Thru hikers who don't make it (What are some of the major reasons?)

[Nean]

perhaps other than injury- what I have seen is- people overestimate their abilities and underestimate the trail.

As far as the pct goes, it has more experieced hikers attempting it and is much easier walking. Not always beautiful views as suggested but a lot more of the wide open views that come w/ bigger mountains.

[Studlintsean]

First plus 1 to notyet.

Also if you just want to finish a thru hike ( why so you can claim a title) and pick a trail based on probable completion rate I suggest the BR&O in Fairfax County VA managed with help from the PATC. It will take depending on pace 6 to 48 hours. It really is very nice.

Is this referring to starting at Fountain head and finishing in Bull Run Park??

[kayak karl]

Reason #9--I thought it was gonna be fun, not hard work!

i always wonder what kind of jobs yous guys got that makes you think hiking is HARD WORK.

[MJW155]

Here's the biggest reason, in my opinion, that most people quits: the AT, as a hiking trail, mostly sucks. It's excessively steep in many places. Most of the time you're walking through woods with no views. The routing is poor, going over many pointless climbs with no views or other payoff. A lot of the trail up north is badly eroded, fills with water when it rains, and can be slippery or even dangerous when wet.

This is the underlying reason explaining why so many people quit. It's why people get bored (no views) and get injured (too steep).

My advice: if you want to finish a thru-hike (50%+ completion rate vs 20ish% on the AT) and enjoy yourself throughout, go hike the PCT.

This. I thought the trail sucked. There were parts that would cross a logging road at the base of a mountain. You'd have to hike over the mountain, and then cross the same logging road on the other side. Stupid. This happened numerous times. My take was that when the trail was designed, they said "How can we get from point A to point B and make it as senseless and difficult as possible?"

There was 1 section in NC where you hike 8 or 9 peaks in 20 miles and not one of them has a view. If it rained, water would be up to your ankles. I don't mind hiking in rain but I don't want to be wading in a river either. For the amount of rain the trail gets, I thought it was annoying how hard it was to find water at times. You would see a little sign saying water was .1 of a mile off the trail and end up having to go down 500 feet to a stream and then back up again. I hiked from Springer to Clingmans and got bored and went home.

[SassyWindsor]

Correlation does not prove causation.

Just because there's a higher finishing rate among PCT thru hikers does NOT mean that any given person is more likely to finish. The PCT has a very different crowd than the AT. Not to say the views aren't relevant, but...

I hiked the PCT 3 years after the AT, my observation was the PCT had a much, much higher percentage of veteran hikers. Most of the newer hikers were section or day hikers. The AT has a much larger number of hikers and a higher number of newbies. In addressing some of the other comments on this thread: It's true the AT doesn't have all the views but the ones you do have are nice, I found the AT to be sort or a social network where friends are made and I'm still amazed at the speed which news travels along the trail. AT trail towns have the ones on the PCT beat by a mile. Food along both trails are great, more eats along the AT by far. Weather can be a killer on either trail, the PCT has the killer part down pat. I would recommend anyone trying to decide which trail to hike first, I'd tell them the AT then the PCT. I one day will attempt the CDT along with the Canadian GDT (3900 miles?), will have to figure out the timing and exact routing.

[NotYet]

This. I thought the trail sucked. There were parts that would cross a logging road at the base of a mountain. You'd have to hike over the mountain, and then cross the same logging road on the other side. Stupid. This happened numerous times. My take was that when the trail was designed, they said "How can we get from point A to point B and make it as senseless and difficult as possible?"

There was 1 section in NC where you hike 8 or 9 peaks in 20 miles and not one of them has a view. If it rained, water would be up to your ankles. I don't mind hiking in rain but I don't want to be wading in a river either. For the amount of rain the trail gets, I thought it was annoying how hard it was to find water at times. You would see a little sign saying water was .1 of a mile off the trail and end up having to go down 500 feet to a stream and then back up again. I hiked from Springer to Clingmans and got bored and went home.

While this may have been both unpleasant and unexpected for you, it doesn't mean "the trail sucked." It simply means that the way you chose to interpret your experience led you to perceive that the trail sucked. Another person with a different mindset might have thoroughly enjoyed the same experience or had a tremendous learning about him/herself. We choose what we get out of an experience; we choose whether or not we are bored, and we choose what we think does or doesn't suck. The trail has much to offer anyone who chooses to hike it, but it's up to the hiker to decide what the experience can or will mean. The trail simply is. You can go back to the same trail time and again and have completely different experiences every time. We control our own perceptions and how we define them. I think the trail is wonderful...

[Dogwood]

While this may have been both unpleasant and unexpected for you, it doesn't mean "the trail sucked." It simply means that the way you chose to interpret your experience led you to perceive that the trail sucked. Another person with a different mindset might have thoroughly enjoyed the same experience or had a tremendous learning about him/herself. We choose what we get out of an experience; we choose whether or not we are bored, and we choose what we think does or doesn't suck. The trail has much to offer anyone who chooses to hike it, but it's up to the hiker to decide what the experience can or will mean. The trail simply is. You can go back to the same trail time and again and have completely different experiences every time. We control our own perceptions and how we define them. I think the trail is wonderful...

+1 Well stated. Heed the golden nuggets of wise principles in this post. They can change the quality of not only your experiences but your life. It comes from a person who truly understands how to have a good time!

[hikerboy57]

This. I thought the trail sucked. There were parts that would cross a logging road at the base of a mountain. You'd have to hike over the mountain, and then cross the same logging road on the other side. Stupid. This happened numerous times. My take was that when the trail was designed, they said "How can we get from point A to point B and make it as senseless and difficult as possible?"

There was 1 section in NC where you hike 8 or 9 peaks in 20 miles and not one of them has a view. If it rained, water would be up to your ankles. I don't mind hiking in rain but I don't want to be wading in a river either. For the amount of rain the trail gets, I thought it was annoying how hard it was to find water at times. You would see a little sign saying water was .1 of a mile off the trail and end up having to go down 500 feet to a stream and then back up again. I hiked from Springer to Clingmans and got bored and went home.

this past august we hiked for a full day of nonstop torrential rain, boots filled with water that i just kept them on for stream crossings, and we sang.
loved/hated every second of that day

[RockDoc]

My take was that when the trail was designed, they said "How can we get from point A to point B and make it as senseless and difficult as possible?"

I met a maintainer in Maine who told us as much. There's a competition between the states for toughest trail segment. Maine went all out to win the award with more PUD's than you can count. But other states aren't far behind...

[WingedMonkey]

this past august we hiked for a full day of nonstop torrential rain, boots filled with water that i just kept them on for stream crossings, and we sang.
loved/hated every second of that day

One whole day of rain? Oh my I don't know how you finished your hike.

[MJW155]

I meant sucked as in generally speaking. Of course there were plenty of parts I enjoyed. I like Springer, Blood Mountain, Fontana Dam, etc.

I think the AT would be a lot more enjoyable if there was a driver route that you could take and see as much of the trail as possible w/o having to deal with being in the "woods" for days at a time. Basically, complete the trail in say 2 months instead of 5, or whatever.

I do get that the uncomfortable part is part of the challenge. Different strokes for different folks.

[NotYet]

MJW155, the AT has so many road crossings that it's possible to day-hike the entire thing (even though it's possible, most hikers would probably rather backpack some of the longer/harder roadless sections). A two month thru-hike = BIG miles every day. Maybe one day you'll get to hike the trail in a way that will give you the experience that you're seeking, be it section-hikes over several years, jumping around from one beautiful section to another whenever you get the chance, doing one long, continuous "slackpack", doing a "traditional" thru-hike, or exploring the AT in some other way. One of the reasons the AT is so special to so many people is because it can be enjoyed in so many ways. Happy Trails!

[MJW155]

MJW155, the AT has so many road crossings that it's possible to day-hike the entire thing (even though it's possible, most hikers would probably rather backpack some of the longer/harder roadless sections). A two month thru-hike = BIG miles every day. Maybe one day you'll get to hike the trail in a way that will give you the experience that you're seeking, be it section-hikes over several years, jumping around from one beautiful section to another whenever you get the chance, doing one long, continuous "slackpack", doing a "traditional" thru-hike, or exploring the AT in some other way. One of the reasons the AT is so special to so many people is because it can be enjoyed in so many ways. Happy Trails!

Oh I know. But the OP wanted to know the biggest reasons people fail to hike the whole thing. I was just being honest. If I could do it again, I'd get a buddy to come w/ me and we'd use a car and switch back and forth. But unfortunately, no one actaully really suggests that as an option. It's either hike the whole trail or "die trying" so to speak.

[mweinstone]

My name is matthewski. I belive that should answer your question. As the bigest looser, finishwise, id have to say the reason I fal to thru is my name.

[hikerboy57]

My name is matthewski. I belive that should answer your question. As the bigest looser, finishwise, id have to say the reason I fal to thru is my name.

happy holidays matty.

[MuddyWaters]

This. I thought the trail sucked. There were parts that would cross a logging road at the base of a mountain. You'd have to hike over the mountain, and then cross the same logging road on the other side. Stupid. This happened numerous times. My take was that when the trail was designed, they said "How can we get from point A to point B and make it as senseless and difficult as possible?"

There was 1 section in NC where you hike 8 or 9 peaks in 20 miles and not one of them has a view. If it rained, water would be up to your ankles. I don't mind hiking in rain but I don't want to be wading in a river either. For the amount of rain the trail gets, I thought it was annoying how hard it was to find water at times. You would see a little sign saying water was .1 of a mile off the trail and end up having to go down 500 feet to a stream and then back up again. I hiked from Springer to Clingmans and got bored and went home.

If you want to walk roads, you can do that anywhere.
Trail clubs routed the trails over interesting features, not necessarilly scenic. In some cases there used to be views where the land was previously logged when the trail was laid out, and today theres none.

Water is extremely plentiful on the AT. You can hike it without carrying water, people have. Just drinking at sources.

If you think walking in woods sucks, walking in the desert sucks more.

[max patch]

You can always HYOH, oops, I meant HDOH (Hike Doyle's Own Hike) by joining his slackpacking 2015 "Expedition". Carry just a pint of water and an orange and hike the trail; a true ultra-lighters dream.