Mom of prospective thru-hiker has concerns

[QiWiz]

I'd like to pass on this slightly edited request for advice to the Whiteblaze community. I'll be giving this mom the link to this thread so she can read all of your good advice:

"I am writing to ask for some guidance. My 19 yr. old son is dead set on going on the AT and would like to hike all the way thru. He has never gone on trips of this magnitude, one week at the longest. He doesn't have anyone to go with that he knows. He claims he has made contact with someone on the internet who is going. I am not sure how reliable that contact is considering it was off the internet. Bottom line, he was originally planning to do this alone. I told him that I did not feel it was a smart thing to do nor did I think it was safe to go alone. He also wants to start in the next 2 weeks. His reason for wanting to start so early is that he wants to be back in time for college which starts back in session in mid August. I am also concerned about the weather right now.I like that your trip is in the beginning of April. The weather should be better. My fears are the weather conditions and his safety. There is safety in numbers.

I guess I could use some help from a well seasoned backpacker as to what could be a compromise. Also what to expect out there."

[QiWiz]

Let me reassure you that March is the peak month with the most thru-hikers starting on the trail per day of any month. Your son will have lots of company on the trail (typically another 5-15 hikers starting per day). Whomever hikes at about the same pace as he does will become close friends with him very quickly. The AT is a very social trail where people generally do look out for each other.

If he wants to finish in mid-August, the sooner he starts the more time he gives himself to finish. A mid-March start will give him 5 months, which is pretty reasonable to finish in. An April start will mean he'll need to increase his average daily mileage by 10-20%. I'm starting in April but only doing a 3-4 week-long section hike. If I were doing a thru-hike, I'd probably be starting in March with the rest of the crowd.

By April, the weather is maybe a bit better as you point out. But even in April, it can snow and/or get pretty cold at elevation in GA and the Smokies. In early April, I will pack gear that keeps me warm down to 20 degrees. In March, especially early March, I would bring gear that keeps me warm down to 10 degrees. A tarp or tent is essential as shelters may well be full in March, and he may want to camp in between shelters sometimes anyway. He should have the funds to stay in a motel or hostel off trail if really bad conditions mandate getting off the trail for a day or two, unless he has the gear to keep going in any conditions.

Other Whiteblazers with more experience than I will no doubt add their advice to this thread. Much of the advice will be excellent and but realize that advice may be biased by the poster's own experiences of either an easy March start or a terrible March start. Mountains are not predictable in the weather department - can rain for days, dump snow or ice, be hot and sunny. Gotta roll with it. I hope you don't mind my posting your question here. Be well.

[Turtle Feet]

As a mom of 3 twenty-something boys, I can feel her pain. My youngest just turned 20 last week!

If I knew nothing of what I know now about the trail, I'd share her reservations. I suspect she'll get alot of reassurance from this community - and rightfully so. But, with that said, no one knows her son like she does. Maybe she has her own personal reasons for her reluctance.

Bottom line from me. He will be in the presence of alot of other hikers - good, honest people who look out for each others wellfare regarless of age or gender. The fact that he wants to be back in time for college that tells me he's responsible, and has his head on straight - good traits to carry along the trail.

I say let him go; let him make his own sucesses and failures, and learn from both. I bet the son she gets back in August will be a more mature and well-rounded individual.

[the goat]

weather will be a little dicey, but as long as he is aware of that & has proper gear, he will be fine.

there are many, many others starting right now, through march; so he most definitely won't be alone.

[GiganticMermaid]

I'm also 19 and have to get back in time for the Fall semester in August. As long as he has the correct gear, he should be perfectly fine. Also, if the weather ever gets absolutely horrible, there are many shelters along the trail that he can bunker down in.

Most terrible storms can be predicted, very rarely does a random blizzard pop up and surprise you(very rarely does one even happen anyways). It's pretty hard to get lost on the trail, for the most part it is well marked, and never really too far away from a road or town.

[John B]

Last summer my daughter and her female friend bicycled from Vancouver, Canada to Tiajuana, Mexico, camping and staying in hostels along the way.
http://www.canada-to-mexicotour.blogspot.com/

This June she and another girl are flying to Banos, Ecuador to hike and go mountain climbing for 10 days.

Maybe loosen up the reins a little bit and let your son make some decisions on his own? He is, after all, now an adult.

Last year a 16 yr. old kid hiked the AT by himself. PM me and I'll find his trailjournal if you can't. Look up "Red Dane" on www.trailjournals.com -- a 20-something girl from Norway who hiked the AT, starting on Feb 1. So why do you think it's not a good idea for him to do it by himself?

If he gets cold, hungry, sore, tired, and lonely, so what? He can figure out what to do. But chances are he'll have a great time, made even more enjoyable by your support rather than fretting and worrying.

[Captain Blue]

1) Don't be a helicopter parent.

2) Based on averages .... There is a 10% chance your son will quit his hike after 30 miles. A 33% chance he will quit after 160 miles. A 50% chance he won't make it to the half way point. And only a 25% chance he will make it all the way to Katahdin.

[Red Hat]

Moms are like that, no matter what age! My mother was 83 last year when I hiked and she worried the whole time. I was fine, in spite of being 63 and female. The trail is safer than any town in the USA. There is safety in numbers, but I felt safe even while alone. He, like most younguns, will meet others his age to hike with. Just tell him to keep in touch whenever in town, and follow a map or guidebook of his progress. (My mom had a copy of the AT Guide which she enjoyed)

[Amanita]

I'm 19 and *gasp* female, and I'm planning a Long Trail e2e this summer. When I told my mom she extracted 2 promises out of me.

1. to take a synthetic bag; a down bag is useless when soaked, but a synthetic will still help keep you warm and prevent hypothermia.

2. to not hike at night; in the dark slips and falls are more common, and it's easier to get lost. hiking tired means you might make more mistakes. and if the worst does happen, and you need help, another hiker probably won't walk by til morning.

On the trail, your son is still a phone call and a call back away, just like at college. and depending where he goes to school, might be physically closer too. Your son is responsible for doing his own laundry, finding his own meals, and running his own schedule for 2 semesters a year already. It's time to let go.

[CrumbSnatcher]

1) Don't be a helicopter parent.

2) Based on averages .... There is a 10% chance your son will quit his hike after 30 miles. A 33% chance he will quit after 160 miles. A 50% chance he won't make it to the half way point. And only a 25% chance he will make it all the way to Katahdin.

whats the % of under age hikers boozing it up?
the booze and the slippery roots are about the only troubles!
i watched a show last night about hiking in moose country with a dog
that might lower your chance of finishing a little more.
plenty of other hikers around mom, i'll call as often as possible

[Spokes]

Is this purpose of this thread to reassure the mom or the hiker?

Just wondering.

[Lilred]

whats the % of under age hikers boozing it up?
the booze and the slippery roots are about the only troubles!
i watched a show last night about hiking in moose country with a dog
that might lower your chance of finishing a little more.
plenty of other hikers around mom, i'll call as often as possible

I saw that same show. Very enlightening.

I reiterate other's comments, don't hover over him. Support him instead of trying to kill his dream. So you worry, that's your job as a parent. Don't make him change his ways because of it.

He's safer on the trail than in any big city, anywhere, anytime. As long as he has the proper gear for the job, which is true of any sport, he'll be fine.

I'm a female in my 50's and I've been hiking the trail since 2003, by myself, and have never had a problem...

He'll have the time of his life, don't dampen that time with your worries and fears. That's my 2 cents from a mom of two twenty something boys.

[sbhikes]

I guess I'm lucky, but I was also in my mid-40s when I decided to hike all by myself. My mom was excited for me. And then she found out she lived near the trail (the PCT) and everything changed for her.

She decided she needed to start helping hikers get rides to and from town. So she left her phone number and a cooler of goodies on the trail. She picked up her first batch of hikers and was amazed what interesting people they were, so she invited them to dinner and to sleep on the lawn. They had a great time at dinner and when she looked at all the tents on the lawn she thought that was wrong, so she invited them to sleep in the house.

She spent the whole summer maintaining 3 coolers full of supplies, food and coolers for hikers out on the trail, driving them back and forth to her house or town, and otherwise taking care of "her hikers." She collected pictures of them and kept a log book where they signed in their appreciative messages. She would find cash hidden all around the house because she wouldn't take donations. She did this two years in a row.

She is very bummed out she won't get to do it again this year. She's going to Wisconsin instead. Next year is a trip to Alaska. She secretly hopes the Alaska trip falls through so she can be with her hikers again.

I hope this story about my own mom reassures your mom.

[handlebar]

Dear Worried Mom,

I was 63 when I did the AT and, had my mom still been living, she would certainly have been worried about me. That's one of a mom's jobs, after all. Of course, that's in conflict with another part of a mom's job which is to set her fledglings out on their own. I wouldn't worry too much, rather, I'd encourage your son. This will be the adventure of a lifetime. I was amazed at how some of those "kids" matured over the course of their hikes.

However, even if the person your son hooked up with on the internet doesn't prove out, he/she will definitely have a lot of company starting in March. I didn't try to find a hiking partner in advance because I'd read that many of these alliances fall apart due to a variety of reasons: different hiking speeds, personality conflict, etc. I wound up hiking with a fellow about my age until he developed stress fractures in his metatarsals from carrying way too much weight. Then I wound up hiking with a group of youngsters ranging in age from 17 to 25. They were some of the finest young people I've ever met. So----your son or daughter will be in good company. There's bound to be someone compatible that he will meet during the first few days or week of his hike; and, in the meantime, there will be many hikers on the trail should some emergency arise (which is unlikely). Thru-hikers of all ages are very supportive of one another.

2. Weather. Well it varies a lot but by March, any snow that comes to the southern Appalachians will be gone in just a few days. When I started on March 15, we had beautiful weather for about 4 days, a gray day with some freezing rain, then more beautiful weather. About 2 weeks into the trip there was a snow storm, but 2 days later the snow was gone. I elected to stay in my tent the day of the storm, but believe I'd actually have been warmer had I been hiking. As mentioned by other posters, there are shelters about every 7 miles, but one should carry a tent or tarp in case the shelter is full.

3. Lack of experience. Well, since your son has been out for a week, he's got about all the experience I'd deem necessary. After all, a thru-hike is really a series of 3 to 5 day sections between resupply stops in towns. That 5 day stint would be good preparation, though most thru hikers wind up carrying less gear than occasional hikers. If he/she posts a gear list on this forum, there will be a lot of good feedback. Most people wind up carrying too much.

[Sickmont]

Ya gotta cut the rope sometime. My daughter's 19 and she's getting ready to leave to go to Turkey for a whole year to do mission work.

[Mongoose2]

Mom:

Your son will never be alone on the trail and will always have lots of fellow hikers to keep him company! I hike with my 23 year old son when he is on break, and now my 11 year old daughter who swears she will thru hike when old enough (yikes)! As some indicated the only real danger is an accidental fall, bad water, ticks and alcohol while in town. It will be the time of his life! Support him and meet up with him along the trail when you can. Perhaps mail him a few care packages at predetermined locations on the trail.....his memories will be priceless!

[d.o.c]

i was 19 durin my hike and even tho i was alone after a while there were people everyday lots of the same people u become like a walking family of hikers i hiked a good 800 miles with the same group and so on he will be fine once he gets out here im sure he will meet someone the first few days tht will be there at the end to. i calld my mom once to twice a week to keep the worries down and let her kno where i had made it to..

[RWBlue]

It really depends on the kid.

I have met 30 year olds who shouldn't be let out of the house alone. There are a few I work with who I am surprised make it to work every day.

On the flip side, I have been very impressed with some friends kids. The one that comes to mind was a boy scout. He has spent a good amount of time in the woods. He can read a map. He has common sense.

So the question is: Is your kid part of group1 or part of group2?

Do they have their gear together?
Do they have a plan?
Have they broken in their boots?
Have they started working out a mail drop plan?

PS. I have not done a thru hike. I think it takes a different kind of person. Most people can not get the time away from work, school..... I personally find weekend tripping to be more enjoyable.

[Blue Jay]

1) Don't be a helicopter parent.

2) Based on averages .... There is a 10% chance your son will quit his hike after 30 miles. A 33% chance he will quit after 160 miles. A 50% chance he won't make it to the half way point. And only a 25% chance he will make it all the way to Katahdin.

I'm impressed that hikers are sooooo exactly dependable so their percentages are in whole numbers.

[Leanthree]

I'm impressed that hikers are sooooo exactly dependable so their percentages are in whole numbers.

98% of all statistics about the AT are at least 22.4% false.

To the original post. I would be very proud of your son. The only thing I would be worried about is how obsessed with hiking the PCT or CDT he will be in 2012 and 2013.