View Full Version : AT Records - Do record attempts exist?
Storyguy
04-04-2016, 12:26
A brother and I will be thru hiking in 2019. We want to convince two other brothers to me come with us. Have four brothers ever successfully completed a thru hike together? I can't find an answer anywhere, and perhaps, no answer exists.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Seatbelt
04-04-2016, 12:40
If they are all your age or older, I doubt it.
4eyedbuzzard
04-04-2016, 14:01
A brother and I will be thru hiking in 2019. We want to convince two other brothers to me come with us. Have four brothers ever successfully completed a thru hike together? I can't find an answer anywhere, and perhaps, no answer exists.
Thanks in advance for any replies.Probably not. Only about 25% of those individuals who start complete a thru-hike. Mathematically, the odds of a group of any four prospective thru-hikers finishing are 0.39%. Any one injury, medical condition, home situation, loss of will, etc. pretty much ends it. Perhaps having each other there for motivation and emotional support could help with the fairly large loss of will factor, but I doubt it increases the relatively poor odds that much. And this assumes that these four hikers all start with a strong personal desire to thru-hike.
The odds of finding four brothers who all have a burning desire to thru-hike is pretty slim. And the single most important factor in completing a thru-hike is personal desire. If you have to convince two other siblings to go, you're not off to a good start. Two brothers finishing together would be remarkable enough.
Just being honest and objective.
Jack Tarlin
04-04-2016, 15:03
Best of luck with your hike. As far as I know, four brothers have never all thru-hiked, either in one year or over several years. And while the oft-quoted "25%" completion figure is, in fact, a gross exaggeration (the actual figure is much less), if you plan your trip wisely, remain healthy, and stay motivated, I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to achieve your goal. But for starters, you better make sure everyone is as committed to the trip as you are!!
Slo-go'en
04-04-2016, 15:35
No doubt brothers have finished, in fact whole families have completed thru hikes. However, the only information kept about thru hikers are lists of those who choose to report that they finished a hike to the ATC in order to get a certificate of achievement. If two or more people with the same last name report they finished on the same day, chances are good they are closely related.
One Half
04-04-2016, 17:58
You could ask the ATC what if any family groups started and then try to track if they finished.
You could ask the ATC what if any family groups started and then try to track if they finished.
The barefoot Sisters wrote of a family from Maine that through-hiked. There was a bunch of children.
MuddyWaters
04-05-2016, 14:01
AT Records - Do record attempts exist?
No, neither do records, and for good reason.
Go for it, you can be a legend in your own mind.
illabelle
04-05-2016, 14:23
We shared a shuttle and a few moments on the trail with this guy last September. At 77, he was the 4th oldest thru-hiker.
http://www.trailjournals.com/about.cfm?trailname=18057