Lasting Life Impact of a Thru-Hike

[ParkRat09]

I am counting down the days until my thru hike next year and I would love to know what kind of impact a thru hike has had on those who've done one...mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, etc. What's more important to you, less important? Have any of your views on the world/people changed? I cannot wait to see how this experience will change my life and am very interested to know how it has changed other peoples'.

[Jay_MD]

It has been 22 years since I did my long distance hike (most of the northern half of the AT) and I still look back on it as the most significant event in my life. It became a big part of my identity, not just for the experience itself, but ever since I've continued to do physically challenging things (lots of day hikes, road biking) that most people don't really understand why I do them. (Mostly I just learned to enjoy pushing myself to the limit, and it became part of me). I got to know my physical and mental limits well, and to be able to go into a kind of meditative zone with increased endurance and patience.

It changed my perspective on a number of things, allowed me to see the vain aspects of society, such as materialism / commercialism from a third-person perspective, which is very hard to do when you're normally immersed in it daily. For example, I was *shocked* after spending time out on the trail, to just turn on the radio / TV, to hear all of the advertisements, etc.. When out there on the trail, money is only useful occasionally and you learn the difference between "wants" and "needs", having to carry it on your back, and the ability to separate wants and needs (as a result of the hike) still serves me well. Even though I have many more expensive toys than 22 years ago, I still do not allow myself to view them as anything more than luxuries. I know that all I need to survive for a long time can be put in a backpack. Anyway the perspective of being able to see the pointless / frivolous aspects of society, the greed and the rat race, continue to separate me from most people who have never been away from all of that stuff.

Speaking of being shocked coming back into society, I was also shocked by the speed of a car, after walking for weeks. Getting into a car after walking that long felt as fast as taking off in an airplane does to me normally (when I'm used to driving speeds).

I already enjoyed nature, but the hike made that appreciation much deeper. I learned that there is more beauty in the small things than in the grand vistas (which all pretty much look the same once you've seen dozens or hundreds of them). Learn to appreciate an ant, busy at work doing something unusual, or the beauty of the hundreds of types of plants and mushrooms that you'll see. Trying to look at things from a photographer's viewpoint also helped me appreciate the beauty of nature as well.

The boredom / loneliness aspect of walking (at times) made me appreciate human companionship (family, friends) even more. I learned to make friends almost instantly on the trail, but also enjoyed the fluid nature of friendships on the trail, which I compared to water in a stream...you kind of flow in and out of pools of people, maybe sticking with ones you like or sometimes separated due to different speeds, priorities, or circumstances.

I really enjoyed being able to "reset" my identity almost daily...not because I had anything to hide, but sometimes it's nice to escape the baggage of previous encounters and be free to be who you are, without having to meet someone's expectations. That is something that I *only* experienced on my hike, and not really before or since. Normally I don't quote musical lyrics, but the song "Vagabond" from Metallica (which came out a couple years after my hike) really summed up this and other aspects of my hike experience well:

But I'll take my time anywhere
Free to speak my mind anywhere
And I'll redefine anywhere

Anywhere I roam
Where I lay my head is home

And the earth becomes my throne
I adapt to the unknown
Under wandering stars I've grown
By myself but not alone
I ask no one

And my ties are severed clean
Less I have the more I gain
Off the beaten path I reign

Roamer, wanderer
Nomad, vagabond
Call me what you will

[ParkRat09]

Very insightful and well stated thanks! Those are exactly some of the things I hope to experience and have experienced somewhat on the few days I have spent on the trail in the past (section hiked the Smokies and some more overnights). Glad to see those events and experiences really stay with you for years after!

[Pedaling Fool]

I now have a life-long addiction to m&m's.


No joke.

[Tipi Walter]

Remember, a thruhike is a tiny fraction of a lifetime spent outdoors. It's how many bag nights you get after the hike which to me is more important.

[garlic08]

Your experiences at 25 yo will probably be way different than mine at 50, or from anyone else's. I think most thru hikers experience some changes--not in their basic personalities or anything, but at least in the way they look at some things. Hiking leads to pretty strong bonds too.

I just returned from a weekend "rendezvous" of the Arizona Trail Assn., and it's heartening to see the bonds that trails form, and not just hikers either. It's clear from stories told and experiences shared that hiking has played a major part in people's lives. Lots of hikers traveled long distances to be there with other hikers. For another instance, last month I traveled nearly 1000 miles to attend a fellow hiker's wedding.

My long distance hiking led to a simpler life and early retirement--pretty major stuff.

[Lone Wolf]

I now have a life-long addiction to m&m's.


No joke.

gummi bears for me. got 2 rotten tooths to prove it

[ParkRat09]

Remember, a thruhike is a tiny fraction of a lifetime spent outdoors. It's how many bag nights you get after the hike which to me is more important.

What do you mean by that exactly?

[4shot]

people always ask me what I learned on my thru hike. My answer..."I learned I can walk a long ways with a pack on my back".

Not sure what, if anything has changed. I do miss the trail and my friends and probably reflect on my hike every single day. I do know now that I can accomplish anything i choose to do. There is a certain kind of peace in that.

[Mountain Mike]

It has been 22 years since I did my long distance hike (most of the northern half of the AT) and I still look back on it as the most significant event in my life. It became a big part of my identity, not just for the experience itself, but ever since I've continued to do physically challenging things (lots of day hikes, road biking) that most people don't really understand why I do them. (Mostly I just learned to enjoy pushing myself to the limit, and it became part of me). I got to know my physical and mental limits well, and to be able to go into a kind of meditative zone with increased endurance and patience.

It changed my perspective on a number of things, allowed me to see the vain aspects of society, such as materialism / commercialism from a third-person perspective, which is very hard to do when you're normally immersed in it daily. For example, I was *shocked* after spending time out on the trail, to just turn on the radio / TV, to hear all of the advertisements, etc.. When out there on the trail, money is only useful occasionally and you learn the difference between "wants" and "needs", having to carry it on your back, and the ability to separate wants and needs (as a result of the hike) still serves me well. Even though I have many more expensive toys than 22 years ago, I still do not allow myself to view them as anything more than luxuries. I know that all I need to survive for a long time can be put in a backpack. Anyway the perspective of being able to see the pointless / frivolous aspects of society, the greed and the rat race, continue to separate me from most people who have never been away from all of that stuff.

Speaking of being shocked coming back into society, I was also shocked by the speed of a car, after walking for weeks. Getting into a car after walking that long felt as fast as taking off in an airplane does to me normally (when I'm used to driving speeds).

I already enjoyed nature, but the hike made that appreciation much deeper. I learned that there is more beauty in the small things than in the grand vistas (which all pretty much look the same once you've seen dozens or hundreds of them). Learn to appreciate an ant, busy at work doing something unusual, or the beauty of the hundreds of types of plants and mushrooms that you'll see. Trying to look at things from a photographer's viewpoint also helped me appreciate the beauty of nature as well.

The boredom / loneliness aspect of walking (at times) made me appreciate human companionship (family, friends) even more. I learned to make friends almost instantly on the trail, but also enjoyed the fluid nature of friendships on the trail, which I compared to water in a stream...you kind of flow in and out of pools of people, maybe sticking with ones you like or sometimes separated due to different speeds, priorities, or circumstances.

I really enjoyed being able to "reset" my identity almost daily...not because I had anything to hide, but sometimes it's nice to escape the baggage of previous encounters and be free to be who you are, without having to meet someone's expectations. That is something that I *only* experienced on my hike, and not really before or since. Normally I don't quote musical lyrics, but the song "Vagabond" from Metallica (which came out a couple years after my hike) really summed up this and other aspects of my hike experience well:

But I'll take my time anywhere
Free to speak my mind anywhere
And I'll redefine anywhere

Anywhere I roam
Where I lay my head is home

And the earth becomes my throne
I adapt to the unknown
Under wandering stars I've grown
By myself but not alone
I ask no one

And my ties are severed clean
Less I have the more I gain
Off the beaten path I reign

Roamer, wanderer
Nomad, vagabond
Call me what you will

Wow! I don;t know if I can say it any better.

[Marta]

I was not young when I thru-hiked so it was not really a formative experience. The process of stepping outside the normal daily activities of modern American life, however, is very instructive, at whatever age one does it. Doing it teaches you that it can be done--for hiking and for other things.

Another change in me was perhaps not so positive. I became much less tolerant of the huge number of excuses people make for all sorts of things when the truth is that they simply lack the courage or the will to carry through. There are lots of "I can't"s that are really "I don't want to." If you don't want to, recognize that fact, and be honest about it. Don't hide behind excuses.

[Mountain Mike]

When people tell me they wish they were young enough to do what I do I tell them about a hiker I know. I flew cross country to attend an ALDHA-West conference. I met up with an elderly gent that would have hiked my but of on the PCT if his daughter wasn't taging along. He replied that his last summer hike had really beat him up. No more long distance for him. At 68 nothing over 500 miles.

LDH is an addiction. Springer fever is minor. I dream of triple crown & have got my new boss to allow me a month or so off to start the CDT next year. I still have friends I stay in contact with from the AT 24 years ago. Some I visited when doing the PCT in 95 & more from that hike.

[Datto]

The secret to happiness is this:

1) Have fun.
2) Live fully.
3) Peace.

Once you recognize and accept this premise, you soon find out that getting all three in-gear concurrently is one of lifes biggest challenges.


Datto

[Datto]

In addition to figuring out the above while long-distance hiking, an interesting observation I had about long-distance hikers is that there is no common background among long-distance hikers. They come from all walks of life. It's the draw of the perceived benefits of long-distance hiking (some of which are true, some are imagined) that brings long-distance hikers together. Their backgrounds have little to do with it.


Datto

[Datto]

Something else to go along with what I'd said earlier -- a person's four great resources are time, capital, energy and love. How you utilize those resources (fruitfully or squandered) leads directly to how well you live fully (and in some cases, indirectly relates to how much peace you realize).


Datto

[ChinMusic]

For another instance, last month I traveled nearly 1000 miles to attend a fellow hiker's wedding.

My long distance hiking led to a simpler life and early retirement--pretty major stuff.

You didn't even mention that you biked there.........

[Double Wide]

Another change in me was perhaps not so positive. I became much less tolerant of the huge number of excuses people make for all sorts of things when the truth is that they simply lack the courage or the will to carry through. There are lots of "I can't"s that are really "I don't want to." If you don't want to, recognize that fact, and be honest about it. Don't hide behind excuses.

That is brilliant! Seriously--I'd never heard that before and it makes all the sense in the world. Thank you for that--I'm keeping that one and will try to remember it whenever I catch myself saying I can't do something.

[Datto]

This quote by Bruce Lee:

It is not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.


Datto