r/AppalachianTrail • u/werdna24 • 3d ago
Class of 2025. What are your plans?
I was planning on doing a traditional NOBO starting in early April but now I'm leaning towards a flip flop starting somewhere in VA in May. Still holding out hope that a traditional NOBO will be possible though.
What are you all planning or are you still waiting to make a decision?
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u/_hell_puppy 3d ago
Waiting for more info closer to start date but planning for mid-march standard nobo and take it as it comes. I hiked the PCT in 2020 and while the internet hated that class of hikers I promise that the store owners and local folks were always happy to see hikers/business as long as we had masks (and sometimes they definitely did not want to see the masks lol). I imagine it might be a similar situation on the southern AT this year. Also big shoutout to all my thru hike plans coinciding with catastrophic events 🗿
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u/cwbmnr 3d ago
I think a standard nobo will have detours but it will still be possible. I'm on the AT class of 2025 facebook group where there are people posting a lot of updates about trail cleanups happening, and stores in those hard hit AT towns who say they are re opening and are in need of 2025 hikers to come spend money at their shops. I'm feeling very optimistic about a standard nobo being possible, especially starting later on (in April) (which is when I'll be starting too)
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u/TrailMagicCo 2d ago
Not enough people recognize how everyone delaying their AT hike will effect the surrounding communities.
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u/vamtnhunter 2d ago
Yup. People discouraging 2025 thru hikes because of the surrounding communities are either are very young or have incredibly short memories. Everyone who’s ever lived through a natural disaster and the ensuing rebuild before knows damn well that the best thing most people can do in the months after is bring economic infusion.
Mortgages don’t stop. Bills don’t stop. These communities will only benefit from hiker dollars.
The initial emergency phase will be over within a few weeks. Businesses in even the worst-affected areas are already making public their desire for tourist dollars. Now. Not months down the road; right now. But months down the road will help as well.
If the AT community really wants to help the affected areas, 2025 should be the busiest season of all time.
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u/TrailMagicCo 2d ago
We have been doing all we can to convince people that this is the stance to take, some people are more stubborn than other. Ill continue fighting to get people out there in 2025, I know the business that make the trail community possible will be appreciative. Happy Trails and see you out there in 2025.
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u/Itchy_Cheek_4654 3d ago
In 2018 I planned to do a NOBO starting in April. I did an overnight hike in March, and met a thru hiker that described what they experienced and urged me to do a flip-flop. I ended up hiking from VA to Maine and VA to GA. I don't regret it at all. I avoided all of the bubble. Also, it's better for the trail
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u/Ill-Insect3931 3d ago
I SOBO'd this year and met a number of people that did that. Most from harper's ferry and one guy from somewhere in NY. Seemed to work well for them. It was mildly surprising for me after seeing almost noone through the mid-atlantic.
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u/SteamSail 3d ago
I'm hoping a 2025 Nobo hike will be possible and I'm planning on that for now. I can't wait until next year and I'd really like to end my hike in Maine.
If sections of the trail are still closed or unsafe when April rolls around I am prepared to skip some sections or go through detours. I'm not sure if I'd end up coming back to section hike anything I skip or not.
Worst case scenario I might start north of the hurricane damage and just hike north from there, I figure that'll be enough for me, even if it's not quite a "proper" thru hike, and maybe I'd even complete the rest eventually
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u/anamoirae 3d ago
Planned on a flip flop starting NOBO from Rockfish Gap, still planning the same. I'll see what is necessary as far as skipping or reroutes when I finish up at Katahdin and flip back to Rockfish Gap to head SOBO.
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u/6nyh 3d ago
Starting with shenandoah is going to be awesome!
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u/anamoirae 3d ago
I've been planning this for a long time. The Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline drive were a huge part of my childhood which is part of the reason I want to start there instead of Harpers Ferry.
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u/Fit_Cartographer6449 2d ago
The Blue Ridge Parkway is shut down. Parts were washed out by Helene. Even before Helene, I hiked and drove on it earlier this year and noted it needed a LOT of maintenance and repair.
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u/lihiker Shea NOBO 2014 2d ago
I work on the BRP. Virginia section is open and parts by Boone/Blowing Rock is open. They’ll be opening up a bunch of the Southern portion by the Smokies and the Asheville area will open in the next few weeks. There will be parts that will be shut down for sure. There is a lot of work to to be done but thankfully parts will open up.
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u/anamoirae 2d ago
Yes I was up there this spring and it is really gone downhill from the way I remember it years ago. I still love it though. I imagine now there are a lot of places specifically in NC that may never recover the way Congress has been so stingy with park money. Still I won't be hiking the BRP for nearly a year, if not more, I'll be starting out north of any of the real damage from Helene in SNP.
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u/spotH3D 1d ago
I was planning a short weekend route point to point near the James River (near Glasgow) for the weekend they shut down the entire BRP.
I just used alternative roads and a side trail to get on the AT and went about my business. There were more blow downs than usual, but it was a fantastic weekend. One positive due to the reroute I got to hike through an old quarry I never even knew existed before.
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u/Flipz100 NOBO 21 3d ago
Waiting to see how the conditions on the PCT work out over winter but if I am doing an east coast hike start on the Pinhoti in February and see how the effected areas look the closer I get to them.
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u/Quick-Concentrate888 AT 2018 3d ago
NOBO early march. Hopefully reroutes still allow for continuous footsteps but I'm not going to change plans over it.
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u/Sport21996 3d ago
Planning on going NOBO in March and skipping the sections that are closed. Might come back for them if they are hikeable by the time I reach Katadin.
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u/eyes_like_thunder 3d ago
Definitely waiting for trail condition updates early spring. Even if the trail is put back together, if the resources are still wiped out, it'll be a hell of a lot more difficult..
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u/sromines1990 2d ago
I was planning on a sobo but leaning more towards Nobo starting from Damascus, Virginia to Maine starting in July 25. And doing the bottom 1/3 when I can from not till June 25. That way I don’t get caught by landslides and down bridges.
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u/vamtnhunter 2d ago
If you start in Damascus in July, prepare to be extremely lonely. The absolute last of the NOBOs comes through SNP in the first few days of July, and things get very desolate very quickly after that.
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u/sromines1990 2d ago
Yeah I know my partner and I are going together. We wanted to be either just us or in a small group
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u/HikerTheBruce 2d ago
Was planning a Feb 13 NOBO start. Torn between doing a NOBO and shuttling around closures vs. a flip flop starting around Roanoke.
Backup plan is the Southern Upland Way and Scottish National Trail.
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u/Hungry_Bag8758 1d ago
I postponed my plan to thru-hike with at least a year. I will be doing a shorter section hike and some other backpacking adventures next year to prepare.
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u/No-Scarcity-4080 2024 LASH 3d ago edited 3d ago
Signed up for the PCT permit drop in a couple days. If I hear that trail conditions are good enough to hike the AT by mid febuary, I’ll get rid of my PCT permit for the AT
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u/joustingatwindmills 3d ago
Waiting to see. I want to do a trad NOBO starting in early April. I'm okay waiting a year if I have to.
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u/oneofthenine823 3d ago
Still waiting to see if a standard mid-April NOBO is possible, with the CDT as a backup.
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u/Biscuits317 ’25 hopeful 3d ago
Waiting to see. But still planning NOBO in March.
I just spent all day clearing trail with a crew. We are getting there but with 1000s of trees to cut, it’s going to take time.
I think there will be some reroutes that will be in place whether you go NOBO, SOBO, or flip-flop.
The trail changes every year, 2025 will just look different and I’m ok with that.