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  1. #21

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    The 2013 season, weatherwise, is perfectly normal. And so is the thru-hiker attrition rate. In recent days, i.e. the last week, we have brought ZERO people to the airport or bus/train station from Neel Gap so they could go home. The suggestion that there is anything unusual about the 2013 season or its attrition rate, or the suggestion that people are "dropping like flies" is not, in my opinion, supported by facts, nor does this argument seem to be put forth (never mind supported) by people actually on the ground, i.e. people who would be in a position to know. The attrition rate for 2013 is perfectly normal.

  2. #22

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    Most physical ailments create mental weakness and cause the excuses that lead to getting off. Everyone has knee pain out here, blisters hurt, feet and tendons are strained and bruised. I waddle through towns and camps in crocs at the end of the day. Push thru, keep going. You can make it.

  3. #23
    Registered User Kookork's Avatar
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    Thru hiking is not about having instant fun. many times it is like " Endure now ,enjoy later remembering your endurance".

  4. #24

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    The "25% of all prospective thrus quit by Neels Gap" is a statistic that someone pulled out of their azz years ago and keeps getting repeated.

    Ron Haven has a scheduled pickup every day at Unicoi and Hiawasse during peak season because he knows he will bring enough people back to his hotel to make it financially worthwhile. If 25% of hikers quit by Neels he - and every other shuttler and local taxi service - would be parked at Mountain Crossings every morning just waiting to take all that low hanging fruit to Atlanta or Gainesville to go home.

  5. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by Malto View Post
    you will find that many, not all, that quit for physical reasons actually quit for mental reasons. I saw many hikers that quit with ailments that many that finished just dealt with.
    +1 Ditto!

    Quote Originally Posted by john gault View Post
    If they're saying they're injured, they are lying bastards. But then again most that don't make it blame it on injuries, or money, or family...anything but themselves. If they are quitting more than normal than it's because of CC At least that's the reason they're giving for the cold.

    The Cold(*Can Be* IF YOU LET IT) is demoralizing, especially for people that really didn't have it in them anyway.
    Harsh but IMHO damn well right!

    John, lying bastards? Tell us what you really think. Didn't think you had that in you.

    Quote Originally Posted by The Cleaner View Post
    They should have watched several episodes of "Yukon Men" instead of reading "The Barefoot Sisters".One really has to have many days&nights of winter experience to enjoy the cold instead of just surviving it....
    Perhaps, you are right my friend.

    C'mon it's the AT. You're hiking the MOST OVER ANALLYZED MOST DOCUMENTED CONTINUOUS LONG DISTACE BLAZED TRAIL IN THE WORLD! This isn't the first manned trip to Mars. You aren't on the Nina, Pinta, or Santa Maria sailing beyond the edge of the known world facing a mutiny. There are shelters, blazes (LOTS of them too!, it's kinda like paint by the numbers but this is hike by the blazes), oodles of trail magic, abundant cheap hostels, obvious tread, food resupplies every few days, help is rarely VERY far away, few signicant wildlife threats(as an AT hiker you'll be at the top of the food chain), etc. Whie the AT certainly has it's fair share of challenges it isn't the hardest trail in the world to hike. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But But What If What If. Just stay on the trail and walk and soon you'll have a state finished. You'll have your hiker legs. With some more walking and lots of laughter and a good attitude another state will be done. You'll have your thru-hiker legs. Before long this can be the mentality: *Hey, this ain't so bad. I can do this. Wow, it's GREAT being able to actually be DOING this rather than just talking about things from behind a computer and not taking action. WOW, it's GREAT being able to actually be DOING this when SO MANY others would not or could not.* You'll start finding that trail rhythm and trail lifestyle that's right for you. You'll meet more and more BELIEVERS - Those who put something behind in order to GROW - To step ahead! - To reach forward! Then, with every moment with every step you know you are somehow getting stronger, more determined, and seeing things through. You are somehow knowing you are getting better and better. Then as you enter Maine after all the aches, cold, heat, rain, hunger, sweat, dirt, greasy skin, smell, bugs, gut busting, waiting hrs for rides, and possibly a little blood and tears, even though you might feel a big ache inside you because another page of you life is about to turn onto the next page, you realize IT WAS ALL WORTH IT. With all the challenges you faced hiking through 14 different states you also know you rose to meet ALL those challenges. Now, you are somehow better! You will probably see some things differently post hike. You will have gained a GREATER AWARNESS. You may realize your hiking endeavors WERE NOT just about hiking! Your life interconnected, perhaps for only a brief period, with other people's lives. Know this too - the book isn't over. You merely enjoyed one hell of a well written page! For some, like me, it's just a beginning to becoming something greater than I previously was. Some may never do another long distance hike again. Whatever you decide to do or be or offer to share with others after that - KNOW THIS - You are now and always will be a member of THE TRIBE. Do you have what it takes to be a member of THE TRIBE?

    A quitter will always justify why they quit. Perhaps sometimes that was the right path for them at the time. What are you going to do? How do you have enjoyed the feel about yourself when you quit? when you fall short? when you fall down/get knocked down in the second round of a 15 round fight? This is another oportunity to switch onto a different path! This is an opprtunity to break from a quitter mentality to a more empowering mentality.

  6. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by sublimety View Post
    I am one of those hikers who started early fully aware of the possible conditions and have enjoyed the beauty that is with the bad weather. I agree that a lot of people are under prepared, but is it really any different than any other year? I mean the success rate is under 30% for a reason. If it was an easy endeavour everyone would finish.
    You are probably right Sublimety. And, Jack agrees. Good enough for me

    Did you quit. You demonstrate a good attitude with your post. Did you/Do you have it on the trail consistently?

    I like what you said, in that you find the beauty in all types of weather. Maybe that rephrasing helps eliminate the thought of "bad weather." It's not about good and bad. It's all just weather to be prepared for and find beauty in. Maybe you can apply that same thing to your last sentence and the thoughts inherent in it. Maybe it just an endeavor that's different in the sense it's one you are NOT YET fully accustomed. When one is more accustomed to something it tends to get easier. Play with how you define things until it supports attaining your goal. In other words, when you change the way you look at things the things you look at change. This process will not only make you more mindful of the thoughts you have but also the imbedded assumptions others have in their communication to you. Advertisers and marketing reps, politicians, religious leaders, cults, educators, all manner of professionals, your parents, friends, couples, and many who desire to influence others apply these techniques consciously often without us even realizing it. You'll start becoming aware of things that go on behind the curtain that might astound you.

  7. #27
    PCT, Sheltowee, Pinhoti, LT , BMT, AT, SHT, CDT, TRT 10-K's Avatar
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    A lot of hikers quit in the past 2 weeks according to the approximately 25 I picked up and brought into Erwin. Also, a lot of them are skipping sections of trail with the intent to come back and hike them later.

    Some of them ones staying on the trail are in a good mood - others are struggling very hard not to quit. It's something to see the different attitudes.

  8. #28
    Registered User Karma13's Avatar
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    Default Dropping like flies...

    All I can add is... I'm still out here! Had to take some unplanned zeroes because of snow and ice (I'm trying to hike responsibly), but I expected that with the early March start. I should be out of the Smokies in about three days.

  9. #29
    Registered User moytoy's Avatar
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    "Spring where are you?"
    a quote from someone who is still on the trail
    KK4VKZ -SOTA-SUMMITS ON THE AIR-
    SUPPORT LNT

  10. #30
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    Every year a couple of guys boast about wanting a wilderness experience and plan their budget for no town stays at all. Wonder how thats working out this season?
    Order your copy of the Appalachian Trail Passport at www.ATPassport.com

    Green Mountain House Hostel
    Manchester Center, VT

    http://www.greenmountainhouse.net

  11. #31
    AT - 2013 PCT - 2014
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    Default I'm still here

    I have seen 3 hikers go. In the 350 miles I have been on the trail. One because of injury, one left with his injured brother, one bought a van and became a trail angel.

    Every year a lot of people quit. Every year the number 1 reason is not being prepared. It's fine out there. The only reason I took off time for the snow is because I didn't have snow shoes. So, I guess I was unprepared too. Ol' well, we are still walking.

  12. #32
    Registered User Capt Nat's Avatar
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    You folks tend to be so harsh and take this stuff so seriously. Hiking is a hobby. It's something we do for pleasure. We don't get paid to walk through the woods and camp. Not only is there no reward for climbing Katahdin, almost no one really cares that you did.

    I hike around one to two hundred miles a year here in Florida, usually on loop trails but sometimes the Florida Trail through 3 Lakes and Prairie Lakes. I don't mind a little discomfort. Rain, mosquitoes, mud, and swamp are part of the adventure along with the aches and pains that are part of hiking.

    I started the Appalachian this March and it handed me my butt, sent me hobbling home. Very different from hiking in Florida, both weather wise and terrain wise. No shame, just a great learning experience and idea on how to prepare and gear differently next year. I'm not going to pay to do something that causes undue pain or injury if it stops being enjoyable.

    If hiking the Appalachian Trail is more important to you than your friends, family, and health you need to stop hiking and fix what is wrong with the rest of your life.

    The folks that I met on the trail this year were some of the brightest most motivated young people I've ever met. They were supportive of me and each other, not just in the hike, but in general life. Didn't see any harsh judgement or attitudes at all. What a pleasure!

    I am changing my exercise program this year to accustom my ankles to slopes. Next year, I'll show up at Springer again in different shape, with different gear, but the same attitude. I'll hike and camp and enjoy the camaraderie as long as it feels good and is a joy. Hiking shouldn't be a competition, that's why so many of us hike instead of play ball. So if I hike to Maine, for three months, or just a week, some of you can "tsk tsk" all you want to, I'll be grinning just the same...

  13. #33
    Registered User DavidNH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Cleaner View Post
    I liked the Trail journal entry where a hiker left camp and left his tent where he set it up.Said it was frozen to the ground.Some real hikers out there this year.Wonder who will pack that out.Probably wasn't a very good tent anyway...
    this is a classic post, Cleaner. Love it. Not only did these folks quit, but they didn't bother to pack out their own gear. Just left the tent there. talk of not being real hikers!!!

  14. #34
    Registered User brian039's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jack Tarlin View Post
    The 2013 season, weatherwise, is perfectly normal. And so is the thru-hiker attrition rate. In recent days, i.e. the last week, we have brought ZERO people to the airport or bus/train station from Neel Gap so they could go home. The suggestion that there is anything unusual about the 2013 season or its attrition rate, or the suggestion that people are "dropping like flies" is not, in my opinion, supported by facts, nor does this argument seem to be put forth (never mind supported) by people actually on the ground, i.e. people who would be in a position to know. The attrition rate for 2013 is perfectly normal.
    Agree. People who keep online journals are not the majority of hikers by far. They don't represent the rest of them.

  15. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by Capt Nat View Post
    You folks tend to be so harsh and take this stuff so seriously. Hiking is a hobby. It's something we do for pleasure. We don't get paid to walk through the woods and camp. Not only is there no reward for climbing Katahdin, almost no one really cares that you did.

    I hike around one to two hundred miles a year here in Florida, usually on loop trails but sometimes the Florida Trail through 3 Lakes and Prairie Lakes. I don't mind a little discomfort. Rain, mosquitoes, mud, and swamp are part of the adventure along with the aches and pains that are part of hiking.

    I started the Appalachian this March and it handed me my butt, sent me hobbling home. Very different from hiking in Florida, both weather wise and terrain wise. No shame, just a great learning experience and idea on how to prepare and gear differently next year. I'm not going to pay to do something that causes undue pain or injury if it stops being enjoyable.

    If hiking the Appalachian Trail is more important to you than your friends, family, and health you need to stop hiking and fix what is wrong with the rest of your life.

    The folks that I met on the trail this year were some of the brightest most motivated young people I've ever met. They were supportive of me and each other, not just in the hike, but in general life. Didn't see any harsh judgement or attitudes at all. What a pleasure!

    I am changing my exercise program this year to accustom my ankles to slopes. Next year, I'll show up at Springer again in different shape, with different gear, but the same attitude. I'll hike and camp and enjoy the camaraderie as long as it feels good and is a joy. Hiking shouldn't be a competition, that's why so many of us hike instead of play ball. So if I hike to Maine, for three months, or just a week, some of you can "tsk tsk" all you want to, I'll be grinning just the same...
    Kuddos to you for learning, adjusting and giving it a second try. Here's the only problem I have with your post. If a hiker gets on the trail to go hike fine. If they declare to the world that they intend to thru hike then they should prepare for that. If they don't make it then they fail their STATED objective. You can call that harsh but it is the truth. Every year there are countless people that have done little to no hiking, meet someone in the bar that thru hiked and decide that they will embark on a multi month endevour with absolutely no clue what they are getting into. Aspiring thru hikers can spend hours on WB and read hundreds of journals but in the end, experience counts. Short cut it and the odds are against you. Experience teaches you to handle the cold, the rain, the discomfort, the boredom, the heat, the minor injuries and everything else that gets inside your head when you have hours upon hours to just think.

    good luck on your prep for next year.

  16. #36

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    Anybody who leaves before April 1 has no right to complain about the weather. Its called winter for a reason.

  17. #37
    Registered User johnnybgood's Avatar
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    Many started in late febraury thinking that ole' man winter had packed up and left town. The fact remains that you must be prepared for winter conditions through the month of April in higher elevations and cold wind driven rain can occur anytime during the spring

    Often times newbie hikers have this fantasy in their mind on how the trail is a walk in the park. Reality then sets in and they feel somewhat ashamed and need a legit excuse

    Now, I'm not saying this is always the case , some injuries do in fact take hikers off the trail.

    Last summer I met a thru hiker, Coffee Pot, and his mix hound Scout at Calf Mtn Shelter.
    He had injured the arch of his foot picking up his dog at Dragoons Tooth and carrying him over the sharp talus rocks.

    Not wanting to leave the trail for fear of being a failure he hobbled on. I believe he suffered from a stress fracture , and that doesn't heal quickly , only with rest and time. If he finally was forced off the trail due to injury I applaud his gallant courage to hike for miles in such obvious pain.


    Long story short,...he had attempted a thru the year before and left the trail for reasons he didn't elaborate on,and felt determined to walk the entire distance this time no matter what.
    Getting lost is a way to find yourself.

  18. #38
    Registered User The Cleaner's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DavidNH View Post
    this is a classic post, Cleaner. Love it. Not only did these folks quit, but they didn't bother to pack out their own gear. Just left the tent there. talk of not being real hikers!!!
    Back in 1984 I was doing a loop trip in the Cosby area and stayed one night at Tri-Corner Knob shelter.Well it snowed about 4-5 inches overnight.Not that much,but a lot stuck to the trees and made some great pics.I l hiked out with 4 other hikers headed for a backcountry campsite.Upon arrival at the campsite,there was a tent already there set up with no footprints or other sign of activity.Well we started thinking was someone in the tent and something had happened to them.Too sick to move or maybe dead? We kind of thought about it for a few minutes and which of us would open the tent to see what had happened.Well I was the most experienced one and volunteered to investigate.I slowly opened the tent door and found no hiker dead or sick.Only a pair of wet blue jeans and some other assorted junk.Must have got cold & wet and had to bail out to their car or some other place.So it looks like this could be a common thing for those who hike in without proper gear or cold weather knowledge.Probably not the 1st to do this and not the last....

  19. #39

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    Quote Originally Posted by brian039 View Post
    Agree. People who keep online journals are not the majority of hikers by far. They don't represent the rest of them.
    Don't see folks like Scott Wiliamson, Justin Lichter, Pharr-Davis, Billy Goat(PCT), Skurka, Taupin, Roman Dial, Ryan Jordan, Ninblewiil Nomad, etc spending excessive amount of time analyzing everything on the internet related to hiking either. Guess why? Possibly, it's because they aren't talking about hiking they are hiking! Time for me to go.

  20. #40

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    I passed a hiker last week crossing the ga line,told me ga.was the second hardest state after nh.i said huh?i found it pretty easy.some people out here have never hiked hills becore,let alone mtns.

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