View Full Version : recommendations on relevent trailjournals?
spencerb
08-23-2008, 15:06
Hey yall,
I am looking for some recommendations on some trailjournals to gain perspective on my thruhike in 09.
As planned now, I will be thruhiking with my significant other. I want to read some trailjournals of people who were successful, unsuccessful, broke up, stayed together, got married...whatever.
Mainly I just want some perspective on how people deal with the issues of compromise, and who does what and all the stuff that is tough in a normal relationship but magnified on the trail.
I've read a few tjs of solo women hikers, but figured I should try to gain some insight on this whole partnership thing.
Thanks!
Brittany
Certain....started last year, finishing this year. Lots of dealing with family. Her relationship with her partner etc.
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=127923
Troll, Anchor and Oblivious. Family hiked the AT in 2006. Dad and son did the PCT also.
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?ID=88651
Hammock Hanger
08-23-2008, 20:28
Hey yall,
I am looking for some recommendations on some trailjournals to gain perspective on my thruhike in 09.
As planned now, I will be thruhiking with my significant other. I want to read some trailjournals of people who were successful, unsuccessful, broke up, stayed together, got married...whatever.
Mainly I just want some perspective on how people deal with the issues of compromise, and who does what and all the stuff that is tough in a normal relationship but magnified on the trail.
I've read a few tjs of solo women hikers, but figured I should try to gain some insight on this whole partnership thing.
Thanks!
Brittany
Brittany:
My favorite hiking partner is my husband. However, due to his job we have not hiked together in years. One thing I can tell you is give each other space. When we hiked I would have times f the day that my energy level was peaking and his was not. I would leave him in my dust ans he was fine with it. Later in the day when I like to nap he would catch up with me. Even f you have a partner you do not need to hike at the hip, and should take times to be on your own...
It is my dream to thru-hike the AT with my husband but tha will be 10 years from now. I wish you lots of luck. Enjoy.
spencerb
08-23-2008, 21:09
I'm a hanger and he is a ground dweller. He has a 2 person tent he is planning on hiking with, so I can share a tent with him or we can each have our own space depending on our moods.
Is your husband a hanger too?
Hammock Hanger
08-23-2008, 22:28
I'm a hanger and he is a ground dweller. He has a 2 person tent he is planning on hiking with, so I can share a tent with him or we can each have our own space depending on our moods.
Is your husband a hanger too?
No he is ( no was) a ground dweller. He carried a tent and I would visit (he-he) and then leave for my hammock. I recently gave the tent away and informed him he will NOW be a HAMMOCKER!!! :D
lizzieGAME09
10-23-2008, 10:07
I highly (highly!) recommend Lady Cluck's journal from this year on the AT. I came across it earlier this year looking for a journal to follow - I picked her because she posted every day. Her journal is so good it should become an AT book. She just finished! http://www.trailjournals.com/mac/
I'd also recommend Bogie and Slim's journal on TJ. They are amazing (did a flip)
Spirit Walker
10-23-2008, 11:28
Every partnership will be slightly different, since it depends so much on the individuals involved.
Susan hikes separately from her husband; I hike all day with mine. (I hike in places where you HAVE to stay together though, because of navigation and other issues.) Whether you do that will depend on whether you can/want to hike at the same pace and how much you want to have someone to talk with during the day. Even if you hike much faster or slower than your partner, you can still find ways to meet often during the day or have the faster one wait for the other frequently. Or you can just plan to meet up at the end of the day and make sure that each of you is self-sufficient in case weather or injury forces one of you to stop early.
Jim and I met on an AT thruhike. We hiked together from Virginia north, but didn’t become partners until PA. Until then I considered myself independent and made my own decisions. After that we made decisions together. Since our AT hike we’ve done three other long hikes plus a lot of other travel. Most of the time, our partnership is very easy. We genuinely like each other and enjoy spending time together. Too much togetherness is not issue – though it can be for some people. Making compromises for the good of the team is usually pretty easy. We’re both pretty easy to get along with, so have few problems either on or off the trail with compromise. We can and do discuss anything and everything – and usually the solution is pretty obvious to both of us. When it’s not – we talk about it and try to figure out what’s best for the partnership – on the trail, that means getting us both to our destination.
One of the things you need to do is sit down with your partner and consider some ‘what ifs’. Have you talked about what kind of hike you both want? I know that things can/will change when you are on the trail, but have you thought about how fast you want to go, whether you’ll do interesting side trips, whether you want a ‘pure’ hike, whether you want to spend a little or a lot of time in town, etc. Does one of you like to get up at dawn while the other prefers to sleep in? Do you want to hike until dark (or after?) Will you use shelters or mostly just tent/hammock up the trail? Do you want to be part of a group or do you prefer to remain autonomous? (If you think compromising with one partner is hard, try doing it with seven!) Are you comfortable hiking alone all day and just meeting up in the evenings or do you want someone to hike with? It really helps if you are both on the same page with this. (i.e. On the AT, it was extremely important for Jim that he finish. Nothing was allowed to get in the way of that. When he fell and broke his wrist, he only took one day off. His personal contract was, “Only death or dismemberment will stop me now.” I just wanted to spend time in the woods. But we both finished anyway. When we hiked the CDT, my husband and I both agreed that enjoying the hike was more important than finishing the trail. I wasn’t willing to do a death march in order reach the border – I’d rather go more slowly and actually enjoy it. We finished anyway, but it was at a comfortable pace.) What will you do if one of you is injured or gets bored and wants to go home? Will the other continue hiking alone? If so, do you have the gear to do that? (i.e. we know people with two person tents who didn’t really want to carry that 5 or 7 pound monstrosity alone). If you are no longer splitting the weight, can your pack hold everything you’ll need? (My husband carries the kitchen gear and tent – big bulky items. I’m not sure I could fit my gear plus that stuff in my small pack if I needed to.)
When you’re on a backpacking trip, the person who is having the hardest time really should be the one who determines pace and distance. If one of you is hurting – you stop. If one of you is unhappy – you deal with it. If you need space – you make it. If you need a hug, you give it. Pushing too hard can cause injuries and mental burn out. It’s not in the interest of the partnership to force the other beyond their limits.
Chores are divided according to interest, ability and fairness. There really aren’t that many on a thruhike. In my case – we get to camp, set up the tent together (unless water is a long way away). Jim unloads the packs and zips the sleeping bags together, while I start dinner. We usually share water chores – though if it’s a difficult trip to water he usually does it or if I want to wash up in a lake or big stream, I’ll usually do it. I cook, he washes dishes. In the morning, I fix breakfast while he stuffs sleeping bags. Then we each pack our own packs. In town, he’ll usually deal with equipment maintenance while I plan food. We take turns with laundry or do it together. It’s not that big a deal. On the AT we were each self-sufficient so developed the ability to handle whatever needed to be done. Sometimes we switch chores – if the circumstances require it. Flexibility is key to any relationship – the trail is no different. Weight is distributed fairly evenly, though with the food weight, Jim’s pack is heavier. I carry breakfast and dinner, he carries lunch and snacks (remember, we hike together). That way only one pack is opened at lunch time. Snack food is heavy though, so when we leave town his pack is always much heavier. By the end of the section, we’re back to being almost even.
There is a PCT book called “A Blistered Kind of Love” that talks about hiking with a partner. It had some good points – though some seemed a little silly to me. (i.e. don’t share the same bowl/pot if you eat at different speeds.) But you might enjoy it.
garlic08
10-23-2008, 11:40
www.trailjournals.com/teamgreasepot (http://www.trailjournals.com/teamgreasepot)
My first thru hike was with my wife, GreasePot (AT'02, PCT'04), journal above. We had our problems, but our 21-year marriage survived, now we're happier than ever at 25. Please forgive this guy for jumping on this thread.
Also check out Hit & Miss for a young couple on the AT this year, more your age. http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=7091
Jack Tarlin
10-23-2008, 20:23
I don't normally post on women's threads, but couldn't resist: Spirit Walker is much too modest. I suggest you Google "Thruhiking papers" or "thru-hiker papers" and read the essays there. There is an extraordinary ammount of wisdom here, and it should be required reading for anyone planning a thruhike, whether they are going solo or are part of a team.