At Sobo 2011

[Nest]

I think your right. But I do remember people talking about how hard GA was starting out........

Because they were out of shape and never hiked before. That's what kills NOBOs. We immediately started out with constant ups and downs. They weren't nearly as big as the northern states, but they also never ended. I remember the first flat section you notice as a NOBO is the parking lot at NOC. Other than that and Fontana Dam it's just up and down all day every day. Then the other difficulty is that when we hit the Whites and other real mountains we were drained. Our bodies were shot, we were never able to eat enough, and we started crashing.

SOBOs on the other hand start out on the hardest part. It's nice through the 100s, but after that you are smacked in the face with jagged terrain. You had to get in shape the hard way. You also don't have the support and trail magic NOBOs have. We had Neels Gap after 2-3 days. So we didn't have to suffer from our newbie mistakes nearly as long as you did.

Like I said, it balances out I believe. We both hiked the same terrain, just at different times. You got the hardest terrain over early while you still had some energy stores and were eager to hike yet were out of shape. Then hit the constant and non-stop ups and downs when you were drained and ready to finish. We hit them right away and had a good chance to get in shape without being whooped. On the other hand we had the hardest part while being physically and mentally exhausted yet more experienced.

[Youngblood]

Because they were out of shape and never hiked before. That's what kills NOBOs. We immediately started out with constant ups and downs. They weren't nearly as big as the northern states, but they also never ended. I remember the first flat section you notice as a NOBO is the parking lot at NOC. Other than that and Fontana Dam it's just up and down all day every day. Then the other difficulty is that when we hit the Whites and other real mountains we were drained. Our bodies were shot, we were never able to eat enough, and we started crashing.

SOBOs on the other hand start out on the hardest part. It's nice through the 100s, but after that you are smacked in the face with jagged terrain. You had to get in shape the hard way. You also don't have the support and trail magic NOBOs have. We had Neels Gap after 2-3 days. So we didn't have to suffer from our newbie mistakes nearly as long as you did.

Like I said, it balances out I believe. We both hiked the same terrain, just at different times. You got the hardest terrain over early while you still had some energy stores and were eager to hike yet were out of shape. Then hit the constant and non-stop ups and downs when you were drained and ready to finish. We hit them right away and had a good chance to get in shape without being whooped. On the other hand we had the hardest part while being physically and mentally exhausted yet more experienced.

I hiked it nobo and live in Georgia. I remember some talking about how tough Blood Mountain in Georgia was when we where in the Whites... I just laughed at them and told them they just forgot how bad of shape they were in when they started out.

The typical nobo hiker struggles in Georgia saying "Don't they believe in switchbacks... huff, huff?". The typical sobo can cover Georgia at 3 mph all day long.

[Nest]

I hiked it nobo and live in Georgia. I remember some talking about how tough Blood Mountain in Georgia was when we where in the Whites... I just laughed at them and told them they just forgot how bad of shape they were in when they started out.

The typical nobo hiker struggles in Georgia saying "Don't they believe in switchbacks... huff, huff?". The typical sobo can cover Georgia at 3 mph all day long.

Yeah, Blood Mt is a cakewalk compared to a majority of the climbs on the AT. The northern side is a little rough being steep near the top. Other than that though it's just a regular mt.

I actually preffered the lack of switchbacks in the north. The climbing straight up rocky areas was more strenuous, but you got it over with. In the south you can walk for a mile and only gain a few hundred feet and not really know it. In the north you can see what you have done because you are climbing straight up the side of the mt.