Hiking across NC in a year

>What are the best things I can do in the next 365+ days to prepare?

find a proper long distance hiking forum where you can figure out who actually knows things and listen to them instead of this meme spouting, shit throwing, circle jerk.

Practice a few week walkss around your aea to get a feel for hikinf and camping.

Hike in a bikini and a wig and you'll get more rides.

>>798355
So you intend to solo that route? Do you have any kind of background experience that could help you? Boy Scouts? Military? Anything? How physically fit are you? What sort of equipment do you already have, and what sort of budget do you have for this?

You can do this sort of thing on the cheap; civil war troops did this sort of overland movement with minimal gear. However, generally speaking the discomfort factor will decrease drastically as you invest in better equipment. Also, super low-cost hiking tends to require a higher degree of experience just to ensure your physical safety.

First thing I'd do is get some maps that cover the entire route. If you're staying on well-maintained trails the entire time you probably won't need extremely detailed topographical maps, but still you should have something that'll allow you to know where the hell you are if your electronics fail. Maps will also help you with planning your resupply points; towns where you can buy food, fuel, toiletries, etc, as well as pre-positioned dropboxes for long stretches of wilderness. A good idea would be to have a resupply point every 2-3 days of travel, closer together at the very beginning as you're bound to fuck up and need something right away.

Also, I think you'll quickly realize once you've got some maps that your timeframe is off. I'd say you would use up all of your allotted time just on the hiking section, and more besides.

You really ought to try a few shorter hikes first. Maybe a couple of day hikes in the Smokies, then an overnighter, then a three-day, etc. Work your way up. Short hikes will give you the experience needed to properly plan longer hikes.

Also, found this link which will probably be very informative:
http://www.restlessadventurer.net/backpacking/long-distance/mountain-to-sea-trail/journal-index.php

>>798471
I'm not the fittest person in the world, but I casually ran around 4-7 miles per day in my first year of college. I need to pack on some fat/muscle weight over winter and get used to moving with weight on my back. I assume hiking and long-distance running are entirely different beasts, but I could be worse off.

As far as basic googling has helped me, I know soloing a route as large as this is a bad idea. I have two friends that have expressed interest in joining me, and we're still in the planning phase. There is often parking available within a mile's walk of the trail itself, and I have a third buddy who may be able to bring supplies in a car.

I have been reading the guidebooks from here http://www.ncmst.org/the-trail/trailguide/ which definitely change my time frame. I'm now looking into taking the entire summer off and hiking from late May to middle August.

I'm going to acquire physical maps of sections of the entire trail and study them before heading out because GPS breaks if I drop it. I'm currently working with online maps and Google Earth to look at how long the route would take if I include things like Zero days and breaks for bad weather.

When it comes to equipment, I have no fucking idea. I'll probably invest in the area of $2000 to a budget for equipment. I don't even have boots yet.

>>798387
A buddy and I are seeing how far we can physically walk in a daylight period around my town just for fucks. We want to know what a realistic maximum looks like. After that, I have friday-sunday off from school due to clever class planning and will probably camp out a lot. Fall break and the christmas holiday look like good times for camping trips.

>>798471
how come /out/ doesn't have a wiki like /k/ does with gear recommendations, safety rules, tips, etc?

a single resource would be really useful

>>798557
Or at least a good sticky like /fit/ with good basic information.

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NCSU?

Raleigh was hell on earth for /out/ shit while I was there. I got so fucking depressed

>>799019
Yeah, NCSU

Part of the reason I'm planning the thru hike is because I've lived in Raleigh all my life apart from a year in Wilmington as a kid. I never got to explore the other 99% of the state.