That is why I hike:

[Kookork]

I was struggling this summer in a 550 miles thru hike here in Canada with my dog thinking about whether or not I have enough willpower to push to the end. It was day 29 and in my case it meant 29 days of almost solitude of me and my dog.

I was carrying 55 pounds of load( dont look at me like that, I am not stupid,it happens when your only suitable backpack weighs 8 pounds only).

That particular morning I lost my dog in the forest for about an hour. A cute 4 years old sheltie. He was not just a dog. He was my dog. The dog. One that I had done Everything in my power for him in last 4 years.Aside from living with my dog, I am an extreme loner.

I was in hell for an hour. Then I found him. Behind a fence that was not passable for him and I did not notice. Actually he found out a way to pass the fence but since I was gone for a while he decided to stay beside the fence for me to come and find him.

I just hugged him and cried for a long time. He was just happy to find me again and he was safe and sound but I still could not stop crying. <O:p></O:p>
When I settled down and started hiking the trail again nothing in this world seemed difficult to me anymore. Nothing.
Finishing the remaining half of the trail was like a piece of cake after that. I started to push harder and harder and never looked backed again. Two weeks later, I was taking the last photo in northern Terminus.
Sometimes the reason that changes your whole attitude about the thru-hiking is that simple and trivial.
<O:p</O:p
What pushed me the first 29 days? It is very simple. In my fragile moments when I am thinking about quitting, I ask a simple question and here is the question:
<O:p</O:p
Which one is more painful for me?, pushing a few more weeks to finish and enjoy the sense of accomplishment afterward or quitting and blaming myself for the rest of my life. Honestly I am so good in blaming and beating myself up in cases of failure that I prefer to go thru hell and not quit and give a chance to my subconscious and conscious to blame me for the rest of my life which is most probably not a short one. Hikers normally live long.
<O:p</O:p
I am so scared of being punished by my own conscious for quitting that I am going to test my willpower thru-hiking the AT. <O:p></O:p>

Before accomplishing a thru hiking of AT and many other major trails nobody in the world can guess accurately how determined you are to finish the trail But I believe many of the hikers know the real answer to this question even before starting the first steps. Some quit before start but they need time to come to this bitter reality. I need to know how long and how far I can push myself. Anything before that is just assumption. That is why I hike.

Good Hike

[FatMan]

Everyone hikes for different reasons. I hike for the enjoyment of being outdoors and away from the stresses of real life. I have no problem signing off as soon as the enjoyment is gone. Looks like you have made hiking a job. I would suggest you lighten up a bit. You might find it to be more enjoyable.

[orions_knight]

whats that saying? HYOH. thers another one too. "to each their own". i say good on ya. and i empathize with you losing your dog. for us dog lovers, nothing is more unbearable than losing them, no matter how it happened.

[orions_knight]

after rereading i realize i sounded like a jackass. no offense meant FM.

[hikerboy57]

everyone hikes for their own reasons.Thru hiking the AT has been a life goal for me since I first stepped foot on it in '76. since then, I got married, had kids, so I had to postpone the dream for "sometime down the road". Ive been sectioning the trail in the interim, and have covered most of the trail between DWG and K, and have spent many augusts in the Whites and western ME. Ive met great people along the way, had great times, but now that my kids are grown,Im divorced and have nothing else to hold me back, finishing is no longer as important to me as I once felt.Im taking 3 months off work to section from springer to DWG, and Ill make a decision at that point as to whether Ill continue and finish in one year, or go back to finsih the northern half the following year instead. For me, its the journey, not the destination.

[-SEEKER-]

So glad your dog was found safe and sound. I had to have my 13 1/2 year old dog put down this year the very day before I started my hike. She meant the world to me. She was constantly at my side and when I worked she went to work with me too. I cry every day. My husband needs my help at work during certain times of the year, fall and winter mostly. Now that I am starting to go into work (small family retail store) our regular customers keep coming in and asking where the dog is. Just Saturday I had to run down to the basement so I could cry. It's good to know that someone else feels as strongly about their dog as I did, I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me. BTW, I am also very much a loner and that may play a large part in the attachment and the reason I hike too.

[Del Q]

Press on.

Tough it out, you will be happy in the future, the pain goes away soon after the trip is over

[sbhikes]

I'm not a dog person, I am a parrot person. I have felt the same way about my birds. I wish they could come hiking with me, but they are not robust enough for that.

[-SEEKER-]

sbhikes,
It would be so cool to see someone come hiking up the trail with a Parrot on their shoulder! Obviously it wouldn't work for the poor bird for several reasons though.

[Kookork]

I always follow the moto of "Its all about journey not destination "but when I got to the trail I totally forgot it and focused mostly on daily progress. It is a mistake since I couldn't enjoy as much as possible.

There is an undeniable joy in finishing ,I know that but in reality we should not miss the daily joy of hiking just because we are mentally more focused on finishing. There is a good reason for that, I watche a youtube video of two hikers who tried to hike PCT in 2008 i Think>. One finished and te other bailed out due to leg injury and cold weather just 60 miles short of the end. If you look at the comments of the video ,there is not a single soul who think the fellow hiker hiked the PCT just because of 60 miles. In my dictionary he finished it.

[Kookork]

I am so sorry about your dog. He certainly had a great life with you and the great moments are all we can carry.ust maybe it is time to think about bringing the next one into your life. It is very difficult to think about it but , it sometimes seems like betrayal but it will change your mood when you start wit a new puppy.