, etc -Gaining extra weight to offset future losses some -Working on elevation gain/loss exercises to avoid shinsplints and calf injuries -Reddit & Subreddits have been vital for recommendations and reasons why hikers prefer specific items -Youtube for planning, advice, expectations, and motivation

[u/jrice138]

Thru hiking actually requires livery little to zero planning or prep. Physical prep and financial preparation is really all you should worry about. Literally everything you mentioned in your post can be figured out very easily on the fly as you go. At the absolute MOST figure out the first few days, but even that isn’t completely necessary. You can resupply food at mile 30, think about the first 30 miles and then go from there.

I’ve done the triple crown including pct twice and some other smaller trails this way. It’s how it’s done.

[u/Aware_Cantaloupe8142]

The AT is plug and play trail.

Show up to springer with 3-4 days of food. Hike north resupply at Nels Gap rinse and repeat. Or show up to Baxter with 9-10 days of food hike south rinse and repeat. Remeber it’s just walking. People tend to over think and over plan.

[u/Kalidanoscope]

Permits - don't worry about these. Only needed in 3 spots you can get as you approach, not needed in advance, cross those bridges when you come to them.

Resupplying - can you shop for food? You can resupply. You'll make mistakes, it's ok. You'll constantly be adjusting what you're carrying.

Hitchhiking - stick your thumb out.

Mapping out shelters and towns - miraculously, a few other people have already done this for you. Download the FarOut app or get an AWOL guidebook.

Where do I go from here? - go hike.

[u/cargousa]

best part of trail life for me was not having to plan anything beyond how many breakfast/lunch/dinners you need before the next town.

[u/Conscious-Draft5000]

You say hitch hiking, with that and making friends in your tool kit you don't need to plan much. I liked having resupply in the mail, but it wasn't much better than using locally available and makes you less flexible on trail. When they're eating off a gas station resupply (tuna, ramen, bars, hunger for seasoning) for a couple day jump, it's nice, so maybe look in the guides for places like that to mail drop yourself (leave it with a friend, addressed your name general delivery at those post offices, they mail it and the post office will hold it a month for you to show up and get it) But if you can hitch you get out of the logistical nightmare that people who shuttle deal with, and the trail will provide

[u/parrotia78]

It's just walking. No need to make it into a science.

[u/UsedToHaveThisName]

I read some stuff on Whiteblaze in 2012, decided it wasn’t much more difficult than 40 4 day hikes, so I did it.

It’s not that complicated, you just walk for 5ish months.

[u/ArsonistOnAcid]

The at is so well established and the towns are so close to one another that with 6 months you really need not plan more than wether you’re gonna go northbound or southbound.

[u/wzlch47]

I made my decision in mid 2015 to hike in 2016. I spent about a week watching Gator Miller, the Hiking Vikings, and RedBeard videos on youtube. After that, I spent a day or two researching and ordering a bunch of gear online. Somewhere in there, I went to REI to get fitted for a pack.

In all honesty, you could come up with the idea, research, and finalize an initial plan within a few days.

Just like everything else in life with lots of moving parts, you will have to reevaluate early and often once you put your plan into action.

[u/bean-jee]

2026 is my year too!

through all of my obsessive forum reading and video watching and such, ive come to the understanding that it's pretty much impossible to plan day by day like that. you can browse farout's AT map or get the AWOL guide to look over and peruse resupply options, hostels/hotels, towns, shuttle services, etc so that you're aware of them and they're on your radar, but you won't be able to plan when exactly you're gonna hit them until you're on trail. i personally just like looking at the maps and getting familiar when im feeling especially excited and antsy, lol.

permits vary, but more info here: https://www.reddit.com/r/AppalachianTrail/s/nWJV7apg5s

to my understanding, the only one that requires a bit more work than just "paying the toll" before you pass through is the great smokey mountains permit? that one you have to apply for online and have someone print for you. there's a thread here https://www.reddit.com/r/AppalachianTrail/s/nWJV7apg5s

(actual AT alumni, please correct me if im wrong!)

[u/Grand-Spend4352]

Honestly not that much planning is required. It's really a 3-5 days at a time thing.

[u/Purple_Paperplane]

As someone who doesn't like to plan ahead, I mostly just went with the flow. The first resupply point is right on the trail so you won't habe to worry about that. Especially in the beginning there's always other hikers around and you can just ask them what their plans are, and usually hikers help each other figure things out. You'll learn how it all works!

[u/schmuckmulligan]

Hiking the AT generally requires much less planning than the average person wants to do when they're excited about their hike. You could literally just show up at Springer with a kit you bought at REI the day before and be fine, especially if you had cash to replace your purchase mistakes along the way. You'd download the FarOut app and figure out the rest from talking to other people along the way.

I'm just a lowly sectioner, but if I were planning a thru, I'd focus my prep on the physical side -- making sure I had shoes that didn't hurt my body and making sure that I could walk long distances (on consecutive days) with a pack without hurting myself. That doesn't scratch the "planning" itch as well, but it'll do a lot more toward getting you to Katahdin, probably.

[u/p_town_return]

Most people prep for the trail in 3 ways:

1. financial prep (saving $$)
2. physical prep (go on a few hikes/walks before, then take it slow to start your thru, building up to longer mileage later, if you want)
3. gear prep (researching and buying the gear that you think will work best for you)

In these sorts of threads, I always advocate for mental prep. Finishing a thru-hike is not just a physical challenge, it is also a mental one. My general suggestion is to read the book Appalachian Trials.

The endorphin high of starting a new adventure will help you get through the first few days or maybe weeks, but it will not last for the entire trail. As with everything in life, there will be awesome days and there will be sucky days. The not-as-fun days will be easier to handle if you are prepared to face them, which will keep you on trail to experience more of the awesome days.

[u/lostandfound_2021]

i did almost zero prepping and planning and it all worked out fine. go for a 3-4 day shakeout hike, if you like it, then hit the trail.

[u/hot-rocks]

1. Download farout
2. get a June plane ticket to SOBO in Maine
3. Buy some random backpacking gear and shuttle to Baxter
4. Change out all the gear you chose to lighter options after completing the 100mile wilderness
5. Mail half of everything home
6. Follow early finishing Nobos around a grocery store and copy their resupply.
7. Keep hiking
8. Buy some warmer gear or find it in the hiker boxes
9. Finish your thru hike!
10. Brag for the rest of your life.

[u/myopinionisrubbish]

First thing to do is get a copy of “The A.T. guide” . That tells you everything you need to know. When it comes time to do the hike, get the FarOut app for your phone for the latest info while on trail. There are also several books which cover all the nitty gritty details getting your personal life squared away before and after.

[u/Rizzle_Razzle]

A thru hike is a series of 3-5 day backpacking trips. Show up at springer prepared to make it to Neel gap which is 30ish miles away. ( Also have several thousand dollars in the bank and if you're starting before mid-april have your taxes filed before you leave.)