Ok, I am getting concerned

imported
#1

I have been reading lots of different journals over the last week. I really enjoy the unique styles of each writer. I have been dreaming of the AT for over 10 years, and when my son graduates high school next year I will finally fulfill that dream.

The problem I am having is this: I envision myself spending a good deal of much-needed,solitary time, feeling the joy and the burn of a difficult hike, pitching a tent everynight and listening to Mother Earth’s lulaby, and keeping my eyes on the goal of Katahdin while not taking them off the beauty of the trail itself. However, most of the journals I have read seem to focus on making it from one off-trail town to the next.

Do most hikers start off thinking the way I do and then end up simply walking from one town to the next via the trail? Am I being too idealistic?

Educ8r

#2

Well it is one town to the next…but a whole lot of cool stuff happens in between. Each day will seem to be 36 hrs long by the time you hit the sack. It ain’t no day hike. Don’t worry about it. In town you get to come off one high only to have another. Every day is different, don’t worry about it. Besides, you gotta eat so you gotta town. Don’t forget the hot shower. And no one says you have to stay in town. You can get grub, shower and go back out. Towns are like gas stations…with hot tubs!

Bushwhack

#3

Heck, between hearing about people gettin’ the Taint and now the Clamp (ouch to whatever that is), sounds like a radiator fest out in the woods. Take two STP treatments and hike in the morning.

Datto

Datto

#4

It’s not easy all the time to write about the incredible moments in nature on a long hike. That doesn’t mean you’re not experiencing them though. It is true, though -some people seem to just want the section to be over, to be in the next town and then the next. Some people, I think, are so driven to get out of the woods but too stubborn to quit, that it drives them all the way. Others soak up every step and lament the fact they have to go in for resuplies. The point is, there’s no need to worry about other hiker’s experiences. You will make it whatever you really want it to be.

For me, as I went further and further, I went deeper and deeper. In Maine, I was incredibly in tune with my body and surroundings. I could feel the wind before it touched me. I still liked getting a shower, but the pools along the trail were more and more appealing.

I definitely enjoyed towns, as most were nice country towns full of good people. The AT is about more than just wilderness. But it’s up to you to soak in what you may. With that being said, I think its wise to drop the expectations and keep a flexible attitude. You’ll get a little bit of everything.

Tha Wookie

#5

To answer your questions. 1. Yes 2. No

Virginian

#6

Just the trend today seems to be super ultra feather weight I hike with a fanny packpacking, so you can’t really carry to much food or cold weather gear. So that why it looks like everyone has to get to town ever other nite Thats the way it is, like you said it is. Yea you can stay up on the A-T for weeks, if you pack enough food and that means more weight.

Greg

#7

Educ8r,

I wouldn’t be too concerned. Afterall its not what you put in your journal or what others believe your hike is like. Rather what’s most important is what you get out of the adventure and experience. WOokie as usual is right on. I too felt completely in tune with my surroundings and my body in Maine. I can’t even explain the feeling I had the last few miles, especially after getting into and past the Whites. And the feeling had NOTHING to do with finishing. It was a unique feeling of understanding and feeling completely content with my lifestyle.
I look back on my journal a lot and have to laugh. Yeah often it became making it to the next shelter or how to break up the miles to get me to my resupply spot. But I can assure you there was a lot more going on in my head than what I put down on paper. Often I didn’t feel comfortable broadcasting my thoughts on the internet or more often was simply too worn out to elaborate. I noticed my on trail, computer entries were often more insightful and interesting as I had some more time to reflect with the rest.
I think its truly a gift for someone to have to hike a long distance trail and still produce such great writing. To see what I mean check out jan Liteshoe’s journal on this site. I wouldn’t be too worried. Just take it as it comes, like everything else you’ll encounter on the Trail.

A-Train

#8

In a modernized way, the trail is ultimately about survival. Your life becomes simple, eat when you are hungry, rest when you are tired. There are not many complicated things, definitely not too many plumbing problems to deal with unless Montezuma is to blame. When you get to town, just washing your clothes is a pleasure, maybe even washing yourself! It becomes amazing just to have running potable water. When someone gives you a ride in a car, you really can appreciate the distance traveled. Notice I have made no mention of foodstuffs in town. But just wait til you roll into that first town hungry.

Whatever questions you have about the trail, or the people of the trail, answer them yourself. Hike the trail. You will love it. You will love the PEOPLE, because there is a lack of status symbols that are prevalent in, Get ready, “the real world.” The less crap you have with you, the better off you really are. You can really get to know a person hiking with them for a day, and there are almost entirely great people on the trail or in the trail community. A week on the trail together is like a year.

westie

#9

Every person experiances different things, even when around a number of others. You can and will find your time alone, and like some, will ache for the shower, or real meal or what have you. Funny thing is, tghe further you go along, you more you will appreciate the time in the woods.

The thinking time, the time alone, the time when you exert yourself to the fullest in every way and find out what it is you really are.

The woods will call to you even when you are in a town that you were looking forward to reaching…you will itch to get back out, even in crappy weather, or when aches are eating you alive.

It calls, and what you wish for will be what it is.

Enjoy.

Lion King

Lion King

#10

Its not like you read in those SPANKING new trailjornals. Some are spinnin Like a top and the money will run out.The math isn’t adding up is it? Unless you won Survival or something. Listen to Tha Wookie. Read between to lines in those new journals, take only what you need, to fill your head to. Try reading the book “Walking with Spring” By Earl Shaffer. That’s basically still the way it is like Earl writes in his book. It would be refreshing to hear a Journal like yours, But I think you get to Busy listening to natures lulaby to mess with trailjournals, Right? Plenty of room for everybody out there. Like me,I shouldn’t be writing in here at all. I should be down at Springer Backpacking 24 hours around the clock if I read anymore of these Journals.They got me spinnin to!

Greg

#11

The trail becomes home and that time in town just becomes a trip into town.

Two Scoops

#12

If solitude and nature are what you are expecting, try backpacking the AT North to South. That way you will not be traveling with a large group.
Or, better yet, try one of our other long distance trails, like the PC.
Best of luck onn your trip-cheers :wink:

woodstrider

#13

I’m in Fontana and can’t wait to get into the Smoky’s. However, the freshest think on my mind is the shower I just had and the AYCE diner in a few minutes. Just because that’s what we wright about does not mean that the best way to get a shower and good meal is to go into the middle of nowhere. I was very sad to see Shortcake leave the trail today because she could not find someone to walk with during the day, she needed someone to talk to.

Sounds to me like you will be able to find what you want on the trail. And to paraphrase others above, the trail is a great place to find the answer to your questions.

Rambler

#14

Thoreau said, If everyone else is wrong and one man is right that man constitutes the majority. That makes Rambler right. I should use that trail name then. Be you be, see me free.

Greg

#15

I understand. Just got home from a wonderfully stressful day at work. Right now, if I could, I’d be on the trail (any trail) and would never visit a town again for as long as I live. I read the journals to and just can’t understand, why are they going into a town? And they like it? Don’t they know thay are free!

180

#16

Many hikers have trouble relating to one long-term goal, ie, Katahdin. You start out with 2,160 miles to go and after the first day have ONLY 2,152 miles to go, for example. But if you break it down into shorter goals, such as only 50 miles til the next town, it is easier to keep focused. Each person is different, so to each his (or her) own.

Gramps

#17

If it’s solitude you want, you might think about checking out the PCT. There are few towns you actually hike through, and seeing people is rare on some of the most remote sections.

Thinair

#18

This has been a good thread, one in which everyone has made good points.

My view, to reinforce some of those points:

  1. If you want true solitude, go out west. The AT is not a wilderness trail. It is, however, a good challenge, both physically and emotionally, and a chance to immerse yourself totally in the natural world. While there are other people out there, and towns may be frequent, you are also spending all day every day walking in the mountains, enjoying the wildlife and wildflowers that are so abundant there. There is a lot of beauty on the AT. It is more subtle than the western trails, but if you enjoy plants and animals and lush greenery, there is much beauty on the trail.

  2. Until you have been out on a long hike, you don’t realize how much of a lure towns can be. You get hungry and dirty and tired of being tired all the time and having a break, whether for a few hours or a few days, is a real treat. If you lose a lot of weight, as many men do, getting some extra calories will be a necessity, not just a desire. (On the CDT my husband was practically force feeding on our town stops to make up for the 55 lbs he lost. Two gallons of ice cream in 24 hours was not unusual.) Even those of us who love hiking look forward to the pizza and ice cream that await us in town. In some ways, after you’ve been on the trail awhile, the trail begins to feel like your job, and going to town feels like a weekend break. Even so, I usually find that while I look forward to going to town, it isn’t long before I am anxious to get back out to my real world. Towns aren’t that restful, as there are so many chores to be done, but they are a necessity.

  3. Gramps’ point is a good one. When you are starting out your hike, Katahdin feels very far away. There are times that the thought of “5 more months of this” is overwhelming. But you know you can handle five more days of this - whatever ‘this’ may be. Maybe rain, maybe cold, maybe heat, maybe rocks, maybe pain - anything is bearable for five more days. And so you keep on hiking, instead of heading out at the next road crossing. And after the next town, you’re starting a new section, with the hope that that section will be different – and it usually is. And if it’s still raining, rocky or whatever, you know you can continue to the next town. And then on to the next. Breaking a big journey up into little bites makes it much easier to handle.

  4. It really is up to you how much of a natural experience you will have. Some hikers don’t really like hiking, but they like the AT community, so shelters and towns are the highlight of their thruhiking experience. Others love camping and being in the woods, so they limit their shelters and town time. Most of us do a mixture, so we can enjoy the special attributes of the Appalachian Trail (“the people are the trail”) while still experiencing the natural world in depth. (One hint - early mornings and evenings are the best time to hike - shadows and wildlife make the trail feel much more wild.)

  5. And finally, don’t judge the hike by the journals. I’ve kept a journal on all of my hikes, and I know how hard it is to adequately describe what I am experiencing. At the end of the day especially, you are hungry and tired, and all you are really thinking about is dinner and bed. If there are other hikers around you, the discussions are also more interesting than your own thoughts. But the moments of happiness and serenity and joy are still there, they just may not make it into my writing as often as I feel them. I find, in rereading my journals, that I only get philosophical about once a month. I do describe my surroundings more than many other hikers, but talking about what I am feeling just doesn’t come out as often. And what does get talked about isn’t necessary the positive. It seems I am more likely to write about the problems than the underlying happiness - because those moments are different and so they stand out. We did a trip to southern Colorado once where we had problems with weather, hypothermia, altitude sickness, tendonitis, etc. I sent my family a copy of my journal. My sister-in-law wrote back, “I’m sorry you had such a terrible time.” I was shocked. I’d had a terrific time and couldn’t wait to go back. But my many sentences saying “this is so beautiful” were buried by my worries about the physical problems we were having, so the impression given was not the entire reality of the experience. For me, I find that if I write at lunch break, I give a more upbeat description of trail life than if I only write at the end of the day when I’m tired.

So, if you want to have a more serene natural experience on your hike, you can. And if you get out there and find that you are also missing clean clothes and a hot shower and want to take a break more often than you thought you would, then have the flexibility to change your plans and do what makes you most happy. It is your hike.

Spirit Walker