Finding Thru hiker partner on-line

[Malto]

We continue to see prospective thru hiker come on Whiteblaze looking for a partner for their hike. Straightforward question........ Do you know anyone that met on-line that hiked a significant part of a thru hike together? If so I would love to know the details.

[10-K]

I'm sure there are some but my guess is that folks who look for hiking partners to start their hike with disregard the notion by the time planning is done.

[Slo-go'en]

I hiked with some older woman I meet on line for a CDT section hike last year. It didn't take long to find out that was a big mistake. It's still a bit painful to think about. Maybe if the 4th woman hadn't joined the group at the last minute I might have been okay. At the time it seemed like the more the merrier, right?

But if your an older woman who wants to hike the Colorado Trail next summer, give me a call I could use a partner, but not four of them!

[max patch]

When Ed Garvey did his first thru he advertised in the ATN for a partner. He was very specific about his mileage per day, etc. He corresponded with someone for a few months who sounded like a good fit. While this individual was not going to do a thru, they made plans to hike together for the first several hundred miles. As soon as they started it was clear that this individual was not in the hiking shape that he had represented himself to be it. Garvey hiked with him for 30 minutes and then pressed on. He waited for him at the shelter for 2 hours. When the other hiker never showed up Garvey left and never saw or heard from him again. Garvey later learned that the hiker arrived at the shelter 2 hours after he left. The other hiker made it to the forest service road and went home.

[Valley Girl]

I have wondered the same and concluded that if it happens on the trail naturally, then all the better.

[Marta]

I've "met" two people online who planned to hike the AT and the JMT with me, respectively. Disasters. I've made arrangements to do shorter hikes with a number of other people through other online hiking sites. Some of those people are friends and valued hiking partners to this day. Others....not so much. I've got some funny stories to tell, though.

[stranger]

I understand why people attempt to organise partners before the start, but it's incredibly unlikely that you will be compatible, there are so many variable:
- pace
- fitness
- age
- hiking styles
- pack weight
- experience
- finances
- pain tolerance
- blisters
- personalities
- expectations

Too many things you cannot control, better to meet up with someone on the trail and then just have to work out the personality stuff, most of the people I've hiked with long term we just started seeing each other all the time because many of those variables fit, so then it was just a matter of whether or not we got along.

[Bronk]

People who think they need to arrange a hiking partner for a thruhike ahead of time have no idea what the AT in Georgia is like every spring. There are a couple dozen people leaving Springer every day. You're not going to be alone. Over the course of the first few weeks most people cross paths with the people in front of them and behind them several times before everybody settles into their groove. You will meet people that hike at your pace and match your style...friendships are made quickly...no need to have this lined up before you leave. Very few people who start in pairs or groups actually finish together, so its best to know that up front and not count on a partner as being integral to your hike.

[fredmugs]

Not a thru hike but the guy I currently hike with I met on here in the Hooking Up forum back around 2007. We section hiked the last 1,500 miles or so of the AT, a good chunk of the Long Trail, and about 600 miles of the PCT so far. First day on the trail we were both belching, cussing, and farting and the rest is history.

[kayak karl]

NO, separated by pace on 8th day.

[Nooga]

People who think they need to arrange a hiking partner for a thruhike ahead of time have no idea what the AT in Georgia is like every spring. There are a couple dozen people leaving Springer every day. You're not going to be alone. Over the course of the first few weeks most people cross paths with the people in front of them and behind them several times before everybody settles into their groove. You will meet people that hike at your pace and match your style...friendships are made quickly...no need to have this lined up before you leave. Very few people who start in pairs or groups actually finish together, so its best to know that up front and not count on a partner as being integral to your hike.

Agree. For a NOBO, you don't need to start with a partner.

[Blissful]

Most find their great hiking friends simply by being on the trail.

[Siarl]

After reading a few trail journals by this point and preparing for my own thru-hike and with the knowledge of past endeavors, I would agree that it would be best to allow your pace and personalities find themselves with partners rather than pre-arranged. Better that than begin to feel resentful later on in the hike.