Executive Summary for Motivations and Outcomes: A Benefits Based Study of AT Hikers

[FallGirl]

To all of you who helped me with my thesis research by taking the survey I posted, I would like to once again send out a very sincere thank you. I have since run the data analyses, successfully defended my thesis, graduated and accepted a position teaching in the Exercise Science, Sport, Physical Education and Recreation Department at Old Dominion University. In other words, I am fantastic. The project would not have been as successful as it was without the help of the 14 AT clubs, the outdoor equipment companies, and whiteblaze members that participated in the study.

While data is still being collected and new partners have since agreed to promote the survey, the initial survey responses yielded, in my opinion, some very interesting information. The executive summary for Motivations and Outcomes: A Benefits Based Study on Hikers of the Appalachian Trail is attached to this post. I believe you all will find the executive summary to be an interesting read, and I hope the findings spark some great conversation.

The executive summary and a copy of my thesis have also been forwarded to the ATC and the AT Clubs that participated in the study. If anyone would like a copy of my thesis (which ended up being 112 pages in length), I would be glad to email a copy to you. My contact information is located in the executive summary's cover letter. Again, thank you all so much for your help in this research project.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Excellent report. Thank you for sharing the results with us.

[wacbzz]

After reading the summary, to me, the paper looks very interesting. About the defense though...what were you actually having to defend besides perhaps methodology?

Anyway, congrats on completion and on to a "real"(!-as the student thing is perceived by some as not being in the real world) job. 112 pages is tough. I stopped at 142 when the school bills started coming due and I could no longer defer because of thesis credits

[Appalachian Tater]

Very interesting that all types of hikers, thrus, section, day, etc. had the same motivations for and perceived benefits from hiking.

Also interesting that 60% felt dogs should be leashed at all times and 50% thought dogs shouldn't be allowed on the trail at all. It would be interesting to know the overlap there.

Thanks for sharing and congratulations on winding up your studies!

[Furlough]

Thank you for posting this. I took part in the survey, and it was interesting to see where I was in the statistical pool - well done ES by the way.
Congrats on the completion of your thesis and on your selection for the postion at ODU. Have you purchased your ticketts for the first ever ODU Football season yet?

Furlough - proud Dad of a class of 2010 Monarch.

[tlbj6142]

I skimmed the summary last night. Seems like the data might be skewed quite a bit given the age of those that responded. The average age seems quite high compared to what I typically see on the trail. Especially for thru-hikers (though I realized the paper covered all types of hikers). And, of course, "older" folks tend to be more willing to help others with surveys, etc. than younger folks.

I would think you'd also have to consider the medium used to collect the data (that Internet thing). There many, many folks (of all ages) that hike that never go on-line or use Internet to "learn" about hiking.

Any (honest) new user to this site can tell you how much influence the opinions of those on this site can affect their "views" of the trail. Shelter usage is a prime example. A poll of those along the trail would probably show high shelter usage, but a poll on this site would show them as a shelter not fit for a street bum.

That aside, congrats.

[rafe]

I skimmed the summary last night. Seems like the data might be skewed quite a bit given the age of those that responded. The average age seems quite high compared to what I typically see on the trail. Especially for thru-hikers (though I realized the paper covered all types of hikers). And, of course, "older" folks tend to be more willing to help others with surveys, etc. than younger folks.

I would think you'd also have to consider the medium used to collect the data (that Internet thing). There many, many folks (of all ages) that hike that never go on-line or use Internet to "learn" about hiking.

Any (honest) new user to this site can tell you how much influence the opinions of those on this site can affect their "views" of the trail. Shelter usage is a prime example. A poll of those along the trail would probably show high shelter usage, but a poll on this site would show them as a shelter not fit for a street bum.

That aside, congrats.

1.) Hikers come in all ages, but thru hikers tend to be mostly young, with a smattering of divorcees, marginal folks, and retirees. What you typically don't see are a lot of thru-hikers in the 30-50 year old range, since folks in that age bracket tend to be tied down with families, kids, mortgages, careers, etc.

If your experience of the AT is as a thru-hiker, you'll be mostly in the company of young folk. OTOH, if you're a section or day hiker, you'll see plenty of those "other" (ie., older) folks.

2.) Have you checked out the ages of folks that go to town meetings, or who tend the tables at the polls on election day? In my experience, they're overwhelmingly retired folk.

3.) Agree 100% on the attitude toward shelters. WB is entirely singular in that regard. Whiteblaze is in no way representative of "hikers" in general. But I think the OP (FallGirl) sent her questionnaire to other organizations as well.

[4eyedbuzzard]

I skimmed the summary last night. Seems like the data might be skewed quite a bit given the age of those that responded. The average age seems quite high compared to what I typically see on the trail. Especially for thru-hikers (though I realized the paper covered all types of hikers). And, of course, "older" folks tend to be more willing to help others with surveys, etc. than younger folks.

I would think you'd also have to consider the medium used to collect the data (that Internet thing). There many, many folks (of all ages) that hike that never go on-line or use Internet to "learn" about hiking.

Any (honest) new user to this site can tell you how much influence the opinions of those on this site can affect their "views" of the trail. Shelter usage is a prime example. A poll of those along the trail would probably show high shelter usage, but a poll on this site would show them as a shelter not fit for a street bum.

That aside, congrats.

I thought the percentage of college graduates was also abnormally high. This and the age of respondents I would think has more to do with older and more educated people being more willing to take the time to participate in surveys such as this.

And a big thank you to FallGirl for taking the time to stop back here to post her results and offer an e-copy of her thesis. Very nice of her to remember the people who helped her by filling out the survey. A lot of people just forget or never take the time to do so after finishing their projects.

[tlbj6142]

2.) Have you checked out the ages of folks that go to town meetings, or who tend the tables at the polls on election day? In my experience, they're overwhelmingly retired folk.

That was my point. Older folks tend to, for whatever reason, respond to such polls more often, which, I would think, greatly skews the data. I also think Internet polls are far more skewed than "paper in the face" polls as by using the Internet you have excluded a large number of "hikers" as many (more than I would have thought, but I've been online since before Al Gore invented the Internet*) do not go "online" for hiking information.

WRT the age of hikers, from my brief section hikes on the AT (and other Eastern US hikes), I find the "younger than 30" crowd to be represented as much, if not slightly more, than the "over 50 crowd". As you mentioned, those in the middle (like me) tend to be more rare. Though I'm usually hiking with my Dad (>60), my kids (< 12) or my brother (< 30).



* I actually read instructions on how to shave (with a blade) online from several sites before I tried it the first time! FWIW, I'll never use an electric again!

[tlbj6142]

I thought the percentage of college graduates was also abnormally high.

I just re-read that section. That is very, very high. I would have guessed 30-35% as an average, but I would guess that the "over 50" group would have had a higher level of college graduates than the "below 30" crowd. As it seems most of the older folks I meet in the backcountry are highly educated. Whereas the younger folks not so much.

[Sly]

3.) Agree 100% on the attitude toward shelters. WB is entirely singular in that regard. Whiteblaze is in no way representative of "hikers" in general. But I think the OP (FallGirl) sent her questionnaire to other organizations as well.

Not sure but I think WB was a very small percent of the total that replied. certainly not enough to skewer the results.

[sliderule]

Not sure but I think WB was a very small percent of the total that replied. certainly not enough to skewer the results.

And we can all take comfort in that!!! Nothing worse than data on a sharp stick!!!

[Yahtzee]

I just re-read that section. That is very, very high. I would have guessed 30-35% as an average, but I would guess that the "over 50" group would have had a higher level of college graduates than the "below 30" crowd. As it seems most of the older folks I meet in the backcountry are highly educated. Whereas the younger folks not so much.

In my experience, 72% of hikers with college degrees sounds about right. I had to struggle to think of one that I hiked with extensively that didn't. Maybe that says something about me. But I did come up with one, then two and then a bunch of hikers without degrees came to mind. But the overwhelming majority of hikers that I have come across and had conversations with about their educational background have college degrees.

Even the younger ones, sub-30, had them. Interestingly enough, their degrees were all in the liberal arts.