Going SOBO next year! Poll Question

[ParkRat09]

I am starting in ME and hiking home (I live 2.5 hours from Springer). Wondering how many people started their thru-hike alone vs with someone else...would you have done it differently than you did?

[Lone Wolf]

start alone. you'll meet folks along the way.

[moldy]

I say 80 or 90 % go alone. Of those who thru hike with someone it's almost always a couple married or almost married.

[wornoutboots]

Start alone!! you'll have 100% freedom to do all you want & don't want to do. You will always meet folks along the way

[ParkRat09]

It seems like I will be starting alone, just didn't know if people liked sharing the beginning of a journey like that with someone else

[Marta]

I was contacted by someone on WB who asked to start with me. I agreed. Big mistake. She failed to make it even all the way up Katahdin. Lots of drama. A real PITA. Fortunately I was smart enough not to have been sucked into any sort of real partnership--I had all my own gear, etc.--so I went on without her. But I didn't need the extra stress of dealing with her fears and craziness. Seriously...unless you are going with someone you know well and have hiked compatibly with before, don't try to find a hiking partner. There will be other people out there. you need to be able to hike YOUR own hike.

[Marta]

My husband did the first and last days of my hike with me. And a slack pack day in TN. That was great. And unless you start unusually early or late, there will be other SOBOs around sometimes. And lots of NOBOs nearing the end of their hikes.

[spittinpigeon]

I hiked SOBO the same year as Marta (Hey Marta, Beater here), and I have to concur, go alone. I rode up to Baxter with two other hikers I met on here, one took off ahead of us, never saw him after halfway through the 100 mile wilderness (Tomato). The other (Coppertop) and I hiked a lot together, and a lot apart, at our own pace. Eventually, in the mid-atlantic, about seven of us packed together and hiked for hundreds of miles together, or a day or two apart.

[Marta]

Hiya, Beater! Hope you're doing well!

In pursuit of better hiking (and skiing), I've moved to Montana.

As he says, you meet people along the way whose pace and hiking style suit yours. SOBOs are more likely to have a lot more alone time than NOBOs, but it's part of what makes us special. ;-)

[Pedaling Fool]

I've seen near life-long friendships ruined on the trail, especially since they were sharing gear. Go alone, but if you go with someone, each of you carry your own gear. And if tensions start getting high, agree to separate for a while before things get to the point of no return.

[wookinpanub]

I started southbound solo very early and hiked by myself the whole time. There were days I wished that I had company and days I was glad I didn't.
Due to the changes that ocurred in me during my thru, I wouldn't change a thing.