what were reactions to your AT thru hike?

[rocketsocks]

Not to take anything away from other hikes, but I was completely overwhelmed with emotion when I got to the sign last September. I had no idea those emotions were coming til I got there.

So yeah, it IS a special feeling. I felt it.

I totally get that, no misunderstanding here.

[Dogwood]

So to all who hiked: "Weren't you afraid, did you carry a gun?" and "How many miles per day do you hike?" I want to hear how others answer these questions which are the two most often asked to me. The third most asked line of questions is what Garlic stated he's asked, "How am I able to get the time to do a 5 month hike?" To this last question I tell them something quite similar to what Garlic tells them. I get the same replies from them Garlic does. LOL. So many people have little to no idea what they want out of life and fewer have concrete plans to attain it once they have an inkling. Sadly, are the ones who get that far but never put the first step forward to attaining out of life what they want. Very few people even truly know themselves or have spent much time determining it. IMHO, one of the significant things that one can do to be self aware to become a self actualizer is to do a long journey such as a thru-hike. I like what Maslow said about the characteristics of self actualizers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-actualization

[Last Call]

I still think most people wish to complete it to get the badge, though.

[DLP]

So to all who hiked: "Weren't you afraid, did you carry a gun?"

I get asked that all the time (add other weapons, knife, mace, bear spray, etc, etc...), and I'm not a thru hiker. I get asked that by the most liberal, San Francisco Bay Area, Democrats who would NEVER think of buying or owning a gun. LOL

I just say that it would be used against me... or MOST LIKELY I'd grab the knife and slash my tent/tarp to shreds trying to kill a branch or leaf making a scary scratchy noise. And yes... I was scared sometimes... but I worked myself into it. And honestly, the drive to and from trail head was most statistically dangerous part.

[ChinMusic]

My standard answer to the "gun" question is a simple "maybe". I leave it at that. I do go on to state that the trail is probably safer than the average American city.

The "why did you do it" question is honestly a tough one for me. I know it was important to me but I cannot verbalize it. I usually try to deflect it be saying "I wanted to do something big and I am too old for Everest". That usually gets a laugh and we move on.

[rocketsocks]

So to all who hiked: "Weren't you afraid, did you carry a gun?" and "How many miles per day do you hike?" I want to hear how others answer these questions which are the two most often asked to me. The third most asked line of questions is what Garlic stated he's asked, "How am I able to get the time to do a 5 month hike?" To this last question I tell them something quite similar to what Garlic tells them. I get the same replies from them Garlic does. LOL. So many people have little to no idea what they want out of life and fewer have concrete plans to attain it once they have an inkling. Sadly, are the ones who get that far but never put the first step forward to attaining out of life what they want. Very few people even truly know themselves or have spent much time determining it. IMHO, one of the significant things that one can do to be self aware to become a self actualizer is to do a long journey such as a thru-hike. I like what Maslow said about the characteristics of self actualizers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-actualization

Well I'm about half way through that article very interesting, certainly cleared up a few things for me...I bees a self actuallizer...still can't spell worth a damn, thanks DW.

[likeahike]

Get us started, talking about our AT/other backpacking experiences, and we won't shut up. :-)

Therein lies a problem.

There's this guy in my town (one of several local AT thru-hikers I know). Myself and others are very careful not to give him an opening to talk about his hike. He never stops. I'm no thru-hiker, but I've hiked about 1000 miles of the trail so at least I have some knowledge and interest in the AT. Other non-hiker friends are less tolerant than me, but even I never bring up the AT in his presence. As a for instance, he will show up at my favorite pub and immediately take out his phone and start scrolling pictures from his hike, every few seconds he'll giggle to himself about one of the pics, just waiting for someone to ask him what's up. There it begins! Myself and others in the know will take that as a cue to mosey off to the pool table. Let the noobs listen to his spiel. It's not that we're trying to be rude, it's just that we've heard it all before.

So yeah, tell us about your thru-hike, and we'll be duly impressed and curious (for a minute). If we seem disinterested it's probably because we've heard it before. Moderation is the word and I'm not talking about Alligator.

[Ricky&Jack]

A thru-hike.... it'll change YOUR life.

Nobody else's.

[coheterojo]

Yeah that's how it works. Nobody wants to hear me rattle on incessantly about my 3 thruhikes. But then again why should they?

[ryanwflynn]

I have pity for those unaware of the trail and not into the outdoors, but it is less people on trails. Those in the know vary in response after I tell them I did a thru. My usual response is "90% heaven, 10% hell on Earth." Yet, there are a few things a thru-hiker knows and has felt that only a thru-hiker can relate too. The emotions upon completion are indescribable!

[garlic08]

So to all who hiked: "Weren't you afraid, did you carry a gun?"...

Oh yeah, except on the CDT in Montana/Idaho/Wyoming, where the question was, "What kind of gun are you carrying?"

[bobp]

Hiking a long trail is like learning Klingon in that it is an achievement that represents sustained effort over time, but will hardly impress or interest more than a small, but devoted, minority. It is a bit like finding religion in that it is deeply personal, interesting, and transformative for you, but can make you a bit tiresome to others who haven't shared the experience and are uninterested in doing so. HYOH means that you are doing it for yourself, and shouldn't reasonably expect anyone else to care about what you did on your extended vacation (but feel free to be delighted and to share when people do express interest).

[Coffee]

I haven't hiked a long trail (yet) but I have found that people seem understanding of a 1-2 week trip (like my AT section), find a 2-3 week trip (like the JMT) a bit on the odd side, and start to think something is a bit weird with a 4-5 week trip (like my upcoming Colorado Trail thru hike). Something about going more than a month seems to be the point at which an extended vacation becomes something more like a "lifestyle" and at that point you lose most people who understand a vacation but view a lifestyle on the trail as a fringe activity. I can hardly wait to see the reactions to my AT or PCT thru hike in 2015, especially if I decide to not have a permanent address for the duration of the hike.

[Marta]

Hiking a long trail is like learning Klingon in that it is an achievement that represents sustained effort over time, but will hardly impress or interest more than a small, but devoted, minority. It is a bit like finding religion in that it is deeply personal, interesting, and transformative for you, but can make you a bit tiresome to others who haven't shared the experience and are uninterested in doing so. HYOH means that you are doing it for yourself, and shouldn't reasonably expect anyone else to care about what you did on your extended vacation (but feel free to be delighted and to share when people do express interest).

Woderful!!!!!!!!!!! (Extra exclamation points to meet the minimum post length…)

[rickb]

Over the years I have noted that those who are generally more worldly/successful seem to take the most interest.

[Dogwood]

What I find is those who are the quickest to shout the HYOH mantra often do so with the attitude I will do as I want while ignoring the flip side of that coin - doing what we want also entails responsibility for the choices we make and the knowledge that no one hikes in a bubble. That is, even if we hike solo we will be having an impact on more than just ourselves. For a long distance hiker such as an AT thru-hiker we have the capability and opportunity, and dare I say responsibility, of positively impacting so much beyond just ourselves. I ask, "shouldn't we carefully consider this?"

[Mountain Mike]

Hiking the AT or any other trail is selfish & self deserving. Hike it on your own rules. Hike it for yourself! It's your hike. Some may want to hear about it, mostly other hikers. Who cares? You did it & have the memories & friends you made for your lifetime. While some friend brags about how good "His Team" did in baseball,...etc you are out living life. Do it for yourself & don't concern yourself about what other people think!

[ChinMusic]

While some friend brags about how good "His Team" did in baseball,...etc you are out living life.

That certainly isn't an either/or.

[DavidNH]

Most often? "Yawn."

Years ago, in a similar thread, LW stated (essentially) that no one would care. As usual... Bulls eye. Although, like many of of you who've done it... I still marvel at the accomplishment. (I know, I know, LW... "It's just walkin'.")

And David, after all these years, I'm still astonished we never met on the trail. You must have been early on... I was the last man walking north in 2006.

Well that would be why mcPick. I left the summit of Springer Mountain on March 21, 2006 and finished atop Katahdin on September 30. I had a good two weeks plus of zero days in there.

[rafe]

IMO Tolkien covers this really well in LOTR, in the book and even in the movie. When the Hobbits of the fellowship get home at the end of the trilogy, nobody back home has the slightest inkling of what they've been through and they're still regarded as the same oddballs they were before they left.