Characteristics of successful thru hikers

[Jim Adams]

Reason for success....alcohol.

reason for lack of success.... alcohol!

....just my point of view...alcohol will get me to Katahdin...running out of money because of alcohol will get me to Troutville. LOL
geek

[Colter]

Quote Originally Posted by RED-DOG
Determination: you got to want it more than anything you have ever wanted before, Confidence: you got to have confidence in your abilities, Patience: you must have patience in your self and your gear, Willingness: you got to be willing to put yourself through all the Pain and the Rain and all those other miserable days, Money: you must have enough money to last, you got to be frugile with that almighty dollar, Prepardness: you got to be prepared for any occasion that can and does arise, Goals: set small goals for yourself while on the trail, such as when i get to the next state line or road crossing i am going to a store and buy myself a candybar and soda, Expectations: realize what you expect to get from the AT, and stop worrying about the weather it is what it is. RED-DOG

Best answer!

Except for the money problem, the rest is all in your head.

And even then, you must be frugal with it.
If for no other reason than to do another hike next year.

+1 to fiddlehead and Red-Dog

[SCRUB HIKER]

Reason for success....alcohol.

reason for lack of success.... alcohol!

This sounds suspiciously like the best Simpsons quote of all time: "To alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems."

I think hating to fail is a huge part of it. I hiked with someone WV, PA, CT and MA who was really not having a very good time on the AT, and just wanted to be at home. He had several very profane (and hilarious) ways of expressing this desire and he did so freely and often and didn't care who had to hear it. But more than disliking the day-to-day of hiking, he hated the idea of failing. He had friends complete the trail in previous years in really adverse circumstances and he wasn't going to fail to live up to them. So he completed his thru-hike and I doubt he'll ever try something like that again. I think there must be plenty of hikers out there like this, but they're obviously not on the message boards because they don't love hiking.

On the other hand, I unabashedly love hiking and I didn't realize, when I made the decision, how much I was going to hate failing to thru-hike: I ended up with an 1800-mile LASH (Long Ass Section Hike), because injury stopped me for 2 weeks in PA and I skipped 300 miles to meet back up with my friends. Knowing how much the failure to complete a thru-hike has gnawed at me the past two years, it's going to take a whole lot to stop me on my next trail. For someone who finds that they really don't like the hiking life so much, failure isn't going to trouble them--choosing to stop doing something you hate and get on with life is a smart decision in my opinion. But for me, I love hiking--at almost any given moment, I would rather be hiking than anything else. If I set myself a reasonable goal (thru-hiking) for my favorite activity in the world, there should be no excuse not to meet that goal. And if I carry that attitude out onto the trail, maybe even write it down and keep it somewhere on me, it reminds me why I should work hard to overcome the obstacles as they arise.

So hating--really strongly hating--to fail is one part of it. And loving to hike is another--you tend to remind yourself during tough hiking times that you'd still rather be on trail than back at home. If you have a lot of one, you don't even really need the other.

[WingedMonkey]

I skipped 300 miles to meet back up with my friends.

A reason for failure that I still can't understand. But it seems to be a popular one.

[Malto]

I hiked the PCT in a very high snow year on a fairly fast schedule. This put me up near the front of the pack after exiting the Sierra. I thought extensively about the traits that allowed the early hikers to make it through when the majority declared it impassible and impossible. As I met most of the early season Sierra goers I found a common set of characteristics. These characteristics, I believe, are the same shared traits for the majority of successful thru hikers.

Traits common among successful thru hikers:
1) determination.
2) adaptability.
3) experience and preparation.

I want to touch on the third. We all hear stories of folks that attempt and occasionally even finish a long trail with virtually no experience other than maybe a night out in the woods. This is also something that anyone attempting a thru hike can control. Prior to embarking on a multi month adventure, stack the cards in your favor and test out your gear, body and mind. The more this is done, the higher the chance of success.

Finally, one post listed luck as a reason for the major reason for success. That is utter BS. It is the qualities listed above that make someone "lucky" where their "unlucky" counterparts have more than their share of obstacles. Is it unlucky that an out of shape overloaded hiker has feet or ankle problems? Is it unlucky that someone burns through money in a trail town because they were unable to comfortably hike in rain or snow?

[JAK]

I think it must have to do with drugs, but the natural kind, endorphines. Some people must be more susceptable to a natural runner high or hiker high, and they make more natural endurance athletes. I've been doing a paper route going on a year now. About 100 papers give or take, and I do it all on foot right to the door for 1-1.5 hours of walking 6 days a week. Most people just drive and throw these days, but I maybe grumble getting out of bed, but once the endorphines kick in after the first 10 papers I am good to go. 8-10 hours a day for 100-150 days? Not sure, but I think the endorphines have to be a big part of it.

[fireneck]

Knowing when to stand on top of a mountain soaking up the view in your sweaty boxers, eating snickers bars with friends and when it's time to put your head down and walk. It's a find line.

Break too much and you will miss the walk. Walk to much and you miss the break.

I was also told very early on in my hike by a former thru-hiker, "At any moment you will be hurting somewhere. You just gotta keep on hiking."

[fredmugs]

"90% of it is mental. The other half is physical." Yogi Berra.

[Odd Man Out]

I think of backpacking as a craft (like gardening, sewing, carpentry, brewing, etc...). A craftsman or craftswoman uses skill, knowledge, and creativity to produce something that has value and is uniquely theirs. It is easier and often cheaper to buy food, clothes, furniture, and beer in a store rather than make them yourselves. Yet the gardener, tailor, carpenter, and homebrewer find joy, satisfaction, and pride in making these things themselves while executing their crafts. Likewise, there are easier and cheaper ways to get from GA to ME, but the successful thru-hiker is a master craftsman or craftswoman who has the skill, knowledge, and creativity needed to make that journey and finds satisfaction in doing so.

[stranger]

My opinion is that one must need a fairly strong focus, and perhaps little else in their life that competes with that focus. Focus is certainly a huge resource.

I 'failed' at 2 thru-hike attempts, 625 & 540 miles respectively...I love hiking for a while...but love my job, travel, music just as much. I lose focus and get bored after 400-500 miles, that's just me. Same thing happens on tour, after 14-15 shows I'm ready to get home, playing rock and roll is great...for 2 weeks, road trips...about 6-8 weeks, I have different thresholds for different activities in my life.

From what I've seen the things that drive most hikers off the trail are lack of money, partying and skipping sections or taking time off...

[Chuckie V]

What are some of the characteristics, habits, traits (etc.) of those who successfully complete a thru-hike?

I'd written the following in an old trail journal somewhere...


1) Luck. Without luck, you aren't going go far. (Unless it's bad.)
2) Insanity. Let's face it; thru-hikers are a strange, strange breed.
3) Drive. Not the ability to drive, but to be driven by your goal.
4) Competitiveness. Not with others but with yourself, and with the demons within.
5) Toughness. Physical toughness, mental toughness, toughness.
6) Fitness. Fat people aren't widespread on a long trail, just spread wide.
7) Tenacity. More than you've ever mustered in your entire life.
8) Humbleness. Ma Nature will teach you this.
9) Courage. You'll need more courage than taking just that first step.
10) Optimism. If you think it'll all work out, stay out (there).
11) Curiousness. You've already got this if you're on this site.
12) Humor. You better be able to at least make yourself laugh. (See #2)
13) Hunger. As in food. If you don't eat, you won't last very long.
14) Knowledge. If nothing else, you'd better know the basics.
15) Decisiveness. You can't take it as it comes all the time.

Maybe.

[rowan]

I haven't read the whole thread but I thought I'd chime in with this:

there are 3 types of hikers attempting to get to Katahdin. The first kind never makes it, due to injury or a lack of will or an unexpected phone call from home. The second kind makes it to the end of the trail, but they loathe it by that time. The only reason they finish is because they set a goal, and they are too stubborn to quit. The third type makes it to Katahdin and has a blast the entire time, enjoying every step, every ache and pain, and all of the beautiful friends who share the experience.

I think to be that third kind, you have to have a genuine love and appreciation for living outside. You have to enjoy living simply, w/o frills. You have to cherish the hard times and the ****ty diet so that the reward is that much better when you DO get to eat a huge meal at a restaurant in town. Its all about appreciation. If you've never enjoyed the outdoors, you just like the idea of forgoing society and adventure, you'll never make it. Much of the AT is not scenic, and it is often no more than putting one step in front of the other.

[soulrebel]

Determination, physically fit, and financially able.

I had those in spades, but i took my wife. We spent 5 months getting to VT. Do I regret getting off the trail? Sometimes, but not really. Completion is just a state of mind, and that trip goes into the memory banks just like the rest. It never really stopped or started with the trail.

But one characteristic on people that "complete" things to the letter, they're generally more uptight than the rest of us. Most of them won't let go of their "long hike" and it will define them in new ways both good and bad... Some people start as a-holes and manage to get a little better at getting along with folks, but some will complete a thru and still be the a-hole they were when they started the trail...Crazy

[4shot]

But one characteristic on people that "complete" things to the letter, they're generally more uptight than the rest of us. Most of them won't let go of their "long hike" and it will define them in new ways both good and bad... Some people start as a-holes and manage to get a little better at getting along with folks, but some will complete a thru and still be the a-hole they were when they started the trail...Crazy

hey, some of us a-holes started as a-holes and got worse....you forgot about us!

[Colter]

Completion is just a state of mind...

Satisfaction with a hike is a state of mind and may or may not depend on a completion. Completing the AT is not just a state of mind.

"No man is a failure who is enjoying life." - William Feather

[SafetyFirst]

-Determination. A personal pride that won't accept failure. Stubbornness. An inability to quit.
-Perseverance through bad weather, bad moods, bad pain.
-Ability to plan for food, finances, time and all environmental conditions from bugs to heat to cold to bears.
-Ability to let go of control and see where the trail takes you, to accept the lessons the trail has to teach you.
-Ability to change depression around; to only dwell on positive thoughts and be your own best friend. Acceptance of your individual accountability.
-Acceptance of isolation from the world. Ability to go without and expect nothing.
-Open participation in community and faith in humanity.
-Physical stamina.

-|-|-|-> Safety First

[jdc5294]

The ability to not take anything too seriously, and shrug it off. Many people I saw quit were the types who were super serious about the whole thing and obsessing over gear and itineraries and food 100% of the time. At some point you'll be wet and cold no matter what SUL jacket/poncho gore-tex hyper hiker gear you bring, just embrace it and have a good time. Made it to Damascus 2 days later then in your excel spreadsheet? Shouldn't matter, but to some people it does. Those guys (and gals) seldom make it.

[rocketsocks]

Number one reason for draggin'

ran outta blazes
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...area-No-Blazes

[Fireplug]

I'm doing it cuz I WANT to be one of the 0.00097% of the population who has completed such a task. Just to say "hey I walked 2189.5 miles with everything I needed on my back". Tell me again "what you did".

[The Roaming Gnome]

Excellent well thought out advise.