Are You determined?

[maxNcathy]

Fellow Hikers,
How determined are You to thru hike the AT this coming year..to go the distance? What will you be telling yourself when part of your mind insists on telling You to quit and go home? How will you make your hike fun?
How many months have you set aside for this hike?

Sandalwood

[Dakota Dan]

Fellow Hikers,
How determined are You to thru hike the AT this coming year.....
Sandalwood

Not at all. but might reconsider if Leike comes up with a 4-legged hiker/walker.

[Just a Hiker]

Fellow Hikers,
How determined are You to thru hike the AT this coming year..to go the distance? What will you be telling yourself when part of your mind insists on telling You to quit and go home? How will you make your hike fun?
How many months have you set aside for this hike?

Sandalwood

If you begin a thru-hike, and at some point you want to quit, here is my advice, but of course this advice is only if money isn't your issue.......Hike to the nearest "Trail Town" and check into a motel, and take a couple of days to get your head on straight. Eat some good meals, watch a little TV, call home, socialize with other hikers, and generally get your S**t together. 9 times out of 10 you'll be back on the trail in a couple of days with a new resolve and full belly!!


Just Jim

[Sly]

I don't think I ever "wanted" to quit a hike.

[rafe]

I don't think I ever "wanted" to quit a hike.

Interesting. So you've never thought, while hiking, "This is miserable. I'd rather be doing something else right now..." ??? Or are you saying that you manage to get through the rough spots and move on?

Speaking for myself, it seems there is almost ALWAYS a time, on ANY hike of significant duration, where I'm wanting to quit or do something else. Over the years, I've learned to "grin and bear it" until I can make it fun again. But I can pretty much bank on being miserable at some point or another on the hike.

[Blissful]

I don't think I ever "wanted" to quit a hike.

Excellent point.

Also, never quit on a rainy day.

And give yourself at least three more days.

(advice given to me by my friend Hikernutt when I pondered "quitting" in the Smokies)

[emerald]

I couldn't help but bite on this thread. I liked its title and participants.

The only time I thought I might quit my Georgia to Maine hike was when I thought I couldn't financially afford to continue and a BS excuse presented itself simultaneously. An experienced hiker suggested I take a few days off and sort things out. He may have known what I figured out: given time, I'd find a way to continue.

If you really want to hike the A.T. in a single hiking season, you can expect to find some obstacles in your path. Chances are good, you can find a way to get beyond them.

[Kirby]

I am 99% sure I will hike this coming year, and I will continue moving forward as long as it is a good thing.

Kirby

[ScottP]

I've never seriouly considered quitting one of my hikes.

I pretty much only get the 'Why am I doing this?" feeling after I take a day off.

Zeros are the devil!

[emerald]

I am 99% sure I will hike this coming year, and I will continue moving forward as long as it is a good thing.

Kirby

I'm not sure what you mean exactly by what you said, and I wonder if you do? I think completion rates aren't higher in no small part because many people have at least somewhat unrealistic expectations, but it is your hike.

I have little doubt there will be one or more times it won't be a good thing. It needn't be a hike-ending experience if you have a bad day. That's when the creativity kicks in, you will be challenged and your hike will begin to get interesting.

[emerald]

Zeros are the devil!

It was a nero that almost put an end to mine and something close to a 20 in the White Mountains that fixed it. Afterwards, I figured out what I needed to do to continue.

[Freeleo]

100 day to either finish or still be on the trail is the goal....i shall attempt to let body trail and nature dictate the pace....one day at a time....no matter how bad it might get or feel.........it will be the vacation of a lifetime.... better than what i have been doing to make the thru attempt a reality.....

would anyone be willing to drive me and one companion from portmouth, NH airport to Baxter on july 21, 2008... i will pay for gas

[Kirby]

I'm not sure what you mean exactly by what you said, and I wonder if you do? I think completion rates aren't higher in no small part because many people have at least somewhat unrealistic expectations, but it is your hike.

I have little doubt there will be one or more times it won't be a good thing. It needn't be a hike-ending experience if you have a bad day. That's when the creativity kicks in, you will be challenged and your hike will begin to get interesting.

I plan to make it to Katahdin, I have nothing to do for the next 5 months of I don't. Bad days suck, and i really do not know how I will handle those, take the punches as they roll.

Kirby

[Sly]

Interesting. So you've never thought, while hiking, "This is miserable. I'd rather be doing something else right now..." ??? Or are you saying that you manage to get through the rough spots and move on?

I'm saying what I said. I never wanted to quit a hike. Sure there have been times of bad weather that I had to hike through, but at the end of the day, everything was fine. The alternatives to hiking, for me, are either working or sitting around. It's not a hard choice.

[emerald]

I plan to make it to Katahdin, I have nothing to do for the next 5 months if I don't. Bad days suck, and i really do not know how I will handle those, take the punches as they roll.

Kirby

You will figure out how to minimize what sucks and deal with it. You might consider viewing those days as an opportunity.

You've spent time enough on the A.T. and in preparation to have paid the entrance fee. I'm liking your chances.

[Kirby]

You will figure out how to minimize what sucks and deal with it. You might consider viewing those days as an opportunity.

You've spent time enough on the A.T. to have paid the entrance fee and in preparation. I'm liking your chances.

I like my chances, I need to get through mid-june, otherwise I have to go back to school and face friends who I have been telling I will walk from Georgia to Maine, and then I need to finish, otherwise I will be really bored next summer with nothing to do.

Hiking in the rain is a great experience, especially on an exposed rock with 3-40 MPH winds, nothing like it! Especially Maine style!

I hear the south is easy in contrast to Maine and NH, any truth to that rumor?

Kirby

[rafe]

I'm saying what I said. I never wanted to quit a hike. Sure there have been times of bad weather that I had to hike through, but at the end of the day, everything was fine.

Well, call me confused then. The things that annoy me on the trail go far beyond weather. Weather's one of several things that can mess up my attitude. Sometimes I just get cranky.

The alternatives to hiking, for me, are either working or sitting around. It's not a hard choice.

Different scene here; I'm a wage-slave cubicle-rat, but I've been at it for 35+ years now so I'm kinda used to it. Counting down years-to-retirement, in fact.

[Lone Wolf]

I hear the south is easy in contrast to Maine and NH, any truth to that rumor?

Kirby

truth.....

[Kirby]

truth.....

Looks like the firt part of my trip with be "A Walk In The Woods", as it is so told.

To Springer,
Kirby

[Blissful]

I like my chances, I need to get through mid-june, otherwise I have to go back to school and face friends who I have been telling I will walk from Georgia to Maine, and then I need to finish, otherwise I will be really bored next summer with nothing to do.

Hiking in the rain is a great experience, especially on an exposed rock with 3-40 MPH winds, nothing like it! Especially Maine style!

I hear the south is easy in contrast to Maine and NH, any truth to that rumor?

Kirby

When you start out, nothing is easy. There is no way you are in the shape you think you are. You are hiking day in and day out. I've seen jocks start the trail real fast thinking they are in great shape and then blow out a knee. Or start after a week doing 20 miles and get shin splints. So take it as it comes and don't do high miles to start.
And NC is tough.

And hiking can get boring real fast too. So if it's boredom you are trying to avoid, thru hiking the AT won't help in that area.