Why did your attempted thru-hike not succeed?

[Rift Zone]

There are many more aspiring thru-hikers than successful ones. I'm one of those who didn't make it. I thought '01 was to be my year. Didn't happen that way. Ultimately, it was Miss Janet's trampoline that was my downfall, literally. Probably shouldn't have been doing back-flips on it, specially since that was usually a swimming thing for me so I had a tendency to jump far back rather than straight up. -landed on the bar, wrong... took me off the trail for 5 weeks. By the time I got back on the trail I weighed the "chore" of racing the clock north against doing my own little tour of the east coast. Being from California, and not having seen much of the east coast at the time, I opted to do my own tour: jumped up to the Shenandoah, went to Montauk (tip of Long Island), made it to Maine after all! -though it was Acadia NP, not Katahdin. I tried to hit up every cool place along the way while I was at it. It turned out to be a very worthy adventure; no regrets, but the desire to thu-hike never left me. So 20 years later, I plan on going back for it.

Anyway, what's your story? Why didn't you make it?

[bighammer]

I haven't attempted it, but I borrowed a movie from the library about a group that did the AT in 2001. Inspiring movie.

https://catalog.tadl.org/main/details?id=46655809


Best of luck to you, hope you get another shot at it.

[Rift Zone]

I haven't attempted it, but I borrowed a movie from the library about a group that did the AT in 2001. Inspiring movie.

https://catalog.tadl.org/main/details?id=46655809


Best of luck to you, hope you get another shot at it.
Nice. '01 was when I was out there. Only hiked a third of it though.
Thought I recognized a couple of the guys in the clip, but can't be sure... it has been a while. Am sure I met the first guy to do the triple crown (AT, PCT, CDT) in a year, that year.

Anyway, thanks! I'm planning for '21... hope I make it out there.

[Rift Zone]

Now that I think about it, I'll probably be the only one with a story to share... can't see many leaving the trail then hanging out here, much less admitting it. Lol

[bighammer]

You mentioned '01 and in the movie they talked about hearing about the 9-11 attacks from a passing hiker, I think as they were getting into Maine. They had taken a side trip into NYC, so they were there just days or weeks before.

Hope you can find the movie. It started out sort of odd, and we looked at each like "I can't watch this whole thing" but it got better pretty quickly.

[Rift Zone]

I was on site just weeks before too. Next thing I know I'm watching them drop. I still mourn that day.
What America was founded to be was finally laid to rest.

[soilman]

My brother and I attempted a SOBO in 1976. We hiked for 3 1/2 months and got to central VA and decided to quit. After several days of rain and cold and lack of views we decided we no longer were having fun and quit. We had 43 days of rain during our 103 days of hiking. After returning home I was convinced I made the wrong decision and would return some day and do a successful thru. Thirty-four years later I came back and completed a NOBO.

[Rift Zone]

^ you're my hero. Glad you went back for it.

[Puddlefish]

Because at 500 miles or so, I chose to look at a pretty view off to the right of a ridge as I was moving down a rocky trail. Turned my ankle, lunged forward to get weight off the ankle, started to congratulate myself at having avoided a badly sprained ankled... and realized I'd torn a ligament in the opposite knee. I limped along for another 100 miles, took way too many zero days trying to baby the knee, and let it heal. Eventually I was barely moving forward, the knee was getting worse and the knee was unstable to the point where I almost fell off a ledge. This was in 2016, and I got off the trail in Bland, Va.

I took 2017 off from pretty much all movement, and the ligament mostly healed. Of course, I gained 20 pounds, because it took far too long to get out of hiker hunger mode. In the spring of this year, I started day hiking again, lost most of the extra weight. This year, I've started winter hiking for the first time in my life. In 2019 I'm going to do a backpacking trip on a long trail again. I'm waffling between a full thru of the AT, or starting in Bland and heading north, or maybe the VT Long Trail.

All, in all I won't say that my AT trhu attempt didn't succeed. I certainly didn't finish, but I loved every second of it, even injured. I learned I didn't mind the camping portion (I'd never camped before) I enjoyed the trail community, in small amounts. I'm not the most social person, and alternated being social, and stealth camping. I found the mix that worked for me. Overall, my thru hike attempt was a physical/mental health success for me. I was bummed when I got off the trail initially, but on reflection it was a success by my terms. Too many people here seem to think there's some sort of moral failing if you end your hike early for any reason. I feel kind of bad for those people.

[Slo-go'en]

I guess mine failed as I didn't really give it a serious go. Did make 900 miles, but not all linear. End up skipping around a little, then ended up getting a job as a GMC caretaker. A better way to spend the summer and fall, as I got paid enough to eat doing that :)

Now with over 7000 miles of AT section hikes under my feet, no real desire to do a full thru hike. A month or two at a time, every year for the last 12 years or so works out much better.

[Rift Zone]

All, in all I won't say that my AT trhu attempt didn't succeed. I certainly didn't finish, but I loved every second of it, even injured. I learned I didn't mind the camping portion (I'd never camped before) I enjoyed the trail community, in small amounts. I'm not the most social person, and alternated being social, and stealth camping. I found the mix that worked for me. Overall, my thru hike attempt was a physical/mental health success for me. I was bummed when I got off the trail initially, but on reflection it was a success by my terms. Too many people here seem to think there's some sort of moral failing if you end your hike early for any reason. I feel kind of bad for those people.Bravo! I know that sentiment well; I don't think mine was a "failed" hike either. I more or less got what I came for, though I didn't give up the thru-hike easy. I strongly considered doing a flip-flop, but it seems I was too much of a purist for that. 2000 miler wasn't exactly the goal, hiking to Katahdin was, still is.

Yea, I'm introvert too. I certainly appreciate mixing it up with restless natives, but not always.

Hope you've healed up well. Glad to know you're getting back out there.


I guess mine failed as I didn't really give it a serious go. Did make 900 miles, but not all linear. End up skipping around a little, then ended up getting a job as a GMC caretaker. A better way to spend the summer and fall, as I got paid enough to eat doing that :)

Now with over 7000 miles of AT section hikes under my feet, no real desire to do a full thru hike. A month or two at a time, every year for the last 12 years or so works out much better.
Lol. Indeed! Eating well has its benefits too. =).

Nice! 7k is a nice haul. I have to assume that almost certainly means you got your 2000 miler in long ago, and arguably have more to be proud of than a one season go anyway.

[RangerZ]

I tore the meniscus in my left knee sometime in June in VA. Hiked on past Harpers Ferry, I could walk but not do the big step over a log or rock. I went to an emergency clinic and the doctor said things like “permanent damage” and “surgury” and made a comment about arthritis “at my age”. It was probably overuse, weight and maybe one of my 16 falls. So, I go off ( don’t like to say “quit” ) in July, rested, got lube shots, etc. I went back out in October to hike home into PA and past the halfway point.

I’m currently planning my return next year for PA -> ME.

[Rift Zone]

I tore the meniscus in my left knee sometime in June in VA. Hiked on past Harpers Ferry, I could walk but not do the big step over a log or rock. I went to an emergency clinic and the doctor said things like “permanent damage” and “surgury” and made a comment about arthritis “at my age”. It was probably overuse, weight and maybe one of my 16 falls. So, I go off ( don’t like to say “quit” ) in July, rested, got lube shots, etc. I went back out in October to hike home into PA and past the halfway point.

I’m currently planning my return next year for PA -> ME.
Right on. Glad you took care of yourself in spite of your ambition, and went for a worthy stopping point when the time was right. Sweet! Hope you have a great hike this season! 16 times tho? Yikes. Keep the shiny side up bro! =)

[Slo-go'en]

Nice! 7k is a nice haul. I have to assume that almost certainly means you got your 2000 miler in long ago, and arguably have more to be proud of than a one season go anyway.

To be honest, I have yet to hike the entire AT. I still have about 40 miles of NH to do. Where do I live? NH of course. Maybe someday I'll finish it, maybe not. I was going to try and finish off NH this summer, but got sidetracked into doing trail maintenance instead, putting in about 100 hours.

If all goes well, I'll do another 500 miles this spring. Want to do Springer to VA one more time.

[tdoczi]

I guess mine failed as I didn't really give it a serious go.

i thought it was cause you spent so much time telling everyone headed the other direction how hard the trail they were about to hike on was?

[Rift Zone]

To be honest, I have yet to hike the entire AT. I still have about 40 miles of NH to do. Where do I live? NH of course. Maybe someday I'll finish it, maybe not. I was going to try and finish off NH this summer, but got sidetracked into doing trail maintenance instead, putting in about 100 hours.

If all goes well, I'll do another 500 miles this spring. Want to do Springer to VA one more time.
Say what? Out of 7k, you still have 40 miles in your own back yard you've managed to leave alone? That's hard core. You have the constitution of an oak... I wouldn't have made it. Lol

i thought it was cause you spent so much time telling everyone headed the other direction how hard the trail they were about to hike on was?
Lol

[RockDoc]

Everyone else assumed that I was doing a thru, as I hiked more than 1000 miles north in 1974 at the age of 17. I got to know the rather few real thrus and they treated me like another thru. But at some point (Andover, ME) I just lost interest and at a road crossing half heartedly put out my thumb. To my surprise I got a ride, and a day later I was back home in Md.

Interest in finishing didn't come for another 30 years. In my 50's my wife got interested in seeing me finish up the AT and we made a number of trips and I finished a bit after my 40th anniversary of starting.

No regrets. Do what you want to do. Don't let conventions or group pressure or fake standards control you. Some of the thru culture is really mean IMO and should not be obeyed.

[Rift Zone]

Everyone else assumed that I was doing a thru, as I hiked more than 1000 miles north in 1974 at the age of 17. I got to know the rather few real thrus and they treated me like another thru. But at some point (Andover, ME) I just lost interest and at a road crossing half heartedly put out my thumb. To my surprise I got a ride, and a day later I was back home in Md.

Interest in finishing didn't come for another 30 years. In my 50's my wife got interested in seeing me finish up the AT and we made a number of trips and I finished a bit after my 40th anniversary of starting.

No regrets. Do what you want to do. Don't let conventions or group pressure or fake standards control you. Some of the thru culture is really mean IMO and should not be obeyed.
The thru pursued you, not you it... ha! That's awesome. What a cool story.

Aye good sir, been walking my own path my whole life; I imagine I'll likewise be doing the trail on my own terms alone. =) Thanks for the fantastic advice.

[Christoph]

My 1st attempt was in '15 right after I retired (military). I made it about 750 miles to a little above Roanoke, Va then my hiking buddy who I met along the way ended up getting very sick, ultimately landing himself in the hospital. I continued on and found I was heading down the same path (see what I did there? haha). So I very emotionally decided to throw in the towel. I had already lost 46 pounds due to doing everything wrong (pack too heavy, not eating right, too many miles, going too hard, etc). 2 years later, I took what I learned and started right from the beginning again (under that beautiful arch), made it the entire way and summited Katahdin on day 133. I've never done any other long distance backpacking other than this. I've got 3126 (?) miles logged on this trail and hope to hit the 5000 mile mark one day. Another future thru hike is a definite but most likely after I retire for good. Until then, I'll keep tracking and logging miles on section hikes with my brother as he's doing the whole thing in sections.

[RangerZ]

Right on. Glad you took care of yourself in spite of your ambition, and went for a worthy stopping point when the time was right. Sweet! Hope you have a great hike this season! 16 times tho? Yikes. Keep the shiny side up bro! =)

Seventeen with the fall I took in October when I went back out. But by then it was Fall.

[4shot]

My brother and I attempted a SOBO in 1976. We hiked for 3 1/2 months and got to central VA and decided to quit. After several days of rain and cold and lack of views we decided we no longer were having fun and quit. We had 43 days of rain during our 103 days of hiking. After returning home I was convinced I made the wrong decision and would return some day and do a successful thru. Thirty-four years later I came back and completed a NOBO.
soilman, i thought about quitting just a few days south of Dalton due to issues with pain. I told my wife I was quitting and she gave me the best piece of advice I have ever received in my life...she told me to quit and that would be OK. But she also said I would be thinking about it (doing a thruhike)the rest of my life. I don't know why or how, but I knew she was 100% right the instant she said those words. So, when i got to Dalton I got the appropriate medical treatment...and finished the hike. i still section hike every year and love my time doing those, but I (and maybe you as well) needed the closure that came with finishing. Not everybody is wired this way and I totally respect that.

[Bubblehead]

Hiked 635 miles in 2016, Springer Approach to Pearisburg. Got Norovirus, I think, leading into Pearisburg. I could have rested 3 or 4 days and continued my hike, but I really missed my wife, so I went home. In 2017, I continued my hike north from Pearisburg with a goal of hiking to Pawling, NY...806 miles. It was great LASH, and I made it with no problems.
This past summer (2018), I continued north from Pawling aiming to finish the trail. I fell hard on my knee just south of Salisbury, Ct. I hiked another 30 miles, but the pain became too much, so I left the trail at mile 1511 in southern Mass. I stayed at Jess Treats house in Sheffield, Mass, and she took me to the ER in Great Barrington. The doc did and X-ray and gave me a set of crutches...he said at best I'd have to stay off the leg for a few weeks, and that I needed an MRI to see if there was any real damage. I flew back home the next day with only 69 miles hiked...I was very disappointed! Got the MRI done here in Florida...no damage, just a deep bone bruise.
So, next May I plan on finishing the trail, except I'm going to start a few hundred miles south of where I finished earlier this year, at Wind Gap, Pa. I want to do the extra miles to get my legs in the best shape possible before getting to the Whites. I'm flying to Lehigh Valley Int. Airport on May 3rd and heading north. Can't wait!
I've found that 2-3 months hiking for me is good. Don't care to be away from home for 6 months...I did that plenty when I was in the Navy! Now, I have a choice...!

[Rift Zone]

she also said I would be thinking about it (doing a thruhike)the rest of my life.Yea, i'm on 17 years already and the call keeps getting stronger than the before I hiked up the falls.

Nice, cool she was in the right place at the right time.


Hiked 635 miles in 2016, Springer Approach to Pearisburg. Got Norovirus, I think, leading into Pearisburg. I could have rested 3 or 4 days and continued my hike, but I really missed my wife, so I went home. In 2017, I continued my hike north from Pearisburg with a goal of hiking to Pawling, NY...806 miles. It was great LASH, and I made it with no problems.
This past summer (2018), I continued north from Pawling aiming to finish the trail. I fell hard on my knee just south of Salisbury, Ct. I hiked another 30 miles, but the pain became too much, so I left the trail at mile 1511 in southern Mass. I stayed at Jess Treats house in Sheffield, Mass, and she took me to the ER in Great Barrington. The doc did and X-ray and gave me a set of crutches...he said at best I'd have to stay off the leg for a few weeks, and that I needed an MRI to see if there was any real damage. I flew back home the next day with only 69 miles hiked...I was very disappointed! Got the MRI done here in Florida...no damage, just a deep bone bruise.
So, next May I plan on finishing the trail, except I'm going to start a few hundred miles south of where I finished earlier this year, at Wind Gap, Pa. I want to do the extra miles to get my legs in the best shape possible before getting to the Whites. I'm flying to Lehigh Valley Int. Airport on May 3rd and heading north. Can't wait!
I've found that 2-3 months hiking for me is good. Don't care to be away from home for 6 months...I did that plenty when I was in the Navy! Now, I have a choice...!
Seems we all cant seem to leave it alone. That sucks so bad, getting taken off the trail like that. Sweet that it's only a temporary setback! godspeed!

[soumodeler]

I attempted a thru in 2015. Picked up a nasty MRSA infection around the NOC, got really sick the first night in the Smokies, and ended up in the hospital for 13 days. Not fun. Wasn’t able to get back on trail that year due to extended recovery time.

I’m now sectioning my way north, but also branching out more from the AT.

[Dogwood]

There are many more aspiring thru-hikers than successful ones. I'm one of those who didn't make it. I thought '01 was to be my year. Didn't happen that way. Ultimately, it was Miss Janet's trampoline that was my downfall, literally. Probably shouldn't have been doing back-flips on it, specially since that was usually a swimming thing for me so I had a tendency to jump far back rather than straight up. -landed on the bar, wrong... took me off the trail for 5 weeks. By the time I got back on the trail I weighed the "chore" of racing the clock north against doing my own little tour of the east coast. Being from California, and not having seen much of the east coast at the time, I opted to do my own tour: jumped up to the Shenandoah, went to Montauk (tip of Long Island), made it to Maine after all! -though it was Acadia NP, not Katahdin. I tried to hit up every cool place along the way while I was at it. It turned out to be a very worthy adventure; no regrets, but the desire to thu-hike never left me. So 20 years later, I plan on going back for it.

Anyway, what's your story? Why didn't you make it?
You're conflicted trying to come to terms. You say you have no regrets but immediately follow that up with ".... but the desire to thru-hike never left me." :-?
You know you were successful in some ways. For you success in hiking is about the quality of the miles, not just the number of miles, the journey, and depth of profound awarenesses and experiences that extend beyond a 30" wide tread or simply a starting and ending terminus(destination). You describe yourself not like some, maybe even most thrus, who approach and define their hikes by largely turning their minds off Zombieing to Maine judging success largely or solely on number of miles slogged. For you, much like myself, you perceive LD hiking as a way to travel, to see the world, to reconnect with Nature, to experience more than just mindless backpacking or walking beyond "where's the next shelter" or attaining a framed pic at the summit of Mt K or simply a 30" wide "trail." You know thru hiking is so much more than just hiking! A 'trail' can be more than a physical 30" wide trail. That in itself is an awareness that some, including myself, deem as a success.


Where you may have a success conflict is not so much in accomplishing a "thru hike" but accomplishing a completion of the AT from Springer to Katahdin with your quality of miles and widespread experiences while backpacking and traveling. That is often difficult to do considering typical LD trail timeframes and the bottomless wealth of possible experiences that can define a LD hike that one has to make choices. Very very very often those choices involve reducing the quality of the miles, the profoundness of widespread experiences along the way beyond a 30" wide tread, not letting the hike into your soul, adapting a get er dun gotta go gotta get outta here gotta be somewhere else up the trail mentality. It's even implied in so called "Zero and Nero Days" - you didn't get much done accomplishing the goal of miles, getting to a somewhat arbitrary pt on a map denoting a terminus of a named trail. But, that doesn't mean the perhaps HIGH quality experiences and times on a Zero or Nero is zero or a nero!...neither does time off the trail in larger chunks! You seem to have fond memories of your hike yrs ago because of this! If you had thru-hiked the entire AT length the quality and wider accomplishment of experiences and those feelings perhaps would have suffered.



Forgive me if I'm reading you wrong but you sound like someone who is a prime candidate for bringing closure, gaining a sense of completion, by LASHing the rest of your AT miles in the style of that AT hike yrs ago. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Hold on to the qualitative approach that you so enjoyed previously. Don't fall into the trap of going simply for quantity; you may find overall, that in some significant ways, it's less productive having lower overall value; in short, consider less quantity with high quality. Don't be a Walmart Biz model hiker... low cost, that often correlates with lower quality and poorer lasting value, and high volume.


It's not necessary to have success in hiking by defining your approach always as thru-hiking. Nor does distance hiked necessarily have to define hiking success.


Or, if you want to assuage your soul redefine what thru hiking and success means to you....not necessarily how others define it.


For myself, YES, I've had to quit LD hikes or thru hikes. It's rare though. I hate quitting. But the success was in experiencing what I did hike was of the quality explained above and seeing it as temporary. The success for me was that I got back out there after some time and completed those "thru hikes" while maintaining that quality of widespread experiences beyond simply hiking. For me, that's one of the ways I live with myself as a hiker and success seeker. The why's of quitting are much less important. The why's are not my main focus. I suggest, you too not make the why's of quitting your main focus. Make the main focus of your inquiry those that abandoned an AT thru hike and eventually came back yrs later to complete it.

[Rift Zone]

You're conflicted trying to come to terms. You say you have no regrets but immediately follow that up with ".... but the desire to thru-hike never left me." :-?lol I suppose that is a bit suspicious. I think you got me pegged pretty well. On both the enjoying the moment, and the determination to push. It is all true, I am out to hang out with mother nature and indulge all her wonders. Much of the time I'm doing just that. But also I kinda like to geek out on things too, so I'll also run on auto-pilot, thinking about crap no one cares about (perhaps not everyone). Nature is my favorite place to geek out on things. and I'm a real strong hiker. Have more or less kept up a seriously active lifestyle for decades now. ,All the while enduring all sorts of elements, but it's cool, mother nature and I have been friends for a while now, so I know how to handle all that without skipping a beat. All things considered, I kinda like the long miles. Then again, I also have a hedonist flair, so it's not all work and no play, chill, party.... -healthy balance there, in general, i hope.
but yea, no question if I'm feeling behind the season I'm gonna step on it. I like to think I have a healthy relation with that one too though. After all, I'm there to chill with nature. Losing touch with her in favor of slaving over some BS that's not working for me any more is not exactly my way.

Thanks for the advice. I'll do my best.

oh, about them regrets... I so never wanted to leave the trail in the first place. Of course doing so was kinda rough. And I never stopped wanting to thru. So clearly I'm not done making peace with the situation yet. -There is all that... But still, I made the right choice. I knew it then, and I know it now. Racing the season would have been that 'nothing but miles' focus that would have blinded me to everything else. -so do I regret bailing out on that in favor of a trip that was more my speed? Not.a.bit. =)

[Dogwood]

BTW, you're not the only one to get hurt on Mrs J's trampoline. :D


Listening and considering helps me more than speaking or writing too. ;)

[Rift Zone]

I attempted a thru in 2015. Picked up a nasty MRSA infection around the NOC, got really sick the first night in the Smokies, and ended up in the hospital for 13 days. Not fun. Wasn’t able to get back on trail that year due to extended recovery time.

I’m now sectioning my way north, but also branching out more from the AT.
=( Rough. Love you're keeping the dream alive though. Hope I catch you on your '21 excursion.

BTW, you're not the only one to get hurt on Mrs J's trampoline. :D

Ha! Oh I can only imagine... bound to be a really impressive confirmed kills tally on them bars somewhere!

[Astro]

I haven't attempted it, but I borrowed a movie from the library about a group that did the AT in 2001. Inspiring movie.

https://catalog.tadl.org/main/details?id=46655809
(https://catalog.tadl.org/main/details?id=46655809)
Best of luck to you, hope you get another shot at it.

IMO best movie ever made about the AT, and I have probably watched at least a dozen.

[bighammer]

I've seen too many people pushing to get in miles each day and missing all that was around them. I have no desire to do it all in one season. It's a feat, and I'm minimizing it, but I like to enjoy my surroundings more and not be pushed or rushed.

[soilman]

Years ago while working on a volunteer trail crew on White Cap Mt I met a older NOBO hiker. I asked him if he was excited that he was almost finished and how is hike had been. He said to me "I hated every minute." I asked him why he didn't quit. He said I am military and I never quit something I start.

[Astro]

Years ago while working on a volunteer trail crew on White Cap Mt I met a older NOBO hiker. I asked him if he was excited that he was almost finished and how is hike had been. He said to me "I hated every minute." I asked him why he didn't quit. He said I am military and I never quit something I start.

I hope in the end he was actually happy he did it.

[gravityman]

Ha!

We started in 01. Got the Harpers Ferry before Danger's feet and intestine issues overwhelmed the fun.

went back to Ga in '05 and made it to ME. We just couldn't leave it alone.

Then kids came shortly after that. Now with a 12 yo and 9 yo we are starting to do some long distance hiking in Europe alps. It's easy hiking over there!

Gravity and Danger
GA-WV '01
GA-ME '05

[AllDownhillFromHere]

Injured, twice.

[KnightErrant]

I tore the meniscus in my left knee sometime in June in VA. Hiked on past Harpers Ferry, I could walk but not do the big step over a log or rock. I went to an emergency clinic and the doctor said things like “permanent damage” and “surgury” and made a comment about arthritis “at my age”. It was probably overuse, weight and maybe one of my 16 falls. So, I go off ( don’t like to say “quit” ) in July, rested, got lube shots, etc. I went back out in October to hike home into PA and past the halfway point.

I’m currently planning my return next year for PA -> ME.
Is this Ranger Z that ATM (the tall French guy) and I ("Possibly," a teacher from Virginia) hiked with off and on from the Smokies through mid-Virginia? We had dinner with you at that Mexican restaurant in Erwin, right? Sorry to hear about your injury! We were consistently a day behind you in Virginia after taking a zero at my brother's house, and then we stopped seeing your name in the logs. We didn't know if you'd gotten off or if we'd passed you without seeing you. Glad you got the care you needed and can finish it up in 2019. Good luck! (And if it makes you feel any better, from Vermont to Maine I fell over approximately twice a day.)

Regarding the topic at hand, I did succeed on my hike but I had a couple serious health issues, and I struggled off and on with burnout when various factors combined all at once to make the experience miserable (bugs, mud, rain, chafing, knee pain, illness, boring rocky trail, etc). I could cheerfully deal with any three or four of these factors at any given time, but when they all combine, there was definitely a sense of "why am I doing this?" The people around me, and one in particular, helped me continue to want it. I started the trail solo and determined to be sociable but ultimately independent. Instead, if anything, the lesson for me was how to lean on my friends. Humbling for sure. So beyond the undeniable reasons to get off like a serious injury, I think the stumbling block that might have caused me to fail would be refusing support when it was offered.

The other common stumbling block I observed was lack of funds. No one plans to spend so many nights in hotels and hostels, but on a year as rainy as this one, it took some serious willpower to escape the town vortex sometimes, and I saw a lot of people succumb.

[Dogwood]

Some injuries are self inflicted ignoring sound advice about footwear, blister prevention, working one's way into their hike, reducing kit wt, competing with other's agendas, excessive pride, getting into some degree of mental, emotional, and physical form for LD hiking before the start, etc. Injuries don't always happen to us without our own causal input.

[RangerZ]

Is this Ranger Z that ATM (the tall French guy) and I ("Possibly," a teacher from Virginia) hiked with off and on from the Smokies through mid-Virginia? We had dinner with you at that Mexican restaurant in Erwin, right? Sorry to hear about your injury! We were consistently a day behind you in Virginia after taking a zero at my brother's house, and then we stopped seeing your name in the logs. We didn't know if you'd gotten off or if we'd passed you without seeing you. Glad you got the care you needed and can finish it up in 2019. Good luck! (And if it makes you feel any better, from Vermont to Maine I fell over approximately twice a day.)

Regarding the topic at hand, I did succeed on my hike but I had a couple serious health issues, and I struggled off and on with burnout when various factors combined all at once to make the experience miserable (bugs, mud, rain, chafing, knee pain, illness, boring rocky trail, etc). I could cheerfully deal with any three or four of these factors at any given time, but when they all combine, there was definitely a sense of "why am I doing this?" The people around me, and one in particular, helped me continue to want it. I started the trail solo and determined to be sociable but ultimately independent. Instead, if anything, the lesson for me was how to lean on my friends. Humbling for sure. So beyond the undeniable reasons to get off like a serious injury, I think the stumbling block that might have caused me to fail would be refusing support when it was offered.

The other common stumbling block I observed was lack of funds. No one plans to spend so many nights in hotels and hostels, but on a year as rainy as this one, it took some serious willpower to escape the town vortex sometimes, and I saw a lot of people succumb.


Yes, it’s me. That was the 12th of May in Erwin. I definitely think that I was intruding that night, sorry.

https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/blob:https://www.whiteblaze.net/9f6413ae-9a5e-4a87-9de8-fc7066e31b35

I know that it’s heresy but I did not like the Smokies. I thought the woods were from Grimm’s fairy tales - dark, etc. Rain didn’t help.

That stretch thru NC/TN was hard for me. I had some hard days and wasn’t enjoying the hike, I could have quit there. The community helped me also. I remember eating and passing time with you both. We were also hiking around a father daughter team, JimmyJohn and Monty Python. They were extremely caring people and I was always glad to see them. I hiked near them until Waynesboro where they got off the trail.

I was not consistent in writing in the shelter logs. Others have said they were wondering where I was. I did (anonymously) confess my sins at the Priest Shelter.

I did not like getting off the trail. I’ve been on both sides of the stupid line in the past but getting off when I did was definitely on the smart side. My knee had been bothering me for a while thru northern VA.

I’m glad that you made it to Katahdin. Next year for me.

[Old Hiker]

2012 - broken ankle at mile 500, just past Thomas Knob Shelter - perfectly FLAT trail.

2016 - started again at Springer and completed.

[Slo-go'en]

2012 - broken ankle at mile 500, just past Thomas Knob Shelter - perfectly FLAT trail. 2016 - started again at Springer and completed.

It's the perfectly flat section trail which will get you every time. That's where I take the most stumbles. One small loose rock under the leaves. You bet I'll step on it.

Ending a thru hike boils down to just a few reasons.

1) injury/sickness.
2) lack of money.
3) family emergency.
4) lack of will power. A catch all for every other justification for going home of which there are many.

Individual details of course vary, but will fall into one of the above categories.

[GaryM]

I hope in the end he was actually happy he did it.

He did. He won.
I am a vet too, continue the mission until complete. Then wait for next mission.
Real soldiers do not quit until they finish their task. Not always easy for a lot of people to understand.

[Dogwood]

Regarding the topic at hand, I did succeed on my hike but I had a couple serious health issues, and I struggled off and on with burnout when various factors combined all at once to make the experience miserable (bugs, mud, rain, chafing, knee pain, illness, boring rocky trail, etc). I could cheerfully deal with any three or four of these factors at any given time, but when they all combine, there was definitely a sense of "why am I doing this?"


Yet you pushed on. As a result you're here telling us of your success. And, telling us how that came about, not why you quit. Another thing I find admirable is that you credit your ultimate success in part to other's behavior, others caring enough about you, and you allowing them into your hike, your life. That demonstrates a leadership trait. What you and the others found is the trail is not just about you or any one person. That's what makes the AT possible, many things and people coming together.

The people around me, and one in particular, helped me continue to want it. I started the trail solo and determined to be sociable but ultimately independent. Instead, if anything, the lesson for me was how to lean on my friends. Humbling for sure. So beyond the undeniable reasons to get off like a serious injury, I think the stumbling block that might have caused me to fail would be refusing support when it was offered.

That can be difficult for one inclined to be independent. And, that lesson carries over for you in your off trail affairs? If so do you feel better for it? You also chose to allow yourself to be humbled, not everyone will.

Good stuff!

[Dogwood]

@ Knight Errant Because others helped you through the challenging times do you now feel compelled to do likewise for others, for other hikers? I already know the answer. But I want to hear from you.

Could that be one of the true strong reasons why you post on forums like WB? To give back.

[Ruffdude]

I went to Georgia in 2015 and never got out of the state.
I wasn't honest with my home life. My wife was battling alcoholism and we were both in denial.
I was near Unicoi gap when I got a call that she had been taken to the hospital. I went home the next day.
It's taken two and half years to get her on a good path, things are going well for now but it's a lifelong battle one day at a time eh?
I still think about the trail, I learned a lot in 5 days LOL and loved every minute of it. The people were great. I cried every day. I thought about people close to me and people that were gone from my life. The trail does that to you, puts you into a contemplative place that is hard to find when caught up in the daily grind. Like I said I loved it, I think about it a lot, almost daily.
I'll be back for another try one day.

[foodbag]

Now that I think about it, I'll probably be the only one with a story to share... can't see many leaving the trail then hanging out here, much less admitting it. Lol

As disappointing as it was to not finish, the hike has never left my mind, even in its abbreviated version (611 miles). Pronated, flat feet and the accompanying plantar fasciitis drove me off, at age 42. I tried to finish it up five years later, no dice again (300+ miles this time).

In a few years I'll be 65 and plan to get back out there. Given the improvements in footwear and gear in the interim years, I may just attempt to do a thru once again - if not, well then there won't be be pressure to perform. Time will tell....

[Lone Wolf]

got to Gorham and quit. was mentally tired of walkin'

[Dont have one]

I grew up in Hampton, TN, The trail was 4 miles down the road by the front door. If I went out the back door it was 1 mile across the crick to the trail. I was able to start my thru hike in 1978 before my senior year of college.
As I neared home I was starting to have an unusual pain in my side, so I decided to take a zero day and have it looked at.

Kidney cancer.

40 years later and I am still unable to leave medical care for more than a few days at a time.

I am still working my way north. A day at a time, a mile at a time a foot at a time. No kidding, I had a buddy sneak me out of treatment and I took one step on the trail. Best day hiking I ever had!

If "Hike Your Own Hike" means anything then I am still on my 1978 thru hike. I just take a LOT of zero days.

[fastfoxengineering]

I grew up in Hampton, TN, The trail was 4 miles down the road by the front door. If I went out the back door it was 1 mile across the crick to the trail. I was able to start my thru hike in 1978 before my senior year of college.
As I neared home I was starting to have an unusual pain in my side, so I decided to take a zero day and have it looked at.

Kidney cancer.

40 years later and I am still unable to leave medical care for more than a few days at a time.

I am still working my way north. A day at a time, a mile at a time a foot at a time. No kidding, I had a buddy sneak me out of treatment and I took one step on the trail. Best day hiking I ever had!

If "Hike Your Own Hike" means anything then I am still on my 1978 thru hike. I just take a LOT of zero days.
Your a champ. March on

[Astro]

got to Gorham and quit. was mentally tired of walkin'

Yeah, but was that before or after completing multiple thru-hikes of the AT?

[KnightErrant]

Yes, it’s me. That was the 12th of May in Erwin. I definitely think that I was intruding that night, sorry.

https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/blob:https://www.whiteblaze.net/9f6413ae-9a5e-4a87-9de8-fc7066e31b35

I know that it’s heresy but I did not like the Smokies. I thought the woods were from Grimm’s fairy tales - dark, etc. Rain didn’t help.

That stretch thru NC/TN was hard for me. I had some hard days and wasn’t enjoying the hike, I could have quit there. The community helped me also. I remember eating and passing time with you both. We were also hiking around a father daughter team, JimmyJohn and Monty Python. They were extremely caring people and I was always glad to see them. I hiked near them until Waynesboro where they got off the trail.

I was not consistent in writing in the shelter logs. Others have said they were wondering where I was. I did (anonymously) confess my sins at the Priest Shelter.

I did not like getting off the trail. I’ve been on both sides of the stupid line in the past but getting off when I did was definitely on the smart side. My knee had been bothering me for a while thru northern VA.

I’m glad that you made it to Katahdin. Next year for me.

Not intruding at all! ATM and I didn't need more time for just the two of us. If there's one thing that meeting a significant other on a thru-hike provides, it's plenty of opportunities for meals together, even if that's usually tuna tortillas sitting on a rock, haha. It was nice to mix it up whenever we could eat with other hikers while in town.

I also found the Smokies dark and eerie, but in a pleasant way. Less Brothers Grimm and more Robert Frost: "The woods are lovely, dark, and deep" and so on. Funny how different parts of the trail strike people differently. Vermont was my least favorite state, but when I say that, people think it's blasphemy. And it's true, if the circumstances (mental, physical, weather, etc) had been different, I might have perceived it very differently. Who knows!


That can be difficult for one inclined to be independent. And, that lesson carries over for you in your off trail affairs? If so do you feel better for it? You also chose to allow yourself to be humbled, not everyone will.

My off trail affairs have been mostly on pause... I've done a little bit of editing work online since finishing in October and I'm moving to Malaysia for a short teaching contract next week (:eek:) but otherwise I've mainly been dog/house -sitting for various family members while applying for jobs. Not sure if the pups care much about my newfound thru-hiker wisdom, but perhaps there's some humility to be gained there, too, haha. More seriously though, there are a lot of lessons from the trail I hope to apply to "real" life. Next week I'll have a new job in a new country where I don't know anyone. That's something I've done on multiple occasions before, so to me there's something ironically familiar and comforting about drastic change. But inevitably when the adventure "high" fades into a daily grind, I hope I can support others and be supported by others in order to overcome that burnout. As for giving back, I've been posting a lot on FB trail groups and here. Not sure how altruistic that is, though. Of course, I do have a genuine desire to help others enjoy the AT too, but if I'm being honest it's also a coping strategy to stay connected to the trail when most people in real life have already heard more than enough about my hike to satisfy their interest!

[Lone Wolf]

Yeah, but was that before or after completing multiple thru-hikes of the AT?

before. was my 1st AT walk

[corialice81]

Failed three separate attempts in 2008. Major blisters on a NOBO after walking with gifted socks that were too large. SOBO with a major mental fail that took me off. Another SOBO attempt that ended with a lack of funds.

[Dogwood]

@KE Thank you.
Rock that Malaysian job. Hopefully, you're not doing it just as a jobby type job. Hope it's what you're passionate about.

[Sara]

Hiked in 2014 until Conneticut. Why stop there? I was running out time before I had to return to work. My workplace was very kind and saved my position for five months. I had about a month left, and knew I wouldn't make it to Katahdin at my current speed (having too much fun!). I would be heart-broken if I continued --- and had to stop so so close to the finish. Instead, I flew to Spain and walked the Camino de Santiago with my remaining time off.

I hiked the PCT last year, and in 2019 I will hike the CDT. If all goes well on the CDT, I will return to the AT in 2020 to finish the Triple Crown at Katahdin! Start on the AT, end on the AT. :sun

[stephanD]

Hiked in 2014 until Conneticut. Why stop there? I was running out time before I had to return to work. My workplace was very kind and saved my position for five months. I had about a month left, and knew I wouldn't make it to Katahdin at my current speed (having too much fun!). I would be heart-broken if I continued --- and had to stop so so close to the finish. Instead, I flew to Spain and walked the Camino de Santiago with my remaining time off.

I hiked the PCT last year, and in 2019 I will hike the CDT. If all goes well on the CDT, I will return to the AT in 2020 to finish the Triple Crown at Katahdin! Start on the AT, end on the AT. :sun
Nice story. But did you finish the Camino in one month? Of what i know, the Camino de Santiago is not a single trail, but more like a network of trails between France and Spain. how did you choose your trail?

[Sara]

Nice story. But did you finish the Camino in one month? Of what i know, the Camino de Santiago is not a single trail, but more like a network of trails between France and Spain. how did you choose your trail?
Sorry, yes I should have specified! I walked the Camino Frances from St.Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela in 24 days, then continued onwards to Finisterre & Muxia. I chose to walk the Camino Frances because it was the most popular, and famous route. I had my AT trail legs so it was very easy to walk long-distances on the relatively flat terrain. It was 560 miles in 28 days.

Since 2014, I have walked the Portugese, Le-Puy, Ingles, Norte, Kerry, Via de la Plata, Sanabres, Ruta de la Lana and Malaga Mozarabe Caminos, I am addicted!!! I'll complete the Camino Salvador and Camino Primitivo after the Continental Divide Trail this fall.

[Dogwood]

got to Gorham and quit. was mentally tired of walkin'

But, it's just walkin'. :confused: :D

[Seatbelt]

Sorry, yes I should have specified! I walked the Camino Frances from St.Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela in 24 days, then continued onwards to Finisterre & Muxia. I chose to walk the Camino Frances because it was the most popular, and famous route. I had my AT trail legs so it was very easy to walk long-distances on the relatively flat terrain. It was 560 miles in 28 days.

Since 2014, I have walked the Portugese, Le-Puy, Ingles, Norte, Kerry, Via de la Plata, Sanabres, Ruta de la Lana and Malaga Mozarabe Caminos, I am addicted!!! I'll complete the Camino Salvador and Camino Primitivo after the Continental Divide Trail this fall.
It's amazing that you can keep a job with all this going on! Congrats on all of your accomplishments!

[Lone Wolf]

But, it's just walkin'. :confused: :D

yup. that's all it is

[swatsullivan]

Sorry, yes I should have specified! I walked the Camino Frances from St.Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela in 24 days, then continued onwards to Finisterre & Muxia. I chose to walk the Camino Frances because it was the most popular, and famous route. I had my AT trail legs so it was very easy to walk long-distances on the relatively flat terrain. It was 560 miles in 28 days.

Since 2014, I have walked the Portugese, Le-Puy, Ingles, Norte, Kerry, Via de la Plata, Sanabres, Ruta de la Lana and Malaga Mozarabe Caminos, I am addicted!!! I'll complete the Camino Salvador and Camino Primitivo after the Continental Divide Trail this fall.

Wow! Great job! I'm looking forward to seeing some of your hikes this year. Have always been interested in the West Highland Way. Will enjoy following along as well as maybe checking out some of your previous videos! Happy hiking!

[Nathan428]

I went to Georgia in 2015 and never got out of the state.
I wasn't honest with my home life. My wife was battling alcoholism and we were both in denial.
I was near Unicoi gap when I got a call that she had been taken to the hospital. I went home the next day.
It's taken two and half years to get her on a good path, things are going well for now but it's a lifelong battle one day at a time eh?
I still think about the trail, I learned a lot in 5 days LOL and loved every minute of it. The people were great. I cried every day. I thought about people close to me and people that were gone from my life. The trail does that to you, puts you into a contemplative place that is hard to find when caught up in the daily grind. Like I said I loved it, I think about it a lot, almost daily.
I'll be back for another try one day.

I feel like it's always good advice to pay attention to the rare things that make you cry. I hope you do get back to it!


I grew up in Hampton, TN, The trail was 4 miles down the road by the front door. If I went out the back door it was 1 mile across the crick to the trail. I was able to start my thru hike in 1978 before my senior year of college.
As I neared home I was starting to have an unusual pain in my side, so I decided to take a zero day and have it looked at.

Kidney cancer.

40 years later and I am still unable to leave medical care for more than a few days at a time.

I am still working my way north. A day at a time, a mile at a time a foot at a time. No kidding, I had a buddy sneak me out of treatment and I took one step on the trail. Best day hiking I ever had!

If "Hike Your Own Hike" means anything then I am still on my 1978 thru hike. I just take a LOT of zero days.

Hell yeah. Keep taking those steps! Inspirational.

[Longboysfan]

Hiked in 2014 until Conneticut. Why stop there? I was running out time before I had to return to work. My workplace was very kind and saved my position for five months. I had about a month left, and knew I wouldn't make it to Katahdin at my current speed (having too much fun!). I would be heart-broken if I continued --- and had to stop so so close to the finish. Instead, I flew to Spain and walked the Camino de Santiago with my remaining time off.

I hiked the PCT last year, and in 2019 I will hike the CDT. If all goes well on the CDT, I will return to the AT in 2020 to finish the Triple Crown at Katahdin! Start on the AT, end on the AT. :sun

Fantastic. Go get it. :sun

[Dogwood]

yup. that's all it is

Then, why get mentally tired, if it's o n l y walking? Is that what you were taught in the military, to quit or not follow through when mentally taxed? I'd surmise you followed through despite long term mental stress and fatigue many times as active military personnel. Isn't that where you said you learned your mental toughness, in the Army or Marines? Was a woman involved when you quit in Gorham on an AT NOBO? ;)

[Lone Wolf]

Then, why get mentally tired, if it's o n l y walking? Is that what you were taught in the military, to quit or not follow through when mentally taxed? I'd surmise you followed through despite long term mental stress and fatigue many times as active military personnel. Isn't that where you said you learned your mental toughness, in the Army or Marines? Was a woman involved when you quit in Gorham on an AT NOBO? ;)

i quit cuz i was on vacation and didn't care about a certificate like most of you.