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View Full Version : Too young to hike? I think not!



casanoah
09-26-2005, 15:47
Aloha, I plan on hiking ge-ma '06 and I'll be 19 by the time I hit the trail. Anywho, I was just wondering what that average hiker age is? Also, how many other teenagers thru-hike the AT, is it common, rare, or unheard of?

Peace, Love & Cookies, Noah

Bassline
09-26-2005, 15:50
It would be hard to penpoint an average age. 19 is not too young by any means, but you will be one of the younger hikers. My buddy Padre turned 18 on the trail. It is all good.

bassline

Jack Tarlin
09-26-2005, 15:56
While the majority of thru-hikers are between 22 and 35, with the largest group probably being in their mid-twenties, there's absolutely no reason why a mature, knowledgable, and well-prepared 19 year old can't thru-hike.

You'll be just fine.

Spirit Walker
09-26-2005, 17:12
I met one sixteen year old and a couple of 19 year-olds thruhiking - each was solo. You may not meet any other teens, but you won't be the only one out there. If you are open minded enough to enjoy people of all ages and backgrounds, you will find a lot of good companions out there.

A-Train
09-26-2005, 19:29
I was 19 when I hiked (turned 20 on Mt Washington) and there is no reason to think 19 is too young to hike. I hiked with or met a few others around 18-19, though most folks are usually 22-30. Ocasionally youŽll meet the real teenager out there who is being homeschooled or left high school early.

icemanat95
09-26-2005, 20:02
I was 19 when I hiked (turned 20 on Mt Washington) and there is no reason to think 19 is too young to hike. I hiked with or met a few others around 18-19, though most folks are usually 22-30. Ocasionally youŽll meet the real teenager out there who is being homeschooled or left high school early.

I agree, I was 26 when I started, turned 27 In Maine, about 1 day out from Rangeley.

That said, there is a marked difference between the trail experiences of older and younger hikers. (Which gives you a good excuse to go out and do it again when you start turning grey). Older hikers have been kicked around by life a bit more and tend to appreciate the solitude and simplicity of trail life more than do younger hikers whose hardest experience has probably been cramming for finals or getting dumped by their high school sweetheart. Put a divorce and few careers and some other "life experience" under the hiker's hip belt and the hike takes on a whole new character.

Really, everyone gets something different out of their hike depending upon what they bring to it, either intentionally or unconsciously. I hit the trail after a fairly poor military experience (my fault), a bad marriage, several years of dead-end (but in some way instructive) jobs, and an awful lot of funerals. Psychologically, I was worn out and needed some re-Creation so to speak. So my trail experience was very much a pilgrimage and an opportunity to re-connect with myself and my Maker, and The Creation. Did I sometimes succumb to lesser pursuits? Hell yes. I got good and drunk any number of times, got stupid, got lazy, etc. But the center held and I managed to get back to it.

Someone else may just see a great adventure, and that's cool too. The funny thing is that ten years later, I'm still learning from my hike, and that's cool too.

jackiebolen
09-26-2005, 21:09
I met a 16 year old last summer who seemed to be doing fine. You will probably have an advantage over the old folk because your body will recover much faster day to day.

Panzer1
09-26-2005, 22:10
I heard somewhere that the most common age on the trail was 24. Meaning that there was more 24 year olds than anyother age.

I don't really know for sure if its true, but that is what I heard.

Panzer

Heater
09-27-2005, 04:06
It would be hard to penpoint an average age. 19 is not too young by any means, but you will be one of the younger hikers. My buddy Padre turned 18 on the trail. It is all good.

bassline
Wow! 18 and he is already a Padre! :D

Poster
09-27-2005, 09:48
A ten year old finished the day before I did this year. His name was Oblivious and he hiked the whole thing with his parents Troll and Anchor. He counted his falls, and was well over 100 by the end. The youngins just bounce off them rocks. Just goes to show, age doesn't really matter on the trail.

Professor Posternutbag

Just Jeff
09-27-2005, 10:18
Most people who hike the trail are in life transitions of some sort. Most commonly, that's graduating college. Then probably retirement and a few graduating high school, which is why there are many 24 years olds and several 50+, with a handful of teenagers but not too many 35 year olds. And then your random 80 year old who's bravely pre-empting his next transition.