Starting a thru-hike as an out-of-shape beginner?

[equazcion]

Hi, I'm new here. I was hoping for a bit of advice.

I've day-hiked on many easy/moderate trails, and gone tent camping often (only at campsites with facilities). I've never gone "primitive" camping or backpacking before. I'm also out-of-shape (not obese, just weak right now from sedentary living). Strenuous uphill hikes make me winded easily.

I don't want to work out beforehand. I'm kind of an all-or-nothing spontaneous sort of fellow

Some literature warns people like me from trying a thru-hike. My view is that if I take it slow and take longer than usual breaks, I'll adjust along the way, even if I have to rest off some charlie horse for days at a time in the beginning.

Am I nuts to think this is doable? Will I just injure myself, or be completely miserable, and should not even try this?

Thanks for any advice -- especially from out-of-shape people who've tried this before, if there are any; it would be cool to hear those stories. PS. If this post violated some etiquette or is in the wrong section I apologize, it's my first one here.

[Hikingjim]

Are you talking about this year? If so, you'd want to be going about now (or a month ago..) to have any chance at making it NOBO... and you don't want to be starting in maine.

You don't have time to "rest for days" at the beginning and to go really slow if you start late.

If you get out of breath with no pack going up hill, then you could be a health risk if you overload a pack and hit the trail with no exercise preparation. At the very least you might hobble off after a week with a minor injury

That being said, if you're careful and don't overdo it, then go ahead and hit the trail. Just don't expect a high probability of success if you leave late and don't train at all. If you wing it then you probably have the wrong gear for this too, and that compounds the problem.

[Cheyou]

Their are lots of places close to u to do some backpacking test runs. Even a train stop on the AT .

[Another Kevin]

A lot of people do it that way. A fair number even finish.

You're setting yourself up for a pretty miserable few weeks, because you'll be doing strenuous uphill hikes all day long. (Or killing your knees on strenuous downhill ones, which is even worse in my estimation.) You're also at higher risk for injury, particularly if you succumb to the social pressure to keep up with whatever group you fall in with. But a lot of people do it the way you propose, and do all right.

The other thing, which a lot of people underestimate as an important factor, is that you don't even know yet whether you actually enjoy backpacking. That's the one thing about this question that totally baffles me: why would you commit to doing something for six months when you haven't even tried it to see if you like it? Something like a quarter of thrus quit in Georgia. Most of them quit because they discover that the hike is nothing like what they expected. Why make all the arrangements to walk away from your life for six months without knowing whether it'll be any fun?

You're in New York City, so you're in a good position to try a backpacking trip. Pack up your gear, hop on the Metro-North to Suffern, Tuxedo or Harriman, and spend a couple or three nights on a loop hike around Harriman State Park. There are two hundred miles of trails in there, so you have a lot to choose from. The difficulty is pretty typical of what you'll encounter on most of the AT - not as easy as Maryland, not as hard as New Hampshire. And you're always close to a bailout point if something goes wrong. You can even decide to stay off the AT in the park, if you want the whole of the trail to be a new experience.

Of course, this perspective is why I'm a clueless weekender. (Slightly more than that, I do the occasional section hike. The longest hike I've attempted was 138 miles.) I've found through experience that after a long weekend, or a short vacation, I'm ready to move on to other things for a while. Thru-hiking doesn't appeal as much. I get the impression that for me it would be a lot of worry -I've never been in a position to walk away from my responsibilities for six months, and I have enough family and community ties that I hope I never do get the opportunity, because it would mean that some sort of disaster has happened in the rest of my life. So I get out and enjoy myself for anything from a quick peak-bag to a two-week section (with low mileage, because I never really find my "trail legs"), and I like it that way.

[Cheyou]

Yes u can stay in the beautiful Brien shelter . ;0)

[dudeijuststarted]

Getting to Springer with proper gear is a big investment. I've literally seen people quit after the approach trail. Heck, I saw a guy quit on the 1 mile SOBO from the parking lot to Springer. A thru hike is about the least sedentary thing I can think of. You have to be okay with moving when every part of your being is begging you not to, day after day, for months, all for a highly irrational goal that hopefully means something to you because it doesn't to anyone else. Only you know whether you're willing to be miserable for 5-7 months or not.

All of that aside, you don't need to thru hike to enjoy the AT. Get to know it, and let the trail call you to a thru hike.

[quiet*t]

I'm goin the same trail; however I am making an attempt be ready. I made a failed attempt to do this years ago, and now I have another chance. I'm going the flip/flop Starting in the middle and heading for Maine then biking or riding to the middle and heading south to Georgia.


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[MuddyWaters]

Yes, you can do it
But you have to want to
However you dont seem to really want to, as you dont want to invest any effort.

So , go ahead and buy $2000 of gear, tell all your friends and family, spend $500 on travel to the trail and then come home after a couple days pretending you injured your foot or knee to save face. Youll be far from the first .

The mental challenge for someone that doesnt enjoy breathing hard and sweating all day, is harder than for those that do enjoy it.

[Malto]

The other thing, which a lot of people underestimate as an important factor, is that you don't even know yet whether you actually enjoy backpacking. That's the one thing about this question that totally baffles me: why would you commit to doing something for six months when you haven't even tried it to see if you like it? Something like a quarter of thrus quit in Georgia. Most of them quit because they discover that the hike is nothing like what they expected. Why make all the arrangements to walk away from your life for six months without knowing whether it'll be any fun?

I had the exact same reaction to reading your post as well. You are asking the wrong question. What makes you think you would even enjoy a thru hike? There is a huge difference between car camping and a thru hike, like walking everyday, the whole day.

Yes, you can do it
But you have to want to
However you dont seem to really want to, as you dont want to invest any effort.

So , go ahead and buy $2000 of gear, tell all your friends and family, spend $500 on travel to the trail and then come home after a couple days pretending you injured your foot or knee to save face. Youll be far from the first .

Muddy is also dead on. You say you are all or nothing, well prove it. Go out and greatly increase your odds to avoid the "nothing" part of this story. then your original question about being in shape will be moot.

[evyck da fleet]

It depends on what's in your all and what's in your nothing columns. If the all column is full of things that fall into place for you and the nothing is full of I'm tired of this I'm done than I would bet against you. If you're going to try and use the trail to get in shape than allow 6-7 months for your thru. Which means if you intend to start today, you will probably need to do a non traditional thru and flip to finish. You could flip to ME when you got to NY and hike home.

What are your obstacles going to be? The trail friends you meet will probably be in better shape than you and leave you behind or you will injure yourself trying to keep up with their schedule. Your first few weeks will involve some misery as you overcome whatever you didn't properly plan for. If you don't have the right gear and are taking longer than expected you will deplete your funds quicker. Again this becomes part of the mental game which comes back to your all of nothing persona. Its easy for me to say you won't make it because most don't. But I don't know you. Only you know how much you are willing to put up with and how likely you are to overcome adversity.

[equazcion]

I tend not to do things the gradual route, and have generally been more likely to quit when doing things that way; which is what I meant by "all or nothing". Perhaps it was the wrong term. I know I love being out there and I love hiking, and never want it to end, though granted it's been with a smaller day pack on me.

Sounds like we're starting to get the naysayers. So I'll say now thanks for the other helpful positive thoughts, especially from Another Kevin -- you gave me some good points to think about!

[RockDoc]

I don't know your age. If you are young (<30) you might do OK, but you will suffer for several weeks as you get fitter.

If you are an older person, the AT will chew you up and spit you out.

The moral is: get in shape before you try a major endurance feat like a long hike.

[Puddlefish]

I used to be a big fan of the funner, more high impact, more expensive exercises myself. Then I got sedentary and used that line of thinking as an excuse not to exercise. Then I found myself decades older and horribly out of shape. If you enjoy the dayhikes, at least go on a lot more dayhikes, every day, or every other day, and build up your mileage and elevation. Buy a pack and start adding gear weight to it. If at some point you stop having fun, stop buying expensive gear.

You never want to get to the point where you feel like you're not having fun, and that it's become exercise for the sake of training. If you can do all these things just for the joy of hiking everyday and feeling a sense of accomplishment, they go for it. If you don't enjoy the local hikes enough, I'm not sure how you'd like a long distance hike any more.

[equazcion]

It depends on what's in your all and what's in your nothing columns. If the all column is full of things that fall into place for you and the nothing is full of I'm tired of this I'm done than I would bet against you.

Again I probably used the wrong term, but in my mind... The "All" is getting on the trail and going as far as I can. The "Nothing" is staying home.

If you're going to try and use the trail to get in shape than allow 6-7 months for your thru. Which means if you intend to start today, you will probably need to do a non traditional thru and flip to finish. You could flip to ME when you got to NY and hike home.

Thanks, that's great advice. Using the trail to get in shape is essentially what I meant, yes.

[equazcion]

I used to be a big fan of the funner, more high impact, more expensive exercises myself. Then I got sedentary and used that line of thinking as an excuse not to exercise. Then I found myself decades older and horribly out of shape. If you enjoy the dayhikes, at least go on a lot more dayhikes, every day, or every other day, and build up your mileage and elevation. Buy a pack and start adding gear weight to it. If at some point you stop having fun, stop buying expensive gear.

You never want to get to the point where you feel like you're not having fun, and that it's become exercise for the sake of training. If you can do all these things just for the joy of hiking everyday and feeling a sense of accomplishment, they go for it. If you don't enjoy the local hikes enough, I'm not sure how you'd like a long distance hike any more.

Yup that's me! Working out is so incredibly boring to me, but get me into the woods and put some mud and rocks in front of me and I go like gangbusters. I need the fun. I guess lots of dayhiking could accomplish that too but the overhead of getting out there multiple times a week from home can get bothersome. Thanks for the great advice

[Puddlefish]

Yup that's me! Working out is so incredibly boring to me, but get me into the woods and put some mud and rocks in front of me and I go like gangbusters. I need the fun. I guess lots of dayhiking could accomplish that too but the overhead of getting out there multiple times a week from home can get bothersome. Thanks for the great advice

Heh, I missed the NY, NY part! There's a certain joy to walking through the city as well. The only elevation would be stairs, but you could get some nice earphones and rock out as you challenge yourself to some skyscraper climbs (and descents, no skipping the descents or you'll get ugly shinsplints when you hit the trail.)

[left52side]

Yes, you can do it
But you have to want to
However you dont seem to really want to, as you dont want to invest any effort.

So , go ahead and buy $2000 of gear, tell all your friends and family, spend $500 on travel to the trail and then come home after a couple days pretending you injured your foot or knee to save face. Youll be far from the first .

The mental challenge for someone that doesnt enjoy breathing hard and sweating all day, is harder than for those that do enjoy it.

+1
So dead on with this,that it left me speechless.
Now for my .02 ,
I myself am planning A thru hike for 2017,yes A year for planning for myself.
I to am not in the greatest shape and am A smoker,and the uphills do intimidate me somewhat.
What I have focused on is one to quit smoking,two to hike around my home once a week or as time permits and to try and put in miles my time allows me.
I also have worked hard my pack weight and finding a comfortable weight for me,I have started looking at my AWOL guide to familiarize myself with it and the terrain I will be crossing.
I have began to save X amount of money per paycheck to let me as comfortable as possible for my hike.
This to me is as mentioned above is such A huge passion for me and I do not intend to set myself up for failure,or to leave feeling unsatisfied .
Resorts back to ol' saying to hike your own hike.
For me it is A driving passion ,I eat,sleep and breath my thru hike for next year.
So I suppose what i'm saying is that if you want something bad enough then don't let anything stand in your way,go and get it,don't let anything stand in your way.
And my friend if you feel this way then yes you certainly can do it.
This applys to such more than hiking as well for me. It is an everyday part of life for me.
Only I am in control of my hike/life whatever it is only me that can determine what I can or cannot do.
Good luck on your thru hike,and I hope with all sincerity that you make that long walk.

[dudeijuststarted]

Sounds like we're starting to get the naysayers. So I'll say now thanks for the other helpful positive thoughts, especially from Another Kevin -- you gave me some good points to think about!

If you were looking for everyone to tell you that you can 100% do it, you should have said that. The "naysayers" are offering real-world advice to help you, and any other folks looking to tackle the AT, succeed given your stated lifestyle. Saving someone potentially thousands of dollars is not negative.

[bstiffler]

beginning long distance hiker and a newbie here but started out day hiking and loved it so started doing longer and longer expeditions/ stays. To see if Id tolerated lugging around a full size pack I got one and loaded it with my gear and extra weight to get to what I expect to be carrying when I'm on the trail. If you hate lugging it for a few hours on a day hike, I imagine you're not going to like your first couple of weeks. How do you feel about hiking in rain or being cold and wet? I live in florida and my neighbors think I'm crazy because Ive been out wandering in torrential rains both with and without my rain gear to get used to it. If you live near the trail take a weekend and do an out and back to one of the shelters. A couple weeks ago I drove 18 hours to get to amicalola to do thew approach trail to get a sense of the lay of the land. Probably the senseless ramblings of a newbie but maybe it will give you some ideas.

[Slo-go'en]

Hard tell'en, not know'en. There are so many variables. Maybe it will work out, maybe not. Realistically, the odds aren't good. But if you got the time and the money, only one way to find out and that's to go and try.