Leaving the Trail
So what happened to you to make you leave the trail and not finish your thru hike. I'ld like to know so I can fend off the same problem and I have a better chance of success.
You may find a lot of reasons, but mostly due to personal injury/illness or logistics (cost, trouble with supplies, etc.), with a fair amount of life circumstances arising (death/illness in the family, etc.).
Everyone has their own hike - everyone has their own reasons for starting, everyone has their own reasons for stopping.
I'll preface this by saying that I am only a section hiker
First thing that many attempting a thru do wrong is starting too fast before getting physically comfortable hiking with a loaded pack. This causes injuries , praticularlly knee issues from expecting more from your body too early on. Start slow with low mileage days and low expectations ,setting your own pace.
The other aspect of hiking long distances for months on end is to take one day at a time and not quit after having a lousy day on the trail.There will be plently of bad days but that is in anything you ever attempt in life .
Conquer the mental demons and find fun in every day that comes along , even when you feel tired of hiking.
Additionally, listen to what your body tells you. If it no longer fun and you want to go home, then by all means do it.
Getting lost is a way to find yourself.
Most folks who leave their thru-hike because they soon discover "it's not what they thought it would be." A thru-hike is a hard job. You have to show up every day for a hard dirty job with no pay. The food is bad and the bed is hard. Rain or shine, cold or hot you still have to do the job day after day, week after week.
Those who stick with the job soon discover the freedom you have and the spirit of independance you aquire. Not to mention the people you meet and all the wonderfull experiences along the way.
Grampie-N->2001
I attempted a SOBO thru-hike this year, and had to leave the trail in NJ. I've had the good fortune of doing other hikes over the years, and this was the first one I had to end prematurely. I was asked to come home because my family was not able to keep up with responsibilities at home due to a recent promotion at work that required a lot of traveling for them. Although it was tough to leave the trail, I was fine with the decision. I have had unconditional support on all of my other adventures over the years, and the support needed to be reciprocated.
I've seen other hikes ended over the years due to some of the following reasons...many already mentioned above.
Loneliness - Depending on trail, direction, and time of year, lack of people is a real game changer for many.
Home Sickness - Many find being away from their family is tough. My family has always been actively involved in my hikes as the base of support, which has made the absence easier.
Injuries - My last hike consisted of a foot infection, bed bug bites (yuck), and a bad wrist sprain. All were frustrating, but manageable. I've found many aches and pains have decreased with my pack weight over the years.
Safety - I knew of two individuals that stopped this year because they did not feel safe, but I think they started their journeys fairly uncomfortable with the situation. I've always felt safe, but am pretty careful about trying not to put myself in unsafe situations.
Finances - I think some people think they will be living out of towns most of the time, so expense will be minimal. If not accustomed to weather, pain, bugs, etc., the towns become very attractive. Heck, even if accustomed to these things, town comforts are pretty attractive. I myself have a hard time staying away from food. There are also the bonds that develop, that result in hikers wanting to stay with their friends and head for towns when they go to town. This can become expensive.
Expectations - The AT is a tough trail. The pictures we see are the "best views," "best friends," "best moments," etc. There are many of those, but there are just as many or more tough times...spending multiple days in the rain with damp gear, mosquitoes followed by black flies, mud, cold, heat, climbs of over a thousand feet, climbs that are hand over hand and a little scary depending on conditions, etc.
Mental - There are numerous times when many just want to stop, and a gazillion ways to justify the decision, with numerous places to end the journey and walk off the trail. I have heard many say "I am not having fun." Personally, many of my most rewarding accomplishments have required effort, work, and in some cases a little pain, so I never expected my hikes to be any different. The rewards along the trails, and the sense of accomplishment are what got me "hooked," and keep me coming back in between "life." I never expected the hikes to be easy.
I've already said too much, so I will hush now, but have a great hike and enjoy the time.
1. Not as much fun as they thought it would be
2. Injuries
3. Money
4. Family circumstances
I had to come home last week with about 3 weeks and 300 miles to go on my AT SOBO. The fostering arrangements for my dog ended on short notice and I did not want to kennel him for three weeks (elderly fella who could not join me on the trail). At the same time I had been struggling with a persistent giardia infection for more than a month. I thought I was making progress after two weeks of antibiotics, but about three days after I got home I got much worse and developed a complication called reactive arthritis that made it hard to even climb stairs. I file this under the "all things in their own time" category, since I could have been in the middle of the Smokey Mtns. when I got worse, and it was already a challenge to hike with my lingering physical issues from a year+ struggle with chronic Lyme disease.
http://www.kentuckyindianalymesupport.org/
VI ET ANIMO
"I'm pretty tired, I think I'll go home now" - Forrest Gump
I hiked from Springer to Damascus in 1976 with all the intentions of thru-hiking that year. It was a typical mix of cold, wet, tired, sore, etc. The trail was quite a bit different back then - and not nearly as crowded. But those weren't the reasons I stopped. I honestly just got bored with hiking every day and wasn't having fun. My "short attention span personality" is probably better suited to section hiking.
Agree...learned this leason the hard way, I have torn miniscus in both knees, started hiking too many miles and too fast the first week, the knees sent me home after 415 miles, believe I would have been okay if I'd done the downhills at a reasonable pace and kept the miles under 15/day for the first couple of weeks.Originally Posted by johnnybgood
would agree with these. I also think there is a huge difference between what people say the reason they leave and the real reason. I don't believe injuries are nearly as common as sited. They provide a convenient "excuse" for those that discover a thru hike isn't all peaches and cream all day everyday. I think this is also true of "family circumstances" as well. It is a face saving excuse. But the good news is that there is a way to avoid this. Get out and hike prior to a thru hike attempt and see if you like to hike day after day, in the rain, snow, heat and cold.
Last edited by Malto; 12-21-2013 at 14:38.
I celebrated 20 consecutive years of section hiking by attempting to thru-hike this year. I didn't make it three weeks. I've had arthritis in my knees for years but it had been relatively quiet. The cold wet weather of this Spring, compounded by the LONG descent down to NOC in Wesser did me in. I was pretty much crippled by the time I got down. I flew home the next day and it was over a month before I could walk without pain even on level ground. I'll be back out in 2014, sectioning, wearing two humungous carbon fiber knee braces. I need to name them. As always, the hardest part of leaving the trail is leaving your friends, in my case Team Mofo.
this other thread goes hand in hand with your question. its largely a mental game.shroomers post is on point
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...s-and-thoughts
It is completely a mental game......if there are no other real issues.
I too can believe many that "lose" the mental game would blame other reasons to save face.
Im not sure why. A fair excuse to quit is simply that someone isnt enjoying themselves any more. Case closed. But because a lot of folks arent enjoying themselves, but still feel driven to complete it may make them feel inferior if they just quit.
However, some do have real issues obviously.
So here's a question. How long does one need to have been on a trail and still liking it before knowing that a 5-6 month thru hike is something they would enjoy and be mentally equipped to deal with? I did a 18 day hike this year (my longest to date) and after a day in a motel felt like I could keep going indefinitely. There are many reasons for a long thru hike to end but I'd like to make sure that leaving because I'm just sick of it doesn't end up being a factor. I'm planning a continuous month of hiking in 2014 and thinking that if I still want to hike at the end of that the PCT is on for 2015.
HST/JMT August 2016
TMB/Alps Sept 2015
PCT Mile 0-857 - Apr/May 2015
Foothills Trail Feb 2015
Colorado Trail Aug 2014
AT: Rockfish Gap to Boiling Springs 2014
John Muir Trail Aug/Sept 2013
Well if you make it half way that would be a good indication that you might be able to go all the way.
At some point you have so much invested in it you don't want to quit even if it's no fun any more.
Some people (like me) are just to stubborn to quit.
"Chainsaw" GA-ME 2011
I'm not sure if I agree with 'If you make it half way, you might be able to go all the way.' The trail is much tougher up north than it is down south. I've been section hiking now for about 18 years. All I have is about 330 miles in NH and ME. The problem for me is that the trail is tougher and I am 18 years older.
Sugarfoot; might you recommend a brand of knee brace? I tore a ligament in my knee, and broke a hip, many years ago, and worry about them in my SOBO attempt them next year.
Thanks
All things noble are as rare as they are difficult...Spinoza
Over the years of sectioning if was quite obvious that the general attitude of the crowd was different pre and post Trail Days . A much higher percentage of the party crowd pre Damascus, folsk post Damascus were still having a good time but they were a lot more determined. I expect Virginia in generally is major hurdle, it just goes on for weeks and after awhile the green tunnel get old to some. I also have run into many in the whites that have run out of money and time, they set the whites as an intermediate goal but they then zero a day or two in Gorham and then realize they have a month go with no easy out, while the Concord Trailways bus head out of town every morning.
I can do 6 weeks and then I get bored. I will never be able to do a thru-hike, but I love doing these long sections.
I think every hiker I have met within several weeks of the end of their thru hike, has admitted they were ready for it to be over.
Sad, but glad, reluctant, and excited, all at the same time.
Everyone gets tired of hiking I think at some pont.
That alone isnt a reason to quit.
Multiple factors probably add up for many until its just not worth it anymore in their mind.
You have infected blisters, your best trail buddy drops out, your GF broke up with you, the dog died, and its raining, and all of a sudden hiking really sucks.
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