Trail partners and community

[MarkCevoli]

I am planning my 2015 thru hike and most likely starting alone. I however do not want to be alone for the 5 or 6 months it takes to hike. Have previous thru hikers met hiking partners on the trail, have they become friends off the trail, did you have someone to grab a beer with when you hit the town ?

[Slo-go'en]

It's pretty hard not to end up with partners. I say partners as they will come and go and the number in the group will vary. You'll get to know everyone in your "bubble" which will stretch 4-5 days ahead and behind you as people take zeros at different times and of different lengths. Think of it as a long game of leap frog.

[Firefighter503]

^^ What he said. If you start between March and the end of April, you will have more hiking partners than you care to have. In early 2011 there were 40+ people at Springer Mountain shelter when I started, and we had about 10 of us that all ended up drinking beer/sharing rooms together each time we went into town for the first couple hundred miles.

[MuddyWaters]

The only way to be alone is if you want to be, AND try hard to do so.