View Full Version : THE most important thing!
GolfHiker
03-02-2014, 15:49
To All veteran & recent Thrus, and committed thru planners, what do you think is The most important element in starting your hike? Is it gear? Conditioning? Mental preparation? Experience?
Im I just looking for some good insight. :-?
A multi day shakedown hike covering the kind of miles you expect to walk right out of the gate. Preferably in the rain :-).
Wolf - 23000
03-02-2014, 16:14
Before buying any gear or spending any money on the trail. First figure out how do you want to hike the trail.
Everyone is going to the trail their own way. Some are going to hike the trail very fast others are going to take their time. Some are going to spend a lot of time in town, others are going to spend little time in town and more time on the trail. It all depends on what do you want from your hike.
After you figure how you want to hike the trail, have your gear match your style.
Wolf
kayak karl
03-02-2014, 16:16
i had a coach that said the most important thing in life is an attitude of gratitude. he hasn't been wrong for 40+ years :)
ALLEGHENY
03-02-2014, 16:18
Money and determination.
i had a coach that said the most important thing in life is an attitude of gratitude. he hasn't been wrong for 40+ years :)
We really need a "like" button on WB. Like.
Meriadoc
03-02-2014, 16:27
Desire and acceptance.
to start the hike requires nothing more than showing up. To finish the hike requires (assuming you have the $ and time) only determination and a bit of luck (no injuries, illnesses or things back home that require your presence).Gear is way, way overrated imo. think back to what Earl Schaeffer and the first thruhikers carried. or Grandma Gatewood.
shakedown hikes are fine for learning the gear (especially if scheduled for bad weather as someone else mentioned) but doesn't prepare one for the feeling that comes when you have walked 200-300 miles and realize you haven't put much of a dent in the thing. You have to put blinders on and just focus on the next 4 or 5 days to the next resupply.
This whole thread is awesome. All I can add is have fun everyday. Find the humor in the situation whether its eating **** and snapping a trekking pole or your violent Noro convulsions. Just keep hiking because its all worth it.
GolfHiker
03-02-2014, 17:04
Good stuff. Now, I'll move this in a slightly new direction. When I began hiking in the early 80s, we did not have communication devices, certainly not smartphones. There are good reasons ( convenience, safety, fun), but do you think that hiking the AT is changing with reliance on technology? Good or bad?
Personally, I think it's hard to put the genie back in the bottle. High tech hiking seems on the rise. I only bring this up because I keep reading about all those prepping for their hike and are concerned about how to keep everything charged! I believe in the old old saying, Less is More.
takethisbread
03-02-2014, 17:21
mental is most important. accept that u are going to be miserable most of the time at least at first. don't try to have the trail meet your expectations, flow with what it gives u. if you can accept and expect the hardships, the simple pleasures of the trail will be very rewarding and often joyful.
I think you can be a world class athlete with plenty of hiking experience in short sections, and with top gear, and if you don't have the right mental game, you are cooked.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The only electronics I carry are a cell phone and digital camera. Cell phone is never turned on except when I use it to check in with the wife every few days. It is there if I need it but never have to worry much about keeping it charged between town stops. I think most electronics that rely on satellites are a waste of money on the AT.
bamboo bob
03-02-2014, 17:28
The only electronics I carry are a cell phone and digital camera. Cell phone is never turned on except when I use it to check in with the wife every few days. It is there if I need it but never have to worry much about keeping it charged between town stops. I think most electronics that rely on satellites are a waste of money on the AT.
Yup, exactly
But to answer the OP. A willingness to get up every day and hike. Stick to it. Perseverance.
Slo-go'en
03-02-2014, 17:46
Personally, I think it's hard to put the genie back in the bottle. High tech hiking seems on the rise. I only bring this up because I keep reading about all those prepping for their hike and are concerned about how to keep everything charged! I believe in the old old saying, Less is More.
We live in a remarkable age when you can talk to almost anyone in the world, from almost anywhere in the world, with a device which fits into a shirt pocket. Since smart phones do so much in such a small and light package, it makes sense to bring one - if you have one already. I carry a dumb trackfone just because it is handy to have once in a while.
I don't see where the new technology is changing much about hiking the AT.
Starting a long hike doesn't take much. Finishing it does. I'm guessing it has to do with keeping a positive attitude -- having an answer that truly works for you when you ask yourself, "Why am I doing this?"
In the beginning it's a physical challenge, by the end it's all mental
2015 Lady Thru-Hiker
03-02-2014, 21:17
Mental attitude. Did my 1st half-marathon without any training or preparation - not saying it the smart thing to do but nonetheless it's what I did. Saw a site for a local one on the internet 2 weeks before the event and thought "i should do that". Not a runner. Never have been, never will be. Only had 3 goals - to finish, to finish in the time allotted and to have fun doing it. Met my goals. Not only that, I finished only 15 minutes behind someone 12 years younger than me who had been training with a personal trainer for 9 months. When it comes to the trail I only have 3 goals.......
ChinMusic
03-02-2014, 21:22
to start the hike requires nothing more than showing up. To finish the hike requires (assuming you have the $ and time) only determination and a bit of luck (no injuries, illnesses or things back home that require your presence).Gear is way, way overrated imo. think back to what Earl Schaeffer and the first thruhikers carried. or Grandma Gatewood.
shakedown hikes are fine for learning the gear (especially if scheduled for bad weather as someone else mentioned) but doesn't prepare one for the feeling that comes when you have walked 200-300 miles and realize you haven't put much of a dent in the thing. You have to put blinders on and just focus on the next 4 or 5 days to the next resupply.
I like this post a lot. I would put more emphasis on a practice hike of at least 4 days. The number one thing is to find out if this is something you like. No preparation will prepare you for hiking 200 miles only to see it is only a blip on the map. The scale of the AT for a non-long-distance hiker is daunting.
When I got out there I accepted that this was my new life. Just as in "normal" life, not every day is roses. Folks don't like reading this but it feels like job at times. If you are stubborn and goal-oriented it is a bonus.
evyck da fleet
03-02-2014, 22:08
You will get conditioning and experience in the first few weeks whether or not you come prepared for the hike but you will need the right mentality throughout the entire hike. Technology is great. My phone acted as a way to update concerned friends and family, as my camera/video recorder, a way to check on and pay my bills, to keep track of hikers behind me on the trail, and could have been a music player too had I not brought a mp3 player that weighed a few ounces. The only reason I worried about keeping anything charged was so I could take a zillion pictures/videos between resupply stops.
DocMahns
03-02-2014, 22:10
The most important step is the first step... then the second... then the third... until you reach 5,000,000
ChinMusic
03-02-2014, 22:19
The most important step is the first step... then the second... then the third... until you reach 5,000,000
I did the math on that 5-million step claim. That would be about 27.7 inches per stride. I find that to be too high an average. There is so much picking your way through stuff on the AT. I'm guessing more like 6 million (23" stride).
I did the math on that 5-million step claim. That would be about 27.7 inches per stride. I find that to be too high an average. There is so much picking your way through stuff on the AT. I'm guessing more like 6 million (23" stride).
And then consider that's an average, so the number of steps for us short people must be even more. ;)
garlic08
03-02-2014, 23:51
I think an important thing is using your strengths to your advantage. If you have money, use it. If you have youth, use that. Have plenty of time? Have supportive family? Have plenty of hiking experience? And if you can use electronics to help your hike, by all means do it. Everyone has different strengths, so every hike will be different and will require different preparations.
ChinMusic
03-03-2014, 00:05
I think an important thing is using your strengths to your advantage. If you have money, use it. If you have youth, use that. Have plenty of time? Have supportive family? Have plenty of hiking experience? And if you can use electronics to help your hike, by all means do it. Everyone has different strengths, so every hike will be different and will require different preparations.
Dang, you are good........
To All veteran & recent Thrus, and committed thru planners, what do you think is The most important element in starting your hike? Is it gear? Conditioning? Mental preparation? Experience?
Im I just looking for some good insight. :-?
IMHO, those things can be/are important but aren't as much so as being FULLY present on a hike - living life in absolute wonderment - not just as if we are passing along on a 30" wide beaten tread. I know when I live that way I don't just trod along - I glide on a hike. I am the trail. I am. LIFE and long distance hiking is better. Embrace all that life can be on a hike - see the good in it, all the miracles unfolding all around you knowing you are part of those miracles. It's not just something that happens TO YOU. It's something that is affecting so much more than just you.
Know this too - gear, physical/mental conditioning, experience, etc, and LIFE are not static. They are ever evolving. In other words, they aren't simply things to ready as if they are to be crossed off on a wanna do a thru-hike checklist as if it's the same type of process or preparation one goes through starting a car. IMHO, many fail to realize that. It's an ongoing affair. AND, no one can tell anyone else exactly what another will experience on a thru-hike although plenty try. Embrace the discovery. Embrace the journey and evolution by knowing you have the ability to conscientiously shape it! Be fully present.
Lone Wolf
03-03-2014, 07:10
To All veteran & recent Thrus, and committed thru planners, what do you think is The most important element in starting your hike?having the time, money and overwhelming desire to walk. a lot.
Migrating Bird
03-03-2014, 08:14
i had a coach that said the most important thing in life is an attitude of gratitude. he hasn't been wrong for 40+ years :)
+++++++++++++
WingedMonkey
03-03-2014, 09:10
To All veteran & recent Thrus, and committed thru planners, what do you think is The most important element in starting your hike? Is it gear? Conditioning? Mental preparation? Experience?
Im I just looking for some good insight. :-?
If there was just one most important element, everyone could finish. There's not.
They don't
Just like Baskin Robbins has so many different flavors of ice cream, there are many reasons why different people are able to complete the AT.
Some don't even enjoy hiking, but manage to get through the AT because they enjoy the social aspect.
Just like Baskin Robbins has so many different flavors of ice cream, there are many reasons why different people are able to complete the AT.
Some don't even enjoy hiking, but manage to get through the AT because they enjoy the social aspect.
whenever I read something like this, I always remember what one guy told me in the Shenendaoh Park. he had gone through a large part of his budget by hitting every little trail town and spending 3-4 days there. Loved the social aspect and the nice meals with cocktails and warm showers. He said, and I quote, "I love the AT. I just hate backpacking". He was not being intentionally sarcastic or ironic.I told him that I used to manage a lot of people for a living. Some of them loved paydays but hated doing work. those people didn't make it in the long haul as natural selection sort of weeded them out. nor did he. he got off in HF.
The best perspective I got walking from GA to WV was that hiking the AT is just a series (long series) of 4-5 day hikes. Made the going a little easier for me..........
Starvin Marvin
03-04-2014, 14:50
To All veteran & recent Thrus, and committed thru planners, what do you think is The most important element in starting your hike? Is it gear? Conditioning? Mental preparation? Experience?
Im I just looking for some good insight. :-?
Starting --> being prepared for the conditions ahead. (wx, terrain, resources)
The rest of the hike--> adaptability.
Technology--> i think of it as a comfort tool. Some people need it more than others. Like any tool, it depends on when and how you use it.
Hiking the AT is changing with reliance--> Overall it seems to be.
Good or bad?--> Good. It helps to try to stay ahead of the curve. (wx, tranportation, reservations...)
He said, and I quote, "I love the AT. I just hate backpacking". He was not being intentionally sarcastic or ironic.I told him that I used to manage a lot of people for a living. Some of them loved paydays but hated doing work. those people didn't make it in the long haul as natural selection sort of weeded them out. nor did he. he got off in HF.
Going to any hiker gathering. You will see people whose last hike of any sort was their thru-hike several years ago. The lifestyle, more than the hiking, is intoxicating for many people.
It is unusual, but not exactly uncommon, but there ARE people who don't like backpacking/camping/hiking who hike the AT (or other trails).
80% of it is physical.
The other half is mental.
Special K
03-04-2014, 18:12
i had a coach that said the most important thing in life is an attitude of gratitude. he hasn't been wrong for 40+ years :)
+1. I've got a poem somewhere on ATTITUDE. Good stuff. I've gotta find it and post it.
Being willing to accept that not all of the hike is going to be enjoyable, and never forgetting why your out there.
Electronics certainly not needed but perhaps convenient in some ways. Wouldn't be needed to find your way along the AT unless you get lost very, very easily. A cell phone is nice to make a call once in awhile since payphones have disappeared.
GolfHiker
03-04-2014, 19:11
I love all of these insightful comments. I have not read anything that is not on point and helpful. Thanks. Keep it up!
fiddlehead
03-04-2014, 20:41
The most important element IMO is: YOU must like to walk.
If you don't like walking, most likely you're not going to complete a long distance trail.
It can seem boring at times, and tough when the weather gets crappy or when your body is aching.
But, if you like it enough, you'll keep going.
Also, it helps if you are a leader rather than a follower.
One who has the drive to have your own business for example, rather than go to work everyday because you have to.
Some camping experience helps also but, this can be learned on the trail. (a few wet nights will lead you to learn how to pick a good campspot for example)
Good luck and have fun.
To All veteran & recent Thrus, and committed thru planners, what do you think is The most important element in starting your hike? Is it gear? Conditioning? Mental preparation? Experience?
Im I just looking for some good insight. :-?
sorry, but I believe this is a flawed question. One single strength in the absence of other attributes will not likely serve one well. All of your mentioned elements will increase a hikers chance of finishing a thru. A love of walking is helpful. Physical fitness is helpful. Mental toughness is needed. Gear is over rated though a lightweight pack will help. Financial health increases your odds and experience will be helpful. But the one thing that I believe helps more than all is accepting the trail for what is is not what you dreamed it would be. If you can avoid the "too syndrome" then you will go far. It is those who find the trail too wet, cold, hot, tiring, dusty, overgrown, crowded, lonely, long, steep, rocky etc that will let that get to their head and cause them to question if its worth it. Avoid the "toos".
GolfHiker
03-04-2014, 22:09
Malto: Flaws and all I kinda like your post.
ChinMusic
03-05-2014, 00:31
I'll tell you over a campfire this weekend.........
ChinMusic
03-05-2014, 00:32
I'll tell you over a campfire this weekend. Just don't listen to Crash........heheh
Maltos right. "One single strength in the absence of other attributes will not likely serve one well." There are a combination of things that come together that can all be individually equally important in their own right at various times. These types of questions arise from a mindset that defines things in terms of superlatives and absolutes - what's the best? what's the most important? that is bad, this is good, this is wrong, that is right, etc It has become so customary to think in terms of absolutes and superlatives. Often, when thinking like this something is lost! We lose sight of a broader, perhaps more important, perhaps more meaningful understanding and perspective.
rocketsocks
03-05-2014, 07:35
To All veteran & recent Thrus, and committed thru planners, what do you think is The most important element in starting your hike? Is it gear? Conditioning? Mental preparation? Experience?
Im I just looking for some good insight. :-?
Having a sense of humor.
Having a sense of humor.
Yeah that's pretty much the gist of it. Applies to most things in life, odd how that goes.
GolfHiker
03-05-2014, 09:45
These types of questions arise from a mindset that defines things in terms of superlatives and absolutes - what's the best? what's the most important? that is bad, this is good, this is wrong, that is right, etc It has become so customary to think in terms of absolutes and superlatives. Often, when thinking like this something is lost! We lose sight of a broader, perhaps more important, perhaps more meaningful understanding and perspective.
Dogwood I'm sorry I began such a misguided post/question. I'm off to my therapist now to get my head fixed.
Seriously, sometimes a question is just a question.
Lone Wolf
03-05-2014, 09:50
Seriously, sometimes a question is just a question.welcome to WB where simple questions turn into 500 posts of pseudoexpert b s :)
GolfHiker
03-05-2014, 18:25
Hey LoneWolf. Not for nothin, but I just hit my 100th post in 10 years on WB. I'm gaining on you.
having the time, money and overwhelming desire to walk. a lot.
Same here Lone Wolf except in a different order. Time, determination, money
Started training this past week climbed the profile trail up backside of Grandfather mountain with pack-15lb. Used hiking poles for the first time, would recommend, really helped with the stair steppers.
fiddlehead
04-08-2014, 05:12
Love of the outdoors.
(and it helps tremendously if you really like to walk)
Mykneeshurt
04-08-2014, 09:39
I turned 60 during my 2013 thru hike, and realized that "me" at 25 was a lot different than "me" at almost 60. But it was a good and bad difference. Good, in that I was more patient and forgiving with myself. Bad, in that physically things were much more difficult approaching 60 than when I was in my mid-twenties. My approach was: a. Attitude; b. Time; and c. Money. I hoped that if I had the tools I needed to keep a positive attitude (for me, it was daily mindfulness meditation); I took my time preparing my body, selecting and testing my gear, and doing the actual hike; and I had enough money to meet my needs while I hiked....everything else would take care itself. For me, this approach worked. There were many more days where my attitude was challenged than any physical obstacle, but I kept my mantra of "acceptance", and "awareness", at the forefront, and things always seemed to work out.
Mental and a big part of that for me is being in shape.
Bezekid609
04-09-2014, 15:18
this is the truth