View Full Version : My neice dreaming of thru hiking the AT.. what advice to give
Hi everyone, me again:
I have a niece who lives now in Massachusetts and is in her late 20's. She's been dreaming about and reading books about hiking the entire Appalachian Trail since she was in her elementary years. Now she is out of college and seminary and is an ordained Episcopal priest and is scheeming to have a six month transition period a few years from now when she would hike the trail. She plans to visit me in coming weeks to ask questions and get advice.
She is overweight and chunky but that is not a big concern of mine. She can condition in coming years and of course really get in shape on the trail. What is concerning me now is that to my knowledge she hasn't ever done any extended backpacking, not even weekend over nights. She has done some day hiking with her father and with girl scouts when younger. She has, at least for now, a fairly OK very sedentary though busy life style and lives in a very suburban environment where near by walking opportunities are limited due to all the busy traffic.
Shouldn't one do some backpacking before attempting a six month thru hike if for no other reason to know if one really likes hiking in all conditions, can carry the load, has the stuff to get through the bad times?
Should I break her romantic dreams of AT hiking and give her a dose of reality? or can I find a way to be more supportive and encouraging? Remember.. she's my niece.. close family! I don't want to rock the apple cart too much.
Thoughts appreciated!
DavidNH
Ashepabst
08-12-2015, 14:44
it's a fairly expensive foray --seems like the best advice you could offer is to try backpacking before committing to a six month trip
illabelle
08-12-2015, 14:48
She plans to visit me in coming weeks to ask questions and get advice.
Suggest you make sure those questions are asked and answered on the trail. Take her out in the woods and open her eyes. Let her experience an easy trail (is there anything easy in NH?) and trail food and bugs and sweat and weather and all that. That dose of reality might steer her away - or it might just draw her in!
gsingjane
08-12-2015, 15:02
I'll bet your niece didn't decide to become a priest without ever having attended a church service... tell her deciding to go on a thru without ever having hiked is pretty similar!
Jane
p.s. I side with the others - experience, especially experience prior to investing in tons of pricey gear and putting off career progress, is key.
The Cleaner
08-12-2015, 15:16
Sometimes the truth hurts.Without a big lifestyle in her activity level and training hikes-she'd never get far....:-?
Just Bill
08-12-2015, 16:21
Ironic.
Not to be a Richard Cranium, which is of course code for I'm about to be…
So is pointing out her career choice and lifelong interest in the trail meant to be a qualifier that she is one of the pure ones? With sufficiently good reasons, if not ability to perhaps enter the pearly gates of the AT?
Or should you advise her to seek a different trail or stay home as you pondered that possibility for others?
But that is neither here nor there, nor your task to instruct.
I would suggest as Illabelle does. Load up your pack with enough gear for two. Let her dayhike alongside you or slackpack if you choose. Surely you know a local easy overnighter you could take her on. Something in reach, but real enough. And while nearly anyone can take a dayhike to a scenic overlook we all know that the second day is when reality takes place.
Perhaps on that hike at some stunning vista or quiet campfire you can share your own words-
"I had been reading books about the trail for years watched several movies on it and attended the LDHA gatherings in Hanover a couple times. For me it was the chance for adventure the chance to experience wilderness for an extended period of time. Going out west to do the PCT would have been logistically a lot harder and probably more than I was up for. If I could reverse time and go back.. I probably would do a different trail.. something perhaps like the Colorado Trail which only takes a month or so but has spectacular scenery. Or maybe Id just do the New England portion of the AT. Had I known before that the AT had become the party trail that it is I would likely have changed plans. But that is all water over the bridge. I DID do the trail and have a lot of great memories of it. Ive seen the best of eastern wilderness."
Pasted from <http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/113264-why-do-Most-people-really-attempt-an-AT-thru-hike>
I always find it fascinating that the trail bends in just the right direction to teach us what we need to learn. As you noted in your other thread, the trail does a pretty fine job of sorting out who belongs and who does not. While those who stay bear the burden of keeping it up for the next time around, the AT seems to handle this job pretty uniquely considering that it accepts more than it's share of folks who can't handle something logistically harder.
While the AT stops many from finishing, I note it stops no-one from starting.
So let the trail choose. Let it advise. As your niece seems practiced in hearing a subtle call likely she'd appreciate hearing straight from the source. Might even be that since she just finished being instructed by others on how to think, speak and act in her new career- she's looking to talk directly to the fella that owns the place.
As fer you; That be a fine gift for an Uncle to give a treasured niece. Maybe as a reward there's a few answers to be found fer you too.
I can't say I've met nor have a particular belief in the fella that owns the place. Nor that I have yet to fetch up in any particular camp. But I find it a fine place to ponder the question. If I were to advise anything strongly, never discourage or limit another's opportunity to do so as well. As you know; a bit of reading and study on any subject prepares you very little for the real thing. Nearly all the useful bits are learned once you close the book and walk out into the world.
A quote for you and your niece that that each may find helpful…
“Don't run away with a false idee, friend Cap, don't run away with a false idee. These things are only skin-deep, and all depend on edication and nat'ral gifts. Look around you at mankind, and tell me why you see a red warrior here, a black one there, and white armies in another place? All this, and a great deal more of the same kind that I could point out, has been ordered for some special purpose; and it is not for us to fly in the face of facts and deny their truth. No, no; each color has its gifts, and its laws, and its traditions; and one is not to condemn another because he does not exactly comprehend it."
"You must have read a great deal, Pathfinder, to see things so clear as this," returned Cap, not a little mystified by his companion's simple creed. "It's all as plain as day to me now, though I must say I never fell in with these opinions before. What denomination do you belong to, my friend?”
“Anan?"
"What sect do you hold out for? What particular church do you fetch up in?"
"Look about you, and judge for yourself. I'm in church now; I eat in church, drink in church, sleep in church. The 'arth is the temple of the Lord, and I wait on Him hourly, daily, without ceasing, I humbly hope.”
James Fennimore Cooper- “Pathfinder”
nsherry61
08-12-2015, 16:55
Remember.. she's my niece.. close family! I don't want to rock the apple cart too much.
Seriously?! Do you really have a family where you wouldn't jump at the opportunity to rock your sister's or brother's apple cart? What planet are you from? ;-)
Whatever you do, you will be doing with love and and a blood bond. Rock the cart! Shake the heck out of it.
If what you do is open your nieces passion wide open and change her lifestyle to being more outdoors and more active, you win. If you open your niece's eyes to the reality of outdoor living, and she doesn't like it, well, now she can move on to other great things and share her wisdom with her parishioners when the time is right.
OR, are you maybe scared of not being up to the task and therefore she may not be either? If that's the case, be her buddy. Go out with her. Learn together. Let her dreams challenge you and you'll both be better off, regardless of the outcome.
Slo-go'en
08-12-2015, 17:11
Load her up with gear and send her off to the Long Trail for a week. See if she how she feels about it when she comes back :)
Since this might still be a few years off, she should take Warren Doyle's AT course and then go on some backpacking trips. That way she would find out a) if this is something she would actually enjoy doing and b) give her the skills and confidence to do it.
I really disagree with the idea that getting in shape on the trail is an acceptable way to start a long distance hike. Starting out of shape increases the probability of misery leading to failure. In my opinion it is well worth the effort to get in good shape prior to a hike since it makes everything more enjoyable. All of the other suggestions regarding shorter trips to make sure she actually likes backpacking make sense as well, of course.
Get in moderate shape before (at least).
Go on weekend backpacking trips to see if backpacking is enjoyable
Try a two week trip somewhere, with resupply, to see if the longer backpacking trips are for her.
I suspect the romanticism of the long hike often overshadows the reality. If my now five year old niece approached me in 20 years, I'd give the same advice I just listed.
Another Kevin
08-12-2015, 18:45
I really disagree with the idea that getting in shape on the trail is an acceptable way to start a long distance hike. Starting out of shape increases the probability of misery leading to failure. In my opinion it is well worth the effort to get in good shape prior to a hike since it makes everything more enjoyable. All of the other suggestions regarding shorter trips to make sure she actually likes backpacking make sense as well, of course.
I think I might agree with you regarding long-distance hiking, if I ever did that. A 70-mile section, about half of a planned 135-mile hike, is the biggest I've ever done. And it was something other than lack of conditioning that got me off trail. But for me, hiking is how I get into good shape for hiking. I make it a point to do two miles a day with a backpack, so I'm never totally unready to hike, but I don't do the gym thing, or crossfit, or any of that.
I'm never in awesome shape. When I do a weekend or short section, I just go slow. I imagine that after a couple or three weeks of going slow, I'd go faster. And I have fun. I don't really know whether I'd be miserable with long-distance hiking. But it's not obvious that I would be, since I understand that for most the misery starts practically right out of the gate, in the first few days at any rate. I get through a few days with a smile on my face.
Start small, work up to bigger adventures. The trail in MA is pretty mellow and accessible, it's a good place to find out if she likes it or not. Doesn't appear to be any hurry...
I guess it is a matter of degree. I don't think being in awesome shape is a prerequisite, and there are many degrees of suboptimal shape. But I do read many comments (not necessarily in this thread but in general) along the lines of "the way to get in shape for hiking is by hiking" and I wonder what the outcome is for people who take that advice and are mostly sedentary.
TheCheek
08-12-2015, 19:58
Screw working up to it. Passion matters more fitness, by a longshot. Injury, or lack of, is the only thing that affects outcome more than passion. She can do it. If she believes in herself, let her go. Don't imply to her she shouldn't try because she's not fit enough.
Heliotrope
08-12-2015, 20:02
It's easy to be seduced by lofty goals. I think it is food for the soul to imagine doing something spectacular and rare. For many folks the dream is all it will ever be. The small steps that it takes to achieve anything great are much less glamorous. I have a friend who wants to climb Everest yet he has never climbed mt Katahdin let alone a smaller glaciated peak than Everest. Yet sometimes it is the person who doesn't have the natural talent that ends up going the distance.
So encourage her dream by shopping for gear and planning a small trip. Help get her outside.
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Lone Wolf
08-12-2015, 20:06
she oughta shoot for a CDT thru walk. much less crowded. real navigating. the AT these days is so cliche'.
MuddyWaters
08-12-2015, 20:08
Shouldn't one do some backpacking before attempting a six month thru hike if for no other reason to know if one really likes hiking in all conditions, can carry the load, has the stuff to get through
DavidNH
If many did, they would never attempt a thru hike.
Yeah, it gives an increased chance they will make it out of GA though.
One approach among many--
Give her a membership to the AMC and observe that the action takes place at the chapter level-- activities for all levels of experience and at no cost.
Tell her that she is always welcome to borrow your equipment -- you can show her what you have -- and remind her that if she can pick it up in NH, it's easy to send via UPS.
Then go out to breakfast and let the lord show her the way.
Feral Bill
08-12-2015, 20:31
If possible, here's the script: "That's wonderful. I'd love to do some preliminary hikes with you. I'll see to rounding up gear and help you pick up the personal things like clothes. How about this fall to start? Maybe a long weekend at (insert a place near where she lives)"
Then follow through.
The only thing that stops most from finishing a thru-hike is not having the will to finish. This assumes that responsibilities are squared away before you started. Yes, you might find it a bit more uncomfortable than you imagined, but that won't stop you, it's just a reason to give up. I would tell her that she should learn to accomplish goals, especially if they become difficult. If that's the person she wishes to become then thru-hiking the AT, or any long trail, is a way to learn this. Being in shape may be a nice starting point for some, being an experienced hiker might be important for some, but neither is required for a successful thru-hike.
glenlawson
08-13-2015, 10:43
So a girl in her late 20s has already demonstrated the will to complete college, seminary and ordination. She is used to tackling big challenges and seeing them through to completion. I believe she can do it and as her uncle, I hope you will catch some of her determination and
believe she can do this.
She isn't planning on thru-hiking 2016, she has said that in a few years, she wants to take a sabbatical and do this. She already has the soft skills and determination to get this done. If you want to help her, don't try to make it hard on her, start introducing her to the technical details of sleep, shelter and cooking.
Be the good uncle. Don't rock the apple cart, show her the apple cart that people who love the outdoors use.
Studlintsean
08-13-2015, 12:09
If possible, here's the script: "That's wonderful. I'd love to do some preliminary hikes with you. I'll see to rounding up gear and help you pick up the personal things like clothes. How about this fall to start? Maybe a long weekend at (insert a place near where she lives)"
Then follow through.
I agree here. You have thru hiked so you obviously know what is needed to prepare. Start offering what you can, unless you do not want her to thru-hike for some reason. Not sure what the question is?
pickNgrin
08-13-2015, 12:45
My 2 cents….. rather than trying to "break her romantic dream" of hiking the trail, you should encourage her to go on some 2 or 3 day hiking trips. Maybe even offer to hike with her. Since you are an experienced thru-hiker you can show her the ropes and offer advice what gear to get (and not to get). These trips will help her know what the reality of hiking and living in the woods is like. She will either fall in love with it or decide that its not for her. Either way, it comes with encouragement from you, rather than discouragement. Encouragement and positive support is always the best way!
"Shouldn't one do some backpacking before attempting a six month thru hike"
Yes, and one should loose weight and get into shape before attempting the toughest physical experience of their life.
AtWokman
08-13-2015, 15:27
Physical condition is big part, determination is bigger. If she can focus on completing a goal, then it is only a couple of mountains through the woods.
Inspire, do not discouraged.
It's Not easy, but it's worth the trek.
Life's for those who live it.
The Wokman.
thanks everyone. I personally am a big believer in hiking smart over hiking strong.. in other words the mental challenge is harder than the physical for the physical can be overcome. One question I think I should and will ask her is.. if it rains hard for three days straight... do you have the determination to get through that and appreciate the bounty of sunshine and beauty that comes after? From my experience nothing can ruin a hike like lots and lots of rain! It will certainly be an interesting discussion.. one that we will likely have a week from this Sat on 8/22.
Wülfgang
08-13-2015, 17:34
At this point I'm still a weekend warrior, but I've seen poor fitness derail even weekend backpacker's plans. It takes the wind out of your sails. As a rule people generally don't pursue things that suck for them, unless there is some big net gain. Like grad school, professional school, etc.
So I absolutely agree with the others that at least a moderate level of fitness is necessary so the first weeks of her hike don't completely suck. "Maintain a steady strain". You don't go from the couch to pounding your feet, ankles, knees, and back every day without getting a potentially hike-ending overuse injury.
Other than that, get her out for a weekend. Tell her the good, the bad, and the ugly of a long hike, don't sugar coat it. It's an easy thing to romanticize.
Odd Man Out
08-13-2015, 18:53
Physical condition is big part, determination is bigger. If she can focus on completing a goal, then it is only a couple of mountains through the woods.
Inspire, do not discouraged.
It's Not easy, but it's worth the trek.
Life's for those who live it.
The Wokman.
Yes to this. On my section hike last summer I met a couple who were hiking from Springer north until they ran out of time. The wife had said she has lost a lot of weight. Don't recall the exact amount but I saw her FB pics from Springer and compared to what I saw in central VA it was substantial. They made it to PA before they got off. With a spouse and a dog she had good support and they were hiking on their own terms. All the hikers I have met were very supportive.
well I had the sit down with my neice (and she treated me to lunch at Friendly's :-). She's still determined to attempt a thru hike. She's shooting for 2017 and taking six months out of her life to do the trip. She is in better shape now and is at least getting some exercise with regularity --not an athlete but at last visiting gym and doing some jogging. She says she'll maybe get in a couple weekend backpacks in the next couple years.. but that is max.
she is a little concerned (and I would be too) about the potential publicity of the walk in the woods movie and the extra crowds that may bring. But she is at least in part going for the social aspect of the trip. I personally think it really helps to be a woman.. men outnumber them so much they ar almost guaranteed to find friends.. but I digress. She may well find someone.. who knows. she'll have to buy all the gear (I mean she has NO backpacking gear at ALL). She'll have to save up the cash for the trip. At least she is doing some proper planning. I asked her why she wants to do this. Answer: the big challenge, the social aspect. I don't get the impression that she really wants or is even ready for the extreme solitude she will face at times. Not much point in discouraging her.. she is set on doing this and has been reading books about the AT since she was 10.. if not earlier. So there we have it.
Heliotrope
08-23-2015, 09:04
I realize she has no gear yet but why only a couple of trips before the thru hike? Is she that busy that work will not allow or is she not interested?
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She has a part time job at a small church (assistant minister as she is a recently ordained episcopal priest) and now also has part time admin job.
Plus it's just kind of her personality to be constantly busy. You know the stereotype of the very talkative and fast talking women who barely lets one get a word in edge wise? She fits that to a T. Drives me batty.. but I am her uncle so I am kind to her always.
This is low probability adventure, inexperienced and out of shape. Many have dreams, few but the effort in to make them happen. Sorry to be harsh and/or blunt.
fiddlehead
08-23-2015, 21:06
she oughta shoot for a CDT thru walk. much less crowded. real navigating. the AT these days is so cliche'.
Oh, not for a newbie.
600 miles of desert to start.
Then switch to 80% snowcover where ice ax and self arrest techniques are necessary.
Not to mention the navigation problems.
Couple all of that with carrying a lot of water, and longer distances between food supplies...............
Nah, bad idea.
Start out on the CO trail if looking for alternatives.
Much less problems to contend with for a newbie.
But, my thought here is: First ask her how she likes ****ting in the woods and going without a shower for a week at a time.
Most people who start the AT are newbies.
Some make it, most don't.
I don't know that it comes down to whether they've hiked a few weekend trips or not.
More like the passion someone's mentioned and how much they like living in the outdoors.
If she's overweight, she should probably have a little time on steps or step machine or walking up and down some mountains beforehand.
Injuries can stop overweight people easier than fit people. IMO.
Just my 2 cents.
She says she'll maybe get in a couple weekend backpacks in the next couple years.. but that is max.
I find that troubling...if typical of many AT romanticists.
How does she know if she'll even enjoy backpacking?
We can talking about the mental attitude, the conditioning, the right gear and proper planning..but if someone does not know if they'll actually enjoy the activity they plan on doing for 5-6 months..well, kinda of a head scratcher.
Most "professional" Americans get at least two weeks vacation (10 PTO days typically). (Your niece, working part time may even have more flexibility)
Spend 5 days of that. Leave on a Friday evening after work, take the PTO a week before a three day weekend, and you can spend Saturday through the Sunday next backpacking or NINE days. Use Monday to get home. (It is what I am doing next week. :) )
Nine days is enough time to dial in a gear a little bit, do a resupply, possibly be out in the rain and/or cold weather, and see if someone actually enjoys backpacking.
Set a modest, but realistic goal, of 80-90 miles and see if walking all day is for them.
If I was to dedicate so much of my time, energy and money on a goal..I'd want to make darn sure I'd actually enjoy what the goal is about. No matter how busy I am..... A week or so backpacking vs this big of an investment of resources is nothing.
I am assuming that Lone Wolf was being tongue and cheek in suggesting a CTD thru hike. That ain't gonna happen.. no way no now. It takes a very special type of person to be that far out in the wilds for that long. My niece isn't that type of person, nor are most people. Even the PCT I think is out of her league and I am not even sure about the AT. All I know for sure is she has read about it for decades and been thinking about it for ever. She likes the social aspect but not sure about the solitude. There are hours and hours and days and days of alone time. There were for me. Isn't that inevitable for everyone?
David, are you sure it's her dream and not yours? ;)
There were a few times when my nephew made noises about a thru-hike. I tried to goad him on but he chose to get married and start a family instead. :confused:
if it's her dream and not yours tell her to do some weekend hikes to get her pack weight down.
but it sounds to me that you are trying to live your dream through her.
no it's her dream not mine. I have already thru hiked the Appalachian Trail (and The Long Trail, and the Northville Placid Trailand hiked the 67 4000 footers in New England). i have not egged her on at all. I will say that it has been a dream/thought of her Dad over many years though he is a runner but definitely not a hiker and is busy working etc. i have suggested some shake down hikes but not sure that has sunken in yet. I plan to mail her my copy of the DVD TREK which I think gives a pretty good indication of what hiking the trail is like.
Met a WB'er last fall up at Lincoln Woods in NH. We climbed Mt. Flume via Osseo Trail together. He was determined to start a thru-hike in the spring (that would have been spring this year.) Weird thing is, while he was a very fit young man, he had almost no backpacking experience at all. I haven't stayed in touch. I wonder if he started, or finished.
Berserker
08-24-2015, 12:00
As others have said she just needs to get out on some hikes whether it's just an over night or longer.
One question I think I should and will ask her is.. if it rains hard for three days straight... do you have the determination to get through that and appreciate the bounty of sunshine and beauty that comes after? From my experience nothing can ruin a hike like lots and lots of rain!
The only way to see how you will react in this situation is to hike in it...once she gets out on a couple of hikes (in presumably nice weather) tell her to purposely go out when the weather sucks. In my personal experience several days of rain is physically not a big deal, but psychologically difficult to deal with. Some people like that kind of stuff...I don't care for it myself...been there, done that, got the T-shirt.
Berserker
08-24-2015, 12:06
she oughta shoot for a CDT thru walk. much less crowded. real navigating. the AT these days is so cliche'.
Yeah, but isn't like 1/4 of it road walking...pfffftt...she'd probably quit early out of boredom.
I know several women who were successful and happy thru hikers who had not spent much time at all camping or backpacking. I would let her ask the questions and answer what she wants to know, and not worry about what she decides - that is her choice ultimately, as you know. For some, just accomplishing the dream of gathering all of the equipment and beginning the hike is enough. Or they switch to being sectioners and come back over time. Or they go ahead and surprise everyone and hike the whole thing. She's lucky to have a supportive knowlegable uncle.
I know several women who were successful and happy thru hikers who had not spent much time at all camping or backpacking.
But when 75% of people who attempt a thru-hike fail, is that good advice? "Just go for it". :)
I think it's interesting how much we like to be in other people's business - determining what they should or should not do. That was my main point.
My philosophy isn't just go for it, and personally, I was extremely well-prepared and did a ton of training, some shake down hikes in many sorts of weather with my new gear, and I had a lot of outdoor camping and backpacking experience.
What I noticed when I got out there though, was that the mark of "success" of a thru hiker had little to do with that. There are plenty of opportunities to learn as you go. I know one successful thru hiker who started without a guide book. I wouldn't recommend that, and I certainly didn't do that, but I saw it. A really nice guy. Great photographer. By the time I met him he had his own book, but it was interesting to hear his story. He made friends on the first day and for the first weeks, just did what they were doing. You can have everything worked out to the day on a spreadsheet and be home before you get to Neels Gap. Or you can have a small amount of preparation, find you love it out there, it soothes your soul, and you have the desire and ability to keep going. And everything in between. I've been surprised and delighted by all of the myriad ways there are to approach a thru hike and have it be a memorable wonderful experience that changes your life.
I was just reading over my journal recently - it's interesting, I knew the odds - I had no delusions, I had no idea if I had it in me to hike all 2178 miles. I didn't even say I was a thru hiker for a long long time. I don't think I really knew for sure I was going to go for the whole thing until I had completed about 75% of the trail. Because I was a flip flopper, that was somewhere in Southern Virginia.
My first week I hiked 46 miles. If I had kept up that pace I never would have made it. I intentionally took it slow at first. I was never a very fast hiker or a big mile hiker. I hiked only 18 days over 20 miles. My point is that there's no way to know. I'm all for a shake down hike, physical training (lots) and learning about backpacking. I encourage it. It certainly ups the odds. But whether this person does it or not? That is up to her.
Very true, Zipper. I would never discourage research, practice or any other preparation, but I know for a fact that such prep doesn't correlate well with "success" (ie., finishing a conventional thru-hike.) It'll get you through the initial shake-out but after that it's mostly a head game.
Overweight, chunky. She has, at least for now, a fairly OK very sedentary though busy life style and lives in a very suburban environment
Ha, this describes almost all of the thru-hikers I met on my AT thru-hike. I don't think it deterred them from their goal of reaching Katahdin. But yes. they wouldn't have endured quite the pain if they had shown up in tip-top shape. Most had to work at a job right up until they left town to start their thru-hike so getting in shape was a hit or miss activity. Each got completely surprised at the steepness of the AT in the beginning but they adapted as necessary or left the Trail. Honestly, even people who showed up to start their AT thru-hike in Georgia were taken aback at how much exercion was required on a daily basis.
Since your neice lives in Massachusetts she should regularly hike up and down the AT in Massachusetts to get a feel what an upcoming thru-hike of the AT is about. Have her do this once every month for the next year, then have her do it every three of four weeks for the six months prior to starting her thru-hike.
By the way, I would vew being an ordained Episcopal priest as a positive for an upcoming AT thru-hike. The population of AT thru-hikers starting an AT thru-hike is a microcosm of society and I didnt' see many clergy on the Trail during my AT thru-hike.
Also, and this is a pretty big element, there is plenty of time to finish an AT thru-hike. Many AT thru-hikers get discouraged in the beginning because they're not making what they consider to be acceptable progress. What actually happens is when a northbound AT thru-hiker (starting in Georia) hits Virginia the miles per day go way up and much progress is made on a daily basis. The AT
We met a Trappist monk on the LT earlier this month. No pack, no water bottle, no poles. Just out for a stroll, but he was a good 2-3 miles in from the trailhead and a good way up the hill.
IBut whether this person does it or not? That is up to her.
It is up to her. But, again, when 75% of people fail..What is the logical reason to not be prepared?
Only in long distance hiking will someone seriously give advice of essentially that all boils down to "Just go for it".
Datto.. she lives in Eastern Mass, in Boston Metro area.. a full two hour drive from the AT at the very least.l
gregpphoto
09-06-2015, 21:18
I like to tell people, Remember, hiking and camping are just synonyms for walking and sleeping. Thats all youre really doing. Granny Gatewood had almost nothing in the way of fancy high tech gear. Neither did Muir or anyone back in "the day" so of course it can be done. Some practice beforehand couldnt hurt, but I met someone who had never ever backpacked a single night and did the entire AT solo, just from reading books and watching youtube vids. The info is all out there, and its not rocket appliances, so tell her to lace up and go!
shrapnel
09-07-2015, 07:33
Baby steps. Go on 5-6 miles day hikes on easy-intermediate trails. Cook on the hike, practice setting up a tent, loading, unloading a pack, getting water.
Do an over nighter, experience sleeping outdoors, washing up, hanging a bear bag. She could do these thing over the next few years, gradually increasing distance.
Weight, weight, weight. #1 killer for long hikes. Teach her what she needs and does not need. She will find this out when she goes on a 3-4 day hike.
If she does this over the next two years and sticks with it, she will be fine. Tell her to look for a hiking partner.
shrapnel
09-07-2015, 08:25
well I had the sit down with my neice (and she treated me to lunch at Friendly's :-). She's still determined to attempt a thru hike. She's shooting for 2017 and taking six months out of her life to do the trip. She is in better shape now and is at least getting some exercise with regularity --not an athlete but at last visiting gym and doing some jogging. She says she'll maybe get in a couple weekend backpacks in the next couple years.. but that is max.
she is a little concerned (and I would be too) about the potential publicity of the walk in the woods movie and the extra crowds that may bring. But she is at least in part going for the social aspect of the trip. I personally think it really helps to be a woman.. men outnumber them so much they ar almost guaranteed to find friends.. but I digress. She may well find someone.. who knows. she'll have to buy all the gear (I mean she has NO backpacking gear at ALL). She'll have to save up the cash for the trip. At least she is doing some proper planning. I asked her why she wants to do this. Answer: the big challenge, the social aspect. I don't get the impression that she really wants or is even ready for the extreme solitude she will face at times. Not much point in discouraging her.. she is set on doing this and has been reading books about the AT since she was 10.. if not earlier. So there we have it.
Whoa! I did not see this comment before I added my input - my bad. A "couple" of weekends? Which, in reality means maybe 1 day hike. You also stated that she is "visiting" the gym. I have seen many people "visit" a gym - talk with someone 80% of the time and then do 5 mph on a stationary bike for 20 minutes. "Some" jogging? I run and long term hiking and running are totally different monsters. I get the sense from your posts that you feel in the back of your head that she is not going to make it and its more of a dream than reality. You can read all the books you want, graduate from college, etc. ( I have done both), it will not help you one iota when you are out there. I really hope she makes it, but she really needs a little hiking experience to avoid the culture shock of being out there.