Three Steps to Planning a Long Distance Hike

Let's dive right into planning, here are my three steps for planning a long distance hike.

1. Make a detailed list of every campsite you are going to stay in and mileage between them.
2. Start hiking and throw your plan away.
3. Put one foot in front of the other and repeat step 3 until finished hiking.

Okay, maybe that's not what you are looking for but ultimately, this is how it will work.  If you aren't a planner don't let that stop you from a hike.  You certainly need to put some thought into your gear and plan to do something reasonable, however, you don't need to know the exact date you will be at a place 1,000 miles away.  On longer trails I like to look ahead two resupply points, this allows me the ability to have packages shipped from home or to ship a package myself from my current resupply point to a more restricted resupply option along the trail.  The more remote the trail of course the more planning is needed.  Keep an eye out for post office hours, hostel shipping instructions, fees etc...  

In my case, I enjoy planning and spreadsheets so I've laid out some information to better plan my MST sections.  If you like planning, this can be a great way to get engaged before you hike.  Since I'm section hiking very close to home I may not have to worry about resupply at all.  Most of the time I'll only be out for a long weekend.  I've narrowed the trail down to what I determined to be major mile markers.  From there I have a plan A and plan B as to how I will group these points into various trips.  Likely I will follow plan C-Z which are TBD.  

As I hike I'll try to make notes on resupply options as this could be helpful to some planning to thru-hike.  I found quickly one of the best things about planning for the MST is the Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail has some great information!  They have an amazing set of guidebooks you can buy and you can also download these for free, however, be a good hiker and help support them by getting involved in some way.  Below is my current planning spreadsheet, at the end of my hike I'll try to update it to reflect what I actually ended up doing.  (Note:  Total mileage includes 169.8 miles of the Neuse river paddling route)  I do not have plans in here for sections 12-15 but may add a secondary post on those if I find I have time to add those miles and complete both the bike/hike and paddle route option.

Links

Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail -  Visit their store to buy guidebooks or click "Trail Guides" found under "The Trail" in their main menu.  Explore the whole site!  Lots of great information and ways to get involved.

*unless otherwise noted I don't make money off you clicking links.