Great Thru-Hiking Resource: Halfway Anywhere (https://www.halfwayanywhere.com/)

[High-Milage Hiker]

I did a basic search on WhiteBlaze and didn't notice that anyone mentioned this site as a resource. The owner has been collecting data on thru-hikes and I found it interesting:

https://www.halfwayanywhere.com/

Some of the data that I thought was cool entailed: (a) changes in foot size while hiking, (b) reasons for quitting thru-hikes, (c) popular gear used during thru-hikes and (d) most common injuries.

It would be fun to have a friendly data-driven discussion about some of this information if anyone would like to chime in. I undestand that this data isn't AT specific, but I'm sure that some generalizations can be made until more AT data is available (unless it already is and I'm simply unaware). If not, I hope this site provides someone with another valuable resource for their tool box.

For example, under PCT 2022, the data breaks down hike-ending injuries (https://www.halfwayanywhere.com/trai...r-survey-2022/) which can be assumed to be a combination of underconditioning, inadequate footware, pushing too many miles/day and lack of proper stretching before/during/after a long day of hiking. Thoughts, especially from well-seasoned hikers?

Hike-Ending Injuries

• 17.4% – Overuse injury (foot)
• 17.4% – Overuse injury (leg)
• 13% – Broken bone (foot)
• 8.7% – Stress fracture (leg)
• 8.7% – Torn Tendon
• 6.5% – Stress fracture (foot)
• 6.5% – Back Injury
• 6.5% – Hip Injury
• 4.3% – Knee Injury
• 2.2% – Plantar fasciitis
• 2.2% – Concussion

[Traveler]

Interesting stats on the PCT, what caught my attention was the hike ending injuries were less than I thought they would be at 19.7% of the of thru hiking group in 2022. What did surprise me was the chief hike ending issue was fires that year, some 44% of those who did not complete left the trail due to active fires and presumably resulting reroutes.

[High-Milage Hiker]

Interesting stats on the PCT, what caught my attention was the hike ending injuries were less than I thought they would be at 19.7% of the of thru hiking group in 2022. What did surprise me was the chief hike ending issue was fires that year, some 44% of those who did not complete left the trail due to active fires and presumably resulting reroutes.

I was surprised by the PCT fire hike-ending numbers too Traveler. I read that a number of thru-hikers in 2022 had respiroty illnesses which forced them off trail. I was also intrigued by the whopping 22% of end-hiking injuries due to broken bones and stress fractures. That's almost a 1/4 of thru hikers!

I asked the website creator if he had any correlational data that could possibly explain this in more detail. I'd be interested to know whether there were any completion rate differences between those who wore hiking boots vs. trail runners and what percent of each finished their thru-hikes (including base weight, age and previous injuries prior to starting).


I oftentimes get caught up in the common proverbial debates about boots vs. trail runners or external vs. internal frame packs. But there seems to be far less acutal data about these topics other than market-driven YouTube videos and outlier personal narratives.

[Traveler]

I would like to see that comparative data on hike ending injuries among those wearing boots, trail shoes, and trail runners as well.