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Limbohiker
11-24-2005, 13:25
What was your reason for stopping a thru hike

One Leg
11-24-2005, 13:46
What was your reason for stopping a thru hike

My brother commited suicide.

justusryans
11-24-2005, 14:13
My brother commited suicide.

About as good a reason as you'll ever find. My condolences.

TooTall
11-24-2005, 14:57
Not enough poll options. I just stopped enjoying the hike.

Too Tall Paul

Nameless
11-24-2005, 17:58
Knees... oh gosh they hurt

But i'm working them out more this year before i start hiking, so hopeuflly they will last more than 200 miles :)

Pink

jackiebolen
11-24-2005, 18:11
I got bit by a tick and got ehrlichiosis and was too sick to keep going. :(

rambunny
11-25-2005, 13:01
My 4th thru-hike ended after 500 miles after trying to deal with a broken rib and cartilage damage from a fall on the second day. My heart goes out to all who are stopped by whatever reason.

Rollergirl
11-26-2005, 00:49
I freakin' kept falling off the trail and ripped some tendon off my left ankle. After that, my hiking days on the AT were over for the season. But I didn't actually leave the trail, I sort of turned into a long term trail angel to be able to stay in touch with the amazing hikers I had become close with on the trail. In the end, I got to help out people who needed it and still spend time in the woods--not bad for a consolation prize!

Sly
11-26-2005, 01:09
Money and/or injury only delayed the inevitable on two attempts.

Jaybird
11-26-2005, 08:44
havent THRU-HIKED...(section-hiker)

TIME is NOT on my side....:(


TIME OFF is a luxury in my bid-ness!

Buckingham
11-28-2005, 18:42
On this past years trip I suffered from a deblitating migraine headache attack, first one I've had in nearly 20 years. 2 1/2 days in, and I had to quit. I spent 7 hours in a New York state hospital before my wife came and rescued me. I recently opened the hospital bill, I think that hurt worse than the actual headache.

general
12-02-2005, 20:10
drank a bunch of beer in PA, girlfriend (who i met on the trail) woke up pregnant. i think there is something in that PA beer, or maybe it was the fact that you have to buy a case at the beer store. ya can get a sixer to go at the bar but not at the beer store. anyway, almost 6 years later, we're married and have a wonderful son with the middle name of Guiness and things couldn't be better.

Sly
12-03-2005, 00:33
Yuengling Guinness.. what's his last name? ;)

Bassline
12-03-2005, 02:54
Bad Family problems motivated me to go home.

Nean
12-03-2005, 03:22
I wonder if the beer we drank in Tennessee came from Pa.? Naw, our kids are all dogs:)

weary
12-03-2005, 10:49
The summit of Katahdin

Lone Wolf
12-03-2005, 11:01
Got to Gorham and was tired of hiking.

Red Hat
12-03-2005, 11:20
None of the above, family guilt trip caused me to get off the trail first (end of April). I went back to hike again in June and thought I would finish, but decided to stop while I was happy in Harper's Ferry instead of later when I wasn't. I wasn't sick or tired of hiking, but I knew more guilt trip was coming and I didn't want to face it. My husband tried to be understanding, but he couldn't get by for six months without me.

I love the trail, and miss it more than I can possibly express. I will be back doing sections whenever I can. See ya'll on the trail.

general
12-03-2005, 11:51
Yuengling Guinness.. what's his last name? ;)

had to have Andrew for a first name (that was his granddaddy's name), and Carpenter is our last name. had to stick Guinness in there in the middle so he could hide it as long as he needs to, and then he can use it later in life when it's cool to his buddies. besides, it's a fine Irish name. He will be proud to have a strong name like that.

Sly, do you know a guy up there in BM by the name of Slingblade, or any of the Thru-Hicks?

Sly
12-03-2005, 13:12
Sly, do you know a guy up there in BM by the name of Slingblade, or any of the Thru-Hicks?

The names sound familar and this area is supposed to be a former thru-hiker vortex but I've met very few people outside of work. I'd love to meet them but I tend to stay home and save money for my next hike.

I'm due to break out and have a few at the Town Pump (Guinness on tap, served at the proper temp.). I've heard a few hikers hang out there at times...

A-Train
12-03-2005, 13:48
Got to Gorham and was tired of hiking.

Yeah but you skipped the best part of the hike. Might as well hike Maine after slogging thru places like new york and mass

Lone Wolf
12-03-2005, 13:52
I saved Maine for a rainy day.

kyhipo
12-03-2005, 14:03
well like a idiot ended up hiking 8 states over,and missed maine my self and lack some of the southern section:rolleyes: ky lets face I guesss i not a thru hiker:-? ky

geckobunny
12-03-2005, 14:07
first attempt broke my leg in New Jersey, second attempt got pregnant...in New Jersey...something about that place.

Sly
12-03-2005, 14:21
first attempt broke my leg in New Jersey, second attempt got pregnant...in New Jersey...something about that place.

I could see if you were well along, but why would getting pregnant stop you from hiking?

geckobunny
12-03-2005, 15:17
I didn't stop hiking in New Jersey, I continued til New Hampshire. By that time I was so worn out, it didn't seem like a wise thing to climb into the White Mountains. I needed real food and a lot more sleep.

general
12-03-2005, 17:25
The names sound familar and this area is supposed to be a former thru-hiker vortex but I've met very few people outside of work. I'd love to meet them but I tend to stay home and save money for my next hike.

I'm due to break out and have a few at the Town Pump (Guinness on tap, served at the proper temp.). I've heard a few hikers hang out there at times...

if your goin' out to the pump your sure to meet those folks. look em up at the bar. they are good people.

Sly
12-03-2005, 19:20
well like a idiot ended up hiking 8 states over,and missed maine my self and lack some of the southern section:rolleyes: ky lets face I guesss i not a thru hiker:-? ky

After having to get off the AT and the PCT about halfway through each, the thought of starting over never entered my mind. Thru-hiking wasn't that important to me as seeing all the trail.

On the CDT and my third attempt at thru-hiking, I managed to save enough money and walk through about 2000 miles of pain.

sir White Wolf
08-08-2007, 21:16
Broke 3 ribs in a Canoe going down a hill and hit a tree in 2000 Ga. Ice storm hiked to Roan Tn. where my buddy (Ranger-X) cracked his heal. took him home and couldnt get back to finish. Sleepin on broken ribs isnt EZ in the nice bed at home let alone the trail!

DavidNH
08-08-2007, 21:47
Got to Gorham and was tired of hiking.

Lone Wolfe.. you got tired of hiking and quit in Gorham??? With the finest scenery of the trail still ahead of you?? How could you!!

David

RockStar
08-08-2007, 21:53
Was having back spasms in the middle of the night. Kept losing more and more sleep. Finally got no sleep on the coldest morning, and to top it off had a cavity that was unbearable on the snickers staple diet. Will be starting again next spring with a lighter pack, better back, meds, and a hammock(helps with my back problems). :)

Jim Adams
08-08-2007, 22:06
ran out of cash and lost the desire on the PCT after 1,000 miles.
geek

kyhiker1
08-08-2007, 22:54
My first and last attempt at a thru-hike was several years ago and blew out an ankle near Davenport gap.Not to be put on the back burner,I have hiked extensively since and continuing to wander,just in shorter sessions.

jettjames
08-08-2007, 23:23
knees and cash both both gave out well before i thought they would. made about 700 miles. not too bad.
btw, it cost a lot more than you think, doesn't it?

pt

rockrat
08-09-2007, 01:14
I got a stress fracture in my femur somewhere around Pearisburg. I didn't even realize that it was that serious until I went to Knoxville to see a sports medicine specialist. He thought it was just a tweaked tendon but to be safe he was going to do an MRI. He said that it would take a week or so since a specialist had to see. He ended up calling me back the next day and telling me that I had a huge fracture about halfway throught the femur. A serious bummer, but hes supposed to tell me Monday that I'm all better, so I'm celebrating with a trip in the Smokies.

RFD
08-09-2007, 11:14
I started a SOBO hike of half the trail in 1973. Intended to hike back to my home state of MD that summer. My equipment failed me going thru 2 pair of boots in just 45 days with the wet muck of Maine that spring taking it's toll. I had some really cheap (remember World Famous brand) equipment. By the time I got to Vermont my pack was falling apart.

But the clincher, and I didn't realize it at the time, was when I heard that fellow SOBO hiker, Bob Brugman drowned at Clarendon Gorge in Vt. I had hiked with him briefly in S. Maine, but he was booking and soon left me in the dust. I holed up in Galehead Hut during a wicked storm and it was apparently that storm that made his stream crossing fatal.

We heard via the hiker grapevine of his death and it put a real damper on my enthusiasm for the hike. Even though I had not known him very well except for those evenings we camped together in S. Maine it really sapped my spirit though at the time I don't think I realized what was really going on in my head.

So combine some crappy equipment that was failing, with some really bad news and add the fact that I'd lost 25 lbs. in 45 days of hiking and was REAL hungry most of the time I just walked off the trail as I left VT.

With almost 35 years now to look back I remember that summer as one of the best experiences of my life and still plan to get back out there when I retire and hike the rest of the AT.

Lone Wolf
08-29-2007, 20:36
Lone Wolfe.. you got tired of hiking and quit in Gorham??? With the finest scenery of the trail still ahead of you?? How could you!!

David

pretty friggin easy. like i said, my attitude sucked at the time. why slog 300 more miles for a freakin patch.:rolleyes:

wakapak
08-30-2007, 00:01
my first time, i also got tired of hiking around Crawford Notch Nh...a group of us hitched to Gorham, waited out 2 horribly rainy days then decided we didnt want to hike everyday anymore. rented a car, drove to Maine and all the others went up Katahdin. I went part way up, decided i didnt want to summit, so turned around and waited for them at the bottom.

Pokey2006
08-30-2007, 00:44
I'm with you on this one, Lone Wolf. Doesn't matter if you're 20 miles from the end or 2,000. Why keep going if you're not enjoying it? What's the point?

It was the same for me, in Vermont. I found myself dreaming more about getting a manicure than about where I was going to camp the next night, and knew right there I had been out in the woods long enough...

JAK
08-30-2007, 04:15
I saved Maine for a rainy day.LOL.
Great line, and a comeback line no less. Ambiguous, yet edgy. Love it.

bfitz
08-31-2007, 02:35
Too fat and lazy this year. Spent all my money on booze and hotel rooms.

chiefduffy
08-31-2007, 07:27
I got off in late May for my daughter's wedding and discovered I had some very large unexpected bills waiting for me. Going back to work was the only option. Maybe next year...

hikernutt
08-31-2007, 19:23
Had foot problems 3 different times, the last was it for the season. Had a pinched nerve in the toes and a severe inflamation problem in the bursa sac in the left heel that may have to be drained. Will take 6 months or more to heal, but I am not giving up just yet, just postponing. Hikernutt

Phreak
09-01-2007, 19:29
Viral Bronchitis - will try again in 2008.

Phreak
09-01-2007, 19:30
My brother commited suicide.

My prayers go out to you.