[at-l] hiking the a t

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

At 02:57 PM 7/26/2005 -0700, ALAN BOWEN wrote:
>  Hi:
>     my name is Alan and i have some questions.
>   1   Is it better to hike with a heavy hiking boot or a lighter one
>    2  when hiking the trail is it better to start from the southern 
> terminus or the northern?
>   3 is there some way i can get a bus from Portland Maine to Mount 
> Katahdin in Baxter state Park in other words is there a shuttle service 
> provided from Katahdin to Portland maine?
>  4 i have a four seasons tent and a four seasons sleeping bag total 
> combined weight is 7lbs should i be packing these items or should i 
> consider going for  something lighter any suggestions would be appreciated.
>
>                                            Alan.

Wow! An actual hiking post. Jump on it guys.

My answers:
1) Yes. By that I mean it depends. Some people like heavier boots but the 
trend is toward lighter boots. Do what works best for you. Fit is more 
important than how heavy they are.
2) Also yes. Unless you are Felix then North to South is definitely best 
(an in joke you'll understand if you hang around long enough). Seriously it 
depends on when you are starting, how much cold weather you want to deal 
with and how much company you want on the trail. I suggest you read a 
couple of books. Larry Luxemberg's WALKING THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL would be a 
good start.
3) I don't know. I think there is information on the ATC site 
<http://www.appalachiantrail.org> on shuttles. It is a good organization to 
join if you are interested in the AT.
4) Too heavy and you'll die of heat prostration unless you are doing a 
winter hike of the AT.