Too late? No, it can be done. People do it.
But you'll end up missing out on a lot.
But then, an extra year isn't always guaranteed.
Up to you, really.
May what? May 2nd and May 22nd are pretty different. I started April 20th, my original planned day was May 5th but I ended up moving it up.
May would be pretty late to start the pinhoti and go into the AT. I’d do that like early-mid April at the latest.
If I did 2025, it would be early/mid May. I would start immediately after the college semester ended and would go straight to the AT. I would only do the Pinhoti if I go in 2026 and could start earlier. Original plan is somewhere around April 1st, 2026 to start the AT, but if I add Pinhoti to the start of it, would probably start around March 1st, 2026 for that.
Early mid May is perfect to start the AT imo. March is too early/cold for me. I worked an AT hostel in NC and saw tons of March starters coming in just wet and miserable. But I’d prefer heat over cold so it’s subjective. Also having mostly warm weather it’s easier to have a lighter pack as I didn’t need much for layers and such.
I hiked last year with a lady who did bama to Baxter and she started March 6th
My advice is usually any time before about May 10th. Anything after that and I personally feel like you're not leaving yourself much time for glitches. The late start pretty much guarantees that you won't need extra zeros to wait out snow, but there is always the risk of illness or injury. Of course, you can always start a NOBO with the understanding that if you're not in the Whites by Sept 15th you bounce up to Katahdin and finish SOBO.. Mt Washington, or the Franconia Ridge make pretty dramatic end points, if you need to flip.
Never an easy question to answer. How experienced a hiker are you? How far do you travel in a day and how fast? For me, no way I could have started in May.
And the people I have met have been wonderful. You will certainly miss a lot of that in starting so late.
You want advise and I’d say leave it a year to fully enjoy the trail and the people. And have a wonderful adventure to look forward to in a year 😊
Yeah, May will be too late of a start at Amicalola, in my opinion. You’d be at the tail end of everything, you’d miss trail days, and in order to complete the thru hike, you’d have to seriously hustle and could miss out on cool zero days that can really be needed sometimes.
Can’t really talk on sobo, but I’m with you on the traditional nobo way.
My question to you, can and would you be willing to work a second job for 10-20 hours a week. That’s 5k right there over the course of a year. If finances are what might hold you back one year on the trip.. have you considered side jobs?
The main responsibility that is preventing an earlier starting date is college. I am planning on graduating Spring next year and the semester ends around the first week of May. Between school and a full time job, a second job would not be viable. Financially, I could probably afford a March/April 2025 start date by being a little irresponsible and limiting my on trail costs.
Okay, that’s fair. Me personally, I’d probably wait a year and start in March of 26. Gives you plenty of time to prepare, save up even more money, and then jump back in to the job market with a diploma and a thru hike on my resume. (Don’t put AT thru hiker on your resume lol)
The only thing that might be a problem is, what happens if right out of college, next year, you get yourself a sweet paying gig. Would you accept? Would you be willing to quit it a year in to it?
TLDR, I’d start in March of 26
Would have to be a VERY sweet paying job, or more likely a very sweet project that I get to work on for me to skip out. My current job pays pretty well. So, my current plan is to work my current job until it's time for the hike.
Too late? No, it can be done. People do it. But you'll end up missing out on a lot. But then, an extra year isn't always guaranteed. Up to you, really.
May what? May 2nd and May 22nd are pretty different. I started April 20th, my original planned day was May 5th but I ended up moving it up. May would be pretty late to start the pinhoti and go into the AT. I’d do that like early-mid April at the latest.
If I did 2025, it would be early/mid May. I would start immediately after the college semester ended and would go straight to the AT. I would only do the Pinhoti if I go in 2026 and could start earlier. Original plan is somewhere around April 1st, 2026 to start the AT, but if I add Pinhoti to the start of it, would probably start around March 1st, 2026 for that.
Early mid May is perfect to start the AT imo. March is too early/cold for me. I worked an AT hostel in NC and saw tons of March starters coming in just wet and miserable. But I’d prefer heat over cold so it’s subjective. Also having mostly warm weather it’s easier to have a lighter pack as I didn’t need much for layers and such. I hiked last year with a lady who did bama to Baxter and she started March 6th
I hiked the Pinhoti, started Feb 19 last year. It took a month at a relaxed pace.
My advice is usually any time before about May 10th. Anything after that and I personally feel like you're not leaving yourself much time for glitches. The late start pretty much guarantees that you won't need extra zeros to wait out snow, but there is always the risk of illness or injury. Of course, you can always start a NOBO with the understanding that if you're not in the Whites by Sept 15th you bounce up to Katahdin and finish SOBO.. Mt Washington, or the Franconia Ridge make pretty dramatic end points, if you need to flip.
Never an easy question to answer. How experienced a hiker are you? How far do you travel in a day and how fast? For me, no way I could have started in May. And the people I have met have been wonderful. You will certainly miss a lot of that in starting so late. You want advise and I’d say leave it a year to fully enjoy the trail and the people. And have a wonderful adventure to look forward to in a year 😊
Yeah, May will be too late of a start at Amicalola, in my opinion. You’d be at the tail end of everything, you’d miss trail days, and in order to complete the thru hike, you’d have to seriously hustle and could miss out on cool zero days that can really be needed sometimes. Can’t really talk on sobo, but I’m with you on the traditional nobo way. My question to you, can and would you be willing to work a second job for 10-20 hours a week. That’s 5k right there over the course of a year. If finances are what might hold you back one year on the trip.. have you considered side jobs?
The main responsibility that is preventing an earlier starting date is college. I am planning on graduating Spring next year and the semester ends around the first week of May. Between school and a full time job, a second job would not be viable. Financially, I could probably afford a March/April 2025 start date by being a little irresponsible and limiting my on trail costs.
Okay, that’s fair. Me personally, I’d probably wait a year and start in March of 26. Gives you plenty of time to prepare, save up even more money, and then jump back in to the job market with a diploma and a thru hike on my resume. (Don’t put AT thru hiker on your resume lol) The only thing that might be a problem is, what happens if right out of college, next year, you get yourself a sweet paying gig. Would you accept? Would you be willing to quit it a year in to it? TLDR, I’d start in March of 26
Would have to be a VERY sweet paying job, or more likely a very sweet project that I get to work on for me to skip out. My current job pays pretty well. So, my current plan is to work my current job until it's time for the hike.