View Full Version : Why did/do you want to hike the A. T.?
i'm just a little curious as to why you did hike or want to hike the A.T. (either a thru hike or by sections)?
Old Hiker
01-14-2011, 14:44
Sections right now with my Scout Troop - stretch the boys somewhat after summer camp, let them have an "adventure" on the Trail, give them experience in long distance hiking/camping.
Thru in 2012 - not quite sure why, especially as I (un)gracefully age. :-? Maybe just a personal goal, that is mine alone: conceived by me, planned by me, carried out by me or failed by me.
Did that make sense or is it just all about me? :rolleyes:
Thru this coming March...
One of my friends last year randomly had a copy of "A Walk in the Woods" (yes, THAT book) and I picked it up and read through most of it.
I'm a college graduate taking some time off before law school and have been feeling a bit antsy to get out and have a big adventure. During college, I worked a few summers up in Alaska fishing commercially and since have felt a little stuck in the routine.
I also want to challenge myself and accomplish something great. Learning more about myself is a big bonus as well. Frankly, I have the time and money now, so it's a great time to try.
Bags4266
01-14-2011, 15:44
I started hiking small sections around me (no desire to hike the whole trail), then it dawned on me one day just to do the whole thing but in 300-500 mile sections.
Sickmont
01-14-2011, 15:45
As i get older i'm finding the wanderlust and the need to "get away from it all" growing and growing everyday. I truly believe i'm going to die on top of a mountain while living as a hermit in my old age.
strollingalong
01-14-2011, 16:18
read walk in the woods when i was about 15 and decided i could beat that schmuck....when started to look into it i really fell in love with the idea... going to do it 2012, 14 years after the initial idea
Blissful
01-14-2011, 16:22
I did it because it was there.
I'm still doing it because it's still there.
:)
I don't know why exactly. It seems it would be better than going to the mall or looking at 378 channels of crap on TV.
Hikes in Rain
01-14-2011, 18:06
Had an accident. Took 18 months of rehab to recover. Decided to go on a solo hike starting at Springer to "prove" to myself that I was, well, OK after all that. Discovered somewhat to the dismay of my supportive and loving wife that I actually enjoyed the solitude and self reliance. So I keep on sectioning when time permits.
kolokolo
01-14-2011, 22:35
For years, I made it a point to take a short hike on the AT whenever I was in a state that it passed through. (Yeah, my kids just loved that.)
Now, I'm just trying to connect the dots.
swamp dawg
01-15-2011, 01:21
I read a newspaper account of a person who hiked the AT and it made me want to do a portion of what that hiker did. For twenty years, I kept the dream some where in the back burner of my mind. I did a great deal of camping with my family but the lure of the trail was always there. I found an magazine article , I think it was I hear America sloging or something like that and I was hooked for good. I just had to get out and try this Appalachain Trail that lured so many to attempt its difficult miles. I found a great hikers journal by Waldo J. on the net and his well written account of his journey on the AT. His journal account sealed the deal for me. I bought all the wrong heavy equipment and me and my sixty pound pack headed out, fat,dumb and happy. Sore knees and many good folks helped me learn many valuable lessons quickly and I ain't been normal since ....life is good on the trail. swamp dawg
Northern Lights
01-15-2011, 01:43
Sectioning, starting this fall. Just because I can. Although I told my daughter tonight I am going to take a sabatical(thank goodness I can) and hike. Because I can.
Tenderheart
01-15-2011, 12:02
i'm just a little curious as to why you did hike or want to hike the A.T. (either a thru hike or by sections)?
I have no earthly idea!!!
litefoot 2000
Jim Adams
01-15-2011, 16:03
it's more fun than my job.
geek
Freedom from man-made schedules, expectations, limitations, psychological pressures, and most importantly, a feeling of solitude, quiet, and peace which being in a natural surrounding brings.
It is healthy and healing to hike and to sleep in the woods.
Btw, I'm a section hiker, but every time I go out I wish I could be out longer (I'm beginning to realize how so many thruhikers can become "trail bums" or "trail angels", and never seem to lose their "love of the Trail" which, really means "love of Trail community"). We become like long-lost relatives, or the relative we never knew we had.
maybe clem
01-15-2011, 16:14
I like being outdoors. I like walking. I like a challenge.
Had to. It's just sitting there laughing at me. Saying "YOU can't hike me! YOU aint got what it takes!" Oh Yeah? Watch me go, big daddy!!!!! Try and keep up son. Cuz i've got promises to keep ...and miles to go before I sleep.
just think it will be a fantistic way to see America... and the challenge will be amazing hope to be doing 600 miles in 2012
just think it will be a fantistic way to see America... and the challenge will be amazing hope to be doing 600 miles in 2012
Careful! You might get a skewed impression of how NICE Americans are.;)
hikerboy57
01-15-2011, 18:35
I love the smell of spruce in the morning- smells like....victory!!
Because u get to see so many different sights, so many great people, and eat anything and everything u want
I am sick of school and want a break.
I've always wanted to live in the woods...I really love them. So majestic and peaceful
I want to walk. If I don't thru, I will probably spend a lot of time sitting around
A break from the routine and the fast pace of life
Practice living simply
I have a lot to learn about myself and people
Adventure and the challenge
thanks for sharing your reasons.
seems to me that most just want to slow down and get away from it all, although a number of you are looking for adventure.
i would tell you my reasons but i don't know what they are yet. it'll probably take some time on the trail before i know.
thanks again
I've always wanted to hike the PCT since I was 10. The reason I finally did was I just really wanted to go for a walk outside in the sunshine with no multitasking and no interruptions, no talking, just peace and quiet.
About 5mos ago the idea of hitting age 50 struck me hard. Then I happened to watch Appalachian Impressions on PBS and thought that this may be exactly what I need. A cleansing of mind, body and soul. I believe by age 50 we've bottled up and surpressed so much over the course of our lives. We get our education, raise families and work and run a household and sooner or later it builds to a critical mass. I remember growing up camping with my brothers and father and thinking I wanted to work in forestry. I totally forgot that until recently. So now I read and exercise to prepare myself for an adventure few except you all can believe. I know I will be cold, wet, tired, homesick, afraid and possibly hurt but I'll also be amazed and elated daily. how cool is it to push through these challenges and grow healthier, mentally, physically and spiritually? Why go? Why not!
I'm a very small section hiker currently, though there's a thru-hike planned for as soon as my life allows it (no chance while attending school full time).
I love being outside and the feeling of being completely independent. I also love the idea of carrying everything you own on your back for a little while. Though I have not yet experienced it, there is something beautiful to be said about living your life for 5 months+ where the only thing you really need to worry about is putting one foot in front of the other.
I did it because it was there.
I'm still doing it because it's still there.
:)
I'm doing it in part because I don't know how long I'll be here :)
Special-K
01-16-2011, 22:36
My reason is that, I dont need a job, or a huge house, or a fancy car to be happy. i just need broken in boots a backpack and a bunch of awsome people to meet and hike with.
I did it because it was there.
I'm still doing it because it's still there.
:)
I'm still doing it because I'm still here. ;)
My reason is that, I dont need a job, or a huge house, or a fancy car to be happy. i just need broken in boots a backpack and a bunch of awsome people to meet and hike with.And unlike the job, huge house, or fancy car the boots and backpack can, if needed, be replaced a whole lot easier:D
Because the world is to beautiful and life is to short!
Collinofstrength
01-17-2011, 15:10
Freedom from man-made schedules, expectations, limitations, psychological pressures, and most importantly, a feeling of solitude, quiet, and peace which being in a natural surrounding brings.
It is healthy and healing to hike and to sleep in the woods.
Btw, I'm a section hiker, but every time I go out I wish I could be out longer (I'm beginning to realize how so many thruhikers can become "trail bums" or "trail angels", and never seem to lose their "love of the Trail" which, really means "love of Trail community"). We become like long-lost relatives, or the relative we never knew we had.
This is what I am talking about!!
fredmugs
01-18-2011, 08:41
I have found that trying to section hike the AT is a great challenge that keeps me in shape. I tend to gain a lot of weight if I just sit around so I train for hiking and then I go out and hike.
Plus getting the hell out of Indiana for any period of time is a good thing.
I am almost 34 years old and I have never spent 24 hours alone in my life. I grew up with 4 sisters and 2 brothers and now I have a husband, 3 kids, and 2 dogs.
I need something just for me. I need time and space to be quiet and disconnect from technology and just be with me.
I love my husband like crazy, but we are going to want to do different things. That's wonderful. I like that we will be taking a few separate trips and and even more together trips. He is a musician and needs time to write and play and go off to Boston for a few weeks for workshops and stuff. I am going to hike and travel to places he would never want to go to.
I have been looking for places that I go alone and I came across the AT in a magazine. I immediately got online and started reading and looking at pictures and I just saw myself out there.
My reason was simple...I've read about the AT most of my life, became intrigued by it and always asked myself "could I do that?". The idea of a thru hike was more appealing to me than doing it in sections although that's a matter of personal preference.I think if the completion rate was 80% or better I wouldn't have been as interested in finding out. This question stayed with me for a very long time so I decided there was only one way to find out. Now I know and I have mixed emotions in some ways - I have never had anything else as my white whale so to speak. Don't have the same drive for the other trails as I did the AT.
rookiehiker
01-18-2011, 13:45
As someone who has just started to hike in the last year, I view the trail as the "superbowl" of hiking. I will only be able to do sections, but nevertheless, enjoy all that it has to offer from the enjoyment of nature to meeting people along the way.
I enjoy living out of a backpack, walking in the woods, no distractions. For my mind and my body I always hike out of the woods feeling so good and longing for the next trip. My intention was to thru hike in 2010 but decided to section hike and finally get the divorce in order after being separated for years. My daughter and I like to hike together so her school schedule dictates when we can plan trips. I've met the most amazing people out there......never fails there is always some connection, too. Small world. The beauty out there is priceless. I will continue to section but maybe thru hike one day.
chiefdaddy
01-18-2011, 14:00
I like the lifestyle and enjoy backpacking... even if it does hurt a little :)
Thru hiking also makes me feel "free" of the "real" world.
Last year While doing the PCT I told myself I would double triple crown!
Even my good friend The General had talked his wife into letting him hike the AT again before he passed. We are a lot alike The General and I, we both love the lifestyle!
Chiefdaddy
runnergirl
01-18-2011, 14:43
My parents took my brothers and me camping and hiking from the time I was young. When I was in second grade, we spent the night on Mt. Leconte is the Smokies. I was convinved I would one day hike the A.T. (but nobody believed me). Two years ago, after spending a summer in a tent working for a white water rafting company in West Virginia, I decided that I did indeed want to pursue this dream. If I don't go on an adventure now, when will I? So, for the last two years, I have been trying to see how this dream could become a reality. I am graduating in April, and my older brother has decided that he wants to complete the hike with me. We are doing it for the challenge. We are doing it for the experience. We are doing it to see if we really can. And I can't wait!
I could say it's because I am a nature lover. I could say its because I need something to achieve, something to stroke my ego while getting in the best shape of my life. Heck, I could say because "why not"? Above all though, I figure I want to walk the AT because it is there.
Ever since I was a kid I've loved to look at maps, always eager to dig into to the latest Rand-McNally Road Atlas. Even at a young age, that snaking red dashed line starting in Georgia and ending in Maine has intrigued me. Countless times I've fingered through each state, looking at where that line takes me. Next year, I hope to replace the virtual walk across paper with the real thing.
I am almost 34 years old and I have never spent 24 hours alone in my life. I grew up with 4 sisters and 2 brothers and now I have a husband, 3 kids, and 2 dogs.
I need something just for me. I need time and space to be quiet and disconnect from technology and just be with me.
I love my husband like crazy, but we are going to want to do different things.
hpark, I did the PCT solo without my "husband". (Common law, I suppose he is by now.) It was a wonderful experience. He was very supportive. All those things you listed, the disconnect from technology, the time alone, it's really wonderful. I think you are going to really enjoy it.