View Full Version : Why did you quit your AT thru-hike?
seattleboatguy
06-16-2016, 17:17
So many start the AT, but so few finish. I assume the 3 main reasons to quit are
it was too hard
I ran out of time
I ran out of money
Does that pretty much sum it up, or is there more to it than that?
Lone Wolf
06-16-2016, 17:23
i was not havin' fun anymore
Mostly, it got boring. I never managed to find a group or friend to hike with for very long. I was 37 at the time -- too slow for the youngsters, too fast for the oldsters.
It had nothing to do with money or injury.
squeezebox
06-16-2016, 17:41
Torn rotator cuff at week 1.
saltysack
06-16-2016, 17:46
Torn rotator cuff at week 1.
You walking on your hands?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Capt. America
06-16-2016, 17:49
Emergency at home, son needed surgery and than the day before I was going back to the trail I got blood clots in my lungs. A lot of the hikers left the first week because it was just plain terrible hiking weather in rained for the first 8-10 days. I started April 12th, 2015 it was cold too some nights and I remember it hailing and snowing on Blood Mtn. while listing to rifles firing as the army ranger's assaulted the Mtn. doing training exercises. But they did leave plenty of water in gallon jugs before we made the climb up the hill. Army trail Angels are cool.
middle to middle
06-16-2016, 18:01
I have MS which gives me fatigue and weakness problems especially later in the day. So one day I twisted my ankle then the next day i tore a ligament in my ankle. later in the day I just fell apart as core body temperature rose. I had to quit, I could not walk any more.
soumodeler
06-16-2016, 18:24
Getting sick - in my case, MRSA.
I think you can throw in a 4th and 5th category to your 3 based on the above responses. 4) Sick (either physically or just plain sick of hiking) or injury and 5) situation at home required getting off trail. Sometimes items 4 and 5 are used by hikers in lieu of item 1 but I think these 5 just about sum them up. i have thru hiked the AT but twice now have had to leave the BMT , which is obviously a much shorter trail,while attempting a thru hike due to item #5.
I think you can throw in a 4th and 5th category to your 3 based on the above responses. 4) Sick (either physically or just plain sick of hiking) or injury and 5) situation at home required getting off trail. Sometimes items 4 and 5 are used by hikers in lieu of item 1 but I think these 5 just about sum them up. i have thru hiked the AT but twice now have had to leave the BMT , which is obviously a much shorter trail,while attempting a thru hike due to item #5.
"used by" ... so you're suggesting that claims of sickness or injury sometimes less than honest? ;)
If I were to add to the OP's list, I'd add "boring" or "not fun" or "not what I was expecting."
Lone Wolf
06-16-2016, 19:09
If I were to add to the OP's list, I'd add "boring" or "not fun" or "not what I was expecting."
yup.................
colorado_rob
06-16-2016, 19:24
I quit my thru attempt in the planning stages, 6 months before i started. Basically, i decided there was no way i wanted to hike thru the heat and humidity back there, so i decided to section in spring and fall over two years instead. Worked great! I stopped my first leg at 700 miles in may, as planned, sorta, had wanted to make 900, but too hot for this heat wimp. Got it all done though in cool springs and falls, basically never touched the AT in summer (except mid sept and on)
Greenlight
06-16-2016, 19:46
Probably near the top is "psyched themselves out." Willpower just evaporated. It's on the individual - there are no right or wrong answers - to write his or her own narrative. My "why" is big enough to keep me on the trail once I depart the Hike Inn. I don't "think" that I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it. Maybe it will be "fun" and maybe it will be "boring" or maybe I'll get injured and have to spend a couple weeks reading my Kindle Paperwhite while something heals up. Maybe something will come up at home (It'll only be my wife and she'll be in an RV checking out antique stores in vicinity of the trail where I'm hiking) and I'll have to deal with it. But those are only contingencies. My "what" is Springer to Katahdin between Marcy and October of the year I thru-hike. I'd rather be bored in a green tunnel than sit in a cubicle writing plans.
I suffered dehydration which made my A-fib much worse. My fault. I had fluids in my backpack pockets, but since my pack was wayyy heavy, I was reluctant to take it off to get a drink and then struggle heavily (pun intended) to put it back on. My piss poor prior planning. 2017 will be different.
Let me add that what I hiked I enjoyed, and I met the greatest people.
seattleboatguy
06-17-2016, 08:25
I suffered dehydration which made my A-fib much worse. My fault. I had fluids in my backpack pockets, but since my pack was wayyy heavy, I was reluctant to take it off to get a drink and then struggle heavily (pun intended) to put it back on. My piss poor prior planning. 2017 will be different.
What changes will you make in 2017 to improve your chances of making a successful thru hike?
seattleboatguy
06-17-2016, 08:30
You and Lone Wolf had similar reasons for getting off the trail. Would you attack the challenge differently if you were to try it again, or is the AT just not the right thing for you at this stage of your life?
seattleboatguy
06-17-2016, 08:32
Mostly, it got boring. I never managed to find a group or friend to hike with for very long. I was 37 at the time -- too slow for the youngsters, too fast for the oldsters.
It had nothing to do with money or injury.
Let me try this post again...forgot to quote Rafe last time.
You and Lone Wolf had similar reasons for getting off the trail. Would you attack the challenge differently if you were to try it again, or is the AT just not the right thing for you at this stage of your life?
I suffered dehydration which made my A-fib much worse. My fault. I had fluids in my backpack pockets, but since my pack was wayyy heavy, I was reluctant to take it off to get a drink and then struggle heavily (pun intended) to put it back on. My piss poor prior planning. 2017 will be different.
As someone with the forum name SFdoc, I expected more medical sense from you, unless your screen name doesnt mean Special Forces medic?
In my estimation most folks quit a thru because it was not what they expected. A lot of thru-hikers, before they start, look at the positive things, the freedom, great views, meeting wonderful people, and enjoyable times around a camp fire. They soon find out that it's a hard life. A daily struggle of dealing with being dirty, being hungry, being worn out and wet. Getting up in the morning and having to put back on damp and dirty cloths and having to do it all over again. Being a thru-hiker was the hardest job I ever had.
rocketsocks
06-17-2016, 09:29
Ran outta weed!
You and Lone Wolf had similar reasons for getting off the trail. Would you attack the challenge differently if you were to try it again, or is the AT just not the right thing for you at this stage of your life?
Lone Wolf had something to do with my leaving the trail. We hiked together for a bit and some of his... er... attitude rubbed off on me. But when I quit, a few weeks later, I vowed to myself that I'd finish the trail some day.
That ended up taking another seventeen years or so. I had to learn a few things along the way. I'll probably never do a 2000+ mile hike, but at this point I know how to handle five, six, seven hundred miles at a go. I've got nothing to prove, to myself or anyone else. The trick is to keep it fun. Life is too short to spend half a year on a "recreation" that isn't fun.
I do short hikes in the White Mountains and on other New England trails year round. Long Trail, Grafton Loop, MA Mid-State trail, Monadnock-Sunapee Trail, etc. I try to get on the AT whenever I can. Last time was two weeks ago, just a couple days in MA with SloGo'En. I've walked the Franconia ridge at least 20 times in the last 35 years or so, in every season. That's pretty much where my hiking career began.
Maybe the CT next summer, who knows?
CamelMan
06-17-2016, 09:40
LOL @ rocketsocks
The first time I knew I would run out of money so quit at Fontana. The second time I got peroneal tendonitis and it looked serious. Maybe I could have continued but I didn't know it at the time or want to risk it. I was planning for this May but my job didn't end as planned so I'm a section hiker now. I'm curious how far I'll get just using shuttles and hiking on the weekends, and maybe I'll eventually finish in one go, or thru-hike a different trail.
Ran outta weed!
Fer sure. But are we allowed to say that nowadays? :)
Like Lone Wolf said, I wasn't having fun anymore. The weather turned hot, which made me even lazier than I already was. I quit at 850 miles knowing that if I continued there were several hundred miles of what I was told were uninteresting parts of the trail. At that point I felt that I had nothing to prove.
I wish more people that quit would share their experience here, but I think that the majority that quit do so much earlier in the trail than I did and are embarrassed because they quit a job and put their life on hold to go on a grand adventure and then quit after only a week or so because they were cold or it was too hard for them. More prospective thruhikers need to hear that narrative though.
Slo-go'en
06-17-2016, 09:52
Injury is a very common reason and there are all kinds of ways to get injured out there.
Another issue I see a lot is people who get hung up on getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible everyday and end up wearing themselves out. What's the rush? Why not spend time at that vista they made you work so hard to get to or sit and soak your feet in that cold stream for a while? Although, if your stuck in a bubble, if you want a slot in the shelter or a good tent site, you do need to get there early.
rocketsocks
06-17-2016, 10:03
Fer sure. But are we allowed to say that nowadays? :)it was the Colorado trail
Another issue I see a lot is people who get hung up on getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible everyday and end up wearing themselves out. What's the rush? Why not spend time at that vista they made you work so hard to get to or sit and soak your feet in that cold stream for a while? Although, if your stuck in a bubble, if you want a slot in the shelter or a good tent site, you do need to get there early.
Getting stuck in the bubble is a tough one, one of the lessons I had to learn. I like having company at camp but the implicit competition from the bubble was not helpful. To me, "HYOH" means walking at my own pace, or at least a comfortable pace. I know I'm slower than most thru hikers, so constantly comparing myself to them (in terms of miles per day, etc.) did not help.
Weird thing is, I traveled a lot faster and more efficiently at age 55 than I did at age 37 when I attempted my thru. Part of that had to do with easier terrain, part of it was due to better, lighter gear. But mostly, it was that the motivation came from within. It was off season and the trail was all mine.
People quit at the drop of a hat.
I knew one "thru hiker" that quit at Hot Springs because he talked to his grandson on the phone and the grandson said "Grandpa, we miss you".
People quit at the drop of a hat.
I knew one "thru hiker" that quit at Hot Springs because he talked to his grandson on the phone and the grandson said "Grandpa, we miss you".I think a lot of people are looking for an excuse to quit. Especially those who claim to quit due to injuries...far more quit very early in the hike due to injury than really seems plausible.
Lone Wolf
06-17-2016, 15:05
the fantasy doesn't match up with the reality so lots quit
I'm more of a LASHer/Section hiker, but I can tell you there are several mental phases you have to push through to keep going day after day. Some people are just not cut out for it. Others are mentally solid but get injured. Seems like there are three types of people on the trail. 1) The curious, 2) The determined, and 3) The resilient.
- The curious romantic - will leave by Neel Gap or the Smokies. They usually have 40-50lb packs.
- The determined romantic - most will upgrade a lot of gear but drop out between the Smokies and Harpers Ferry. Reasons include: injury, drama, no pink blazes, parties, weed, booze, or $$$ to compel them forward.
- The resilient realist - most have dialed in gear, are healthy and injury free, and will push past Harper's Ferry with renewed vigor and a lust for adventure (hopefully). They will only leave if forced and will likely finish the trail.
All three groups have drop outs. People have to leave for all sorts of reasons, but I'd say the most frequently occurring are:
- The romanticism has worn off and reality has set in: They are likely bored with the process of moving forward, experiencing loneliness, or the demands of the trail far exceed their comfort level.
- Injury: It's really easy to end up with an injury hiking 10+ miles a day through GA/NC when you're not ready for it. Even if you are, injury is tough to avoid for most.
- Financial/Emergency: You run out of cash or have to handle an emergency off the trail.
Sarcasm the elf
06-17-2016, 17:32
Notice how everybody claims that they quit and nobody ever admits that they got fired. :D
People quit at the drop of a hat.
I knew one "thru hiker" that quit at Hot Springs because he talked to his grandson on the phone and the grandson said "Grandpa, we miss you".
Thats not a bad reason to quit. Anyway- walk the whole thing or just a bit- as long as you get something out of it- who cares?
My feet hurt so bad I just could not walk anymore. Found out I had gout. I ended up yellow blazing the rest of the year and now I am a big section hiker, doing NH this year if things are going well I may do more of Maine. I plan on volunteering for the Maine AT club for a week or 2 after NH. I will go at a slow pace hitting lots of campsites in NH.
MuddyWaters
06-17-2016, 20:50
Aside from lack of money, injury, or external problems forcing them off the trail,
People quit because they ........dont want to hike anymore.
You can break it down into sub-reasons , but thats the gist of it.
not fun once newness wore off
boring
hard
lonely
other things they would rather do
etc
GOA.T. Trodder
06-17-2016, 20:56
Hey all. I am a prospective 2017 thru hiker. I decided this last December. A week later I developed a nasty infection in my foot. After surgery to remove the infection I was told it could take six months to recover. Wow. First excuse to not follow thru. Nope, instead I started ordering my gear(never hiked in my life).
Side note: I am a 43 year old man with M.S. in December I weighed 330lbs and was a 3pack a day smoker.
Yea more excuses I could use. But no, I drastically changed my diet and dropped smoking down to just a few (3-4) a day. Soon to be done with those as I don't want to while hiking.
Just this week I have been cleared to wear a shoe on the foot and limited walking. Hope to get full use in two weeks.
So the pre hike excuses didn't get me. And I'm already using the best advice I have heard from any thru hiker. " If I find myself wanting to quit that is OK. Just can't quit today." Meaning give it a day. It's unfair to quit when the going is bad. If your meant to quit you'll be just as ready to do so on a good day.
So please everyone, don't quit spontaneously, hike your own hike, and I hope to see and meet as many of you as possible next year!
GoA.T. Trodder
Slo-go'en
06-17-2016, 23:07
I think a lot of people are looking for an excuse to quit. Especially those who claim to quit due to injuries...far more quit very early in the hike due to injury than really seems plausible.
I think it's very plausible. A fatal miss-step could occur at anytime in a hike, but lots of injuries are more likely early on. Not everyone shows up in the best of physical shape to do this kind of thing, ya know. And the weather is often not the best.
That said, I suppose a minor injury could be all the excuse someone who hasn't been having a good time anyway needs to quit.
Those bad missteps often happen when you're tired, or trying to keep up with someone who's walking faster than your normal pace. Another reason to HYOH.
It's gonna take five million steps to get from Georgia to Maine, and it only takes one bad misstep to end or delay your hike.
When I started the hike last year- I was overweight and out of shape and had never backpacked. I started with a huge bubble- many of them super fit and young and experienced. I took the advice I got (on this forum) about starting slow- limiting the number of miles for a few weeks- and I did not injure anything on me going at that pace. ( I did have some bad falls later in the hike- and sprained ankles) The urge to go fast and far is almost irresistible in the beginning because so many do that and you want to be a part of it. It was hard to be the pokey one. But many of those fit and fast folks I started with got off the trail early because they pulled something, blew out a knee, and other injuries resulting from the fast pace and big miles. I slowly chugged on and made it all the way. Think marathon- not sprint. When people got off the trail, there were lots of reasons- but the most common reason I heard was boredom. And I have to admit- whenI considered leaving at one point it was for that reason. You have an expectation of many things on the trail, but I never expected to be bored. It can be monotonous walking all day. Once you push past that challenge though- it is great. I personally enjoyed the little things about the trail- leaves, colors, light breaking through the tree cover, lizards etc- AFTER the part when I struggled with the boredom. It was like a video game with many challenges: hills- rocks- rain- boredom- bugs-missing people. You experience those things all along the way and you have to beat the challenge to get to the next level.
Christoph
06-18-2016, 09:28
I can say it wasn't from boredom on my end, although there were a few days that got me thinking deeper. I decided to leave because my my uncle died, next day my hiking partner (who I picked up along the way for the last 2-3 weeks) got real sick and pulled off and ended up getting hospitalized, the wife was having a bad time with everything breaking (way more than the usual times when I deployed for months at a time), and I lost 46 pounds in 43 days which scared the crap outta me when I saw myself in a full length mirror for the first time in Troutville, Va. Just way too many bad thoughts at that point. BUT, I'm planning on starting completely over (hopefully in '17) and use what I learned along the trail for a better chance at success (pack weight is down under 30lbs with 10 days food and 2 ltrs water (a little extreme on the food side, I know), slow down a bit, better trail diet, and I won't have a time frame this time. I left April 19th and needed to be back for my 20th anniversary (a big one) on Aug 19th (if I wanted to see a 21st, I'd be back by then). :) Hopefully next year.
What changes will you make in 2017 to improve your chances of making a successful thru hike?
I've lightened my pack (29lbs w/food and 2qts of water. I'll most likely incude a baldder so I'll drink more often. Since my shirt was salt encrusted, I'll take some salt tablets and some NUUN electrolyte tablets. Additionally, I've started a more intensive workout program to include some day hikes weekly and some overnights (2-4nights) in the coming months. At 72, I was foolish enough to think I was still like I was in my 40's and 50's.
I thought that I was OK, but my age obviously has caught up w/me. In addition, the first day out in Harper's Ferry, it was 81+deg. I just wasn't physically prepared. And yes, I was an SF medic. And you're right, I should've exercised better sense. Big egos can really mess things up.
seattleboatguy
06-18-2016, 13:15
... Once you push past that challenge though- it is great. I personally enjoyed the little things about the trail- leaves, colors, light breaking through the tree cover, lizards etc- AFTER the part when I struggled with the boredom. It was like a video game with many challenges: hills- rocks- rain- boredom- bugs-missing people. You experience those things all along the way and you have to beat the challenge to get to the next level.
A very cool post. Thanks very much for passing it on to us wanna-be's.
I started the trail last year in March and made it as far as Height of the Land in Rangely Maine. I was hiking with my husband and he injured his knee about 900 miles into the trail. We took 4 or 5 days off and he decided he was able to continue. When we got to Maine we thought we were going to be able to finish. Then he sprained his ankle and we took another 4 days off but there was no improvement so we had to make the decision to leave the trail. We had hiked about half the trail with BonBon and were with her when we had to get off the trail. That was one of the hardest parts because we had developed such a great friendship with her. We plan on finishing the remaining 200+ miles within the next couple of years if life doesnt get in the way.
Last year I made it within 319 miles of Katahdin. My failure to address the following issues led me to coming off the trail.
Bad Walking Habits. As a runner, I get into a zone by looking down at my feet and crank by using a high number of steps per minute. The shuffling motion was problematic in the number of toe hits from rocks in PA and NH. By Pinkham Notch, my pace dwindled to one-half mile per hour. Upon returning home, X-rays revealed 3 broken toes.
Attitude Shock. The ability to produce strong half marathon times seduced me into thinking high millage days were doable. I am in my sixth decade of life. The last thing a man wants to hear is that he is old. Some older hikers can deliver the 20 mile days. I was not one of them. Being the last person to arrive at the shelter can be frustrating. Hiking outside of my natural ability was a mistake.
Nutrition. When I look back, I think all those Snicker bars and Pop tarts provided calories, but failed to make me stronger.
I will attempt to complete my journey this summer.
Last year I made it within 319 miles of Katahdin. My failure to address the following issues led me to coming off the trail.
Bad Walking Habits. As a runner, I get into a zone by looking down at my feet and crank by using a high number of steps per minute. The shuffling motion was problematic in the number of toe hits from rocks in PA and NH. By Pinkham Notch, my pace dwindled to one-half mile per hour. Upon returning home, X-rays revealed 3 broken toes.
Attitude Shock. The ability to produce strong half marathon times seduced me into thinking high millage days were doable. I am in my sixth decade of life. The last thing a man wants to hear is that he is old. Some older hikers can deliver the 20 mile days. I was not one of them. Being the last person to arrive at the shelter can be frustrating. Hiking outside of my natural ability was a mistake.
Nutrition. When I look back, I think all those Snicker bars and Pop tarts provided calories, but failed to make me stronger.
I will attempt to complete my journey this summer.
What I've been saying. I'm not anti-shelter, but this need to "get to the shelter early" is not a good thing. As for high-mileage days: I can count my 20 or 20+ mile days on one or two hands. IMO, the key is consistency. You need to average around fifteen miles per day, overall. One way to do that (for example) is to hike four or five 17 mile days, and then take a nearo. Keep the zeros to a minimum.
It's not at all unusual to slow down big-time in New Hampshire and Maine. I'm happy with one mile per hour (with a pack) in the White Mountains. You get the big-mileage days in SNP, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.
gsingjane
06-18-2016, 18:06
I never tried a thru-hike but it was funny, I always, always thought I would. I had done 3-4-5 day trips on the AT (and other trails) over and over, had led groups, and pretty much get out there any chance I can get, whether that is day hiking on a local trail or something more ambitious.
I did decide, though, that I would try a 3-week hike and see how that went, and, interestingly, I decided, based on that adventure, that a thru-hike probably isn't for me. It was a great thing to do, but when it was over I didn't feel at all like I wanted to go back or like a thru-hike would be the next thing on my agenda.
Something that I haven't seen mentioned here too much is that I found I really, really missed the folks at home (even my dopey teenagers). Also, and maybe this is heresy, but although I like hiking a LOT, there are plenty of other things I like a lot, too, and I really wouldn't care to do any of those things all day, every day. Even after 3 weeks, I started to miss cooking, and reading, and going for coffee, and especially my husband! So that was very educational for me.
I suppose that if I planned out a thru-hike, told everybody I was going, put everything in my life into storage or on hold, I would feel mighty compelled to go do it, or at least to make much more of an effort to get it done. But I also thought that the long test hike was good for me, because now if life does not take me down that particular road, I won't feel there is something priceless and uniquely special that I was missing, the way I think I would have felt if I had never given it a shot.
Jane
I can say it wasn't from boredom on my end, although there were a few days that got me thinking deeper. I decided to leave because my my uncle died, next day my hiking partner (who I picked up along the way for the last 2-3 weeks) got real sick and pulled off and ended up getting hospitalized, the wife was having a bad time with everything breaking (way more than the usual times when I deployed for months at a time), and I lost 46 pounds in 43 days which scared the crap outta me when I saw myself in a full length mirror for the first time in Troutville, Va. Just way too many bad thoughts at that point. BUT, I'm planning on starting completely over (hopefully in '17) and use what I learned along the trail for a better chance at success (pack weight is down under 30lbs with 10 days food and 2 ltrs water (a little extreme on the food side, I know), slow down a bit, better trail diet, and I won't have a time frame this time. I left April 19th and needed to be back for my 20th anniversary (a big one) on Aug 19th (if I wanted to see a 21st, I'd be back by then). :) Hopefully next year.
The greatest NEED you NEED to address on your second attempt despite you mentioning it, and then ignoring it on how you will change up your next attempt, is having better control of your emotional and mental life - "Just way too many bad thoughts……"
If you don't adapt better and sufficiently emotionally and mentally to all that LIFE throws at you during trail life second go round you're going to meet with the same fate of quitting a second time.
Lone Wolf
06-18-2016, 22:02
If you don't adapt better and sufficiently emotionally and mentally to all that LIFE throws at you during trail life second go round you're going to meet with the same fate of quitting a second time.
i quit twice in gorham. 2nd time was for a woman. it's just walkin' dude
Something that I haven't seen mentioned here too much is that I found I really, really missed the folks at home (even my dopey teenagers). Also, and maybe this is heresy, but although I like hiking a LOT, there are plenty of other things I like a lot, too, and I really wouldn't care to do any of those things all day, every day. Even after 3 weeks, I started to miss cooking, and reading, and going for coffee, and especially my husband! So that was very educational for me.This may sound weird to a lot of people but I started to miss the really mundane things that make life seem normal, like cleaning the house. I did a lot of cleaning when I stayed at hostels because of this.
MuddyWaters
06-19-2016, 10:04
What I've been saying. I'm not anti-shelter, but this need to "get to the shelter early" is not a good thing.
Ive watched hikers rush to the next shelter because it only slept 6, and they wanted a spot.
Saw one hurt himself and could barely walk after attempting to RUN with his~ 40 lb pack. Didnt work out well.
i quit twice in gorham. 2nd time was for a woman. it's just walkin' dude
Can't you get it that your motivation for backpacking and how you define it isn't universal?
Two of the greatest solutions for addressing boredom and the "I'm not having fun anymore" attitude are: 1) Recognize the hike as not just about hiking. EVERYONE can find exciting and fun things to do that can be incorporated into a hike. Work out your hike That's part of HYOH. The part that firmly squares personal responsibility where it should be…on YOU. Bon Bon gave an example 2) Find ways to have an attitude of gratitude and curious wonder. The feeling bored or "I'm having no fun" attitudes aren't the cause of something external to the individual. It is the individual who is being boring or no fun.
If you find yourself excessively getting negative, complaining, and meditating on quitting break that thought process because thoughts become attitudes which get acted out…laughter, lightening up, gratitude, and wonder can bring about empowering attitudes and behavior.
The very idea of thru-hiking is a bit nuts, and not terribly scalable, when several thousand people start at Springer within a two or three month stretch each spring.
There's a lot to be said for section hiking. You get to choose your seasons. You could hike the whole AT in the month of September, for example -- just not in one year. As a bonus, you get empty (and mouse-free) shelters and an uncrowded trail. But mostly, the time pressure is off. Walk at whatever pace you want. Smell the roses, avoid injury, etc.
Or try a southbound or flip-flop thru hike -- another way to beat the crowds.
A thru hike is a marathon. When you're thru hiking, it becomes your job -- you know what you've got to do every day, whether you want to or not. Easy to romanticize the trail from a cubicle, but once you're on the trail the novelty wears off pretty quickly.
There's a lot to be said for section hiking. You get to choose your seasons. You could hike the whole AT in the month of September, for example -- just not in one year. As a bonus, you get empty (and mouse-free) shelters and an uncrowded trail. But mostly, the time pressure is off. Walk at whatever pace you want. Smell the roses, avoid injury, etc.My experience on the AT taught me precisely this. I'd like to do some long sections of various trails in the future, but I would never plan a 5 or 6 month hike again. 3 to 4 weeks is probably the most I'd want to do, and I'd pick the 3 or 4 weeks where the weather matches the temperature zone I am comfortable with..
Lone Wolf
06-19-2016, 13:34
A thru hike is a marathon. When you're thru hiking, it becomes your job -- you know what you've got to do every day, whether you want to or not. Easy to romanticize the trail from a cubicle, but once you're on the trail the novelty wears off pretty quickly.
yup.....................
ShelterLeopard
06-19-2016, 14:26
I got MRSA and Lyme in one go, and ended up in and out of the hospital for three weeks. Got back on the trail after that, but it just wasn't the same. Planning to head out to another thru next year, though.
ShelterLeopard
06-19-2016, 14:32
Dogwood, love the way you put this!
Two of the greatest solutions for addressing boredom and the "I'm not having fun anymore" attitude are: 1) Recognize the hike as not just about hiking. EVERYONE can find exciting and fun things to do that can be incorporated into a hike. Work out your hike That's part of HYOH. The part that firmly squares personal responsibility where it should be…on YOU. Bon Bon gave an example 2) Find ways to have an attitude of gratitude and curious wonder. The feeling bored or "I'm having no fun" attitudes aren't the cause of something external to the individual. It is the individual who is being boring or no fun.
If you find yourself excessively getting negative, complaining, and meditating on quitting break that thought process because thoughts become attitudes which get acted out…laughter, lightening up, gratitude, and wonder can bring about empowering attitudes and behavior.
The greatest NEED you NEED to address on your second attempt despite you mentioning it, and then ignoring it on how you will change up your next attempt, is having better control of your emotional and mental life - "Just way too many bad thoughts……"
If you don't adapt better and sufficiently emotionally and mentally to all that LIFE throws at you during trail life second go round you're going to meet with the same fate of quitting a second time.
i quit twice in gorham. 2nd time was for a woman. it's just walkin' dude
…A thru hike is a marathon. When you're thru hiking, it becomes your job -- you know what you've got to do every day, whether you want to or not. Easy to romanticize the trail from a cubicle, but once you're on the trail the novelty wears off pretty quickly.
yup.....................
Yeah Rafe nailed it as you agree it not "jus walking." At the very least it's a very specialized type of walking. It's fair to say it's quite unusual for people referring to walking in the context of "walking" everyday 10+ miles per day for 5 months along a single path mostly through the woods and along mountain ridges where all they have to survive is between their ears and on their back. People "walking" their dog down the block and back or taking a walk around the neighborhood don't generally fail at those objectives 8 out of 10 times as do AT thru-hiker attempters. Nor do when people refer to "jus walking" in the habit of using the phrase in the context of their walk being how they live 24 - 7 outside in the elements.
Lone Wolf
06-19-2016, 15:12
it really is just walkin'
MuddyWaters
06-19-2016, 15:18
Perhaps when you live on the trail for several years,and hike its length several times, you no longer harbor flawed notions of what its about.
I know a lot of newbies seem to be excited by the idea of a great wilderness adventure.
Turns out its really just walking town to town,hostel to hostel, and restaurant to restaurant, with an ever increasing large group of people.
Following a guidebookd that shows exactly where water is, and exactly where to camp.
Without views, for all you know you could be in a state park, or someones back yard (this happens sometimes)
Electronics, trail "angels", and social media has greatly decreased the elitist and admirable adventuresome aspects of hiking the AT,.
People that travel in large groups of 10-20, are basically pathetic IMO. But HYOH. I think they dont understand what hiking is about.
But...these groups...trail families...keep people going because its simply the idea of belonging and doing something with others that they like. By themself, many would quit. Many do after their hiking partners drop out, etc.
My experience on the AT taught me precisely this. I'd like to do some long sections of various trails in the future, but I would never plan a 5 or 6 month hike again. 3 to 4 weeks is probably the most I'd want to do, and I'd pick the 3 or 4 weeks where the weather matches the temperature zone I am comfortable with..
How about considering a different scenario? Consider 1-5 months hiking on different trails and routes rather than on one longer 2000+ mile continuous footpath? Every hike doesn't have to be of epic length proportion! It's kind of a smaller snapshot scenario of what Cam "Swami" did on his '12 Long hikes.' That scenario alone can help stay mentally fresh, excited, and more engaged through diversity. What I've been doing lately is thru hiking several shorter length 2-4 wk or so trails/routes back to back to back and mixing it up with self made routes of various segments of named trails/connector legs and 400 mile chunk segment hikes of 1000+ mile named trails/routes. This has worked better for me, and I would think it would also for many others, that can't or don't want to devote 5-6 months off work away from home in a house time to one long continuous epic hike. Next yr reapeat. Cherry picking various hike conditions is easier that way IMO. In 2-3 yrs I still get in those 1000+ mile hikes but did it in sections while cherry picking conditions for each of the segments. For many that scenario intertwines more agreeably with off trail lifestyle commitments.
By AT thru-hiker stats it's obvious with 8 out of 10 failing to 'jus walk', as if that's all there is to accomplishing a LD thru-hike, 80% actually were section hikers anyway. It begs the question, "MAYBE, instead of getting caught up in the overly romanticized epicness of doing a 2000+ mile hike in one shot would more of those AT thru-hike attempters in that 80% category be better served by planning AT section hikes from the beginning?"
Referring to a thru-hike of the magnitude of the AT's length as "jus walking" can do a disservice to those considering a thru-hike of this magnitude. It diminishes the day to day month to month reality of LD trail life.
MuddyWaters
06-19-2016, 16:15
By AT thru-hiker stats it's obvious with 8 out of 10 failing to 'jus walk', as if that's all there is to accomplishing a LD thru-hike, 80% actually were section hikers anyway. It begs the question, "MAYBE, instead of getting caught up in the overly romanticized epicness of doing a 2000+ mile hike in one shot would more of those AT thru-hike attempters in that 80% category be better served by planning AT section hikes from the beginning?"
Referring to a thru-hike of the magnitude of the AT's length as "jus walking" can do a disservice to those considering a thru-hike of this magnitude. It diminishes the day to day month to month reality of LD trail life.
I agree, but many of those were probably enamored by the idea of a long adventure that others would be in awe of. The idea of hiking sections didnt do it for them.
Interesting that there are many ex thru hikers that never hike again as well. Their reasons...dont seem to be love of hiking and outdoors, while section hikers are out there hiking
year after year. Sometimes trail after trail, etc. Theres simply a broad cross section of reasons people want to thru hike I think. Sometimes it has to do with proving something to themself, or others. Probably a narrower set of reasons that people section hike.
Have to keep in mind the AT has been thru hiked by 5 yr old, 80 yr old, obese people, a blind person, a guy carrying a tuba...
It was designed and intended to be locally section hiked, and a thru is just a lot of small sections back to back.
Those that build it up to be more than it is for their own egos, are kidding themselves.
Its really arduous to thru hike, because of cumulative physical and mental toll, trying to finish in short time, which is self-imposed, not an aspect of the trail itself. Maybe if you relax those self imposed limitations, it becomes just walking.
The more experience, better dialed in gear, better shape someone is in, the easier it is overall, especially if they dont have a time constraint.
To some newbies, a 30 mile trip in a 4 days from springer to Neel Gap is an amazing exciting feat for them. They are so proud, and eager to share their report of what they successfully did. Many here would do that in a single day, or at most 1.5 days. Different ideas of how hard it is and what it is. Fortunately they dont rain on the newbs parade.
Referring to a thru-hike of the magnitude of the AT's length as "jus walking" can do a disservice to those considering a thru-hike of this magnitude. It diminishes the day to day month to month reality of LD trail life.
The "just walking" bit is LW's trademark. How many folks really buy into that? It's just a cute way of dismissing any discussion that one finds boring or irrelevant.
The very epicness of a thru hike is what drew me to it. I started hiking in the White Mountains (and Baxter park) years before I knew anything about the AT. But I kept crossing it or walking short bits of it. And eventually the idea of walking the whole thing took hold.
The "just walking" bit is LW's trademark. How many folks really buy into that? It's just a cute way of dismissing any discussion that one finds boring or irrelevant.
The very epicness of a thru hike is what drew me to it. I started hiking in the White Mountains (and Baxter park) years before I knew anything about the AT. But I kept crossing it or walking short bits of it. And eventually the idea of walking the whole thing took hold.
I buy into it. It keeps things in an appropriate perspective.
rocketsocks
06-20-2016, 10:48
I buy into it. It keeps things in an appropriate perspective.same here, sure fun to bounce ideas and even poke fun at minutiae...but all and all when it comes right down to it, it really is "just walking" one foot in front of the other.
same here, sure fun to bounce ideas and even poke fun at minutiae...but all and all when it comes right down to it, it really is "just walking" one foot in front of the other.
Does not apply in certain areas of extreme vertical.
By AT thru-hiker stats it's obvious with 8 out of 10 failing to 'jus walk', as if that's all there is to accomplishing a LD thru-hike, 80% actually were section hikers anyway. It begs the question, "MAYBE, instead of getting caught up in the overly romanticized epicness of doing a 2000+ mile hike in one shot would more of those AT thru-hike attempters in that 80% category be better served by planning AT section hikes from the beginning?"
I think the problem is that the romanticism is what drives people to hike. Many people who begin a thruhike have never hiked before and are only hiking because they bought into the romanticism of doing an epic hike. And you hear about these people who never hike again after doing a thruhike. Its clear that many people who start at Springer don't really have any interest in hiking at all, which is probably one of the bigger reasons that people quit.
I think the problem is that the romanticism is what drives people to hike. Many people who begin a thruhike have never hiked before and are only hiking because they bought into the romanticism of doing an epic hike. And you hear about these people who never hike again after doing a thruhike. Its clear that many people who start at Springer don't really have any interest in hiking at all, which is probably one of the bigger reasons that people quit.
I wonder how many of those folks there are -- the ones who thru-hike the AT but really don't like hiking or backpacking all that much?
I think the problem is that the romanticism is what drives people to hike. Many people who begin a thruhike have never hiked before and are only hiking because they bought into the romanticism of doing an epic hike. And you hear about these people who never hike again after doing a thruhike. Its clear that many people who start at Springer don't really have any interest in hiking at all, which is probably one of the bigger reasons that people quit.
I wonder how many of those folks there are -- the ones who thru-hike the AT but really don't like hiking or backpacking all that much?
The tendency to romanticize and fictionalize often accompany ignorance, self centeredness, and a good dose of ego.
The fact remains 8 out 10 professing AT thru-hiker attempters don't succeed at accomplishing what they initially said was their goal. That's by their confession. If we hold people to their confession - their word - there's an element of failure occurring that's inescapable. That's going to rub some people the wrong way but truth sometimes hurts.
The more important and empowering question to consider is "what enables one/how is one enabled to accomplish intended anticipated hikes?" People not enjoyably following through on what they intended is not who I aim to pattern my hikes on if I want to happily succeed at accomplishing hikes. What gets people to succeed at what they intended? If we're open to it that is much more telling and empowering than hearing a litany of reasons of why one chose to/had to quit.
There are reasons, attributes of people, and patterns of why people like Anderson, Honan, Lichter, McDonnell, Pharr Davis, Robinson, Skurka, Williamson, and many many others not of such notoriety consistently accomplish what they often publicly claimed to set out to. I want to much more so know what they do because I don't want to be a quitter.
There are reasons, attributes of people, and patterns of why people like Anderson, Honan, Lichter, McDonnell, Pharr Davis, Robinson, Skurka, Williamson, and many many others not of such notoriety consistently accomplish what they often publicly claimed to set out to. I want to much more so know what they do because I don't want to be a quitter.
Not one of these people is a role model for my involvement in hiking. So I never finished a thru hike. Big effing deal. I love to hike. I finished the AT on my terms. The OP's question is totally legit.
Lone Wolf
06-20-2016, 16:56
. I want to much more so know what they do because I don't want to be a quitter.this thread is about why folks quit. start your own thread about how not to quit
rub a dub dub
quitting becomes a habit that crosses over into various facets of life
quitters love the company of other quitters
rub a dub dub
quitting becomes a habit that crosses over into various facets of life
So profound... :rolleyes:
Lone Wolf
06-20-2016, 17:06
quitters love the company of other quitters
you really don't understand what you're typing about on this subject
One of the many enticing elements of an AT thru-hike is that it is doable for everyone. You don't have to be an experienced outdoors person (most are certainly not), you don't have to be a skilled marathoner (most are people out of an office and somewhat out of shape).
You just have to want to do it. For whatever reason.
The everyday person learns to adapt. If there is any lesson from an AT thru-hike it is gaining the ability to adapt.
Datto
MuddyWaters
06-20-2016, 17:32
rub a dub dub
quitting becomes a habit that crosses over into various facets of life
Thats what mamas say.
It dont apply to quitting a vacation, I dont think.
People 70 lbs overweight, people just out of college, people just out of high school, seniors, middle-agers, people tired of the monotony of corporate life, housewives, househusbands, history teachers, hair dressers, capenters...everyone.
Have proved they can thru-hike the Appalachain Trail.
It is not only the greatest Trail in the world, it is everyone's Trail.
That is part of what makes the Appalachain Trail so attractive as an experience.
And an AT thru-hike so captivating as an experience.
Not to bank on Facebook, but rather as an immersion to remember all of your days.
Datto
I contend you will meet some of the best people you will meet in your entire life on an AT thru-hike.
Well no, it's not Zuckerberg or Bezos or Namath --
But is is everyday people striving, like you, to accomplish something big. Way more than Joe Schmoe chowing down lunch sitting in a cubicle.
You only have one life -- why not make the best of it and take advantage of what opportunity presents itself?
Datto
rocketsocks
06-20-2016, 17:53
Does not apply in certain areas of extreme vertical.oh that...its just scrambin' :D
rocketsocks
06-20-2016, 18:01
rub a dub dub
quitting becomes a habit that crosses over into various facets of lifeits just quittin' it ain't like anybody really gives a crap if I quit or you quit...so quit it!
ps I quit a thru hike before I ever wanted to go in the first place, to much of a pain in the arse, section honking is way better for most people's life style choices.
its just quittin' it ain't like anybody really gives a crap if I quit or you quit...so quit it!
ps I quit a thru hike before I ever wanted to go in the first place, to much of a pain in the arse, section honking is way better for most people's life style choices.
The soldier being much too wise,
The sailor gave at least a try...
I'll bet you know where that comes from. ;)
Another Kevin
06-20-2016, 19:42
I contend you will meet some of the best people you will meet in your entire life on an AT thru-hike.
Well no, it's not Zuckerberg or Bezos or Namath --
But is is everyday people striving, like you, to accomplish something big. Way more than Joe Schmoe chowing down lunch sitting in a cubicle.
You only have one life -- why not make the best of it and take advantage of what opportunity presents itself?
Because thru-hiking and a dead-end cubicle job aren't the only choices?
I could have thru-hiked at twenty. I was a college dropout, I'd blundered into a job on Wall Street with a bunch of crooks, and I was pretty sick of the world. Instead, I begged and pleaded with school administrators to let me back in to help shield me from the consequences of whistleblowing. It worked. I was, as far as the Dean was able to determine, the only student in the history of the school to be expelled and graduate with his class. A dubious distinction, but it certainly made memories!
I could have thru-hiked at thirty. My job had obviously come to a dead end - it was respectable, and paid pretty well, but my heart was not in it, especially after they went and made me the manager of my unit. Instead, I quit, and went back to grad school - because I could see the job I wanted to be doing, and it took a PhD. Doing a PhD in early middle age is an even bigger commitment and adventure than a thru hike, let me tell you!
I could have thru-hiked at forty (except that I was deathly ill for most of that year, but that's another story). But by then I had a wife, and a toddler daughter, and I had commitments to keep. And seeing my daughter grow has been a great wonder and joy, and I'd surely not trade it for a thru-hike, however transformative that experience might be. It also had me working on designing the transmission network for a big-name TV network. I care but little for television, but it had everyone around me saying, "what a cool job!" and it's certainly satisfying that my work is still in use twenty years later.
I could have thru-hiked at fifty. But by then, my daughter was coming hiking with me. She had many other interests, which I encouraged her to pursue, so it would not have worked to pull her out of school for part of a year in order for her to follow me. So I stayed close to home, and supported her, and still have a memory of her grin the first time she stood beside me on the summit of a Northeast 4k in winter, the first time that we found the summit canister of a trailless peak with her in the lead, and even when she came home after the first time she took a group of her buddies out without me. And in the meantime, I was working on good stuff - doing embedded software research for microscopes and X-ray machines and MR scanners - helping doctors help patients better.
Now, I'm sixty. I suppose I could still pack it all in and head for the trail. But I still like hanging around to watch the lovely young woman that my daughter has grown to, taking care of my wife, and still work on X-rays and microscopes and robots - only now for making power plants just that little bit more efficient and less polluting, and jet engines just that little bit safer. It's still good work, and I like doing it. I'm not ready to retire just yet. One of these days they'll push me out the door, and I'll shed no tears. As an engineer, I've buit some things I can be proud of. I've made stuff that people don't see very often, but that they live better lives because of. I can say for certain that there are patients who lived that would have died without the work I did. For all I know, I prevented a plane crash.
You say with confidence that anyone who passes up an opportunity to thru-hike will regret it all their days. On the contrary, I have few regrets. I love the trail, but I've never wanted to be married to it. I've heard wonderful things about the camaraderie of the trail family, but I'll take my real family any day. Mother Nature can wait for me to visit her on weekends and vacations. I have other things to do with the rest of my time, and those things aren't soul-crushing.
That's why I'll always, on this site, have the contrary perspective of, "are you sure that thru-hiking is the relationship you want with the Trail? That isn't all there is - and thru-hiking wasn't even what the trail was originally supposed to have been about." The other approaches aren't consolation prizes.
Says the clueless weekender.
Another Kevin
06-20-2016, 19:45
I'll bet you know where that comes from. ;)
Uhm, John Perry Barlow?
Uhm, John Perry Barlow?
Nope. But I'll give you credit for making me check.
The soldier being much too wise,
The sailor gave at least a try...
I'll bet you know where that comes from. ;)
The Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead
Of course. :) Terrapin Station. Garcia/Hunter.
I've had more fun hiking different locations for 1-2-4 weeks at a time. It's far easier and cheaper than a thru-hike and about .001% as unrewarding with one less bragging right. You don't need a thru-hike to meet great people, knock out epic challenges, and transform yourself. You just need to get outside into the wild more often.
rocketsocks
06-21-2016, 06:51
The soldier being much too wise,
The sailor gave at least a try...
I'll bet you know where that comes from. ;)it can be bought or sold.
rocketsocks
06-21-2016, 06:52
Not.............
rocketsocks
06-21-2016, 07:01
Because thru-hiking and a dead-end cubicle job aren't the only choices?
I could have thru-hiked at twenty. I was a college dropout, I'd blundered into a job on Wall Street with a bunch of crooks, and I was pretty sick of the world. Instead, I begged and pleaded with school administrators to let me back in to help shield me from the consequences of whistleblowing. It worked. I was, as far as the Dean was able to determine, the only student in the history of the school to be expelled and graduate with his class. A dubious distinction, but it certainly made memories!
I could have thru-hiked at thirty. My job had obviously come to a dead end - it was respectable, and paid pretty well, but my heart was not in it, especially after they went and made me the manager of my unit. Instead, I quit, and went back to grad school - because I could see the job I wanted to be doing, and it took a PhD. Doing a PhD in early middle age is an even bigger commitment and adventure than a thru hike, let me tell you!
I could have thru-hiked at forty (except that I was deathly ill for most of that year, but that's another story). But by then I had a wife, and a toddler daughter, and I had commitments to keep. And seeing my daughter grow has been a great wonder and joy, and I'd surely not trade it for a thru-hike, however transformative that experience might be. It also had me working on designing the transmission network for a big-name TV network. I care but little for television, but it had everyone around me saying, "what a cool job!" and it's certainly satisfying that my work is still in use twenty years later.
I could have thru-hiked at fifty. But by then, my daughter was coming hiking with me. She had many other interests, which I encouraged her to pursue, so it would not have worked to pull her out of school for part of a year in order for her to follow me. So I stayed close to home, and supported her, and still have a memory of her grin the first time she stood beside me on the summit of a Northeast 4k in winter, the first time that we found the summit canister of a trailless peak with her in the lead, and even when she came home after the first time she took a group of her buddies out without me. And in the meantime, I was working on good stuff - doing embedded software research for microscopes and X-ray machines and MR scanners - helping doctors help patients better.
Now, I'm sixty. I suppose I could still pack it all in and head for the trail. But I still like hanging around to watch the lovely young woman that my daughter has grown to, taking care of my wife, and still work on X-rays and microscopes and robots - only now for making power plants just that little bit more efficient and less polluting, and jet engines just that little bit safer. It's still good work, and I like doing it. I'm not ready to retire just yet. One of these days they'll push me out the door, and I'll shed no tears. As an engineer, I've buit some things I can be proud of. I've made stuff that people don't see very often, but that they live better lives because of. I can say for certain that there are patients who lived that would have died without the work I did. For all I know, I prevented a plane crash.
You say with confidence that anyone who passes up an opportunity to thru-hike will regret it all their days. On the contrary, I have few regrets. I love the trail, but I've never wanted to be married to it. I've heard wonderful things about the camaraderie of the trail family, but I'll take my real family any day. Mother Nature can wait for me to visit her on weekends and vacations. I have other things to do with the rest of my time, and those things aren't soul-crushing.
That's why I'll always, on this site, have the contrary perspective of, "are you sure that thru-hiking is the relationship you want with the Trail? That isn't all there is - and thru-hiking wasn't even what the trail was originally supposed to have been about." The other approaches aren't consolation prizes.
Says the clueless weekender.beautyful...........
Wet Foot
06-21-2016, 09:17
This is why I hike with a 4 liter platypus in my pack and sip constantly out of the tube as I walk. On a hot day, I'm often surprised to see that I've completely drained it in just a few hours. I only use my water bottle when I'm "pack off" and on break.
I buy into it. It keeps things in an appropriate perspective.
I'm not denying the occasional usefulness, wisdom and brevity of the phrase, just that it's a bit simplistic.
rub a dub dub
quitting becomes a habit that crosses over into various facets of life
"In the long run men only hit what they aim at. Therefore, though they should fail immediately, they had better aim at something high.” --Henry David Thoreau
I guess my point is that the way I view my hike is that if I hadn't set out to do a thru hike I wouldn't have achieved the accomplishment of having hiked 850 miles. Yes, ultimately I quit and I failed, but there have been few monumental failures in my life where I walked away from them with such an accomplishment after having spent 4 months on vacation. I'll take that kind of failure anytime. And I don't mind being called a quitter either. At least I made the attempt. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
CamelMan
06-21-2016, 14:18
The more important and empowering question to consider is "what enables one/how is one enabled to accomplish intended anticipated hikes?"
The Fifth Element: Money.
I wonder how many of those folks there are -- the ones who thru-hike the AT but really don't like hiking or backpacking all that much?
People who will quit tend to leave clues. It starts with letting oneself get mentally negative. If the negative thought patterns of why hiking sucks, etc does't get interrupted it becomes all consuming. The focus gets wider and wider on why it's OK even agreeable to quit. The mental negativity(weakness) builds. Just as it builds and weariness in well doing sets in at other endeavors in life…marriage, training children, career, fidelity, loyalty, commitment, heeding financial and personal responsibilities, honesty, being true to one's word, etc. Quitting creeps in and with enough of it becomes habitual.
Even the few who I've met and observed that hated backpacking/LD backpacking would at times find ways to enjoy it, get their minds off why it sucked, embracing the suck to where it didn't seem so sucky all the time, finding reasons why it was great through laughter, socializing, bonding with others of a common goal, doing something other than hiking(check out plants, wildlife, geology, regional Natural History, off trail museum, attending music concerts, etc), taking periodic breaks off for a couple of days on a LD hike, chunking down a LD hike into smaller LD hikes from town to town or state after state, and finding something to be grateful for each day focusing on all these instead of focusing on quitting.
Be honest with yourself. How easy has it become for you to quit at…..? and …..? and….? and…? Maybe it's about time to break the pattern?
As someone with the forum name SFdoc, I expected more medical sense from you, unless your screen name doesnt mean Special Forces medic?
Being 72 and on several meds, 1 for Afib and 2 for BP, I wasn't really aware, suspicious but not fully aware, of how that stress would impact me. Yeah, I'm a former SF medic. Screwed up. But never again.
The bladder is part of my new plan. Used one when long distance cycling. Why didn't apply that knowledge? Age and ego. Oh well.
This is why I hike with a 4 liter platypus in my pack and sip constantly out of the tube as I walk. On a hot day, I'm often surprised to see that I've completely drained it in just a few hours. I only use my water bottle when I'm "pack off" and on break.
That's my plan for my next hike, any and all. I used one when long distance cycling after getting sick from road dirt collected on the bottles. Why didn't I apply that knowledge when hiking? Age and ego. Oh well. You can't outmuscle nature, or stubborness.
CamelMan
06-21-2016, 15:20
Even the few who I've met and observed that hated backpacking/LD backpacking
People who hate backpacking shouldn't do it. It's not the only hobby in the world, or the only path to self-fulfillment. Nobody needs to hike unless they need to hike, in which case they'll do it.
Lots of things people think they shouldn't do but when has that stopped the masses from starting and still fulfilling what they had to/sought to/said they would do. No One is forcing another to claim to attempt or do a 2200 mile hike. It's of a wannabe LD hiker's sole volition they chose to publicly confess and embark upon their attempts.
I agree though if more AT thru-hike attempters and perhaps some other wannabe hiking communities would go out for a week or two to see if they like backpacking("jus walkin" :p) and living on trail/adapting to trail life first before they embraced on what amounts to being included in a 80% failing category in their "self confessed" attempts of a 2200 mile hike completion rates would see a substantial rise AND most of all people would likely be enjoying themselves more often.
MuddyWaters
06-21-2016, 16:08
Since what, 25% dont get out GA, and 50% maybe hot springs or so, depending on stats you believe, a little training hike would serve some purpose for many. Just goes to show, no way many have any experience at all. Just dreamers. Enamored by an idea, but really not able or willing to follow thru. Most likely too much wt, poor shape, didnt either research, or believe. Lots of people ask advice, then dont listen because not what they want to hear. Many like that dont last long. I remember a woman on here a couple yrs ago that insisted she could eat for $1-2/day, use really crap walmart type gear, etc.She last a week or so.
What's this cr@p about self-confession? Someone started a thread about quitting. A few of us who've done that, responded. As did a number who were too wise (or had other good reasons) to even try. We all make choices that we later regret. That doesn't necessarily mean we went into them blindly, but maybe we discovered something along the way that we'd dismissed, trivialized, or rationalized in the planning and dreaming. Bit off a bit more than we wanted to chew. That's life. "***** happens."
bamboo bob
06-21-2016, 17:42
I stopped in MA. Started in GA. Got plantar fasciitis. The pain made me stop. The next year I went MA to ME. The next year I started in GA and completed a Thru-hike. After that I sectioned SOBO to Harpers Ferry and then later did GA to HArpers Ferry. That included a lot of quiting and a lot of completion. I don't think quiting has any ramifications beyond stopping. It doesn't layout the rest of your life. FYI I later thru-hiked the PCT but I stopped after some NOBO of the CDT. Lot's of other stuff too. The POINT is if you like backpacking you go on Backpacking trips of all sorts. If you don't like it you don't. Quiting various times and places has no ramifications and less you want it to.
I think the problem is that the romanticism is what drives people to hike. Many people who begin a thruhike have never hiked before and are only hiking because they bought into the romanticism of doing an epic hike.
Reality often astonishes theory. - Tom Magliozzi, CAR TALK
Says the clueless weekender.
A false statement my friend. :)
displacedbeatnik
06-22-2016, 14:46
Kind of all of the above. My big problem is stomach issues. Whenever I try to eat while hiking, I get sick to my stomach unless I stop hiking for hours at a time. This was causing me to eat more in town, and stop in town a lot, to get my necessary calories. So I started to burn through money a lot quicker than I hoped. Now I'm just leapfrogging to places where I know there are relatively cheap places to eat, rest, and stay without leaving the trail (i.e. Shenandoah National Park).
Mamabear17
06-28-2016, 17:01
I my self left the trail in 02 after I twisted my knee on the north side of blood Mt.
I stopped for a day at Neels gap hostel for a day. Thought I could keep going which I did.
but each day the pain and swelling increased. Finally I had to stop in Bryson city NC.
I cried for a week I had planed for years and like that is was over.
here 14 years later I'm gearing up for my 2017 run this time no hopping down hills sure it's fun but I'm older and brake easier.
capehiker
09-03-2016, 01:30
An injury indirectly led to me quitting this summer. I twisted my ankle something bad coming down Albert Mountain at sunset. I was riding a high of hitting the 100 mile mark in a week so I didn't feel it as badly. When I woke up the next morning, it was swollen and my feet were blistered. I hobbled into Franklin, NC and spent 8 days in town, refusing to get off the trail. I wasn't going to quit.
Realizing my ankle was taking longer to heal and the elevation & terrain through NOC and the Smokies, I made the decision to jump up to Harper's Ferry where the terrain was easier and my family network was nearby. By flipping north, I was among the front of the bubble and the hikers were moving fast. I was moving slow. It was a psychological drain and by NY, I was lonely and bored.
I am completely haunted by my injury and keep replaying the "coulda, woulda, shoulda" game. If I had only stopped earlier and camped maybe I wouldn't have twisted my ankle. Scenarios like that have woken me up. I sincerely believe had I not twisted my ankle, I would still be on the trail. A lot of people like the solitude, but I actually enjoy the bubble and other hikers. When I do it again, I will start in March and enjoy all the hikers around me.
Starting a thru-hike of the AT and not completing it is NOT failure. There is nothing in the world wrong with starting with the attitude of "I'm going to give this a try and see how it goes." I seriously doubt that I have the physical stamina to hike the AT for 2100 miles over 4-5 months. That doesn't mean I won't attempt it at some point. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Whether a person makes it one week, 6 weeks, or finishes the whole trail, at least they attempted something grand. They are more successful than 100% of the people who sit around doing nothing for fear of failing. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
ATBuckles
09-03-2016, 12:14
Insufficient funds to finish and business to take care of back home. Covering about 1400 miles without any previous backpacking experience and no real thru-hiking plans when I set out... I'm very proud of myself for what I was able to accomplish. It was also a great introduction to a lifestyle I'd never explored before but have fallen in love with. I know a few more things, do's and don'ts, for next time around. There will be a next time.
What's this cr@p about self-confession? Someone started a thread about quitting. A few of us who've done that, responded. As did a number who were too wise (or had other good reasons) to even try. We all make choices that we later regret. That doesn't necessarily mean we went into them blindly…
True Rafe but it's not forced on others to publicly self confess themselves as thru hikers/thru-hiking. They've made the decision to publicly make known these intentions. That's what I was saying. These folks have made THEIR CHOICE be known.
Regret can certainly be a powerfully disabling state of being.
Even CHOOSING endeavors much more important…marriage, training children, career, fidelity, loyalty, commitment, heeding financial and personal responsibilities, honesty, being true to one's word, etc. can include periods perceived of regret, boredom, lack of money, severe time constraints, dire illness(es), being no fun, etc. Does that mean all who choose such endeavors, likely MUCH MORE CHALLENGING, have quit these endeavors because of these reasons? THANKFULLY, OF SO THANKFULLY, NO.
Not one of these people is a role model for my involvement in hiking. So I never finished a thru hike. Big effing deal. I love to hike. I finished the AT on my terms. The OP's question is totally legit.
They aren't my role models for my involvement for hiking either. THEY CAN BE ROLE MODELS FOR BEING A NON QUITTER!!!…just as those who did not quit because of GREATER challenges they faced…age, blindness, being otherwise physically and/or psychologically handicapped, severely lacking money, severely crunched on time, being severely gear handicapped..ie; Grandma Gatewood, Earl Shaffer, Bill Erwin, Scott Rogers(amputee), the two in 2008 who successfully thru-hiked as a means to beating heroin addictions, the long time homeless couple in 2008 who completed their thrus by working their way up the trail taking 8 months to complete it, the one who in 2009 who thru-hiked who shared with me that he was thru-hiking on a borrowed $900 as a ways of beating his 12 yr crack cocaine addiction(he made it!, worked some along the way), the Marine who successfully thru hiked in 2009 with two bullets still lodged in him one in his back(he showed me the lump) and one in his chest, the one in 2010 who successfully completed his thru-hike starting his thru as a 340 lb severely overweight diabetic and hear problems(upon seeing his physician after the finish diagnosed him as no longer being a diabetic!), the young 20 something old man who shared his 2008 successful thru-hike who was thru-hiking to get over the loss of his wife and two children in a 7 month ago car accident in which he was driving,….
I could go on and on and on. So when I hear I quit because I was having "no fun" or "I was bored" or "it wasn't what I expected" it sounds like such lame BS excuses compared to these who rose to the challenge as these!!!
pickNgrin
09-04-2016, 05:35
Everyone, including those great role models, quits something. It might be a musical instrument, playing baseball, a job, a college major that turned out not to be the right choice, a girlfriend, etc. Everybody quits something. If you don't, you are not being true to yourself. There is no shame in trying something and then finding out that you don't love it as much as you thought.
That said, there should be something in everyone's life that they don't quit on.
Everyone, including those great role models, quits something. It might be a musical instrument, playing baseball, a job, a college major that turned out not to be the right choice, a girlfriend, etc. Everybody quits something. If you don't, you are not being true to yourself. There is no shame in trying something and then finding out that you don't love it as much as you thought.
That said, there should be something in everyone's life that they don't quit on.
That´s the way I see it, too. Thanks for saying it.
Apple, arguably the most successful company ever, has quit a bunch of things a bunch of times as their interests and their markets changed. So did Thomas Edison. The man claimed he tried 10,000 things that didn´t work. Finally he got one that did work. He could have let the previous 10,000 failures blight his future, but he didn´t. Its only failure if you let it be.
It really is ¨just walking¨. One foot in front of the other. If you didn´t do that one thing then none of the other things; the intense planning, the intense preparation, the right equipment, the right food. None of that would have gotten you from end to end if you didn´t walk your first step, followed by 5 million more.
It really is just a question, too.....Why did you stop? Your reasons for stopping are your own, and you don´t have to post them here only to be called a quitter and a failure. It´s only ¨quitting¨ and its only ¨failing¨ if you want it to be. For 99.9% of us, quitting the trail was just a prelude to our next experiment.
I like this thread because for the most part its a good look at what newbies and second- and third-timers can expect when they step out on the trail. For every one person who stands up and admits they stopped walking because of being ill prepared (wrong equipment, wrong food, wrong timing, wrong body condition, whatever) that might save one newbie or one repeater from making the same misjudgment.
We can all benefit from the experiments by others, whether those experiments worked or didn´t work, we can still get a valid take away.
Half
Sandy of PA
09-04-2016, 08:34
Just don't ever quit on yourself.
capehiker
09-04-2016, 12:50
I could go on and on and on. So when I hear I quit because I was having "no fun" or "I was bored" or "it wasn't what I expected" it sounds like such lame BS excuses compared to these who rose to the challenge as these!!!
Wow! That must be some view from your ivory tower! What a pompous thing to say.
pickNgrin
09-04-2016, 13:53
Hey capehiker… I am trying to PM you but your inbox is full. Please see the WTB thread. Thanks man!
So when I hear I quit because I was having "no fun" or "I was bored" or "it wasn't what I expected"
exactly........the very same three very good reasons why my ex and I divorced....if it ain´t fun don´t keep doing it.
Your tone and your put down of anyone who ever stopped doing something because they were ready to move on indicates you are arrogant, conceited, egotistical, pompous and sanctimonious. You are still like I remember you in person and the way I remember you from the paddling forum.....loud, overbearing, obnoxious, always spouting ill-informed pop-psych and totally out of touch with human decency.
Its called ¨hiking your own hike¨ for a reason. You hike your way and I´ll hike mine. Another way of putting it is ¨do unto others as you would have them do unto you¨ which means walk a mile in my shoes first, before you condemn and trash.
There is an excellent book called How To Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. Written before I was born, but still VERY applicable to people like you.
Good book recommendation. Have read AND applied much in the book.
Uhh, perhaps you have me confused with another. I haven't been on a paddling forum and I don't remember meeting you by that user/trail name or by any Andy from Johnson City.
Don't confuse what I'm condemning. It is not people. It's a thinking process. It's not pop-psych either. It's mainstream psych offered by people much more in the know than either of us - professional psychologists.
BTW, I have walked a mile in these type of shoes, many a mile. Perhaps, read what I just posted here: http://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/120682-Worst-on-trail-injury
Wow! That must be some view from your ivory tower! What a pompous thing to say.
No, I haven't said anything that I don't deal with myself. This is talking across not down to people. I am definitely not suggesting I never have thoughts of quitting or what I perceive as good reasons to quit or haven't quit. I'm sharing how I've overcome the same thoughts of "this is no fun", I'm bored", etc. If you don't see any possible assistance addressing these types of thoughts so be it.
OkeefenokeeJoe
09-04-2016, 17:05
exactly........the very same three very good reasons why my ex and I divorced....if it ain´t fun don´t keep doing it.
Your tone and your put down of anyone who ever stopped doing something because they were ready to move on indicates you are arrogant, conceited, egotistical, pompous and sanctimonious. You are still like I remember you in person and the way I remember you from the paddling forum.....loud, overbearing, obnoxious, always spouting ill-informed pop-psych and totally out of touch with human decency.
Its called ¨hiking your own hike¨ for a reason. You hike your way and I´ll hike mine. Another way of putting it is ¨do unto others as you would have them do unto you¨ which means walk a mile in my shoes first, before you condemn and trash.
There is an excellent book called How To Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. Written before I was born, but still VERY applicable to people like you.
OUCHY!
OkeefenokeeJoe
…Its called ¨hiking your own hike¨ for a reason. You hike your way and I´ll hike mine. Another way of putting it is ¨do unto others as you would have them do unto you¨ which means walk a mile in my shoes first, before you condemn and trash…
Exactly, let's hike, enjoy ourselves, and not give in to excuses to quit. Don't tell me that I haven't walked in these shoes before and still have to sometimes, but thankfully less infrequently! Don't tell me I'm the only one who has had lame thoughts of quitting or lame reasons for quitting, reasons that could have been easily over ridden by more empowering thoughts, thought processes, emotions, and actions! Don't tell me everyone who shares a reason for quitting is being honest. Don't tell me quitters don't sometimes make up lame excuses for quitting challenges!
Ouch!
Jajajajaja, I´m not surprised you don´t remember us. You were pretty busy being full of yourself and being right about everything, didn´t give my wife and I much chance to introduce ourselves, let alone talk about anything significant.
You still don´t get it.....I´m not asking you to walk a mile in your own shoes, I´m suggesting you walk a mile in mine before you call me a a lame excuse of a quitter. Good luck with your life, I wish you the best.
I've never stopped listening. I would like if you started to listen.
I know a guy who quit in Virginia in 2008 because it "wasn't fun anymore." He came back the following year and completed the AT hike in 4 months and went on to complete the PCT and CDT.
capehiker
09-05-2016, 10:18
I met a guy at Pine Grove Furnace who quit in Rutland, VT (he was NoBo) in 2014 because he stopped having fun. He started all over again this year because it was haunting him. He summited 2 weeks ago. This gent was a really cool guy. He and I crossed passed paths a few more times. He has a great back story, and unlike Dogwood's claims that if you quit the trail, you're a failure in everywhere else in your life, he was actually quite successful and had a large list of adventure achievements.
Ok so I started out loving this thread. I think this could be a really valuable thread if we edited about 2\3 rds out. I'd love to hear some more answers/stories related to the original question. I think from page three through twelve there was actually like two posts relevant to the original question. Please save the philosophical pontification and bickering about the merits of through hiking for another thread.
Ok so I started out loving this thread. I think this could be a really valuable thread if we edited about 2\3 rds out. I'd love to hear some more answers/stories related to the original question. I think from page three through twelve there was actually like two posts relevant to the original question. Please save the philosophical pontification and bickering about the merits of through hiking for another thread.
Thanks jdx..I was reading thru all the posts and was just about to find another topic...I'd forgotten what this topic had started as..
I know a guy who quit in Virginia in 2008 because it "wasn't fun anymore." He came back the following year and completed the AT hike in 4 months and went on to complete the PCT and CDT.
I met a guy at Pine Grove Furnace who quit in Rutland, VT (he was NoBo) in 2014 because he stopped having fun. He started all over again this year because it was haunting him. He summited 2 weeks ago. This gent was a really cool guy. He and I crossed passed paths a few more times. He has a great back story, and unlike Dogwood's claims that if you quit the trail, you're a failure in everywhere else in your life, he was actually quite successful and had a large list of adventure achievements.
Both people proves my point. Both these people, despite offering "I was having no fun" AT ONE TIME found ways around that. They likely adjusted their thinking. Rush, I strongly doubt that TCer who went on to do complete the AT CDT and PCT did it under the same "I'm having no fun" mindset. They found ways to HAVE FUN. Would strongly consider this same person isn't in the habit of quitting. Yes, quitting can become habitual.
Capehiker, I never said or implied that quitting a hike makes one a failure in life. There are many reasons why one chooses or feels compelled to or has to quit their hikes. I do see those who are habitual quitters making excuses why they quit though that are lame to cover up their quitting. And, those who do so - quit under/because of questionable circumstances - don't like considering this is what they may have. They can get quite defensive, angry, etc rationalizing, judging, and excusing away their actions. I listed so many who have persevered under enormous challenges, mental, and physical strain to demonstrate the degree that people can persevere in hopes that it would inspire not condemn and shed some light on actions. In the end it is each of us that has to live with knowing what's in our hearts.
I was not addressing those who don't question their motives or reasons for quitting somewhere deep in their hearts and minds or aren't habitual quitters which makes it interesting that some seem to have placed themselves in that category. Perhaps, it is their own heart condemning/questioning them?
Walkeatsleep, you obviously don't know me well because the one thing I absolutely know 100% that is true and right, which I try never to forget, is that I am certainly fallible as I don't know everything. As seen here I can definitely be confrontational through.
Another thing I've observed among habitual quitters is they assume their reason(s) for quitting are always so unique that others haven't persevered under similar circumstances.
I quit a trail in 2007 after only 7 days because of problems at work related to the collapsing economy. I got laid off from my 20-year job right after I returned to work.
In 2008 after securing a new job/livelihood I went back and started the trail at the beginning and finished as scheduled three weeks later. Three weeks is not comparable to the AT, of course, but I´m still proud of myself for going back and finishing.
I met a guy at Pine Grove Furnace who quit in Rutland, VT (he was NoBo) in 2014 because he stopped having fun. He started all over again this year because it was haunting him. He summited 2 weeks ago. This gent was a really cool guy. He and I crossed passed paths a few more times. He has a great back story, and unlike Dogwood's claims that if you quit the trail, you're a failure in everywhere else in your life, he was actually quite successful and had a large list of adventure achievements.
I was thinking about quitting somewhere around Dalton, Mass. Was having pain from bad molar (crown had come off). My wife said, "sure, come on home....but you will probably think about it the rest of your life". Somehow, i knew she was right (she almost always is) so I walked the 3 days up to Dalton and got the tooth fixed. Never thought about quitting again.
The year I hiked there was a guy on his 5th attempt. he had quit in the others a pretty good ways up the trail (Va. to NJ). I think he finished although I'm not sure. I thinking finishing (for some of us) allows closure. I still hike the AT but just do 2-3 week sections. Don't have the time for another thru hike now.
I had to get off(quit) a Hayduke Tr thru twice. Once because the route I felt I had/was determined to take - the Escalante River - had reached a stage where walking in the river - this was the trail for 20+ miles - was too dangerous as a solo hiker. I was swept off my feet repeatedly. Second time was because a work project's timeline was moved forward. I went back 3 wks later, not without a concerted effort, to complete what I set out to. Even now I think could I have somehow floated that segment?
On a Grand Enchantment Tr thru I started getting mentally negative. Yeah, I have to fight it too. I'm on no pedestal always acting as I know I should. I was hiking too much out of my ego in a quest to add another alphabet thru to the record. YES, people can hike for egotistical reasons! I tried to convince myself that I had started too late, water hauls were too heavy, water was too infrequent, it was too low a snow yr, it was too hot, the AZT section was overly graded hence too long, I had spent too much to time in Superior AZ, my little toe was too blistered, I was too out of thru-hiker shape, I wasn't having enough fun, blah blah blah. The truth was/bottom line my head was not on straight. The truth was I had allowed myself to become increasingly ungrateful and miserable. I knew I was hiking for one of the reasons I hike - TO LET GO OF EGO. This was the same ego that was coming into play that didn't allow me to initially be honest. I came back the next season and finished the GET.
I was sidelined on a PCT thru twice. Made more painful because the group of close friends I was hiking with were hiking on as I dealt with food poisoning and debilitating shin splints. The shin splints episode even more painful mentally because it reached a stage I couldn't walk so near Canada. Going so far and quitting in northern WA would have been so painful to my psyche. I finished with my friends catching up to them near the Canadian border.
On a AT thru was considering quitting so many times because of being so sore and inadequate trail budget. Plus, I had a gorgeous loving GF back home seeking to have me back at her side. Hiked myself into shape as so many LD hikers can do. Worked along the way on 5 different occasions to raise funds. Borrowed funds, which were later repaid with interest, to a family member who could see how passionate and healthy of an endeavor I knew I was on. GF, as well as family members, came out to spend time with me as I hiked.
All this is openly shared so not to toot my own horn. All that I shared about Schaffer Erwin, Grandma Gatewood, all those elite LD hikers, etc is to demonstrate that as Okefenokee Joe said "we're more capable than we realize."
Most of the reasons why people quit have at the root mental conditioning.
Puddlefish
09-05-2016, 16:05
Most of the reasons why people quit have at the root mental conditioning.
Citation needed. People have given various reasons for quitting, I didn't see anyone in this thread list "poor mental conditioning." Not fun does not equate to poor mental conditioning. Injured does not equate to poor mental conditioning.
People don't necessarily value what you value. It's not mentally weak to give up on a thru hike for any reason whatsoever, as long as that reason makes sense to the person making the decision.
What you're doing is the equivalent of saying "You have poor mental conditioning if you don't shave every morning and wax your car every afternoon." You're putting a thru hike on a pedestal as if everyone should desire nothing else in the world except achieving it. You don't have a logical argument.
Citation needed. People have given various reasons for quitting, I didn't see anyone in this thread list "poor mental conditioning." Not fun does not equate to poor mental conditioning. Injured does not equate to poor mental conditioning.
People don't necessarily value what you value. It's not mentally weak to give up on a thru hike for any reason whatsoever, as long as that reason makes sense to the person making the decision.
What you're doing is the equivalent of saying "You have poor mental conditioning if you don't shave every morning and wax your car every afternoon." You're putting a thru hike on a pedestal as if everyone should desire nothing else in the world except achieving it. You don't have a logical argument.
Ok, I'll bite. I don't think Dogwood is putting a thru up on a pedestal half as much as most aspiring thru hikers do. They are the ones making the declaration to the world that they are thru hiking. They even call themselves thru hikers before they even "earn" the title.
As as far as mental conditioning, I agree with Dogwood. I have seen many hikers quit under the convenient excuses of physical ailments rather than they bit off more than they can chew. Probably the best case I saw of this was a hiker in Stehekin that quit the PCT earlier in the season. I ran into his girlfriend who told us that his feet was hurting too bad so he quit. I remember my P hiking partner and I looking at each other a bit confused. Our feet hurt so bad every morning that we could hardly walk before the Advil kicked in. Yet we were still on the trail and he was not. The difference between us was pure will to succeed and being able to mentally overcome inevitable obstabpcles that gets in the way. And there was nothing special about us, many, many successful people (successful toward achieving their STATED goal) finish the long trails every year. I find the stories of those that really struggle yet still succeed to very inspirational. Some who appear to be physically out of shape have the mental fortitude to carry on when most others quit.
Thru-hiking as I define it is simply completing the anticipated hike as one has publicly stated they will do it. Andrew Skurka for example completed what he intended on his Great Western Loop. Yet, some would say he didn't do a thru-hike of the PCT, CDT, PNWT…because he missed short segments of the PCT, PNWT, CDT. I'm fairly certain Andrew could care less about what others think especially those opining who never completed a thru-hike as he goes on to complete, to persevere, again and again and again hike after hike. I don't care. At least he was honest to what extent I can tell about what he did hike. BUT, these are all ridiculous rules and definitions. It is us that can place thru-hiking, as it's typically defined, on a pedestal. Us, also including those who never have done a thru-hike as it's typically defined hiking some named tread/route through the forest, desert, mountains, etc end to end.
Yes, I see a difficulty in completing a thru-hike but that difficulty isn't necessarily more difficult, more prestigious, than one who does a section hike under extenuating circumstances. Thru-hiking isn't all that folks make it out to be as thru-hiking is typically defined though. YET, that's not what everyone believes. YET, as Malto says, that doesn't stop many, as AT statistics prove, embark upon or claim this as their goal. 80-90% of those claiming to be achieving AT thru-hikes wind up being section hikers. It begs the question in my mind, could many included in that 80-90% have been better off from the get go claim to be doing or prepare for section hikes?
IF you really want to know what I think might want to ask. IMHO, the one who goes out section hike after section hike after section hike yr after yr after yr knows a thing or two about commitment, perseverance, and achieving long term goals. Bill Erwin, stumbling and falling so many times, YET GETTING UP AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGIAN knows too. Earl Schaffer, Grandma Gatewood, the one with a heart transplant who does a section hike, the one who is diabetic and vastly overweight with a heart condition who struggles to go on a section hike of who cares how many miles, those drug addicted who persevere doing a thru-hike persevering over so much more than "jus walkin", little Mrs Baggins with that huge pack bigger than herself chomping away at the AT who was exhausted doing single digit mileage days, that overweight girl who goes on to nab FKT's on two(2) TC trails and has the courage to chart her own destiny by being/doing the BEST she could, that youngster Chipmunk,…. these inspire me the most!
Excuse the thread drift. Felt I had to get that out.
IMHO, the one who goes out section hike after section hike after section hike yr after yr after yr knows a thing or two about commitment, perseverance, and achieving long term goals. Bill Erwin, stumbling and falling so many times, YET GETTING UP AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGIAN knows too. Earl Schaffer, Grandma Gatewood, the one with a heart transplant who does a section hike, the one who is diabetic and vastly overweight with a heart condition who struggles to go on a section hike of who cares how many miles, those drug addicted who persevere doing a thru-hike persevering over so much more than "jus walkin", little Mrs Baggins with that huge pack bigger than herself chomping away at the AT who was exhausted doing single digit mileage days, that overweight girl who goes on to nab FKT's on two(2) TC trails and has the courage to chart her own destiny by being/doing the BEST she could, that youngster Chipmunk,…. these inspire me the most!
Excuse the thread drift. Felt I had to get that out.
I will have to second this post. I have nothing but respect for those who hike the thing in short increments. that has to be the toughest way of all to be a 2,000 miler. At least a more traditional thru hiker gets a chance to get his or her trail legs. I think section hiking the whole darn thing is the toughest way to go.
yes, agreed, section hiking is an excellent choice. My friend Chance took three years and finished on his 73rd birthday. He was very clear he personally would not have enjoyed, and might not have been able to finish, if he tried to do it all end to end in one year. Hiking the sections nearest my home was what got me intrigued with the whole idea and I may wind up doing it that way myself.
Puddlefish
09-05-2016, 19:21
Ok, I'll bite. I don't think Dogwood is putting a thru up on a pedestal half as much as most aspiring thru hikers do. They are the ones making the declaration to the world that they are thru hiking. They even call themselves thru hikers before they even "earn" the title.
As as far as mental conditioning, I agree with Dogwood. I have seen many hikers quit under the convenient excuses of physical ailments rather than they bit off more than they can chew. Probably the best case I saw of this was a hiker in Stehekin that quit the PCT earlier in the season. I ran into his girlfriend who told us that his feet was hurting too bad so he quit. I remember my P hiking partner and I looking at each other a bit confused. Our feet hurt so bad every morning that we could hardly walk before the Advil kicked in. Yet we were still on the trail and he was not. The difference between us was pure will to succeed and being able to mentally overcome inevitable obstabpcles that gets in the way. And there was nothing special about us, many, many successful people (successful toward achieving their STATED goal) finish the long trails every year. I find the stories of those that really struggle yet still succeed to very inspirational. Some who appear to be physically out of shape have the mental fortitude to carry on when most others quit.
In my view, hiking the trail is a vacation activity. Would you say that someone who left the beach, and hung out at the bar instead, because they got a little bit of a sunburn was mentally weak? Do I think people who toughed it out and dealt with that sunburn for the entire day are mentally stronger? Do they impress me? Not really.
I started out saying I was making a thru hiking attempt. When people asked me on the trail if I was a thru hiker, I said "I'm a thru hiker unless I break." The thru hike was never my goal, therefore I don't feel I was mentally weak for spending the rest of my summer at home, and not in pain every day. There was no tangible benefit to continuing, there was nothing at stake, my reaching Maine in a single season doesn't save a child's life. It's a hobby, that's all. I got off the trail and returned to my other hobby of being a volunteer driver for the elderly.
There are people who do worthwhile things for other people, that have a tangible effect on other people. Those people are the ones who are mentally strong. Those are the people that impress me. Not someone who gets up and essentially sticks to the same routine every day in what is essentially a self serving hobby. If you find inspiration in that, good for you. If that was your goal, and you completed it, good for you. Your goal is not my goal. It has zero to do with mental strength of will.
In my view, hiking the trail is a vacation activity. Would you say that someone who left the beach, and hung out at the bar instead, because they got a little bit of a sunburn was mentally weak? Do I think people who toughed it out and dealt with that sunburn for the entire day are mentally stronger? Do they impress me? Not really.
I started out saying I was making a thru hiking attempt. When people asked me on the trail if I was a thru hiker, I said "I'm a thru hiker unless I break." The thru hike was never my goal, therefore I don't feel I was mentally weak for spending the rest of my summer at home, and not in pain every day. There was no tangible benefit to continuing, there was nothing at stake, my reaching Maine in a single season doesn't save a child's life. It's a hobby, that's all. I got off the trail and returned to my other hobby of being a volunteer driver for the elderly.
There are people who do worthwhile things for other people, that have a tangible effect on other people. Those people are the ones who are mentally strong. Those are the people that impress me. Not someone who gets up and essentially sticks to the same routine every day in what is essentially a self serving hobby. If you find inspiration in that, good for you. If that was your goal, and you completed it, good for you. Your goal is not my goal. It has zero to do with mental strength of will.
Agree it is a vacation activity, though it is one with a very clear goal, thruhike a given trail. If someone spent a year talking about living on the beach each and everyday and bailed to the bar after a week then yes I would say they were mentally weak.
Kudos to you for the way you position your attempt. You are the exception. Case in point. Two years ago the local news station did a story about a woman the was "going to thru hike the AT" she had virtually no experience yet with great fanfare off she went. She didn't make it 30 miles. Was it the sore muscles or the screaming tendons that was the problem? no, she pulled a heartlidge.
Please dont misunderstand what I am saying. I am not judging people for the decisions they make on if they hike, if they bail, I couldn't care less either way. But don't sugar coat the reason.
In my view, hiking the trail is a vacation activity. Would you say that someone who left the beach, and hung out at the bar instead, because they got a little bit of a sunburn was mentally weak? Do I think people who toughed it out and dealt with that sunburn for the entire day are mentally stronger? Do they impress me? Not really.
I started out saying I was making a thru hiking attempt. When people asked me on the trail if I was a thru hiker, I said "I'm a thru hiker unless I break." The thru hike was never my goal, therefore I don't feel I was mentally weak for spending the rest of my summer at home, and not in pain every day. There was no tangible benefit to continuing, there was nothing at stake, my reaching Maine in a single season doesn't save a child's life. It's a hobby, that's all. I got off the trail and returned to my other hobby of being a volunteer driver for the elderly.
There are people who do worthwhile things for other people, that have a tangible effect on other people. Those people are the ones who are mentally strong. Those are the people that impress me. Not someone who gets up and essentially sticks to the same routine every day in what is essentially a self serving hobby. If you find inspiration in that, good for you. If that was your goal, and you completed it, good for you. Your goal is not my goal. It has zero to do with mental strength of will.
In too like the way you positioned yourself Puddlefish. That is why I honestly congratulated you on your thread - that you set out to do what you said you would.
Sincerely, every hike, every thru-hike is not deemed as a vacation by the hiker. Recall those I listed. Do you really want to define all those people's hikes as a vacation - those who are using hiking as a vehicle to get sober, lose weight, or get healthier?
One of the top reasons given for hiking is that it offers a greater connection with Nature. Spending time in Nature particularly among children has been decreasing and has been devalued(University of Maryland study). Yet, numerous and increasingly mounting studies show a greater connection with, communion with, and time in Nature can lead to fewer attention difficulties, heightened use of the senses, better cognitive functioning, better development, of environmental awareness, and fewer emotional and physical illnesses. Therefore, I side with Richard Louv author of Last Child in the Woods , who argues on pg 120 "Time in Nature is not leisure time; it is an essential investment in our children's(and our) health." And on pg 121, "By taking the Nature Experience out of the leisure column and placing it in the health column, we are more likely to take our children on that hike - more likely, well, to have fun. Such a change in outlook is critical."
John Muir new the healing power(health) of Nature too:
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.”
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains (Nature) is going home; that wildness is a necessity”
“Everybody needs beauty...places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike.”
“There is a love of wild nature in everybody, an ancient mother-love showing itself whether recognized or no, and however covered by cares and duties”
“In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
“I only went out for a walk(in Nature) and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”
“Going to the mountains(to Nature) is going home.”
Sorry for the thread drift again. That was another thing long contemplated that I had to get off my chest.
Puddlefish
09-05-2016, 21:47
I guess my problem with your posting the mental conditioning comment in this thread is because people are voluntarily sharing their reasons for leaving the trail.
Now, I'm quite jaded myself and often distrust what people say. Still, when someone posts the reason they left the trail, I think it's a bit rude to jump to the conclusion that they're mentally weak and using boredom, illness, injury, family troubles as an excuse.
If you have secret information about each of the people who have posted, then I'll shut up. This thread is titled Why did you quit your AT hike?" It's not titled "Tell us your opinion on why you quit your hike so we can mock you for being weak willed."
Yes, there are examples of people who mouthed off about how they were mentally tough and nothing would stop them from completing their thru hike. Maybe those people deserve a little bit of mockery. I love mocking people who deserve to be mocked. The people who took a chance and posted in this thread, do not deserve to be lumped into that category.
As for the enjoying nature theme you're going with, I love it. I'm fortunate to live in a gorgeous area where I can enjoy the wilderness two minutes from my house, so I'm good on or off the trail.
sadlowskiadam
09-06-2016, 12:28
The inability to "embrace the suck." Thru hiking is as much about pain and enduring, as it is enjoying the views from the tops of mountains. I think a lot of people do not realize how difficult it is being wet, cold, and physically beat up during the hike. Those who finish are generally able to "embrace the suck," which makes the good times on the AT all that much more enjoyable. My 2 cents.
Under-promise. Over-deliver.
Rush, I strongly doubt that TCer who went on to do complete the AT CDT and PCT did it under the same "I'm having no fun" mindset. They found ways to HAVE FUN. Would strongly consider this same person isn't in the habit of quitting. Yes, quitting can become habitual.
He's certainly not a quitter. I think he made it near Harper's Ferry, which is impressive to me, before he threw in the towel the first time. My point is that sometimes it's necessary to get out there and fail before you can truly grasp why you were out there in the first place. There are so many people that give up and return home only to discover a burning desire to return and right their wrongs so to speak.
Another Kevin
09-12-2016, 01:23
I keep coming back to the trails, over and over again, but for me, thru-hiking doesn't have much appeal. I don't ever foresee being able to walk away from my life for that long at one go. I have obligations, ones that I've taken on with joy, but obligations nonetheless.
I decided a couple of years ago that I wanted at least to have the experience of hiking the whole of a trail, and chose the Northville-Placid because it's a manageable length (a 137-mile "thru-hike in miniature"), remote (two forty-mile sections that each have no shorter way out than the trail) and relatively easy. I started in mid-October because that's when I had the time free.
Attempt #1: Four days in, I had bronchitis. I was coughing hard enough to make myself puke, so I was getting dehydrated on top of it. I stumbled to the next town, and had to take a few days off to recover. By then I was just about at the end of my planned vacation time, and the first snow had fallen, so I leapfrogged ahead and did another three days at the other end of the trail, and decided that was the end of it for the season. I had already had entire days where I saw nobody on the trail, and I don't hike solo in winter.
Attempt #2: Come spring, I started again on the middle section that I'd missed. Two-and-a-half days in, I slipped on rocks and faceplanted. Smashed my eyeglasses, lacerated one hand where the trekking pole strap had rested, and sprained a knee quite badly. I was fifteen miles from the nearest road, and took a day and a half to hobble that distance. I thought about lighting my PLB, but said to myself, "what are the rangers going to do if they come for me? Feed me painkillers, put an Ace bandage on it, and walk me out, most likely. I can do that." I had to take six weeks off and let it heal. For the first couple of weeks I couldn't walk without a cane.
Attempt #3: I had only about thirty miles of the trail left, and knocked them off in three days (with short mileage on the first and last days).
I'd done all the trail, but I'd had to take about nine months of zeroes, between the bronchitis, the winter, and the injury.
Was that a failed thru-hike? Probably. I'd intended to thru-hike it, and didn't the first time I went out.
Was it a failure of will? Then what kept bringing me back?
Was it a failure of conditioning? Maybe: it's possible that if I were in better hiking fettle, I wouldn't have taken ill or been injured.
Was it "quitting?" I have no idea. It sounds as if I'm making excuses, so perhaps it was.
What I do know is that I walked every step of that trail, mostly enjoyed the trip(s), finished less than a year after I started, and did it in such small bites that it leaves my "clueless weekender" status intact. (I was thinking that I'd have to upgrade to "clueless tourist!")
That's good enough for me. I don't say that I thru-hiked it, just that I hiked it all. If you want to say that I quit it three times - using illness, winter weather and injury as excuses - I'll just quietly think that I finished it on the fourth short trip, and that calling those interruptions 'quitting' says more about you than it does about me.
I had constant pain in my lower back from early on, which I blamed on my boots, my pack, etc. After 800 miles I quit and found out I had bursitis, which had become chronic because I kept hiking with it for so long. I got out for a few shorter hikes after that, but have never been able to get back to real backpacking for any length of time. The time I spent on the AT was life changing however, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Fractured my tibia in the first week. I'll be back!!!!
Old Hiker
01-09-2018, 14:31
2012 - severely sprained right ankle with accompanying cracked fibula 300 meters past Thomas Knob Shelter. For some reason, I was unable to walk. Go figure. (Thanks Shoto and others for the help that day).
2016 - refused to quit. Was NOT having much "fun" after the first 750 miles, but I wanted to be a "thru-hiker", not a "2000 miler". I know, I know, same difference except to me. 7 months, 3 days and done.
Maybe in another 9 years?
The inability to "embrace the suck." Thru hiking is as much about pain and enduring, as it is enjoying the views from the tops of mountains. I think a lot of people do not realize how difficult it is being wet, cold, and physically beat up during the hike. Those who finish are generally able to "embrace the suck," which makes the good times on the AT all that much more enjoyable. My 2 cents.
Boom...nailed it.
I think Baltimore Jack said 25% of the hike would be wet/cold in his Pox & Puss podcast episode...plan for that "suck" and you should be mentally prepared.
Flat feet aggravated by plantar fasciitis. It was no fun already limping for 175 miles, so I bailed at mile 611. It was one of the toughest decisions I ever had to make. I hope to finish it in sections after I retire.
Kingpatrick
01-12-2018, 08:51
As a newbie that's been lurking a while..I just wanted to say this thread is actually very inspirational. Thanks!