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HiKen2011
01-02-2011, 22:10
Whats the best way to mentally prepare missing family and friends, comforts of home, any food you want when you want, dealing with cold, heat, rain, snow, being uncomfortable? What do you guys do?

kayak karl
01-02-2011, 22:22
if your going to miss creature comforts then don't go LOL
BUT there may come a time in the hike when you miss your family and loved ones and if it makes you too unhappy GO HOME :)

when it stops being fun, go home. the trail ain't going anywhere.

CrumbSnatcher
01-02-2011, 22:26
your friends and family will still be back home
doing the same old things when you get back!
don't over think things, embrace this journey and enjoy it.

Hooch
01-02-2011, 22:30
your friends and family will still be back home
doing the same old things when you get back!
don't over think things, embrace this journey and enjoy it.Best hike adivice ever.

10-K
01-02-2011, 22:34
The only time I don't get homesick is when my son goes with me.

Not a lot I can do about it. I just let the waves wash over me and keep on moving. It's not constant, and like crumbsnatcher said, they'll be there when I get back doing what they've always been doing.

Set your sights on finishing and keep your eye on the prize.

I kinda disagree with what KK says about quitting - setting a goal like that and quitting (unless I became physically unable to do it) just isn't in my vocabulary. If I start, I'm going to finish.

sbhikes
01-02-2011, 22:40
Whats the best way to mentally prepare missing family and friends, comforts of home, any food you want when you want, dealing with cold, heat, rain, snow, being uncomfortable? What do you guys do?

There may come a day for most of us when we feel these things. The thing I was told is to never leave the trail on a bad day.

CrumbSnatcher
01-02-2011, 22:40
also depends on what kinda family were talking about:-?
you have a 2 year old daughter at home
or you missin your momma:D

10-K
01-02-2011, 22:45
also depends on what kinda family were talking about:-?
you have a 2 year old daughter at home
or you missin your momma:D

Or a cousin you're really fond of. :)

HiKen2011
01-02-2011, 22:45
also depends on what kinda family were talking about:-?
you have a 2 year old daughter at home
or you missin your momma:D


10 yr old daughter:)

HiKen2011
01-02-2011, 22:46
10 yr old daughter:)

But I do miss my Mom, passed away 10 yrs ago:(

johnnybgood
01-02-2011, 22:49
NOTE TO SELF : I absolutely NEED to go hiking --everyone is driving me crazzzzzzzzzy...and my Snuggie makes me look fat. :D

Now repeat this every day till you leave for your hike.

CrumbSnatcher
01-02-2011, 22:51
10 yr old daughter:)
i went to maine to hike for a month in 2009, had a 2 yr. old(almost) daughter at home and it really messed with me and i actually flew home a week or so early. did most of my hiking before she was born, just me and my ole' dog. i do have some long sections planned within the next 2 years and too will figure out how to deal with that. but also look forward to her hopefully enjoying hiking with old dad.
be cool to have your daughter hike a week or so with you, if thats possible

HiKen2011
01-02-2011, 22:54
i went to maine to hike for a month in 2009, had a 2 yr. old(almost) daughter at home and it really messed with me and i actually flew home a week or so early. did most of my hiking before she was born, just me and my ole' dog. i do have some long sections planned within the next 2 years and too will figure out how to deal with that. but also look forward to her hopefully enjoying hiking with old dad.
be cool to have your daughter hike a week or so with you, if thats possible

Her and her Mom plan to visit periodically (trail towns) so we'll see!:)

CrumbSnatcher
01-02-2011, 22:55
But I do miss my Mom, passed away 10 yrs ago:(
she'll be with you every step of the way:sun

HiKen2011
01-02-2011, 22:58
The reason I started this thread is because most, if not all people, who have long distance hiked say that the mental game is harder than the physical one. Just wondered if anyone wanted to share how they handled it or prepared, if thats really possible.:-?

corialice81
01-02-2011, 23:09
The reason I started this thread is because most, if not all people, who have long distance hiked say that the mental game is harder than the physical one. Just wondered if anyone wanted to share how they handled it or prepared, if thats really possible.:-?

take it one step at a time. focus on what you can control and not what you can't. love every minute. embrace it! it's a journey of a lifetime! :D

CrumbSnatcher
01-02-2011, 23:15
just take it one step at a time and day by day.
most things you will handle by just reacting, if its raining? get out of the rain.
if your hungry? eat something! it sounds like you and your kid have a good thing going? you and your daughters mom sound like you get along ok.
the emotional thing can be tough! the hikes a emotional rollercoaster. one moment your happy as **** and the next, maybe not so much. just handle it as you go.

CrumbSnatcher
01-02-2011, 23:17
TRUST ME!
you will not be upset or mad at yourself for finishing this journey

HiKen2011
01-02-2011, 23:20
TRUST ME!
you will not be upset or mad at yourself for finishing this journey

Thanks, all great advise here!!!!

kayak karl
01-02-2011, 23:26
setting a goal like that and quitting (unless I became physically unable to do it) just isn't in my vocabulary. If I start, I'm going to finish.
very selfish attitude. you mean no other problems a home could send you back? and when is going home quitting? (you also need a dictionary:))

and as far as things being the same when you get home. don't count on it! :rolleyes:

DapperD
01-02-2011, 23:30
Whats the best way to mentally prepare missing family and friends, comforts of home, any food you want when you want, dealing with cold, heat, rain, snow, being uncomfortable? What do you guys do?I haven't thru-hiked yet but I think that it will mentally be a big challenge. I think if you are on good terms with your family members when you go and they support your thru-hike then that will go a long way toward having peace of mind once you are out there on the trail. Leaving to do the trip at the right time is also important. Leaving to do the trip when you are needed by your family at home or for whatever reason could wind up causing unnecessary anxiety in one way or the other eventually once the hike gets underway. I think as long as one truly wants to do the hike and they are supported, then the feelings of homesickness, etc...will be minimized and then one could just check in from time to time to assure that everyone back at home is safe and sound and to let them know that you are too. As far as dealing with the depravation of not having modern convieniences, and the bad weather and it's undesirable effects this is something that unfortunately comes with the overall package and something that thru-hikers will prepare for by having decent clothing, raingear, boots, bag, tent, etc...and extra money to bail for a warm room, pizza and beer when the weather turns really nasty:D.

Joker4ink
01-02-2011, 23:34
The reason I started this thread is because most, if not all people, who have long distance hiked say that the mental game is harder than the physical one.


I'm not proud to admit it, but I have left early on only solo multi-day hikes, let alone long distance hikes. However I embrace the physical challenge and try to push myself to hike farther, hike faster but still enjoy the surroundings and take time when I need it. Hiking is one of the physical activities that you can enjoy alone or with company, both having their benefits. The mental game is something I struggle with only when I'm solo though.

kayak karl
01-02-2011, 23:41
I haven't thru-hiked yet but I think that it will mentally be a big challenge. I think if you are on good terms with your family members when you go and they support your thru-hike then that will go a long way toward having peace of mind once you are out there on the trail. Leaving to do the trip at the right time is also important. Leaving to do the trip when you are needed by your family at home or for whatever reason could wind up causing unnecessary anxiety in one way or the other eventually once the hike gets underway. I think as long as one truly wants to do the hike and they are supported, then the feelings of homesickness, etc...will be minimized and then one could just check in from time to time to assure that everyone back at home is safe and sound and to let them know that you are too. .
finally, a good post:sun

HiKen2011
01-02-2011, 23:44
finally, a good post:sun

You had the opportunity.:-?:)

Spirit Walker
01-03-2011, 01:19
Focus on why you're out there, not what you're leaving behind.

When I have doubts about staying on the trail, I try to remember why I'm hiking. I think of all the places I haven't seen yet, the places I've spent months or years looking forward to hiking. On some of my hikes, I watched slideshows that inspired me and made me want to see in person the beauty of those places. So I don't focus on the rain or the pain or the hunger, I focus on seeing the Whites, or Maine, or Washington, or the Winds.

Iceaxe
01-03-2011, 01:38
I like what Spirit Walker wrote.
Before my thru's I read a lot of books, some hiking related.. some not.
Most of all I tried to define what i wanted from my hike.
That is not to say I set limits. In fact I had only a vague notion of what lay ahead for me. (In fact I really did not believe Wyoming existed until I "found" it).
I just tried to set a ground work for my adventure. In other words, what at a minimum did I aim to accomplish.
Then I told myself, "Take it one day at a time".
For me it was a continuous line of steps from Mexico to Canada generally along the PCT or CDT.
The most useful preparation I did was to have a light heart. It is easy to be daunted by the achievements of others or the physical or temporal scale of the journey ahead.
It really helped to have my own goal. Sure a lot of others came before me and perhaps hiked faster or slower than I will.. just allow yourself the luxury of your own pace.
Make it your own journey from the first step.
Realize that in some ways you are already on the trail long before you have set foot upon it.

BrianLe
01-03-2011, 02:30
I think it's worth recognizing that everyone is different here. I recall as a teenager spending some weeks at a relatives house far from home, and another relative roughly my age was very very homesick, whereas it hadn't even occurred to me to be so.

It's pretty much the same for me today, just the way I'm mentally wrapped: I'm pretty much mentally whereever I am physically, and while I love my wife and family I just don't spend a ton of time thinking about and missing them when I'm away.

My point here is that what works well for one person might not work for another, and might be just unnecessary to begin with for a third person.

I certainly do, however, agree with whoever said that you want to be on good terms and supportive of each other, that's an important factor. If I was going off with my wife unhappy at me going, I'm sure that would cast a mental pall over the whole deal.

Dogwood
01-03-2011, 03:23
Whats the best way to mentally prepare missing family and friends, comforts of home, any food you want when you want, dealing with cold, heat, rain, snow, being uncomfortable? What do you guys do?

As Mag's friend told him, "embrace the brutality." LOL. I always wanted to say that.

Actually, I'm so jaded and comfortable being uncomfortable, by societal norms, that I rather would be thru-hiking experiencing all those things you say will make you uncomfortable. I don't miss those things back home a GREAT deal anymore. I miss thru-hiking more. Like I said I would rather be in the wilderness thru-hiking and/or traveling.

Something else I've realized is that the more I entertain thoughts of how much I miss things the more I miss those things. Don't dwell/focus on how much you miss these things! Control what you think about! Catch yourself! Be aware of your thoughts and where they lead! It helps for me to keep my thoughts in the moment doing what I'm doing rather than worry about missing things. Being in "the moment" appreciating what I'm doing, where I am, and what I'm experiencing is a better place for me to be than being overly concerned/obssessively dwelling upon about what I'm missing elsewhere. Realize, even during a thru-hike, no matter how seemingly uncomfortable things become, they don't last forever!

I prepare for long distance hiking the best I know how, but accept, and am comfortable with the thought, and act accordingly, that I need to be adaptable to spontaneous unforseen situations and events. IMO, this is one of the wonderful things about long distance hiking. You can't prepare for every contingency. You can't control everything. You don't know everything that is going to occur! These thoughts scare the crap out of some people though. I've learned to embrace the unknown!

10-K
01-03-2011, 07:10
very selfish attitude. you mean no other problems a home could send you back? and when is going home quitting? (you also need a dictionary:))

and as far as things being the same when you get home. don't count on it! :rolleyes:


The question was about being uncomfortable on the trail and missing people at home. What I meant was that I wouldn't quit for either of these reasons, no matter what, as long as I was physically able to hike.

You were suggesting that if he got homesick to just go home if he wasn't having fun - I *kind of* disagree with that in that you might be able to get through it if you don't quit.

Anyway, for the record, there are an infinite amount of things that could get me to terminate my hike early:

1. Death or injury to my spouse
2. Death or injury to one of my children
3. House burn down
4. Tornado blows away my house
5. Hurricane washes my other house away.
6. I could go on all day but I think you get the point.

Edited to add: I'm only speaking for, and am an expert on, myself - I'm not saying everyone has or should have my attitude about things. If someone gets homesick or gets tired of trail life and goes home it's not my business to label their hike as a success or failure.

mweinstone
01-03-2011, 08:24
wake before sunrise and eat breakfast. turn off the heat. loose weight. stop drinking. start washing clothes by hand. only eat when your stomach is groweling.

4shot
01-03-2011, 09:55
As Mag's friend told him, "embrace the brutality."

that's funny. To the OP, being homesick for family is just another obstacle (and perhaps one of the biggest ones depending on your life circumstances)to be dealt with. A former thru-hiker told me to expect it to be worse for a couple of days just after seeing my wife when she visited (3 times along the way). And it was, so be aware of that.
I think the strong desire to BE home prevented me from connecting to the trail in a way that some others did, especially the younger, single people. But on the other hand, it was a goal that motivated me...I told myself that Katadin was the "gateway" to home. I think the only time I seriously gave consideration to quitting (maybe in Mass.?) my wife reminded me that I had talked about a thru-hike for the 30+ years she has known me and the decision to get off the trail would stay with me for a long time (forever?) vs. just getting up and doing the last 500-600 miles and she was absolutely right (as she most always is of course;)).

In the end, just being aware that that you will feel homesick at times for your family is about all you can do in terms of preparation. Whether those feelings are strong enough to get you off the trail is your personal decision and nobody can make it for you. I am assuming you have the full support of your wife and daughter to undertake a thru- hike. Good luck and best wishes.

DLANOIE
01-03-2011, 12:00
Having positive support from loved one(s) at home can help as stated in a few other previous posts. I can see how leaving on "unsettled" terms, for lack of a better word, could be detrimental to your mindset/mentality while hiking. Also I thruhiked in 2006 SOBO. I met up with my wife at just about all the major road crossings throughout Maine. We live very close to the trail. I found it very hard to say goodbye each time. Ofcourse after a few hours of walking I was right back in the groove. However, the next time I thruhike the AT(if ever) it will be NOBO so as to avoid this. It was pretty hard for my wife that first month but I could not have done it without her support.

By the way.......my oldest son was concieved at Shaws in Monson while my wife was visiting me. Coming out of the 100 mile wilderness it had been 10 days since we saw each other. I spent three days there waiting for the water levels to go down as they were 4 feet above normal levels. You can imagine the fun I had fording all those "streams"!:eek: