Characteristics of successful thru hikers

[prain4u]

What are some of the characteristics, habits, traits (etc.) of those who successfully complete a thru hike?

This question is inspired by Dogwood who posted the following response on another thread. (I will highlight certain parts):

"So far you have received five pages of answers given the question, "why people quit?" While these answers can provide insight, I believe a MUCH MORE EMPOWERING question would be, "what characterizes those who DO NOT quit?" Personally, making that MY PRIMARY FOCUS is MUCH MORE helpful in acheiving my goals, which in this context is completing my thru-hikes. There will always be an infinite amount of reasons why folks quit. However, there are also reasons why folks DO NOT quit. Either way, realize patterns of behavior(habits) are being created and strengthened."

[DeerPath]

What are some of the characteristics, habits, traits (etc.) of those who successfully complete a thru hike?

This question is inspired by Dogwood who posted the following response on another thread. (I will highlight certain parts):

"So far you have received five pages of answers given the question, "why people quit?" While these answers can provide insight, I believe a MUCH MORE EMPOWERING question would be, "what characterizes those who DO NOT quit?" Personally, making that MY PRIMARY FOCUS is MUCH MORE helpful in acheiving my goals, which in this context is completing my thru-hikes. There will always be an infinite amount of reasons why folks quit. However, there are also reasons why folks DO NOT quit. Either way, realize patterns of behavior(habits) are being created and strengthened."

Determination, physically fit, and financially able.

[Spirit Walker]

Determination is the prime thing, that can get you through a lot of hard days. You have to really want to be out there, either because you love the lifestyle or you want to meet the challenge, to put up with the rain and the pain.

When we were on the CDT in 1999, we started the trail with a friend who was much younger and more fit than we. One day he said, "You have the fire in the belly. I don't. You will probably finish, but I doubt that I will." He was right.

It also helps to really enjoy hiking. It's not a requirement, but since you will spend all day, every day, hiking - it is a lot more fun if it's something you enjoy doing. A friend's wife started the trail with him. She got off after 300 miles because she never did learn to enjoy the hiking. She liked the lifestyle and the people, but getting up every morning and starting another day of trudging up and down mountains just got to her. I have been a weekly hiker for 28 years. I love being outdoors and spending weeks or months totally immersed in nature. I love the feeling of hiking in the woods and up and down mountains. So, long hikes are a joy for me. OTOH, I've had friends whose only hikes were their long hikes, because they didn't really enjoy the walking, they just like the lifestyle and the challenge of completing a thruhike. YMMV

[wcgornto]

I see many people declare that this is the year of their thru hike attempt. I believe that word "attempt" plays a role in some percentage of the non-finishers. I believe if more people set out to thru hike the AT rather than setting out to attempt to thru hike the AT, the completion percentages would be higher. I believe that word "attempt" has a greater psychological impact than many realize.

[MuddyWaters]

I dont think a significant portion, or possibly the majority even, of people "attempting" really want to thru hike the trail.
They just want to go do something exciting for a change.

They are too poorly prepared, and give up too easily and quickly for there to be any other answer.

[prain4u]

A think another characteristic of successful thru hikers is "A LACK OF ENTANGLEMENTS". Allow me to expand upon that......

There are financial entanglements: A desire (or need) to hold onto a certain job. Large bills that must be paid. A need to keep health insurance in place. Alimony or child support payments. A mortgage.

There are relationship entanglements: A dependent child, a significant other that you want to be near (or who does not want you to be gone), parents who are ill or aged, parents who do not want you to hike (and you don't have the courage to make mommy or daddy angry).

There are cultural and lifestyle entanglements: A desire to sleep in a comfy bed, to shower daily, have frequent access to a TV or a computer, go to certain sporting events or activities, "I really don't want to miss attending (fill in the blank) while I am gone hiking". You feel committed to living a certain kind of lifestyle (and hiking is not part of that persona). You are overly concerned with what your peers, friends, co-workers or the neighbors think about you "abandoning" everything and going hiking for six months (you wish to stay in the good graces of these people and you don't want to be pushed out of the group).

Educational Entanglements: "I cannot start my hike until after graduation on May 22nd." or "I need to be back to college by August 16th".

Legal Entanglements or legal issues: They are on parole/probation. They are in the midst of a divorce or in the middle of a will/probate case. They have a visa which will expire soon (or they other immigration or border issues). They can't afford to pay for a thru hike until a financial settlement is reached (after a car accident, injury at work etc).

Medical entanglements: Recovering from a surgery or injury. They have a need for certain medications or medical treatments that they cannot access on the trail. They are not healthy enough for a thru hike right now.


A successful thru hiker has to pretty much be FREE FROM ENTANGLEMENTS or have a solid plan in place regarding how they will address such entanglements while on the trail.

[Monkeywrench]

You need a certain amount of stubbornness: I started this thing, so now I'm going to finish it.

No matter how much you love hiking, there are likely to be times when you are just fed up with it. Examples from my own thru-hike:

- As I got closer and closer to Harpers Ferry y excitement built as I approached the "spiritual half-way point." I was almost giddy on the beautiful morning I walked into Harpers Ferry. Then I left there and took a few days to reach the actual half-way point up in Pennsylvania, it rained a bunch, and I started to realize that I was only half way and had to do all this walking all over again. How depressing.

- As I got into New England I started to have problems with my knees. The hiking got harder and harder for me. I went through the Presidentials in New Hampshire in glorious weather -- the day I summited Washington it was in the 70's, sunny, with a light breeze. I hated every second of it. My body just hurt too much.

- I went home for 5 days, got back on the trail, and my knees just hurt too much to continue. I went back home dejected, having decided my hike was over. After another week or 10 days at home I decided I had to give it one more try. I got back on the trail and made my way slowly northward. I modified my hike and slack-packed as much of southern Maine as I could. It was a compromise, but I finished my thru-hike.

There are those that say when it stops being fun you should go home. Maybe they're right. But for me, if I hadn't finished it would have spoiled all the good memories I have from my hike. Sure I wish the end of my hike hadn't been so difficult, but I did finish and I feel a strong sense of accomplishment from that. I feel like I earned all the wonderful memories I have. Now I dream of the PCT in 2019...

[Monkeywrench]

You need a certain amount of stubbornness: I started this thing, so now I'm going to finish it.

No matter how much you love hiking, there are likely to be times when you are just fed up with it. Examples from my own thru-hike:

- As I got closer and closer to Harpers Ferry y excitement built as I approached the "spiritual half-way point." I was almost giddy on the beautiful morning I walked into Harpers Ferry. Then I left there and took a few days to reach the actual half-way point up in Pennsylvania, it rained a bunch, and I started to realize that I was only half way and had to do all this walking all over again. How depressing.

- As I got into New England I started to have problems with my knees. The hiking got harder and harder for me. I went through the Presidentials in New Hampshire in glorious weather -- the day I summited Washington it was in the 70's, sunny, with a light breeze. I hated every second of it. My body just hurt too much.

- I went home for 5 days, got back on the trail, and my knees just hurt too much to continue. I went back home dejected, having decided my hike was over. After another week or 10 days at home I decided I had to give it one more try. I got back on the trail and made my way slowly northward. I modified my hike and slack-packed as much of southern Maine as I could. It was a compromise, but I finished my thru-hike.

There are those that say when it stops being fun you should go home. Maybe they're right. But for me, if I hadn't finished it would have spoiled all the good memories I have from my hike. Sure I wish the end of my hike hadn't been so difficult, but I did finish and I feel a strong sense of accomplishment from that. I feel like I earned all the wonderful memories I have. Now I dream of the PCT in 2019...

There was also the day in Pennsylvania when I was so fed up with all the damned rocks that I was ready to chuck my pack off a ledge and go home. I sat down and figured out how long it would take me to get out of Pennsylvania, and that became my goal.

Never quit on a bad day!

[Papa D]

Here is my top 5 list:

Time (time in one's life to make it fit in - usually between school (high school and college or college and grad school or college and job or after retirement)
Money (the budget isn't so expensive - where else can you live for 5 months on about $4000 - in this country? but you have to have that put away in advance - plus your front-country life "managed")
Support (support of your family and friends is best - - people "running away" from family and friends often get lonely and return when the going gets tough)
Physical Fitness (hiking the AT is much more of a physical endeavor than people think - those in good shape have a much easier time of it)
Mental Fitness (this includes backcountry know-how but also characteristics such as perseverance and general ingenuity and knowing how to manage problems that arise)

[brian039]

I knew people who hated virtually every minute of it and still made it. There are all different types who make it, I see myself as a goal-oriented person. For me, the mistake would have been looking at Maine as the goal so I made all of my goals short-term. I only thought about making it to Neel Gap, and from there the next goal was Dick's Creek Gap and so on. You just have to find something that works for you and you'll have bad days but it always works out if you let it.

[SawnieRobertson]

To use the word "attempt" does not at all mean that one has less resolve. It is to admit that there is a possibility that the odds will somehow get you. It is an admission that though strong and determined, one will have battles within occationally along the trail. To say that one will do a "thru" rather than a "thru attempt" is just a matter of semantics with a little humility blended in. Yeah, with God's help, I will do a thru this year. And I hope to enjoy it.

[aficion]

Successful thru hikers generally are of the hardheaded sort. It also helps if you habitually eschew obfuscation, work hard, and embrace reality. Many sport a refined sense of humor and a big heart. Most find things to appreciate in every circumstance. Mainly though, they are pig headed.

[Dogwood]

My comments are going to offend some folks. My comments may not be embraced by everyone. If you wish to float through life, be mediocre, sit on the sidelines, not expand the boundaries, or not acheive the supposedly impossible this message is not for you.

I believe there are threads in common among those who acheive, who perservere, who survive, who reach their goals, who complete their missions, and who DO NOT quit! I believe success leaves clues. When we choose to focus on these common threads and incorporate them into our individual lives, when we have decided to allign ourselves with these common threads, whether it be in beliefs, thoughts, words, behavior, or other attributes, we put ourselves in the best possible place to acheive our goals. Be willing to count the costs. Notice what's working, and what is not, to move ourselves closer to who we choose to be. So MANY PEOPLE want things, whether these things be tangible or not, but will not do what it takes to put themselves in the BEST possible place to attain them.

Here's the great news! Even if we've failed miserably repeatedly through our lives up to now, we've developed the habit of being a quitter, and of being our own worst enemy, we can start developing new more empowering ways of believing, thinking, and behaving TODAY, IF we so choose! Emulate success! Study success! Make success, however you define it, your primary focus! Accordingly, successful results will occur. Positive desired outcomes are the result of positive actions! Negative undesired outcomes are the result of poor negative actions! Although it may be stated in different ways, don't be fooled - we reap what we sow!

[SawnieRobertson]

Successful thru hikers generally are of the hardheaded sort. It also helps if you habitually eschew obfuscation, work hard, and embrace reality. Many sport a refined sense of humor and a big heart. Most find things to appreciate in every circumstance. Mainly though, they are pig headed. Oink! Oink! Wee, wee--all the way home. So much for being "pid hgeaded." Being a Taurus though, that can surely help one plow through a lot of misery (not that there is any of that b'twixt Georgia and Maine

[SawnieRobertson]

Wow! Dogwood. That was good. Please leave such helpful words on our trail journal message boards. Would you mind our copying you into some of the trail registers? Like I said, that was good.

[RodentWhisperer]

I suspect that those who go long distances really like hiking-- that is, they enjoy walking through the wilderness, in and of itself, simply for the sheer thrill of seeing what's out there. On that line of reasoning, Thru-hiking the AT means 6 months of constant entertainment.

[4shot]

Thru-hiking the AT means 6 months of constant entertainment.

this is precisely why people don't finish - they are looking for 5-6 months of 'constant entertainment'.

Here is the Cliff notes version: assuming (a big assumption) one did the proper preparation in regards to finances, relationships, etc., completing the trail comes down to these 2 things:

a) the hiker enjoyed his or her self for the duration and was lucky to avoid a serious injury/illness/or emergency back home.

b) the hiker was unaware of what the had signed up for but persevered out of desire to accomplish a goal and had the same amount of luck as the hiker in scenario a.

everything else is extra verbage.

[HikerMom58]

My comments are going to offend some folks. My comments may not be embraced by everyone. If you wish to float through life, be mediocre, sit on the sidelines, not expand the boundaries, or not acheive the supposedly impossible this message is not for you.

I believe there are threads in common among those who acheive, who perservere, who survive, who reach their goals, who complete their missions, and who DO NOT quit! I believe success leaves clues. When we choose to focus on these common threads and incorporate them into our individual lives, when we have decided to allign ourselves with these common threads, whether it be in beliefs, thoughts, words, behavior, or other attributes, we put ourselves in the best possible place to acheive our goals. Be willing to count the costs. Notice what's working, and what is not, to move ourselves closer to who we choose to be. So MANY PEOPLE want things, whether these things be tangible or not, but will not do what it takes to put themselves in the BEST possible place to attain them.

Here's the great news! Even if we've failed miserably repeatedly through our lives up to now, we've developed the habit of being a quitter, and of being our own worst enemy, we can start developing new more empowering ways of believing, thinking, and behaving TODAY, IF we so choose! Emulate success! Study success! Make success, however you define it, your primary focus! Accordingly, successful results will occur. Positive desired outcomes are the result of positive actions! Negative undesired outcomes are the result of poor negative actions! Although it may be stated in different ways, don't be fooled - we reap what we sow!

I LOVE THIS COMMENT!! Agree with every word of it! :)

[fiddlehead]

Just like most things in life: You gotta love it.
If not, go something else. Something you really love.

All good things take a lot of determination, work and planning.
"It's more head than heal"

[Papa D]

My comments are going to offend some folks. My comments may not be embraced by everyone. If you wish to float through life, be mediocre, sit on the sidelines, not expand the boundaries, or not acheive the supposedly impossible this message is not for you.

I believe there are threads in common among those who acheive, who perservere, who survive, who reach their goals, who complete their missions, and who DO NOT quit! I believe success leaves clues. When we choose to focus on these common threads and incorporate them into our individual lives, when we have decided to allign ourselves with these common threads, whether it be in beliefs, thoughts, words, behavior, or other attributes, we put ourselves in the best possible place to acheive our goals. Be willing to count the costs. Notice what's working, and what is not, to move ourselves closer to who we choose to be. So MANY PEOPLE want things, whether these things be tangible or not, but will not do what it takes to put themselves in the BEST possible place to attain them.

Here's the great news! Even if we've failed miserably repeatedly through our lives up to now, we've developed the habit of being a quitter, and of being our own worst enemy, we can start developing new more empowering ways of believing, thinking, and behaving TODAY, IF we so choose! Emulate success! Study success! Make success, however you define it, your primary focus! Accordingly, successful results will occur. Positive desired outcomes are the result of positive actions! Negative undesired outcomes are the result of poor negative actions! Although it may be stated in different ways, don't be fooled - we reap what we sow!

Why would this be offensive? It's a little intense maybe but not offensive. Thanks for the post.

[Aquaman12]

First off I'd like to say that my wife and I started a thru hike last April. We made it to Roan Mt., TN(Trail Days weekend). What a journey we had in that short amount of time. And we met some of the coolest people we know. We had been preparing and researching for almost 2 years before we started our hike. We felt confident that we would make it. We first got off in Fontana Dam and had somewhat called it off. I think it was somewhat of a shock to us(mostly not being away from "home" for that long of a time). After being home for only 2 days, we decided we made a wrong decision, so we came back to Fontana and started again. At that point we realized after spending the money to come home and go back, we werent going to have enough money(or would be cutting it very close) to complete the trail. Prior to our hike we only had 2 overnight trips to prepare. That was all the backpacking we had done. After being out there for almost one and a half months, we learned a lot! At this point in time we are planning to try this again in 2014. We have sold a lot of gear and bought new gear we know will suit our needs(going much lighter too). We are changing the way we are going about the hike. I guess after all of that, Id like to say that ecperience will help you a lot. I know theres more to it than that, but I do feel that you will benefit from a good amount of prior backpacking history. Everyday and Im sure until the day we leave in April 2014, I think about the trail and I would give anything to be out there. And most days Id like to kick my own butt for leaving! That being said we feel there's a reason for everything and hope 2014 goes well for us and cant wait to start the journey all over again.

[joshuasdad]

this is precisely why people don't finish - they are looking for 5-6 months of 'constant entertainment'.

Here is the Cliff notes version: assuming (a big assumption) one did the proper preparation in regards to finances, relationships, etc., completing the trail comes down to these 2 things:

a) the hiker enjoyed his or her self for the duration and was lucky to avoid a serious injury/illness/or emergency back home.

b) the hiker was unaware of what the had signed up for but persevered out of desire to accomplish a goal and had the same amount of luck as the hiker in scenario a.

everything else is extra verbage.

While not a thru, here's my list:

1) Luck

2) Luck

3) Lack of attachments (I liked that thread above)

4) Preparation/conditioning (or, in other words, improving your luck...)

5) Did I mention luck?

One tweaked knee, one fall, etc. and you can be off the trail for too long to finish. Or if bills need to be paid, the significant other gets lonely, someone dies, etc.

I had designs on a one year section hike of the AT, but will have to settle for 2+. Still having fun though.

[hikerboy57]

more than anything it takes a singlemindedness of purpose. if you have the drive to make it happen, you will have the drive to find enough money, to create the circumstances and disentanglements, to do what it takes to finish.
which is why ill probably never thru hike.

[HikerMom58]

While not a thru, here's my list:

1) Luck

2) Luck

3) Lack of attachments (I liked that thread above)

4) Preparation/conditioning (or, in other words, improving your luck...)

5) Did I mention luck?

One tweaked knee, one fall, etc. and you can be off the trail for too long to finish. Or if bills need to be paid, the significant other gets lonely, someone dies, etc.

I had designs on a one year section hike of the AT, but will have to settle for 2+. Still having fun though.

It's good that you are still having fun.. that's the main thing. :)

[cabbagehead]

$, common sense

[DavidNH]

here's what saw me through on my 2006 successful thru hike:

have enough time! too many people rush rush rush to do the trail in 4-5 months. Take six months and enjoy it.
When the scenery is dull or the weather bad.. I just told myself "New England is coming!" That helps because 1) I'm from New England and 2) it's high and away (no contest) the best part of the trail.

Finally, support from home helps. Some one to call.. some one to get packages from.

DavidNH

[Different Socks]

Quitting to go into town after 5 sunny days instead of 5 straight days of rain.

[BrianLe]

This is a pleasing thread to me insofar as I spent a fair bit of time this year thinking about this specific issue --- and so far at least it looks like I didn't miss anything!


"I see many people declare that this is the year of their thru hike attempt. I believe that word "attempt" plays a role in some percentage of the non-finishers. I believe if more people set out to thru hike the AT rather than setting out to attempt to thru hike the AT, the completion percentages would be higher. I believe that word "attempt" has a greater psychological impact than many realize. "

I think there's a sort of balancing act on this one. On the one hand, I absolutely agree that you want to be serious about sticking with it and succeeding, to be able to keep walking so long as you're able to (and yes, aren't hating it so much for days on end that it's foolish to continue). But on the other hand we have perhaps all seen some overly aggressive comments on this site by people trying perhaps to be "confident" but coming across more as ignorant and bragging. I guess my point here is that it's best to be quietly confident, but to not say too many things that you might later regret. On every thru-hike I've known really tough excellent people who weren't able to finish the trail in a single year. I suspect that most "successful" thru-hikers realize that a different toss of the dice could have put them in that category.

[slims]

I see many people declare that this is the year of their thru hike attempt. I believe that word "attempt" plays a role in some percentage of the non-finishers. I believe if more people set out to thru hike the AT rather than setting out to attempt to thru hike the AT, the completion percentages would be higher. I believe that word "attempt" has a greater psychological impact than many realize.
It wasn't like that for me. I set out to attempt it. Said I would go home when it stopped being fun. Lucky for me it never stopped being fun and I made it all the way. For quite a long time when people would ask me if I was thru-hiking I would say, "Yeah that's the plan." Sure I was confident but also realistic at the same time, knowing that the odds were not exactly in my favor. I got a lot more confident as the months went by, reaching new states, completing new milestones and what not.

Confidence helps of course, but being overconfident can be a negative too.

[Datto]

Regarding worry about being injured and about knee problems -- it's just par for the course for most thru-hikers taking on the challenges of an AT thru-hike. I had minor injuries every week for one reason or another for the length of my AT thru-hike. You get used to it after exclaiming the requisite Gollys when the pains and the injuries occur.

In the Smokies I went down a steep slope to get water one night, stepped on a steeply sloping wet log and slid the length of the log on my hip and arm. Lots of Gollys afterward -- the bark on the downed tree had taken off the surface skin from my elbow to my wrist. I remember having thought to myself right afterward -- after the Gollys were done of course because getting those out of the way is job number one after any injury -- saying, "Well, it could have been a leg. Glad it wasn't a leg." Got back on the Trail the next morning after sleeping the pain away in the shelter that night and just kept going north.

Way up north in Vermont I'd crashed full-speed into two different overhanging tree limbs with my head -- within 15 minutes of each other. Each had pointy broken off limb stubs that I'd run my head into. I saw stars after both collisions. Just kept going -- had a couple of eggs on my forehead that were pretty funny to see in a mirror later. Man did those eggs hurt like the dickens for a day or two.

In Maryland, I face-planted into poison ivy -- whew doggies was that an experience. Had the poison ivy everywhere. I ended up having to go into Gettysburg when the Trail intersected with US 30 in Pennsylvania for extra days off to recovery a bit with regular Epsom salts baths and Benadryl lotion. Then got back on the Trail in the rain and kept going north. I had a great time in Gettysburg while I was waiting for the poison ivy to die down.

In the Smokies I had terrible knee pain problems -- I think it had to do with the side-slope of the trail treadway that was causing my knee problems. Just slowed down a bit (Ha, slower than my normal slow) and kept going north.

Up in northern Virginia I had a terrible pain in one of my thighs for unknown reasons (no injury to it that I could remember). Just had to slow down a bit (4 to 5 miles per day as I remember) and work through it -- about three days later or so the pain was almost gone. I'd loaded up on Ibuprofen to bust on through the pain.

One of the key things for most people to do is to take the beginning of their AT thru-hike slowly -- maybe 8 to 10 miles per day tops. Let your body do the adjusting that it needs to do in order to allow the parts of your body to get more into trail shape. Sleep in a little in the morning, take naps in the afternoon. Give your body time to adjust to the surprise of the physical rigors of an AT thru-hike. Also, you'll begin rather quickly to figure out all the stuff that you don't need to be carrying that currently reside inside your backpack -- you'll be mailing or throwing away quite a bit of "stuff" that you'd thought was necessary when you're in your comfy living room this winter making pack lists.

By the way, the idea of "just keep going north" was pretty much standard operating procedure for most injured and weary AT thru-hikers. Some had way worse injuries and ailments than I'd ever had on the AT. Excellent Good Half Moon had such a terrible huge injury to the front of his leg that I couldn't look straight at it when he pulled the gauze aside. He'd had to hole up at the Blueberry Patch in Georgia for a while which is where I'd caught up to him on my AT thru-hike. He just got up and started north again after the injury had a chance to heal a bit.

FunGal's back -- I was completely taken back by how bad her injury had become by Hot Springs, NC from the rubbing of her backpack. It'd taken all the surface skin off the small of her back. Terrible looking and she certainly had some pain to go along with it (the salt from the sweat and rigors of thru-hiking adding to injury). That along with the terrible athlete's foot she was experiencing since before the Smokies and the remedies she'd tried for that ailment (which is how she'd gotten her trail name by the way -- the remedies on the back of the ointment tubes and bottles kept referring to "fungal" conditions and treatments).

In any case, injuries and ailments and pain (back pain, knee pain, brain pain) are just a part of the entire thru-hiking experience and you learn, after a not-so-long while, to get use to the condition. And to work around it while continuing to head north.

Soon, all of you Class of 2013 members will be pleasantly performing the Thru-Hiker Shuffle. That's the way a thru-hiker walks when they're in town for a resupply.


Datto

[RED-DOG]

Determination: you got to want it more than anything you have ever wanted before, Confidence: you got to have confidence in your abilities, Patience: you must have patience in your self and your gear, Willingness: you got to be willing to put yourself through all the Pain and the Rain and all those other miserable days, Money: you must have enough money to last, you got to be frugile with that almighty dollar, Prepardness: you got to be prepared for any occasion that can and does arise, Goals: set small goals for yourself while on the trail, such as when i get to the next state line or road crossing i am going to a store and buy myself a candybar and soda, Expectations: realize what you expect to get from the AT, and stop worrying about the weather it is what it is. RED-DOG

[max patch]

If you have enough money then its a simple matter of getting up in the morning and hiking all day. Rinse and repeat. You can define "all day" as 5:00 or dusk or the first shelter or great camping spot after 5:00. Take a day off every once a week or so. Do that and you'll be done in 4-7 months. Anything else is over analyzing. This isn't rocket science.

[4shot]

If you have enough money then its a simple matter of getting up in the morning and hiking all day.

while it is not rocket science, about 1 in 4 complete a thru. I have noticed that all things are simple to those who do them. I'm sure Einstein found math to be easy and Tom Brady has no difficulty throwing a football 50 yards. I am diametrically opposed to your position on doing a thru-hike and find it to be a bit condescending...it is not easyfor most people and to say that it is is doing a bit of a disservice to those who who are planning their trip. If you found it to be easy then kudos to you. however accept the fact that most people don't. You want proof? Look at the ratio of starters to finishers.

[max patch]

I am diametrically opposed to your position on doing a thru-hike and find it to be a bit condescending...it is not easyfor most people and to say that it is is doing a bit of a disservice to those who who are planning their trip.

I never said it was easy and I certainly don't see how what I said could be considered as condescending. All of these "rules" for completing a hike are just so much nonsense.

[Trev302]

I'm planning thru hiking starting this march, and I think one of my main motivations to keep going will be a fear of regret. I know without a doubt I will regret quitting early. Being only 19, I don't want to spend the rest of my life wishing I would've pressed on and finished.

[George]

people who make it are those that always think the beer will taste better yet in the next trail town - so they keep pushing on for better and better beer till suddenly they run out of trail

[staehpj1]

I have not done an AT thru hike or anything close to one, but I see a lot of similarities to long distance bicycle touring which I have done a good bit of. On coast to coast bicycle tours it seems to me like the biggest factor affecting successful completion is determination or stubbornness. Preparation helps as does fitness but neither is anywhere near as important as pure pig headedness. Of those two secondary factors I think preparation rates way higher than fitness. The fact is that you can start our in mediocre condition and ride into shape as you go.

I would be willing to bet that a successful AT completion requires very close to the same personal traits as a coast to coast bicycle tour only probably more so.

[Datto]

Two characteristics I noticed that were common amongst my fellow thru-hikers in the northern states during my northbound AT thru-hike were:

a) Ability to adapt to ever changing conditions and
b) Resourcefulness

There were people I'd encountered on my AT thru-hike when I was in the southern AT states who simply could not adapt and adjust to how Trail life was so different from what they'd imagined it to be when they were sitting in their living room pre-thru-hike. Some of those people had experienced great success in their life too and things had always come relatively easy to them in the past. The requirement for great adjustment and adaptability, for some, became just too big of a challenge to overcome during their AT thru-hike. A few of those people did make the necessary adjustments and it was quite a transformation to have met up with them later on in their thru-hikes. Almost as if a great change had taken over and they'd become someone other than the person who had started their thru-hike.

In any case, I do think the ability to adapt to every-changing conditions is extremely important for someone contemplating an AT thru-hike. Well, in modern day life for that matter too I guess.


Datto

[fiddlehead]

Determination: you got to want it more than anything you have ever wanted before, Confidence: you got to have confidence in your abilities, Patience: you must have patience in your self and your gear, Willingness: you got to be willing to put yourself through all the Pain and the Rain and all those other miserable days, Money: you must have enough money to last, you got to be frugile with that almighty dollar, Prepardness: you got to be prepared for any occasion that can and does arise, Goals: set small goals for yourself while on the trail, such as when i get to the next state line or road crossing i am going to a store and buy myself a candybar and soda, Expectations: realize what you expect to get from the AT, and stop worrying about the weather it is what it is. RED-DOG

Best answer!

Except for the money problem, the rest is all in your head.

And even then, you must be frugal with it.
If for no other reason than to do another hike next year.

[aficion]

If you are willing to pursue your goal, like a pig with a bloody snout, and you have patience to wait out times when you simply cannot hike, you will succeed.

[Jim Adams]

Reason for success....alcohol.

reason for lack of success.... alcohol!

....just my point of view...alcohol will get me to Katahdin...running out of money because of alcohol will get me to Troutville. LOL
geek

[Colter]

Quote Originally Posted by RED-DOG
Determination: you got to want it more than anything you have ever wanted before, Confidence: you got to have confidence in your abilities, Patience: you must have patience in your self and your gear, Willingness: you got to be willing to put yourself through all the Pain and the Rain and all those other miserable days, Money: you must have enough money to last, you got to be frugile with that almighty dollar, Prepardness: you got to be prepared for any occasion that can and does arise, Goals: set small goals for yourself while on the trail, such as when i get to the next state line or road crossing i am going to a store and buy myself a candybar and soda, Expectations: realize what you expect to get from the AT, and stop worrying about the weather it is what it is. RED-DOG


Best answer!

Except for the money problem, the rest is all in your head.

And even then, you must be frugal with it.
If for no other reason than to do another hike next year.

+1 to fiddlehead and Red-Dog

[SCRUB HIKER]

Reason for success....alcohol.

reason for lack of success.... alcohol!

This sounds suspiciously like the best Simpsons quote of all time: "To alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdFoAr5QdwA)

I think hating to fail is a huge part of it. I hiked with someone WV, PA, CT and MA who was really not having a very good time on the AT, and just wanted to be at home. He had several very profane (and hilarious) ways of expressing this desire and he did so freely and often and didn't care who had to hear it. But more than disliking the day-to-day of hiking, he hated the idea of failing. He had friends complete the trail in previous years in really adverse circumstances and he wasn't going to fail to live up to them. So he completed his thru-hike and I doubt he'll ever try something like that again. I think there must be plenty of hikers out there like this, but they're obviously not on the message boards because they don't love hiking.

On the other hand, I unabashedly love hiking and I didn't realize, when I made the decision, how much I was going to hate failing to thru-hike: I ended up with an 1800-mile LASH (Long Ass Section Hike), because injury stopped me for 2 weeks in PA and I skipped 300 miles to meet back up with my friends. Knowing how much the failure to complete a thru-hike has gnawed at me the past two years, it's going to take a whole lot to stop me on my next trail. For someone who finds that they really don't like the hiking life so much, failure isn't going to trouble them--choosing to stop doing something you hate and get on with life is a smart decision in my opinion. But for me, I love hiking--at almost any given moment, I would rather be hiking than anything else. If I set myself a reasonable goal (thru-hiking) for my favorite activity in the world, there should be no excuse not to meet that goal. And if I carry that attitude out onto the trail, maybe even write it down and keep it somewhere on me, it reminds me why I should work hard to overcome the obstacles as they arise.

So hating--really strongly hating--to fail is one part of it. And loving to hike is another--you tend to remind yourself during tough hiking times that you'd still rather be on trail than back at home. If you have a lot of one, you don't even really need the other.

[WingedMonkey]

I skipped 300 miles to meet back up with my friends.

A reason for failure that I still can't understand. But it seems to be a popular one.

[Malto]

I hiked the PCT in a very high snow year on a fairly fast schedule. This put me up near the front of the pack after exiting the Sierra. I thought extensively about the traits that allowed the early hikers to make it through when the majority declared it impassible and impossible. As I met most of the early season Sierra goers I found a common set of characteristics. These characteristics, I believe, are the same shared traits for the majority of successful thru hikers.

Traits common among successful thru hikers:
1) determination.
2) adaptability.
3) experience and preparation.

I want to touch on the third. We all hear stories of folks that attempt and occasionally even finish a long trail with virtually no experience other than maybe a night out in the woods. This is also something that anyone attempting a thru hike can control. Prior to embarking on a multi month adventure, stack the cards in your favor and test out your gear, body and mind. The more this is done, the higher the chance of success.

Finally, one post listed luck as a reason for the major reason for success. That is utter BS. It is the qualities listed above that make someone "lucky" where their "unlucky" counterparts have more than their share of obstacles. Is it unlucky that an out of shape overloaded hiker has feet or ankle problems? Is it unlucky that someone burns through money in a trail town because they were unable to comfortably hike in rain or snow?

[JAK]

I think it must have to do with drugs, but the natural kind, endorphines. Some people must be more susceptable to a natural runner high or hiker high, and they make more natural endurance athletes. I've been doing a paper route going on a year now. About 100 papers give or take, and I do it all on foot right to the door for 1-1.5 hours of walking 6 days a week. Most people just drive and throw these days, but I maybe grumble getting out of bed, but once the endorphines kick in after the first 10 papers I am good to go. 8-10 hours a day for 100-150 days? Not sure, but I think the endorphines have to be a big part of it.

[fireneck]

Knowing when to stand on top of a mountain soaking up the view in your sweaty boxers, eating snickers bars with friends and when it's time to put your head down and walk. It's a find line.

Break too much and you will miss the walk. Walk to much and you miss the break.

I was also told very early on in my hike by a former thru-hiker, "At any moment you will be hurting somewhere. You just gotta keep on hiking."

[fredmugs]

"90% of it is mental. The other half is physical." Yogi Berra.

[Odd Man Out]

I think of backpacking as a craft (like gardening, sewing, carpentry, brewing, etc...). A craftsman or craftswoman uses skill, knowledge, and creativity to produce something that has value and is uniquely theirs. It is easier and often cheaper to buy food, clothes, furniture, and beer in a store rather than make them yourselves. Yet the gardener, tailor, carpenter, and homebrewer find joy, satisfaction, and pride in making these things themselves while executing their crafts. Likewise, there are easier and cheaper ways to get from GA to ME, but the successful thru-hiker is a master craftsman or craftswoman who has the skill, knowledge, and creativity needed to make that journey and finds satisfaction in doing so.

[stranger]

My opinion is that one must need a fairly strong focus, and perhaps little else in their life that competes with that focus. Focus is certainly a huge resource.

I 'failed' at 2 thru-hike attempts, 625 & 540 miles respectively...I love hiking for a while...but love my job, travel, music just as much. I lose focus and get bored after 400-500 miles, that's just me. Same thing happens on tour, after 14-15 shows I'm ready to get home, playing rock and roll is great...for 2 weeks, road trips...about 6-8 weeks, I have different thresholds for different activities in my life.

From what I've seen the things that drive most hikers off the trail are lack of money, partying and skipping sections or taking time off...

[Chuckie V]

What are some of the characteristics, habits, traits (etc.) of those who successfully complete a thru-hike?

I'd written the following in an old trail journal somewhere...


1) Luck. Without luck, you aren't going go far. (Unless it's bad.)
2) Insanity. Let's face it; thru-hikers are a strange, strange breed.
3) Drive. Not the ability to drive, but to be driven by your goal.
4) Competitiveness. Not with others but with yourself, and with the demons within.
5) Toughness. Physical toughness, mental toughness, toughness.
6) Fitness. Fat people aren't widespread on a long trail, just spread wide.
7) Tenacity. More than you've ever mustered in your entire life.
8) Humbleness. Ma Nature will teach you this.
9) Courage. You'll need more courage than taking just that first step.
10) Optimism. If you think it'll all work out, stay out (there).
11) Curiousness. You've already got this if you're on this site.
12) Humor. You better be able to at least make yourself laugh. (See #2)
13) Hunger. As in food. If you don't eat, you won't last very long.
14) Knowledge. If nothing else, you'd better know the basics.
15) Decisiveness. You can't take it as it comes all the time.

Maybe.

[rowan]

I haven't read the whole thread but I thought I'd chime in with this:

there are 3 types of hikers attempting to get to Katahdin. The first kind never makes it, due to injury or a lack of will or an unexpected phone call from home. The second kind makes it to the end of the trail, but they loathe it by that time. The only reason they finish is because they set a goal, and they are too stubborn to quit. The third type makes it to Katahdin and has a blast the entire time, enjoying every step, every ache and pain, and all of the beautiful friends who share the experience.

I think to be that third kind, you have to have a genuine love and appreciation for living outside. You have to enjoy living simply, w/o frills. You have to cherish the hard times and the ****ty diet so that the reward is that much better when you DO get to eat a huge meal at a restaurant in town. Its all about appreciation. If you've never enjoyed the outdoors, you just like the idea of forgoing society and adventure, you'll never make it. Much of the AT is not scenic, and it is often no more than putting one step in front of the other.

[soulrebel]

Determination, physically fit, and financially able.


I had those in spades, but i took my wife. We spent 5 months getting to VT. Do I regret getting off the trail? Sometimes, but not really. Completion is just a state of mind, and that trip goes into the memory banks just like the rest. It never really stopped or started with the trail.

But one characteristic on people that "complete" things to the letter, they're generally more uptight than the rest of us. Most of them won't let go of their "long hike" and it will define them in new ways both good and bad... Some people start as a-holes and manage to get a little better at getting along with folks, but some will complete a thru and still be the a-hole they were when they started the trail...Crazy

[4shot]

But one characteristic on people that "complete" things to the letter, they're generally more uptight than the rest of us. Most of them won't let go of their "long hike" and it will define them in new ways both good and bad... Some people start as a-holes and manage to get a little better at getting along with folks, but some will complete a thru and still be the a-hole they were when they started the trail...Crazy

hey, some of us a-holes started as a-holes and got worse....you forgot about us!;)

[Colter]

Completion is just a state of mind...


Satisfaction with a hike is a state of mind and may or may not depend on a completion. Completing the AT is not just a state of mind.

"No man is a failure who is enjoying life." - William Feather

[SafetyFirst]

-Determination. A personal pride that won't accept failure. Stubbornness. An inability to quit.
-Perseverance through bad weather, bad moods, bad pain.
-Ability to plan for food, finances, time and all environmental conditions from bugs to heat to cold to bears.
-Ability to let go of control and see where the trail takes you, to accept the lessons the trail has to teach you.
-Ability to change depression around; to only dwell on positive thoughts and be your own best friend. Acceptance of your individual accountability.
-Acceptance of isolation from the world. Ability to go without and expect nothing.
-Open participation in community and faith in humanity.
-Physical stamina.

-|-|-|-> Safety First

[jdc5294]

The ability to not take anything too seriously, and shrug it off. Many people I saw quit were the types who were super serious about the whole thing and obsessing over gear and itineraries and food 100% of the time. At some point you'll be wet and cold no matter what SUL jacket/poncho gore-tex hyper hiker gear you bring, just embrace it and have a good time. Made it to Damascus 2 days later then in your excel spreadsheet? Shouldn't matter, but to some people it does. Those guys (and gals) seldom make it.

[rocketsocks]

Number one reason for draggin'

ran outta blazes
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/119535-First-AT-SOBO-Wilderness-area-No-Blazes

[Fireplug]

I'm doing it cuz I WANT to be one of the 0.00097% of the population who has completed such a task. Just to say "hey I walked 2189.5 miles with everything I needed on my back". Tell me again "what you did".

[The Roaming Gnome]

Excellent well thought out advise.

[Tipi Walter]

Somehow this 4 year old thread got resurrected but I think Datto covered it exhaustively in a recent butt-long thread.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/118123-Datto-s-Top-Ten-Tips-for-2017-AT-Thru-hikers-In-Planning

If you can't find it in his thread it's not worth discussing.