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sbhikes
02-07-2011, 21:14
I have followed a few journals of PCT hikers and some of them have been former AT hikers. Sometimes these folks leave the trail because it's not what they expected. They don't like the weather or the desert or whatever. I don't know if it's the other way around on the AT, if there are former PCT hikers who leave the trail, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were. So what I wonder is, how come it seems nobody leaves the PCT and just goes and jumps on the AT or vice-versa? I mean, you have 5 or 6 months carved out of your life for a thru-hike, if you aren't liking this one trail, why not just go hop on the other trail?

Has anyone done anything like that?

Red Hat
02-07-2011, 21:18
Mother Goose did last year. The snow was so bad on the PCT that she hopped over to the AT and headed southbound. I saw her just south of Mt Greylock.

mweinstone
02-07-2011, 21:21
in all my quits of AT thru atempts, each time i was forced to return to the PCT.
"THE PHILADELPHIA CRAP TRAIL"
funny you should stab,sorry, ask.

Roland
02-07-2011, 21:33
I don't have any experience with this, Diane, but it won't keep me from adding my two cents. :D

I'm guessing there is more to their decision for leaving the trail. Saying that the new trail doesn't live up to their previous experience seems like a bit of an out to me. After all, they have to rationalize their decision to quit somehow. And saying the trail is a disappointment may be easier than trying to explain the true reason, which may be complex.

Heart not in it. Distracted by personal issues at home. Financial constraints. All of these things may contribute.

mweinstone
02-07-2011, 21:57
i always thaught everyone quits for the reason i allways do. circumstances back home. im not sure if hateing your hike is a very common reason or not but i hope its not. i thaught most of those quit imediatly.and so dont matter. like the time i quit at neel gap. but again, it was cause i missed max who was 2 and i didnt wanna miss his diper stage.i cryed and split. that was when i was 29.my second attempt.

Ender
02-07-2011, 23:42
When I left the PCT it was due to injury. I would have gladly stayed on the trail had I been able.

For people who leave because they aren't enjoying it, my guess would be that it's the hiking they are sick of, not the individual trail. Going to the AT wouldn't change that.

Jim Adams
02-07-2011, 23:53
I quit the PCT at Yosemite and went home. Several reasons.
Altitude sickness stopped me from eating and I lost strength.
I HATED the speed and distances that you had to hike to stay on a schedule to finish in one season.
The desert really burned me out...day 1 was so cool...day two was like "I saw that _______ (enter plant, cactus, bird, animal, snake, etc.) on the Discovery Channel, that is soooo cool"...day three" OK, where's the freak'in mountains".
Absolutely beautiful places with no one around to share it with.
Pack too heavy with water required.
Way more expensive than the AT.

How can you explain a trail that was the most beautiful that I had ever seen and still disliked it? I thought that the heat in the desert would be my downfall as I can't take alot of heat but it wasn't really the problem. I still want to go back and see Oregon and Washington but I have no desire to hike anywhere in California again....but I will thru the AT every chance that I get. PCT was just not my cup of tea.

gek

TheChop
02-08-2011, 01:17
I read a lot of trail journals of failed hikers. I felt it was probably more beneficial than reading people who made it all the way to Maine.

What I learned was there are really two reasons to quit. The first one is you get hurt. The second one is you just don't want to do it anymore. Now the second one manifests itself in all sorts of ways and is hardly ever stated as such. It's always "I'm tired of the rain. Going home for a week." or "I just learned my distant aunt Sue is in the hospital. Have to go home and help mom." It's normally a gradual process and reading the diaries you see where people just didn't want to be out there but wouldn't come right out and say it.

So if you're sick of walking you're sick of walking. You're not sick of that particular trail. Also there's significant logistics to consider.

SassyWindsor
02-08-2011, 10:10
If you have a lot of money to blow on your hike, it helps. Lot of hikers will bail out blaming a lot of other things without letting it be known they are low or out of money. For a lot of long distant hike attempts the term budget gets introduced.

Helios
02-08-2011, 10:30
I read a lot of trail journals of failed hikers. I felt it was probably more beneficial than reading people who made it all the way to Maine.

What I learned was there are really two reasons to quit. The first one is you get hurt. The second one is you just don't want to do it anymore.

Third: Family problems. My twin committed suicide when I started my thru last year. I tried to go back to the trail a month later, but was still grieving too hard. Still sticking to small sections this year.

sbhikes
02-08-2011, 10:48
I quit the PCT at Yosemite and went home. Several reasons.
Altitude sickness stopped me from eating and I lost strength.
I HATED the speed and distances that you had to hike to stay on a schedule to finish in one season.
The desert really burned me out...day 1 was so cool...day two was like "I saw that _______ (enter plant, cactus, bird, animal, snake, etc.) on the Discovery Channel, that is soooo cool"...day three" OK, where's the freak'in mountains".
Absolutely beautiful places with no one around to share it with.
Pack too heavy with water required.
Way more expensive than the AT.

How can you explain a trail that was the most beautiful that I had ever seen and still disliked it? I thought that the heat in the desert would be my downfall as I can't take alot of heat but it wasn't really the problem. I still want to go back and see Oregon and Washington but I have no desire to hike anywhere in California again....but I will thru the AT every chance that I get. PCT was just not my cup of tea.

gek

I met someone who had this exact sentiment. I think he quit sometime after Kennedy Meadows. He was really angry at his packweight because now he just traded a huge heavy bear canister for all the tons of water and it was still going to be a hot, dry stretch for a long time. He kept saying "this is not like the AT." So what I wonder is, since you were healthy and had the time, why not pop over to the AT and finish up the time you have left? Why did you go home?

Jim Adams
02-08-2011, 10:56
I met someone who had this exact sentiment. I think he quit sometime after Kennedy Meadows. He was really angry at his packweight because now he just traded a huge heavy bear canister for all the tons of water and it was still going to be a hot, dry stretch for a long time. He kept saying "this is not like the AT." So what I wonder is, since you were healthy and had the time, why not pop over to the AT and finish up the time you have left? Why did you go home?

I did run low on money or I would have probably hopped onto the AT...I already had the time off of work. I just don't know how to describe it...I was so pissed off and burned out about not having fun that I just needed a break. I don't know if I would have also quit the AT if I had jumped to there but there was a good chance that I would have. Then again, maybe all of the things that the AT would give me that the PCT was not would have pulled me out of it. I wish I had gone to the AT from the PCT...that's an answer that I really would like to know....good questions!

geek

nufsaid
02-08-2011, 14:55
If you have a lot of money to blow on your hike, it helps. Lot of hikers will bail out blaming a lot of other things without letting it be known they are low or out of money. For a lot of long distant hike attempts the term budget gets introduced.

There are also "lots of hikers" that seem to be willing to depend on the kindness of strangers to let them hike. Unemployment benefits, food stamps and begging have all been mentioned on this site as a way to fund a hike. Luckily, the majority seem to understand that it is their responsibility to save up the necessary funds and then enjoy their hike.