Any thru hikers who really did not care about doing it? [Archive]

Red River Falls

12-09-2009, 23:35

This is perhaps a bizarre question, but after doing two short section hikes and some day hikes, I have said I don't have a strong desire to thru-hike the AT.

I wonder if there is anyone who hiked the AT (thru-hike or long section) who really did not feel very strongly about it. I love the trail, want to get back out there ASAP, and am intrigued about the opportunity of a thru-hike. Yet I don't feel particularly strongly about it, particularly when I've been out there or just after having been out there.

Wondering if anyone attempted to thru-hike without a particularly strong desire to do it and found that you loved it and persevered? I am now beginning to think about a thru-hike, its impact and challenges, and recognition that an opportunity to do it may be soon upcoming (or at least a long section).

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

sbhikes

12-09-2009, 23:43

I met people who came along with others. It wasn't their idea to hike the trail, but here they were. One guy I met said he had never ever hiked or camped before. He said he absolutely hated the hiking part of it, but liked the camping part of it. He was a little miffed when he found out he was going to be hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and not the Pacific Coast Trail. He thought he was going to walk on the beach and look at bikinis all day! Anyway, there he was hiking the PCT. My guess is that he did not persevere to the end.

I really wanted to hike the trail, but what I thought the experience would be and what it turned out to be were very different. I thought I'd be completely alone the entire time. Instead it seemed like a long, linear party. I was shocked by the whole trail community thing. So while I did have a strong desire to do it, it was unexpected how it turned into something I really loved. My original plan was to hike only the state of California. But I loved it so much I returned to complete the trail, plus re-hike some of California. Ironically, the second half really was much more alone like I had originally imagined.

CrumbSnatcher

12-10-2009, 00:03

take it one day at a time,and see what happens

singing wind

12-10-2009, 00:14

Yes, once I attempted a thru-hike in the 80's and got a ways up the trail. Fast forward 20+ years and although I still enjoy long distance hiking, over the last two years I've learned that I prefer to take my time, enjoy the trail, and not make it a durned speed race to get somewhere. Quality over quantity, so to speak - make each day and moment count.

That said, it seems there was a time when there was less distinction between 'section' hiking and 'thru-hiking', so it was quite a shock to return to the trail in 2007 and find a new cultural/class stratification. Quite changed... Now if someone asks if I'm thru-hiking or sectioning (which I don't recall being asked nearly as much in the 80's), I prefer to say, "I'm out for a long walk," and see if they return a puzzled look. Culture jamming, as it were...

Culture shock I had on top on one of Maine's mountains last summer when some folks out for the day were excited to meet, at last, what they thought was a thru-hiker. I didn't like to disappoint them, but what the heck is a long hike anyway?? For some, say a physically challenged person - a thru-hike could be one day, for others who knows?

Anyway, the old joke goes --- "I'm thru-hiking'" - for now and hope to be back next spring. :) Good luck!

sherrill

12-10-2009, 09:08

My thru was just a string of section hikes that never ended.

Bearpaw

12-10-2009, 09:35

Nest will always tell you how he really doesn't like hiking very much. Of course this is after thru-hiking in 08 and 09. But he seems pretty clear that he mostly likes meeting other people and chilling out in his hammock every night for a couple of years running.

Lone Wolf

12-10-2009, 09:40

I wonder if there is anyone who hiked the AT (thru-hike or long section) who really did not feel very strongly about it.

Wondering if anyone attempted to thru-hike without a particularly strong desire to do it and found that you loved it and persevered?

i never cared about getting to katahdin. it's just another mountain to me. my goal was to enjoy being out there.

DylonHike

12-10-2009, 09:47

im planning on thru hiking within the next 2 years. ive done a few section hikes and i like the camping part much more than hiking but i think it was more of how me and my dad did it. He liked to hike from shelter to shelter which just seemed more so like hiking just to get somewhere rather than hiking until i find a place i feel like stopping.

I imagine that i will find a nice place along the AT that i will decide to stay at for a few days rather than a town/hotel

buff_jeff

12-10-2009, 10:57

That said, it seems there was a time when there was less distinction between 'section' hiking and 'thru-hiking', so it was quite a shock to return to the trail in 2007 and find a new cultural/class stratification. Good luck!

God, that's the most annoying thing ever. I just say "I'm hiking" for now on. Many of the thru-hikers I met this summer got off to being asked about themselves. :rolleyes:

buff_jeff

12-10-2009, 11:03

i never cared about getting to katahdin. it's just another mountain to me. my goal was to enjoy being out there.

I wish more thru hikers had that sort of attitude, or at least not be so into themselves. I'm sorry but the ones I met this summer were mostly just tools. Maybe it was because I was up in MA-NH and they were getting sick of the deal, but it was brutal to talk to most of them.

Good example, close to verbatim, of a conversation I had with one.

Him: "Hey, how long you been hiking for?"

Me: about 3 weeks. What about you?

Him: GEORGIAAAAA TO MAIINNNNNEEE BABY!!!!

I basically stopped talking to them after that.

flemdawg1

12-10-2009, 11:22

Closest I ever saw to what you're describing was a hiker named Wrath I met sectioning near Duncannon, PA. He was hiking NOBO to get away from "other soul collectors" and really wasn't interested in getting to Katahdin. He had just finished smoking a J when this conversation took place, so it might have been that he was just stoned.

garlic08

12-10-2009, 11:34

I always think it's funny when people in the process of hiking a long trail are called thru hikers. You're not a thru hiker until you're done with the trail. Until then, you're just on a hike than can end at any time. I've heard of a few having to leave the trail in the last week of a planned five- or six-month hike. There are so many goal-driven people out there for whom that would be a torture. I doubt many get to within 100 miles of Katahdin, or the Canadian or Mexican border or wherever, without really wanting to reach that goal.

So my thought process while attempting a long trail is to enjoy every moment I'm lucky enough to be out there, because I'm pragmatic enough to realize that the circumstances might change with the next step. But I am also goal-driven enough to really picture myself finishing the trail. I think I'd have a hard time slogging through mud, or desert sand, or snow, for days at a time if I didn't have that goal.

...He was a little miffed when he found out he was going to be hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and not the Pacific Coast Trail.

Now this is funny! That could be the most common misconception in the hiking world.

Rambler1

12-10-2009, 11:39

I heard some others speak of wrath on my hike in Nov. I believe he was said to have stated that there was a portal at the end of the trail and he would be turned into a red dragon. Must of been some good weed.

Lyle

12-10-2009, 11:41

Well, I have a couple of different thoughts on this.

The first is that, yes thru hiking is different than section hiking. Tho' many, myself included, like to say that a thru hike is just a bunch of short hikes strung together. This isn't entirely accurate. Physically it is true, but mentally and emotionally, thru hiking and section hiking are quite different. I won't say one is easier or harder, but they do entail different challenges.

When comparing the two, I always recall what a recruiter told me when I applied for a job with VisionQuest years ago. His statement was to make sure I realize that this decision was not a change in career, but a change in lifestyle. So true. Vastly different.

Now to the original poster's remarks. I hope that everyone who attempts or accomplishes a thru-hike does so because they truly enjoy doing so. While I often counsel people not to quit their hike while they are miserable, and to take a couple of weeks to make the decision, I hope I never come off as meaning that if they ultimately do decide to quit, that they have failed. My point has always been that it took a long time to plan and decide to make the hike, don't abandon the idea lightly. On the other hand, if you are really not enjoying the hike, including the challenge of weather, physical strain, the people and situations you find yourself in, then it is foolish for you to stay just because of stubbornness or embarrassment. A through hike gives you a fantastic opportunity to learn about yourself, maybe what you learn will be more superficial than what others will learn. Maybe your learning will come faster than 4 or 5 months. Perhaps you will learn that you do not enjoy long-distance hiking, or the that you really do need more security and structure in your life to be happy. Good for you, now act on what you learned. In either case, your hike was in no way a failure.

Finally, as a partial defense of those thru-hikers who develop the "superior" attitude that some have alluded to. While it should probably be avoided as much as possible, it will also do well for us section hikers to realize a couple of things. First, at the southern end of the trail, EVERYONE is new to hiking, looking for friends, learning, amazed at the same things. Thus everyone is still very open to conversation and sharing. Second, as the thru-hikers move further north, they establish their "family", so to speak, they become a close group of friends who have a lot in common. It's natural for them to be less open to establishing new friends and dependencies. Especially if they realize that a new person will not be around for the duration. While this doesn't excuse rudeness or "an attitude" it does explain the more "stand-offishness" (is that even a word?) that we section hikers often perceive. This is just a fact that we section hikers need to realize and that, hopefully, more thru-hikers will go out of their way to avoid projecting. It is discouraging, as a section hiker, to run into this attitude and situation, but take what you can from the interactions you do establish. Realize that long-distance hiking is emotionally different than section hiking, and accept that.

EVERYONE, section and thru, Good Luck, and HAVE FUN!!!!!!!

Many Walks

12-10-2009, 11:43

A thru attempt without a strong desire will end as a section hike. Nothing wrong with that at all, as there is a lot of satisfaction in sectioning. If that is where you're head is you should plan your hike without extended maildrops, no full map set purchase, and depending when you go you can save weight on winter clothes and a heavy tent (take a tarp & bug net). Pick a time and plan accordingly for the short term. If you decide to stick to the hike you can purchase things you need up the trail. If you start late you can flip flop. In the end the only reward is how much you enjoy the hike, so do it your way!

Slo-go'en

12-10-2009, 11:44

As to the OP's question, I doubt there are too many thru-hikers who didn't start out really wanting to do it. I imagine there are a few who didn't plan on going all the way who ended up doing so and quite a few who just wanted to get it over and done with once they got a good ways up the trail.

Personally, I don't think I'll ever do a real thru-hike, though I hope never to be through hiking! So, when people ask me if I'm thru-hiking I say "not yet". 6 to 8 weeks is about all my body can take at one time. After that, I'm too hungry, tired and sore to go farther. Plus I don't get burned out on the whole deal, so I can go back every year and beat myself up again.

GAME? nana, I'm just out for a stroll on the AT - for a month or two.

weary

12-10-2009, 11:46

I had done a lot of weekend and a few longer backpacks over the years. But hiking the whole trail was never a serious goal for me. I did want to hike all of Maine, which I had helped MATC maintain for many years. The year I retired a bit early -- a few months before my 62nd birthday -- I did so, with a 9-year-old grandson. The next summer I campaigned for the Maine State Senate and lost. After the election I had nothing special planned other than perhaps a trip south to explore some of the southern peaks.

One thought lead to another and before I knew it I was committed to taking a train to Georgia and walking home. Still I spent more time than I should exploring the south. In order to make Katahdin before snowfall, I had to bypass Massachusetts and Connecticut. I ended on Katahdin after six months and three days, on Oct. 16.

I've continued to hike and backpack and have picked up most of the sections I had skipped in 1993. But I've become too busy working with my town land trust and the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust to seriously consider another six month walk. Well, I also have some health matters that complicate backpacking these days. Besides my town trails have another 200 feet of bogs that need bridging. That's work I want to finish before I become old.

Weary www.matlt.org

sparky2009

12-10-2009, 12:37

Last year, I sectioned hike from Springer to Mooney Gap. I encountered a lot of the weather that one could encounter on the trail, dealt with the bugs, had to do a resupply. With all of that experience, though it be basic, I know that I am able to do a thru hike. It's just a matter of doing more of what I experienced and being ready for the unexpected.

The community that others had mentioned above really surprised me. Everyone came from different backgrounds but came together because of the common desire to hike. This made the hiking enjoyable even when the weather was bad.

Through all of this, I've developed a strong desire to thru hike but cannot right now because of personal responsibilities. For now, section hiking will be all that can be done with the hope that I'll be able to have the opportunity to thru hike some time in the future.

I feel that the desire needs to be there and it needs to be the right desire. Otherwise, when the trials come in the form of weather, fatigue, etc then the motivation to continue evaporates. This is even true for a section hike. To enjoy the outdoors while hiking is something that really interests me, not the goal of reaching point A within a certain amount of time. So, one day hopefully, I'll set out with the goal of thru hiking the trail.

Spirit Walker

12-10-2009, 12:57

From time to time we read someone on a forum who says, "I'm off to hike the AT/PCT but I don't care if I don't finish." And we aren't surprised to hear a few months later that they didn't.

As Diane says, there are some who start the trail with a friend or family member who don't have a strong drive to thruhike who develop that drive, but for the most part, those who don't have the 'fire in the belly' tend not to finish the whole trail in one hike. Although some say, "It's just walking." It isn't that easy to do it day after day after day. You need to find some reason to continue when you're tired of just walking, or the weather is bad day after day, or you are hurting more than you expected.

When we hiked the CDT the first time, we hiked with a friend who was much younger and more fit than we were. He looked at us one day and said, "If it were just a matter of physical ability, I'd be sure to finish and you wouldn't. But you have the fire in the belly and I don't." Sure enough, he got off after hiking through Montana, while we continued to Mexico. I REALLY wanted it, so no matter what happened, we kept going.

Different people find different rewards in the thruhiking life. For some, especially on the AT, it's the people. For others, it's the challenge. For still others, it's being immersed in nature all day every day. There are a lot of other reasons that people enjoy long distance hiking. If the rewards of thruhiking are not greater than the costs - you won't finish the trail.

ShelterLeopard

12-10-2009, 13:09

I wish more thru hikers had that sort of attitude, or at least not be so into themselves. I'm sorry but the ones I met this summer were mostly just tools. Maybe it was because I was up in MA-NH and they were getting sick of the deal, but it was brutal to talk to most of them.

I dunno- some of them (I ran into a bunch of thrus this past summer) were really awesome. But I ran into different groups. It seemed like the more relaxed ones ended up together, more or less, and the more "uptight" thrus were together, etc...

Some of them were chill, just felt like hiking (and eating), and were happy to answer any questions I had, but were not in your face thru hikers. The "I'm going all the way to Georgia/Maine and loving it" crowd.

But, I also ran into the mileage broadcasting, "day hikers/section hikers suck" and "I'm awesome and will bestow my superior knowledge upon you" crowds as well. The "I'm going all the way to Georgia/Maine, haha ha, I'm the best" crowd.

Montana AT05

12-10-2009, 15:30

What I find amusing are the "thru-hikers" who claim they are wild-eyed, independent-minded, get-away-from-it-all, people, then they turn around and create a never ending laundry list of what is required to be a "thru-hiker" and what defines a "thru-hike".

In other words, they bring with them all the bad aspects of life off-trail and plop it all down on the trail, covering nearby hikers with the sh%t, all the while growing "mountain-man" beards and claiming how different they are.

I call them the "herd of individuals" or "uniformed individuals".

To the OP, I think plenty of people start the AT (maybe not so much the other trails) without a strong desire to finish. They also start the AT without much experience or idea on what it is all about and what it will take.

I think that is a wonderful way go about it. As they move up trail, they may start to gain that desire. The goal become more focused..more singular. Their minds start to clear of everyday life clutter and the "finish", the "completion" becomes more prominent.

For me, I wasn't focused on Khatadin at all. I was in it for the experience and as I discovered how hard it could be day-by-day it became a challenge I wanted to beat.

When I reached Khatadin, it was very anti-climatic (though as far as end points for a trail, I have never found better). Even today, when I think back to the trip, I remember more the 1st half of the trail than the last. I also remember thinking that section hiking was a wonderful way to go.

And don't listen the cube dwellers who seek to rigidly define what a "thru-hiker" is. They are just trying to puff themselves up by establishing a criteria they already met themselves in an effort to keep the club small. They are the same people who will lecture all around them about the Hike Your Own Hike concept, after which, they will dictate to you exactly how you are to hike without the slightest feeling of irony.

Khatadin may not be your goal in truth, it may be the adventure, the abscence from everyday life, a connection with nature, experience living with less, meeting like-minded people, who knows. The trail can and is often the goal of hikers, but it can also be a vehicle--a dirty, muddy, rocky metaphor for whatever it is you seek--and maybe what you seek is just plain 'ole fun! (in which case, God help you if you seek it on the AT!)

slugger

12-10-2009, 16:11

And don't listen the cube dwellers who seek to rigidly define what a "thru-hiker" is. They are just trying to puff themselves up by establishing a criteria they already met themselves in an effort to keep the club small.

Amen.:)

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superman

12-10-2009, 17:02

By the time I got to Maine I was in the "get it done" mode. States and seasons had changed and it felt "far." I was mostly on auto pilot except for a super party at Jo Mary Road. It was all the hot dogs and beer I could consume. I still got up before sunrise to get it done. When I try to re-hike the AT next year I intend to blue blaze and have fun along the way. I've signed up for the "every ten year" plan. :)

Montana AT05

12-10-2009, 18:24

Me too Superman. I regret 1) not taking as many photos on my second half of the trip, and 2) losing those that I did take, including my summit!

I hope to be back on the AT March - May or June next year, and while I will follow the white blazes, I will only do so for the ease of it....if I see a blue blaze or road walk I want to do, I will be doing that.

I don't check out of the world of bureaucrats just to live a trail life of similar constraints.

Here's to wandering.

/toast

Sleepy the Arab

12-10-2009, 19:51

I didn't care about '06. I was just happy to be out there and not at some pointless job. It was fun to not take it seriously. It kind of surprised me to find myself at the end.

Doooglas

12-10-2009, 20:19

If I were to do a 'hike through", I'd take a year, or more and do more mileage on the "side roads" than the main trail.

Lone Wolf

12-10-2009, 20:25

If I were to do a 'hike through", I'd take a year, or more and do more mileage on the "side roads" than the main trail.

it took me and gypsy 9 months to hike 1600 miles in 2000

rickb

12-10-2009, 20:27

it took me and gypsy 9 months to hike 1600 miles in 2000

So what did you do the rest of the year?

Blissful

12-10-2009, 20:55

I've done both. But section hiking is great. I am enjoying it immensely. No pressure. Love the scenery

Except having to get your feet and body in shape every time you go out. And then when you're getting in shape and your body is settling in, you have to get off. :(

sbhikes

12-10-2009, 21:54

I was never a thru-hiker, but I felt like one and despite telling people I wasn't a thru-hiker, they still wanted to believe I was one.

I started the PCT wanting to hike only to Ashland, Oregon. I ended up getting off sooner because of my feet. But during that time, most people assumed I was a thru-hiker. Sometimes I would tell them I was only going to Ashland and they'd be surprised but they would brush it off and say I was still a thru-hiker as far as they were concerned.

Off the trail, some people would criticize me for ever using the word thru-hike to describe what I was doing. I got confused because on the trail, people thought I should call myself a thru-hiker and use that word to describe what I was doing. But off the trail, no. I was even criticized for taking an official road-walk detour. It's not a thru-hike if you didn't stay on the trail! Well, it never was a thru-hike, so why get so huffy?

When I came back to complete the trail, I hiked a bunch of disconnected sections until I reached the place where I had gotten off the trail last year. Then I thru-hiked all the way from that point to Canada. I considered that section of my hike to be a thru-hike because it was continuous. Oh, but there I go diluting the meaning again!

I get it that some people hike the entire trail all at once and that for me to use the word "thru" anywhere devalues what they have done. But every time I devalued what I was doing, others told me to stop being so hard on myself. I would meet people and they'd say, "oh wow! A thru-hiker" and I would say, "no, I'm only half a thru-hiker." And they would say, "Don't be be so hard on yourself, you're still hiking a long way."

By the end of my hike this year, I had hiked mostly with section hikers. Real thru-hikers were slowly catching up to me. I thought the section hikers were a lot more fun to hang around with. More easy going. Some of them had even thru-hikes in the 70s! Talk about hiking gods! I was proud to be a section hiker, and yet they, too, considered what I was doing as something more like a thru-hike.

In the end, I covered 3000 miles on the 2663 mile long PCT during a year and a half of my life, taking 6 months to do it, and yet I still am missing about 60 miles. So I can't even say my section hiking is complete!

I will never truly understand what a thru-hike is. To respect the real thru-hikers and their accomplishment I try not to use the term, but sometimes I slip, and that's only because deep down I can't completely buy it that I was really all that different from those who did the trail in one year. I guess that's because what mattered most to me wasn't that I did an arbitrary length in an arbitrary time period but that I lived the lifestyle of a thru-hiker for 6 months of my life. I lived in the forest like a wood nymph. I walked more than a marathon almost every day. I will forever cherish that. It means more to me that having reached the border. Every time I return to the wilderness I feel like I've come home.

Rockhound

12-10-2009, 22:22

Thru-hiking may be a once in a lifetime adventure for many, Retirees with bucket lists, college kids with some time off before they have to get "real jobs" etc...and I can see how completing the whole trail may hold great sentimental value. Others who are fortunate enough to have the time to hike more frequently, say 2 to 6 months every year or more may take a greater pleasure in just being out there and less in hiking from one arbitrary point to another.

Chaco Taco

12-10-2009, 22:27

Thru hiking sucks:D:D:D

weary

12-10-2009, 23:41

There are multiple meanings of thru hiking. To get an ATC certificate, one should follow their guidelines. Though a number of people tell me that regardless of how much you have walked, or even what one tells ATC , if you mention the words "thru hiker" or 2000 milers you will get what some consider a "coveted" patch to sew on your new hiking gear.

Sometimes even fellow long distance hikers can't make up their minds. From time to time Jim, or oso loco, or whatever his current name, has said he considers me a thru hiker. Other times he proclaims me a fraud.

I don't mind. I walked my walk. I didn't tell any fibs -- well no serious ones that I remember. I still think of Spirit Walker's spouse (some call him Jim. Some call him things I don't want to repeat) as one of the wiser folks I've ever met.

But my advice is for hikers to do only those things they enjoyed doing -- or after they return will have liked to have enjoyed doing.

I followed this advice on most of the trail. But in retrospect I wish I'd been a bit more of a purist. I also think ATC needs a more rational definition about what 2000-miler certification means.

Weary

bfitz

12-11-2009, 02:07

Interesting...I went out for some strange reasons, didn't really understand the idea of thruhiking the AT so thouroughly...I had only discovered it existed a few months before....but by the time I got to erwin I thought it was totally cool and by the time I got in the north country I was regretting having yellow blazed certain sections, and starting to understand the ideal and it started to mean a whole lot more to me....I guess some of the determination of my fellow hikers rubbed off on me. That being said, some folks want to do it for some pretty strange reasons and some folks want to impress others and some approach it like a job, trudging on through misery day in day out, refusing to go with other hikers to the nearby music festival or cool town attraction because it will slow them down or they'd have to veer off the white blazes briefly...I mean, it's supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime, right? But...if you don't take those little side adventures to the festy or the beach with your friends from home for a weekend or the train ride to new york or whatever it is all your hiker friends are urging you to do you miss out on a lot of the comeradery and good times, and lets face it...if you're not enjoying yourself, what are you trying to accomplish? Having a great time is the way to keep yourself going. No one makes it to maine if their morale is ground down by endless trudging and boredom. Go to friggen dollywood, take the blue blaze to the waterfall and camp there for a day or two, the AT is like the highway...it goes straight to maine. The blue blazes are like the exits...they go to the attractions. The perils of dogma are well known.. there's a reason why folks say HYOH.

JoshStover

12-11-2009, 03:08

Great post bfitz.

stranger

12-11-2009, 05:08

I no longer have a desire to thru-hike, after two attempts and four long distance hikes, and I'm hiking again next year.

There is alot of discipline that goes into thru-hiking, especially if you are limited on time and money, and for me atleast, I don't go hiking for a challenge, my real life is challenging enough.

I go hiking for a break, for enjoyment, for whatever I want really. I find long distance hiking very peaceful, simple, rewarding, and quite difficult at times. I've hiked enough over the years to know that after about 500 - 600 miles, I start to get a tad bored, this has happened 3 times and I just accept it.

Next year I'm going to try to do things differently, cause I would really like to hike 1000 continuous miles, but I'm not too worried about it overall. I have no time or money limit really, I can do whatever I want, and I'm choosing to leave a great job to go hiking.

Because I love hiking, and when I stop loving it, I do something else for a while.

oso loco

12-11-2009, 12:42

Sometimes even fellow long distance hikers can't make up their minds. From time to time Jim, or oso loco, or whatever his current name, has said he considers me a thru hiker. Other times he proclaims me a fraud.

I don't mind. I walked my walk. I didn't tell any fibs -- well no serious ones that I remember. I still think of Spirit Walker's spouse (some call him Jim. Some call him things I don't want to repeat) as one of the wiser folks I've ever met.

ROTFLMAO!!!

Not sure what brought that on. Maybe you've missed me? Ah well, I'm usually very busy these days and don't get here much. For which we can both be thankful. But I'm also thankful that you're still with us and capable of expressing opinions. I worried a bit about you last year - you stopped posting for a while. Hang in there.

Anyway, back to the original question - I've known a number of people who started the Trail with a spouse, friend or SO but with no real interest in hiking, who then found the excitement and motivation to finish - sometimes even when the spouse, etc didn't finish. I've also known a LOT of people in that situation who went home early.

And I've known a few who went through the prep stage for a thruhike with a spouse or friend just to encourage them - and then ended up thruhiking. Sometimes when the original spouse/friend/whatever didn't even start the hike.

Then there have been those who went out to do "the first section" of a trail, with no intention of thruhiking - and somehow found themselves at the other end of the trail.

Bottom line is that, like most other "motivation" questions, there are a large range of answers, and none of them are definitive. The attempt to find definitive answers is sometimes like nailing one foot the the floor - you end up running in circles. :)

Doctari

12-11-2009, 15:37

Every long trip I do (2 - 3 weeks) somewhere along the way I "don't feel it" so I have to believe that most at least for a few seconds want to quit during a end to end hike of whichever long trail they are on. It's hard for me to understand starting out on a long hike when I didn't want to. But I have met people who set foot on the AT for the first time, who spent their first night camping on the trail a few miles from where they started. "83" started in Damascus & was hiking for 30 days "somewhere north", when I last saw her she was at Atkins & (finally) having a great time. I'm not sure of her motivation, I do know that a few days in she was questioning her sanity.

And as to being a thru hiker, in all honesty, you are only a thru hiker for the few seconds you touch that final marker, be it Springer or Katahdin or wherever.
Before then, you are attempting a thru hike, after, you are a former thru hiker. Doing a Yo Yo hike? now you are a potential thru hiker AND a former thru hiker. :p

mweinstone

12-11-2009, 15:53

i just wanna be their. dont care about miles and places. like walking and talking only. and green.

Montana AT05

12-11-2009, 18:53

weary

12-11-2009, 19:34

The whole idea of being given a certificate for having hiked according to someone else's criteria is what I find most troubling about today's hiking "community". The mere existence of this certificate is what gave rise to, or perhaps fuels, the absurdity of hiker "purity"

It is, to repeat myself from other posts, the inevitable result of people bringing their cubicle mentality to the trail, all the while claiming they are breaking free.

It's like Californians who move to Montana and say, "I just wanted a different life". Then you see them at the city planning sessions lobbying for a new big box store so they don't have to drive over the pass to another town where a Home Depot or Best Buy already squats. Or lobbying the county to have the dirt road that leads to the mountain getaway plowed during the 8 months of winter...during which they spend 1 week at the getaway (true stories, both--there was even a large article in my town's paper about such things!).

Hiking used to be an adventure for the individual. It's becoming a regulated, cramped, dogmatic, and increasingly collective-minded controlled event.

Reminds me of scenes in Jeremiah Johnson where the guys discuss the month of March, down below.
It's natural for folks who maintain and promote trails to try to keep track of users -- partly as a way to determine wehether what they are doing is useful, and for whom. And, of course, it costs money to build, maintain, and promote trails. Every name that comes in tends to be a more likely donor.

I have no special insights into ATC's reasons. But I do know that such issues play a role in our local land trust activities. We ask everyone who volunteers to help maintain trails, everyone who we can entice to sign our register books, everyone who goes on a guided hike, to provide an address. And we mine those addresses for donations to fund our activities.

This is not a one-sided benefit. Trails and the maintenance and promotion of trails serves the public. And it also serves those who are persuaded to let loose with a few bucks. I've found as I grow older, that there is no greater pleasure than to have contributed to something that will outlast our existence in this world.

Weary

Montana AT05

12-11-2009, 19:53

Jim Adams

12-11-2009, 20:35

A-Train

12-11-2009, 20:40

It is, to repeat myself from other posts

Hiking used to be an adventure for the individual. It's becoming a regulated, cramped, dogmatic, and increasingly collective-minded controlled event.

It still is. It's whatever you wanna make and get out of it. It only becomes that if you let it.

Colter

12-11-2009, 21:02

It still is. It's whatever you wanna make and get out of it. It only becomes that if you let it.

Agreed.

The message you have entered is too short.

weary

12-11-2009, 22:02

--
Weary, while nice points, they don't address my subject. Tracking trail use, working on the trail, donating to the trail...those have nothing to do with regulations around what constitutes a thru-hiker. Not sure if you were defending one by comparison to another.
I don't address them because there are no general "regulations" around what constitutes a thru hiker. In fact there are zero such regulations. And never have been.

The only rules are those imposed by the minds of thru hikers themselves, and thruhiker wanna bes.

A private organization -- the ATC -- has offered to give 2000-mile certificates to anyone that complies with their definition of someone who has walked 2000 miles on the AT.

Any alternative rests in the minds of the thru hiker. Each of us has to decide what to claim, what not to claim. I've never had any doubts about whether I complied with the ATC suggestions for complying with their 2000-mile hiker rules.

I did not make a "serious" effort to walk "all the trail." (though parenthetically, I should note they made me an honorary member based in part on having hiked the trail.)

I did make make a major effort to look at all the scenic overlooks, the historical artifacts, and other features, that ATC told me were important parts of the trail. I urge others to do likewise, regardless of any perceived -- and grossly nebulous -- rules.

I suspect the discrepancy is mostly based on the natural tendency of bureaucrats -- even bureaus with only a dozen employees like ATC -- to engage in group think. And, more importantly, to group think tendencies by those who walk this fabulous trail.

Weary

rickb

12-11-2009, 22:06

Mags

12-11-2009, 22:07

I just love to play outside. :)

I'm snowshoeing (gasp! shh!) tomorrow with someone's whose skis aren't quite here yet...and ski touring again Sunday.

Damn what other people call my outdoor fun. ;)

rickb

12-11-2009, 22:10

I just love to play outside. :)

I'm snowshoeing (gasp! shh!) tomorrow with someone's whose skis aren't quite here yet...and ski touring again Sunday.

Damn what other people call it. ;)

You could get a pair of binoculars and go birding.

Then you can walk slow, cover very little ground and still feel like you sucked the marrow out of the day.

weary

12-11-2009, 22:20

I just love to play outside. :) ...,)

Me too. And I suspect that is what has kept me alive:

A lot of trails. A lot of trail work. A few trail regrets.

But fundamentally, a love of trails, a love of the outdoors, a love of life, is what has kept me usefull -- and alive i like to think -- these many decades.

Weary

Mags

12-11-2009, 22:30

Then you can walk slow, cover very little ground and still feel like you sucked the marrow out of the day.

I love gliding long the powder. Excuse the hyperbole, but gliding along the powder on the single track trail in the mountains is almost poetry in motion.

Snowshoeing is plodding for me.

Both are outdoors in the mountains, so I'm happy. :) ( I don't do resort skiing)

But fundamentally, a love of trails, a love of the outdoors, a love of life, is what has kept me usefull -- and alive i like to think -- these many decades.

Weary

Weary, I only hope to be as active as you are when I am your age.

Hopefully my love of trails, love of the outdoors and love of life will do the same.

weary

12-11-2009, 23:06

Weary, I only hope to be as active as you are when I am your age.

Hopefully my love of trails, love of the outdoors and love of life will do the same.
Mags, thanks for summarizing my goals so susincintly. I have no illusions of special knowledge, nor of requirements for longevity. But more important than absolute years, is years of enjoyment of life. I've been blessed so far. The longevity I've enjoyed so far, I think, is a product of remaining active -- not with messing around in gyms, but on being active, in the outdoors. I come from a long-lived family. Those of us who have lived the longest -- and who have enjoyed that long life the longest -- are those of us who have remained interested and committed to the end.

But this longevity also requires that I keep promoting the things that truly make it important -- like protecting the high peaks of Maine.

Weary www.matlt.org

Mags

12-12-2009, 12:28

But this longevity also requires that I keep promoting the things that truly make it important -- like protecting the high peaks of Maine.

Weary www.matlt.org (http://www.matlt.org)

I believe in giving back too...

I think all hikers should do some sort of volunteer work at some point.

Plus, you often get fed on projects. :)

Patrickjd9

12-12-2009, 13:03

I hiked the AT a lot in my 20s and 30s, but didn't decide I wanted to section hike the trail until about 4 years ago--in my late 40s.

When I was younger, I was more interested in using vacation to go out West. Now that I'm older, I realize that the East is home and I'm more interested in being out in it.

Also, I tend not to do well after a day or two at over 10,000 feet elevation.

DawnTreader

12-12-2009, 15:27

The important thing for me is just being out there. Hike when you want to hike.. stop when your not having fun anymore. The great thing for me about being on the trail is the fact that everyday your only real worries are where you will camp, when you will eat and when you will hike. If your feet take you all the way to Georgia, then thats great... if not, then thats fine too. some people start the trail with a thru hike as a goal, and they trudge through, even if they are miserable, and often they reach their goal.. I've met plenty of NOBO thrus in Maine that were definetly not having a good time, and the only reason they continued was to complete a thru hike. I would not continue if I was miserable. I no for a fact that when I begin my thru hike, the second I want to go home, I will. It will not be a "goal" for me, it will just be another hike, and if I am fortunate enough to complete the trail in one hike, then great.. but I will never be miserable on the trail, aside from the usual cold, blisters, bugs, mice ect; this is not misery, just life on the AT. I can't understand those people.. just another check mark on their "bucket list." not the way I like to hike.. IMOHO...

ShelterLeopard

12-12-2009, 18:27

Weary, while nice points, they don't address my subject. Tracking trail use, working on the trail, donating to the trail...those have nothing to do with regulations around what constitutes a thru-hiker. Not sure if you were defending one by comparison to another.

Though I am very excited to do my upcoming thru, I do have to admit, I really wish I could've done it before it became so popular. (Of course, I don't really know what it was like then, what the "thru hiker attitude" was and all, just that it wasn't so widely know) Now it seems like everyone has criteria for what constitutes a thru hiker, and all that. I do too, for myself, I'll admit, but hiking the trail according to one's own personal standards is very different from hiking someone else's standards.

Don't get me wrong, I love the AT and can't wait for my thru, I just wish it wasn't so set. (Seems like the trail and life have become something, instead of just being something. Sorry, I'm not doing a good job phrasing things today. I hope someone knows what I mean though.)

Montana AT05

12-12-2009, 19:02

Seems like the trail and life have become something, instead of just being something

Actually that puts it well.

Red River Falls

12-13-2009, 00:47

ShelterLeopard

12-13-2009, 01:01

"What different reasons are there for attempting a thru-hike versus a section hike (or, over time, several section hikes)?"

For me, many different reasons to do a thru (only two months away!).
For one thing, I want to start something and finish it all the way.
For another, I really want time out of "normal" life, I just want to hike. For ages.
For another, I think the mental and physical endurance it takes to complete the whole thing in one go is amazing. (A section is different. Depending on the length, I think it doesn't take nearly the mental strength a thru or super long section takes.)
And you truly adapt to trail life.
And get hungry, for real. Real hunger is something that not too many Americans experience.

But, I can also see a lot of arguments in favor of section hikes. It all depends on each person. These are just a few of the reasons I am doing a thru.

Okie Dokie

12-13-2009, 13:35

I really wish I could've done it before it became so popular. (Of course, I don't really know what it was like then, what the "thru hiker attitude" was and all, just that it wasn't so widely known) Now it seems like everyone has criteria for what constitutes a thru hiker, and all that. I do too, for myself, I'll admit, but hiking the trail according to one's own personal standards is very different from hiking someone else's standards.

I just wish it wasn't so set. (Seems like the trail and life have become something, instead of just being something. Sorry, I'm not doing a good job phrasing things today. I hope someone knows what I mean though.)

I know exactly what you mean...and, as resourceful as sites like this are, for some they can have the effect of taking a bit of the fun out of finding out what's around the next corner? for themselves...I think, though, that once you start your hike you'll find yourself where you've dreamed of being...out moving and involved in the actual day-to-day beauty, fatigue, euphoria, drudgery, camaraderie, decision making, etc...in short, you'll be out watching "your" hike unfold...defining it and shaping it to your own tastes...

In '91, the year of my thru, the internet was in its infancy for all practical purposes...back then you "sent away" for information or gear catalogs and checked the mailbox each day...after sectioning the Smokies with some college buddies one winter I decided that I wanted more, the whole enchilada...set a rather arbitrary start date for the next spring, called the ATC, joined, and ordered the guidebook/map set, an AT Data Book, and a copy of The Philospher's Guide (one of the earliest "bootleg" guides to the AT)...thumbed through the guidebooks, decided they had too much detail (for me), and never opened them again...shrunk sections of the Data Book and Philosopher's Guide down (to 25% of their original size) with a copier and divided them into sections according to my maildrop choices...threw in the corresponding maps...probably spent less than 2 hours deciding on maildrop towns...spent 2 days shopping for maildrop food...already had most of the gear I needed, but thoroughly enjoyed scouting for the few extras I particulary wanted for a thru....after that I just worked, saved money, and waited to finish my second degree at school...spent a lot of time dreaming about the trip, but without any real input from anyone else...didn't read the Philosopher's Guide ahead of time, other than skimming for information on the mail drop towns I had picked to keep from making any seriously poor choices...definitely did not suffer from information overload and had no strong pre-conceived notions of what I might experience...once I hit Springer everything seemed brand new, just the way I wanted it to be...I suspect that my pre-trip experience is very similar to that of other thru-hikers around that time...

Everything, gear-wise, worked out fine...met a lot of good people, avoided others with which I had little in common, looked forward to my maildrop town stops...walked in the rain, the heat, the cold, avoided getting hurt or sick, made some lifelong friends, and had a blast...I suspect you will, too...

Didn't mention it in the narrative above, but I checked out an old book, Hiking the Appalachian Trail, (two-volume set) at the library and read the stories of the early thru-hikers...56 of them if I remember correctly...I'd recommend it for a fresh perspective on how little tech is actually critical to a thru, the variety of personalities that were drawn to the idea of a long AT hike decades ago, and possibly to give you a good excuse to take a break from all the currently available "definitions of an AT hike", chatter, and gear talk...

Montana AT05

12-13-2009, 15:40

This is one reason I've not had a strong desire to hike the AT all at once. Having experienced some thru-hikers, some in VA in April and some in NH in July, I get the impression it is often about getting from point A to point B. Now I know there's more to it than that, but I have seen less of just enjoying life on the trail than knocking out miles. -- Red River Falls

Your impression was correct. Not in all cases I suppose but rare is the thru-hiker who keeps the enthusiasm, idealism, and cheer possessed on Springer Mt alive 1700 mles later in VT/NH. It helps when you are in a group I suppose, and you have more to focus on that the roots, rocks, rain and heat.

I met a section hiker in Kent, CT. I was at a very low point on my hike. I was tired, always hot, always sticky with humidity and swatting at flies, mosquitos and inch worms. My feet were sore. I was developing a painful rash down below, that burned and stung when I raised my knee to climb upwards. I just wanted to be done. I was indeed focused on points A and B...my hike had become a grueling march where any satisfaction found was not in the adventure and freedom, but rather in a grim determination to get it done. To beat the trail before it beat me.

I think that is ok...it's just a different focus than I expected. It's what eventually put me atop Khatadin.

When I met the section hiker in CT, I explained this to her, not wanting to infect her with the same vision of the trail I had...we were having two different experiences, each based on valid reasons. I knew I was pretty negative about the hike at the time, and I knew I had no business bringing her into it.

She commented that all the thru-hikers she met were like me. I responded, "How unfortunate. Don't let us crabby hikers get you down, we're a horrible lot. We were different on Springer, and the changes are part of the journey."

And @Okie Dokie above, good post, good insights.

bredler

12-13-2009, 16:39

what the heck is a long hike anyway?? For some, say a physically challenged person - a thru-hike could be one day, for others who knows?

Agreed. Most Americans will never walk more than 10 miles in a day...and that would probably be in a shopping mall or around town sight-seeing. When I tell most people about my short trips and they ask how far I went and say it was only 60 miles or so in five days they are blown away. A hiker's perception of long distance and the average person's perception of long distance are very different.

So if you just decide to hike for two weeks you have the vast majority of Americans beat. If only a couple thousand people decide to hike the whole AT every year and only a couple hundred complete it...that's a pretty small percentage of 300Million.

sbhikes

12-13-2009, 22:01

Your impression was correct. Not in all cases I suppose but rare is the thru-hiker who keeps the enthusiasm, idealism, and cheer possessed on Springer Mt alive 1700 mles later in VT/NH
....
I met a section hiker in Kent, CT. I was at a very low point on my hike.
...
I just wanted to be done. I was indeed focused on points A and B...my hike had become a grueling march where any satisfaction found was not in the adventure and freedom, but rather in a grim determination to get it done. To beat the trail before it beat me.

I think that is ok...it's just a different focus than I expected. It's what eventually put me atop Khatadin.

When I met the section hiker in CT, I explained this to her, not wanting to infect her with the same vision of the trail I had.......

This also happened to me, and I was a (long, 1800 mile) section hiker!

I started meeting the southbounders in Oregon and they had that burning passion, the fire in their eyes. I felt apologetic for them having to meet me. I tried really hard not to infect them with my negativity.

Even though I was miserable, I would not give up. I could see myself already at the border. I knew I was going to make it. I could even feel the emotions of what that would feel like, so somewhere deep inside there was an ember of that original fire.

I am so glad I did finish. All the bad experiences fade away so quickly. All that is left is memories of amazing places and experiences and memories of all the happy moments you had and how happy you feel to have accomplished something so amazing.

And for those who think it's not a big enough adventure to hike a trail a million people have already attempted, you have to see this not as a been there done that kind of thing. This is a deeply personal adventure if you will only allow yourself to be open to it. It's not all pre-set and so over-done that it's not new. It is new to you. It's an inward journey almost more than an external one. It's only a coincidence that it will happen on a point on the planet where others have been and come with guidebooks and advice. Their advice only makes some of the logistics easier. The rest is up to you.

You will deal with your own personal demons. Especially if you do this solo. I encourage you to do this solo. It's much harder and much more adventurous than following a group. You will have to work out the things that hold you back in life.

I battled negativity. It confronted me on the trail and I had no place to hide from it. I've been hearing that word "too negative" ever since my elementary school report cards. (I'm 44 years old.) It finally sunk in a few days after my hike. That's what the trail was trying to teach me. What being too negative does to you.

I have been smiling ever since I came home.

weary

12-13-2009, 22:47

I guess, I may have been a rare exception. Perhaps because when I started I never really expected to get to Katahdin in one season. I was about to be 64-years-old and had no consuming desire to be a thru hiker. My only commitment was to do a report for MATC about how southern maintenance practices differed from us in the north.

Regardless, on my walk north, I had continuing doubts about my physical abilities to get to Maine. But an ever increasing desire to get there. Unlike Lone Wolf, I had climbed Katahdin numerous times, summer, fall and winter. But somehow, having started on a 2,170 mile walk, I wanted to end on the mountain I've loved these many decades.

As I've said. I had to skip a few sections to get there. But I honestly don't recall any depressed moments on the long walk. I was often frustrated by personal infirmities. I mean, I hadn't expected gout in my big toe, an affliction I had last thought about from reading Dickens long ago, as I approached North Carolina. Nor an over exercised, and a very painful thigh, nerve/muscle problem in New York.

Walking with an 11-year-old, a delightful companion two years earlier, had its frustrations. But I pretty much loved it all. The rain, the bugs, the salamanders, the turtles, an occasional snake, the fellow hikers, the purists, the pretenders --- all of it.

Weary

Montana AT05

12-13-2009, 22:48

Same experience as me sbhikes. My memories of the trip are fond enough that, despite my firm assertions at the end of the AT, I am headed back to it next year. Probably a long section from Springer to somewhere north.

And you are 100% right, even if EVERY person in America hiked the AT, it is STILL an arduous and worthwhile trip.

I also tend towards negativity over time, and I have to battle it always. It seems so silly in retrospect...becoming negative doing a thing I wanted to do, took a risk to do, was fortunate enough to do...well you get the picture.

Bearpaw

12-14-2009, 00:25

I met a section hiker in Kent, CT. I was at a very low point on my hike. I was tired, always hot, always sticky with humidity and swatting at flies, mosquitos and inch worms. My feet were sore. I was developing a painful rash down below, that burned and stung when I raised my knee to climb upwards. I just wanted to be done. I was indeed focused on points A and B...my hike had become a grueling march where any satisfaction found was not in the adventure and freedom, but rather in a grim determination to get it done. To beat the trail before it beat me.

I felt exactly that same way the day I bypassed Kent, CT. It was a nasty hot day during the drought in 99, and I had run out of water after passing two water sources that had gone dry. I remember telling another hiker that if a car drove up at a road crossing and offered me a ride home, I would probably take it at that point.

But by the time I hit Vermont, I was pretty pumped up again. I think being back in actual mountains and cool air made a huge difference for me.