View Full Version : Easiest/Hardest Things On The AT
Hiker8250
03-09-2013, 16:10
In a couple weeks I will start my first day of class at Appalachian Thru-Hike University, class of 2013.
What was hard on the trail that you thought wouldn't be?
What was easy on the trail that you thought would be difficult?
What was the most difficult thing for you to adjust to?
ANSWERS FROM PAST THRU-HIKERS ONLY PLEASE.
Cheers.
I guess when you are talking the AT you are refering to doing a thru-hike. Doing a thru-hike is just hard. I have said that my thru-hike was the hardest job I ever had to do. It's hard because you have to lose a lot of contact with the love ones and friends back home. It's hard that you have to leave behing all the creature comforts that we all enjoy. It's hard because you are dirty and tired most of the time. It's hard because every day you face new problem or chalanges that have to be delt with. It's hard because you can only bring the foods that travel well and be cooked on a small stove. It's hard because you have to deal with finding good water all the time. It's hard because your equipment wears out or breaks. I could go on and on.
The easiest thing about doing a thru-hike is that you can just quit any time you want. I guess 20% deal with the hardshipe and 80% do the easy.
Stir Fry
03-09-2013, 16:47
Easyest thing is starting.
The hardest thing is finishing.
Everthing between is difficult.
Hardest part for me was leaving the trail in VA when a family medical problem developed at home.
Cat in the Hat
Drybones
03-09-2013, 18:08
Hardest - getting out of the bag on cold morings.
Easiest - going to bag after a long hard day.
Spit Walker
03-09-2013, 18:42
You want remeber what's hard
Everything else is pie. Im hungry.
Spit Walker
03-09-2013, 18:42
You want remeber what's hard
Everything else is pie. Im hungry.
remember* damn
What was the most difficult thing for you to adjust to?
The incessent heat and humidity in Virginia. Here a northbound AT thru-hiker has lengthening daylight and terrain that is starting to ease and an AT thru-hiker is already in pretty good trail shape by central Virginia. Except the overbearing heat and humidity may make many AT thru-hikers have to sit out the time of 11:30am - 5:00pm and reduce miles or start earlier in the morning to get the miles in for the day.
What was hard on the trail that you thought wouldn't be?
I didn't think going back home to Indiana after completing my AT thru-hike would be as difficult as it seemed at the time. I had a great attraction to life on the Trail (peace, quiet, friends, interesting things occurring every day, challenges, lots of freedom and more) and didn't want to give that up.
What was easy on the trail that you thought would be difficult?
Learning to enjoy living in a tent or overnighting in an AT shelter was much easier that I'd imagined it to be -- even though I'd gained quite a bit of backpacking experience in the year prior to starting my AT thru-hike and that experience had helped. But knowing just before you start your AT thru-hike that you've got no choice but to adapt to living in a tent or overnighting in a shelter is still a bit daunting for many.
Datto
fiddlehead
03-09-2013, 21:26
Easyest thing is starting.
The hardest thing is finishing.
Everthing between is difficult.
Hardest thing is starting. (getting the time off, money saved, and a ride to the start)
Now that I have a kid, in fact, it's impossible.
The rest is mostly all fun.
The worst thing for me is the crowds for a NOBO hike.
I doubt I'd ever do another one for that reason.
If I do, I'd start in May. (or just do a SOBO) Depending on when you can get the time to do it.
Easiest thing is no worries or cares except the weather and where is the next water.
And when you get to town, figuring out how much food you need to carry out.
Carry-On
03-09-2013, 23:47
What was hard on the trail that you thought wouldn't be?
I didn't realize how much time and energy I would spend on finding, treating, carrying and drinking water. I also didn't realize how badly the heat and humidity in Virginia in June would affect me. I did a leapfrog hike to get away from it and get further north. I saved the middle of the AT for last.
It was also hard to make myself stop and take pictures, even when I really wanted to. I always weighed the cost of time to take the pictures vs. needing to make some good miles that day. So I didn't take pictures I wanted, and I regret that now. I never realized I would have that conflict.
What was easy on the trail that you thought would be difficult?
Getting into towns and resupplying was much easier than I expected.
What was the most difficult thing for you to adjust to?
I did not adjust well to daylight savings time in the cold. In the cold I stayed bundled up in my sleeping bag and didn't hear my watch alarm anymore. So I kept getting up at the same time, wasting daylight. Then I had to night hike in the cold and rain to make my mileage goals.
I also found a group to hike with and as they peeled off, it was difficult to adjust to losing them. But I also struggled to stay in the group and deal with the personalities and drama. Many times I questioned whether I would rather head off on my own, even though I got great benefits from being in the group, too. It was always a compromise and always trying to meet everybody's needs instead of just being totally selfish and doing my own thing.
However, now I have those friends who I can always share the memories with, share pictures with, have pictures of myself I would never have. Plus, I saved money on shuttles and hotels by sharing with them.
Carry-On
03-09-2013, 23:50
Also, adjusting after my thruhike was tough. I spent many weeks figuring out how to apply this new passion of mine to my life, to make it stick somehow, or make it mean something beyond my hike. I switched careers and dropped pay and am starting to work in the outdoor retail industry in order to still be connected to other outdoor loving people. And I'm planning another thruhike for the next few years.
I try not to think of things as easy, hard, good, bad, boring, dismal, etc They are all just things. Things become easier when we define "things" in more empowering ways. For example, I used to get tired when just looking at the climb ahead on elev profiles or get pissy about it raining. Now, I know where ever there is a climb it Does Not last forever and it makes me stronger for the next climb. I've also noticed where ever there is a climb there is a descent in the not too far future. When it starts raining I sometimes listen to my empowering "rain music" - music to especially enjoy when it's raining and keep me in a positive mindset! Other times, I like listening to the raindrops in the forest, how it splats on the leaves, ground, in puddles, on rivers and lakes, etc I like how the woods smell when it rains.I've learned to prepare as best I can for when it does rain and then enjoy it when it arrives. It's part of hiking just like the climbs, cold, heat, brutality, etc. Some animals are more noticeable/active in the rain too. I look for ways to appreciate and laugh at things, including my self, rather than complaining about them.
I'm not perfect at it. Sometimes things can still get to me but overall I know IF I rephrase how I define something the pain isn't as painful, the COLD doesn't seem as cold/cold is good!, the heat doesn't seem as hot/heat is good!, rain is a good thing, the struggle doesn't seem as hard of a struggle, etc. Heck, I've even applied this when getting lost. It helped me stay calm and think my way out of being lost.
Here's something you may have heard before but is worth repeating. If we look back on our lives when we struggled the most, were down and out, but rose to the challenge those were some of the most memorable enriching enlightening expanding times of our lives. NOW, REMEMBER THAT IN TODAY'S CHALLENGES and it will help you to overcome those challenges as well! It can be key to a successful thru-hike!
rocketsocks
03-10-2013, 00:43
Alright, I gotta ask, what is Appalachian thru-hike University? couldn't find it?
I think that he was referring to starting a thru-hiker. Kind of a joke.
Alright, I gotta ask, what is Appalachian thru-hike University? couldn't find it?
INTRODUCTION TO APPALACHIAN TRAIL THRU-HIKING
Course Curriculum06:00am -- Introduction to Owls 101
07:00am -- Where am I - Oh Yeah 101
08:30am -- Pop-tarts As Breakfast (Lab) 101
08:00am -- Mountain Climbing 101
19:00am -- Descending 101
10:00am -- Bee Defenses 101
11:00am -- Professional Napping 201
12:00pm -- Lunch
01:00pm -- Mountain Climbing 102
04:00pm -- Descending 102
05:00pm -- Acapulco Cliff Diving For Water 101
06:00pm -- Introduction to Culinary Choices For Dinner 101
07:00pm -- Theory Of Hiker Midnight 201
08:00pm -- Bear Yelling 101
09:00pm -- Introduction to Snore Retorts 101
11:00pm -- Advanced Skunk Wrestling 201
Datto
garlic08
03-10-2013, 12:55
What was hard on the trail that you thought wouldn't be?
Being essentially alone with your thoughts day after day--you can't hide from who you really are. And earworms.
What was easy on the trail that you thought would be difficult?
Dealing with storms, both winter and summer variety. I stopped being afraid of getting wet, for one thing.
What was the most difficult thing for you to adjust to?
Not an issue for me--I adapted to trail life very well. It was actually harder going home and adapting to town life.
rocketsocks
03-10-2013, 13:01
INTRODUCTION TO APPALACHIAN TRAIL THRU-HIKING
Course Curriculum06:00am -- Introduction to Owls 101
07:00am -- Where am I - Oh Yeah 101
08:30am -- Pop-tarts As Breakfast (Lab) 101
08:00am -- Mountain Climbing 101
19:00am -- Descending 101
10:00am -- Bee Defenses 101
11:00am -- Professional Napping 201
12:00pm -- Lunch
01:00pm -- Mountain Climbing 102
04:00pm -- Descending 102
05:00pm -- Acapulco Cliff Diving For Water 101
06:00pm -- Introduction to Culinary Choices For Dinner 101
07:00pm -- Theory Of Hiker Midnight 201
08:00pm -- Bear Yelling 101
09:00pm -- Introduction to Snore Retorts 101
11:00pm -- Advanced Skunk Wrestling 201
DattoA+ You sat in the front of the class, didn't you? :)
rocketsocks
03-10-2013, 13:04
I think that he was referring to starting a thru-hiker. Kind of a joke.Ah, I thought it was Warren Doyle's classes or something like that...but I couldn't find it.
Oh, you forgot a class Datto
02:00 P.M. - Drying out hiking gear while on trail 101
The whole "backpacking university" thing is something that resonated with me at the start of my first thru-hike; I felt like previous backpacking trips had been a sort of prep school and now I was really having to pick some things up.
The OP asked for answers from past thru-hikers only. I wonder if perhaps you should also limit it to folks who either stopped at one thru-hike, or can really really remember all of their reactions to their first thru-hike. Because the AT was my second thru-hike, so my immediate reaction was "it was all about as easy and hard as I expected".
Garlic said: "Being essentially alone with your thoughts day after day--you can't hide from who you really are." That can really be true particularly when you do long solo stretches. I had less of that on the AT, however, and suspect that that tends to be less of an AT phenomenon, though it certainly still applies.
I guess the unexpectedly hardest thing on the AT for me was getting Giardia; I'd say rather "frustrating" than hard, requiring some thinking about how I was going to deal with it.
Unexpectedly easiest --- maybe it was just "doing the miles", as I had read about how much harder the trail quality and PUDs and so forth made it. That was true, I'm not saying it's particularly easy (or 'good') trail overall, just that it didn't turn out to be as bad as I had expected from reading about it beforehand.
Lone Wolf
03-10-2013, 15:59
i didn't think thru-hiking was very physically demanding
rocketsocks
03-10-2013, 16:14
i didn't think thru-hiking was very physically demandingWhich time? 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14.....
garlic08
03-10-2013, 16:34
i didn't think thru-hiking was very physically demanding
Good point, and so far nobody's said much at all about the physical demands. That's interesting.
Lone Wolf
03-10-2013, 17:54
i didn't think thru-hiking was very physically demanding
meaning i thought is was fairly easy
Stir Fry
03-10-2013, 18:06
meaning i thought is was fairly easy
I been to Domascus 3 times, and naxt year when I do my thru, you mind if I look you up. You seem like you would be fun to talk with.
max patch
03-10-2013, 18:41
The only thing thats hard is finding the time and money to do it. All downhill once you've got that figured out.
Chaco Taco
03-10-2013, 19:10
In a couple weeks I will start my first day of class at Appalachian Thru-Hike University, class of 2013.
What was hard on the trail that you thought wouldn't be?
What was easy on the trail that you thought would be difficult?
What was the most difficult thing for you to adjust to?
ANSWERS FROM PAST THRU-HIKERS ONLY PLEASE.
Cheers.
Hardest thing on the trail was finishing. I was not ready to go back "home" and reality. The heat got to be a bit rough to deal with in Virginia, but even that you sort of adapt and hike less in the middle part of the day or wait it out in a swimming pool in Daleville. Take advantage of swimmin holes.
Easiest thing on the trail was the actual walking. I mean, once you pack up, you walk. Thats it. After 100 miles or so, you become a machine and the miles just pass by. There were some tough days that were difficult mentally. I never had to deal with blisters or any sort of major injury. Running out of water sucks and that was one of those types of days that was rough. However, once we got to the stream, we met a bunch of folks that we ended up hiking with for the next 2 months. Doing an actual thru is not that hard. Like I said, you become a machine after you get used to being on the trail. You fall into routines on trail and during town days. Leaving behind all this "stuff" in life was easy, for me atleast. I never really had any health issues along the way, my gear worked out well. When I did have gear issues, the folks working customer service and at outfitters took good care of me. One lesson thruhikers never seem to get is that when you call a gear company, dont be a jerk, or else they wont go out of their way to help you. Same thing at outfitters and esp at hostels. Met some miserable people along the way, that did not end up making it. The main thing is to have fun. When it stops being fun, go home.
Garlic said: "Being essentially alone with your thoughts day after day--you can't hide from who you really are." That can really be true particularly when you do long solo stretches.
So true. YOU HAVE TO GET REAL WITH WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT ON A THRU-HIKE, ESPECIALLY WHEN SOLO HIKING. I mainly solo hike. As Jack Johnson says, "a man can only walk so far before he has to look inside!" Some folks have a hard time FINALLY REALIZING who they are! The good news is that we can take all the "good" that we are and leave the "crappy stuff" behind reaching to become a better person. Thru-hiking or hiking can do that for folks.
Thanks for sharing Grampie, Stir Fry, msupple, Drybones, Datto, Fiddlehead, CarryOn, Garlic, BrianLe, and ChacoTaco. Moved me with the reality of your experiences.
Easy/easier than imagined: getting fast, walking, hitching, making friends, finding water, resting, eating, staying motivated.
Hard: Starting, staying dry, staying motivated in snow/rain, staying on budget, NH, Maine, eating enough, letting it end.
I would as a result offer three hints to you and all your class, if I may:
1. Get advice from section hikers too because, A. they face some different challenges and be have different truths to share with others. B. We are all just hikers, you are not a rockstar or some silly BS 'cause you're taking a longer vacation. and C. It ain't a thru until you are through.
2. Don't quit on a bad day. Wait till a day when everything went right, and if you don't want to be there then you shouldn't be.
3. Brown Sugar & Cinnamon, or any of the Chocolate flavors, have a few more calories than any of the fruit flavors. The key to not losing all those crumbs after your tarts are all smashed from your bag is this: Jiff-Tart Burrito (nutella may be used instead of Jiff), crumbs stick to the Jiff.
Hiker8250
03-13-2013, 11:59
Thanks for all the great input everybody. I leave for my hike in two weeks and I think this is going to be awesome!
See you all out there.
brian039
03-13-2013, 12:53
What was hard on the trail that you thought wouldn't be?
I thought VA would be easy and it turned out to be pretty tough. Also didn't know NY would be as tough as it was.
What was easy on the trail that you thought would be difficult?
Hitchhiking.
What was the most difficult thing for you to adjust to?
Homesickness.
Alright, I gotta ask, what is Appalachian thru-hike University? couldn't find it?
I'm thinking it's like The School of Hard Knocks ;)
Easiest/Hardest things on the AT???
"He who hesitates is lost. She who hesitates is won."
Just sayin'
evyck da fleet
03-13-2013, 20:01
Most difficult thing to adjust to was whatever I hadn't properly prepped for (which took almost a week).
Funny thing about the hardest and easiest part of the Trail was that it was all in my head. Once I learned to accept what came and paid attention to how my body was reacting, it was just another day. Most of what I found to be hard or easy was based on an uneducated expectation. Once I realized I was dragging because I was tired from lack of sleep or going slower than normal because I had just resupplied for five days I reset my expectations for the day. Likewise if I was feeling good I night add mileage or a side trip to my day.
fireneck
03-17-2013, 23:03
What was hard on the trail that you thought wouldn't be?
Leaving town, it does not matter how hard I'd try to leave town I'd almost least it at least 3 hours after the time I planed on. There are surprising a lot of chores while in town... resupply, respond to the outside world (call/text), find a computer, laundry (haha sometimes), gorging on town food.
What was easy on the trail that you thought would be difficult?
Sleeping in shelters. I prefer to sleep in very dark and quit places, before I knew it I was falling asleep to giggling spring breakers and sleeping til 10am! Sleeping that late is great... it just means the day owns you, and night hiking is in your future.
What was the most difficult thing for you to adjust to?
I'm struggling to come one with something here... I guess it would not be connected to the political/news cycle. And not seeing my beloved Chicago Fire (http://www.chicago-fire.com/). I've been a season ticket holder for the past 7 sevens. All and all it was good being away from both. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.
i didn't think thru-hiking was very physically demanding
LW, but hey you are a Marine! After defending our country, everything else is probably just a piece of cake. Or "just walking" in the the case of the AT. :)
Rock Lobster
03-17-2013, 23:37
2. Don't quit on a bad day. Wait till a day when everything went right, and if you don't want to be there then you shouldn't be.
2000 miles and I'm still waiting for the day on trail when everything goes perfectly ;)
SCRUB HIKER
03-18-2013, 03:05
What was hard on the trail that you thought wouldn't be?
Being essentially alone with your thoughts day after day--you can't hide from who you really are. And earworms.
What was easy on the trail that you thought would be difficult?
Dealing with storms, both winter and summer variety. I stopped being afraid of getting wet, for one thing.
What was the most difficult thing for you to adjust to?
Not an issue for me--I adapted to trail life very well. It was actually harder going home and adapting to town life.
To be honest, I had the opposite difficulties as Garlic. I found being wet to be quite a bit more mentally taxing than I had expected, given that I already had experience hiking in rainy weather. I wasn't hiking in a particularly wet year, but I found that even one good soaking would be enough to really get me down for some reason. I actually got wimpier about it as the trail went on. I can sit back now and explain to myself why rain on the trail shouldn't really matter, but out there, it was a different story.
I did not find being alone with my thoughts day after day very difficult. It's kind of what I do already. I rarely struggled for motivation or got tired of myself. I've always heard about how for some people the hike becomes drudgery somewhere in Virginia or the mid-Atlantic ... never happened to me. I have looked back at my journals to make sure I'm not remembering things with rose-tinted glasses, and I can confirm that I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed pretty much every day until I got injured and had to stop suddenly in PA. It's part of the reason that I'm now hopelessly addicted to long-distance hiking: my baseline happiness and energy levels are just so much higher out there than in here.
Some other brief answers:
1. Hard that I thought wouldn't be:
- Gnats
- Being away from music (I eventually had my iPod shipped to me and it was a godsend)
- Ignoring people whose hiking philosophies vary strongly from mine. You think you won't let them get under your skin ... they do anyway, despite the HYOH thing. For me, at least.
- The constant difficulty of the NH/Maine trail. Not the big elevation gains, but more the fact that for a few hundred miles, there is no such thing as "strolling along." Tread too rocky and rooty and slick and steep. Constant mental wear and tear.
- Getting started on rainy mornings.
- Hiking hungover. You get so used to feeling so strong and pure, like a tremendous machine, and then you have one morning after a big night in town (mine was in Hot Springs) where you're operating at 60%, and it's the WORST FEELING not to be that hiking beast that you thought you were. I've gotten plenty of things done with hangovers over the course of college and elsewhere in life, but I hated hiking at anything less than 100%. After that first time, I never bothered to hike out the next day until I was fully recovered.
2. Easy that I thought would be hard:
- Meeting awesome people
- Sleeping in shelters
- Getting work-for-stay in the Huts
- The physical demands of the trail. After two weeks, no climb or descent was intimidating anymore.
- Hitchhiking
- Going stoveless
3. Most difficult thing to adjust to:
I had no difficulty adjusting to trail life whatsoever. It's pretty carefree, all things considered.
Scrub
fredmugs
03-19-2013, 13:32
What was hard on the trail that you thought wouldn't be?
Going downhill
henry g wilgo
03-19-2013, 16:09
i try not to think of things as easy, hard, good, bad, boring, dismal, etc they are all just things. Things become easier when we define "things" in more empowering ways. For example, i used to get tired when just looking at the climb ahead on elev profiles or get pissy about it raining. Now, i know where ever there is a climb it does not last forever and it makes me stronger for the next climb. I've also noticed where ever there is a climb there is a descent in the not too far future. When it starts raining i sometimes listen to my empowering "rain music" - music to especially enjoy when it's raining and keep me in a positive mindset! Other times, i like listening to the raindrops in the forest, how it splats on the leaves, ground, in puddles, on rivers and lakes, etc i like how the woods smell when it rains.i've learned to prepare as best i can for when it does rain and then enjoy it when it arrives. It's part of hiking just like the climbs, cold, heat, brutality, etc. Some animals are more noticeable/active in the rain too. I look for ways to appreciate and laugh at things, including my self, rather than complaining about them.
I'm not perfect at it. Sometimes things can still get to me but overall i know if i rephrase how i define something the pain isn't as painful, the cold doesn't seem as cold/cold is good!, the heat doesn't seem as hot/heat is good!, rain is a good thing, the struggle doesn't seem as hard of a struggle, etc. Heck, i've even applied this when getting lost. It helped me stay calm and think my way out of being lost.
Those were some of the most memorable enriching enlightening expanding times of our lives. Now, remember that in today's challenges and it will help you to overcome those challenges as well! It can be key to a successful thru-hike!
very well said,,,,and true indeed. Our struggles make us better and stronger individuals***********
brian039
03-19-2013, 21:28
Going downhill
True dat! Starting in Connecticut I started dreading the downhills more than the uphills.
Hardest thing? Stopping.
The easiest thing for me was spending money, with 20/20 hindsight I would've been much more frugal in the beginning (I know it's hard when you're just starting out, those hostels seem mighty comfortable) so I could've splurged a bit more with zero days and eating out near the end.
INTRODUCTION TO APPALACHIAN TRAIL THRU-HIKING
Course Curriculum06:00am -- Introduction to Owls 101
07:00am -- Where am I - Oh Yeah 101
08:30am -- Pop-tarts As Breakfast (Lab) 101
08:00am -- Mountain Climbing 101
19:00am -- Descending 101
10:00am -- Bee Defenses 101
11:00am -- Professional Napping 201
12:00pm -- Lunch
01:00pm -- Mountain Climbing 102
04:00pm -- Descending 102
05:00pm -- Acapulco Cliff Diving For Water 101
06:00pm -- Introduction to Culinary Choices For Dinner 101
07:00pm -- Theory Of Hiker Midnight 201
08:00pm -- Bear Yelling 101
09:00pm -- Introduction to Snore Retorts 101
11:00pm -- Advanced Skunk Wrestling 201
Datto
LOL That was hilarious! I love the curriculum.