View Full Version : Is thru-hiking the AT life changing?
Do you think hiking the A.T. changed who you are as a person? In what way?
Do you think hiking the A.T. changed who you are as a person? In what way?
in general, I think it may have been moreso for some of the younger people who maybe felt like they haven't accomplished or achieved anything of significance yet in their lives. For us older crowd, it was more of a "bucket list" kind of thing but after raising kids, especially during their teenage years, hiking the trail was a piece of cake! ;) I have come to realize that I am now capable of walking a very long way with a pack on my back but I also knew going into it that I would finish barring any sort of injury, illness, or other event outside of my control.
Lone Wolf
10-10-2010, 22:59
Do you think hiking the A.T. changed who you are as a person? In what way?
nope. it solidified who i really was
garlic08
10-10-2010, 23:31
I was a hiker before I hiked the AT and I was still a hiker after I hiked the AT. It was a fine trail and I really enjoyed the walk, but not exactly life-changing.
Serial 07
10-11-2010, 00:10
f$#@ yeah...one thing you learn is the difference between a NEED and a WANT...
I'll have to agree with Serial 07. life became more clearer and more simpler after hiking on the AT.......
Trailbender
10-11-2010, 08:10
I'll have to agree with Serial 07. life became more clearer and more simpler after hiking on the AT.......
Yeah, I threw away a lot of crap when I got back. I also became a lot more confident, more able to do a lot of things.
jersey joe
10-11-2010, 09:17
Do you think hiking the A.T. changed who you are as a person? In what way?
Absolutely. If hiking the AT doesn't impact who you are, you are definitely missing something out there.
garlic08
10-11-2010, 09:47
Absolutely. If hiking the AT doesn't impact who you are, you are definitely missing something out there.
...if it's your first/only long hike, definitely.
Pedaling Fool
10-11-2010, 10:26
It can be a tool for changing life. I did it with a specific goal...to reset my physical condition. I was getting in a rut, physically, starting to gain a lot of weight, getting bored with the workout routine I've been at for years and could see I was headed for life as a typical fat middleager -- despite me living a more active lifestyle than most.
Long story short...I got in the best shape of my life and have been able to maintain it since, yes I've gained some weight back, but mostly (not all:o) muscle and I still have a resting HR in the 40's and BP average well below 120/70. Of course I've had to work at it, could have easily returned to my old self. I'm now a runner (always hated it before) thanks to my thru and I have some great pics that always remind me of that great time.
If you don't have a goal than a TH probably won't be life changing, for it to be you are relying on chance. The TH won't change your life, it's just a tool, you got to change your life.
One thing I've learned on my thru is that we eat way too much food in society. Your body can become very efficient. In society we eat when we feel the slightest bit hungy, but your body (and mind) is just just acting like a spoild kid, even if your stomach begins to make noise doesn't mean you need food, it's just being a spoild brat.
Absolutely. If hiking the AT doesn't impact who you are, you are definitely missing something out there.
I agree that hiking and backpacking have quite an impact on a person.If not, perhaps that person should pursue other hobbies. However,a thru-hike is basically an extended version of a 4-5 day section hike. If you can do one, you can do the other...providing you have persistence. If a person has not been able to see a difficult task/project/assignment through to the end then perhaps completing a thru-hike could be life changing. I am certainly glad that I hiked from Springer to Katahdin, the memories and relationships built along the way are priceless to me but not life altering. The impact/benefits derived from being in the outdoors are available in 2-3 day trips just as much or more than in 5-6 month trips.
Pedaling Fool
10-11-2010, 10:41
Do you think hiking the A.T. changed who you are as a person? In what way?
I just noticed you're 22, so health is probably not such a high priority with you. For someone in outstanding health a TH is most likely not going to be LC WRT physical conditioning. But maybe (or maybe not) in another way.
How do you want to change your life? It's a proactive thing, can't just rely on automation like the transmission in your vehicle.
mweinstone
10-11-2010, 10:44
never thruhiked but self relience is what it gives.
I think a long distance walk is less about changing who we are, than about revealing who we are. My long walk provided focus, cleared away comfortable illusions, and helped set directions.
Weary
I hiked in 2008, and i feel it was very life changing, but the reason I ask is because im doing a research project on the topic!
jersey joe
10-11-2010, 11:52
I agree that hiking and backpacking have quite an impact on a person.If not, perhaps that person should pursue other hobbies. However,a thru-hike is basically an extended version of a 4-5 day section hike. If you can do one, you can do the other...providing you have persistence. If a person has not been able to see a difficult task/project/assignment through to the end then perhaps completing a thru-hike could be life changing. I am certainly glad that I hiked from Springer to Katahdin, the memories and relationships built along the way are priceless to me but not life altering. The impact/benefits derived from being in the outdoors are available in 2-3 day trips just as much or more than in 5-6 month trips.
I hear what you are saying 4shot, and I think a lot of the benefits are the same. There are some differences though. A thru hike explores things like endurance, persistence, long term planning skills, really leaving life behind, etc.
nope. it solidified who i really was
same here...did i just agree with lone wolf? oh god! lol! maddog
I think it was life-changing. Sitting at home doing the same-old same-old affects who you are as much as doing adventurous things, just not in the same way. But my life afterwards is pretty much the same as my life before the hike. About the only difference is I work part-time.
Inwardly I feel more calm and confident and can walk away from things that used to bother me. I also feel like I carry around a big secret. I did something few people can really understand except those who also did it. Plus along the way I found a chink in the fence of this way of life that I personally do not like very much. Even if I continue to put up with this way of life (I'm asking myself why, though) I know there's an alternative, a simpler way to live. Also, there's a big giant tattoo on my leg that wasn't there before with a map and a trail on it. :)
Strangely, too, I feel kinder toward people who are homeless by choice. I think I understand the choice they have made.
Its life changing in the same way as reading a book, moving to a new house, or eating a hot pocket for breakfast. Everything we do effects us, and is therefore 'life changing.' I think of it like the butterfly effect... even the smallest change can have a huge impact. Your life is shaped by your choices and actions everyday. Being in a totally different environment for 6 months is obviously going to have a greater effect on your life than staying where your have been for the rest of your life, but I don't believe it will necessarily change who you are unless you allow it to. Its like having a debate and still holding your original belief at the end.
Moving to Colorado is a direct result of having done the AT.
If I had not done the AT, then my life would have been very different to say the least. I would not have explored all that I have seen and done since that time.
Probably still be in RI and everything that implies. :)
Moving to Colorado is a direct result of having done the AT.
If I had not done the AT, then my life would have been very different to say the least. I would not have explored all that I have seen and done since that time. Probably still be in RI and everything that implies. :)
Perhaps. But perhaps all you have "seen and done" since hiking the trail is just a continuum of the Mags that chose to do the trail. Your signature line, "The true harvest of my life is intangible.... a little stardust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched --" from Thoreau suggests that doing the trail may be a reflection of who you are, not a cause.
Everyone that starts the trail is marching to a different drummer. Completing the trail confirms the uniqueness of the drummer.
Weary
Thoreau suggests that doing the trail may be a reflection of who you are, not a cause.
Without dominating this thread and the family history, let's just say that getting away from the upbringing I had was the first step in making a life for myself.
And I don't think I would have had the courage to do that UNLESS I had done the AT.
It would not be the first time I was wrong mind you. ;)
One of the benefits of thru-hiking the AT is that it gives you all day to think without much interruption. If you have something to work out in your mind, the AT is a great place to bring that to fruition. If you simply want to live in the moment all day long for days on-end, that is available to you also.
Just before the end of your AT thru-hike you'll likely be at the point of most confidence and most peace in your life.
I can't imagine anyone who has the desire, resources, gumption not thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Datto
Spirit Walker
10-13-2010, 14:55
For me hiking the AT was life-changing, in a lot of different ways. Most obviously, it started me on a lifestyle that was very different from the one I had originally intended for myself. One thruhike led to another led to another . . . The friends I have are mostly long distance hikers. My husband is a hiker I met while thruhiking. Work became a way of making money for futher travels, not an end in itself. As others have said - you realize how little you really need in the way of material goods to be happy. You learn to appreciate simple things, like hot water, fresh fruit and sunshine. I always enjoyed travel and exploring the natural world, long distance hiking gave me a chance to combine both loves. On a personal level, completing the trail gave me a sense of empowerment. I felt liberated from the limits I had previously set on myself, that I could do anything I truly wanted to do, if I was willing to do the work and pay the price. I had wings and I could fly. It was definitely a good experience for me. (NB: I was 31 when I did my first thruhike.)