Question: if I hiked the A.T. for a week, would I know, in that short a time, whether or not I could likely handle doing the whole thing someday? I’m stressed about not being able to hike it in the next year or two, and thinking maybe it’s a moot point, maybe I would be one of the dropouts. So for those who have tried it, how soon did you know it wasn’t going to happen for you? And, just out of curiosity, what was the main factor that made you want to thrown in the towel?
Jonna
Gosh, that is a very difficult question to answer. There are so many things that can frustrate a newbie during the first week of the thru-hiker. Such as: Pack load too heavy, boots causing blisters, hiking too fast too soon, insufficient clothing or sleeping bag for cold weather, injuries, various aches and pains, disillusionment, missing loved ones, eating trail food, coping with rain, sleet, snow, high winds,; fear of strange, late night sounds, etc.
Your attitude and how you will deal with these things during the week will decide if you will continue for the 2nd week, then the 3rd and so on.
How strong is your desire to complete the hike? That is so important!
Pancho
Gosh, that is a very difficult question to answer. There are so many things that can frustrate a newbie during the first week of the thru-hiker. Such as: Pack load too heavy, boots causing blisters, hiking too fast too soon, insufficient clothing or sleeping bag for cold weather, injuries, various aches and pains, disillusionment, missing loved ones, eating trail food, coping with rain, sleet, snow, high winds,; fear of strange, late night sounds, etc.
Your attitude and how you will deal with these things during the week will decide if you will continue for the 2nd week, then the 3rd and so on.
How strong is your desire to complete the hike? That is so important!
Pancho
Physically hiking the AT for 5-6 months day in and day out is but a small part. After a couple hundered miles (lets say 600-800 miles) You pretty much can walk whatever mileage you wish per day. (I’m not going to tell you that it is easy everyday…its not, some days are better then others.) One week of hiking is not enough to let you know how fantasic this trip will be. Matter of fact that one week will problably hurt. ie blisters, cramps…
The hardest part of the AT is mental…it is a long, long trail. If it is in your heart to start and finish the AT you will do it.
You can have the lightest pack, greatest shoes, softest socks, and hottest stove and it means nothing if you don’t have the mindset that makes you get up everyday and hike. As Pancho stated above (3 times) your attitude will decide if you will continue. Simply put you desire to complete the hike is the most important. Good luck, don’t let one week let you miss out on a great experince.
sweetass
One week will not tell you if you want to hike the whole trail. I found that i went through so many changes in my mental and physical state over and over. I hurt. I felt good. I hated the trail. I loved the trail. Over and over again. But towards the end , I was happy for my accomplishment but very sad that it was over. I think one week could help you shake out some gear and physical malfunctions. But I wouldnt decide not to hike, from just one week.
White Blaze/ Pack on Back
Virginian
While some decide not to continue after a week (or less)there is no way to know if you will go all the way after only a week. But it doesn’t matter! The time spent on the trail - whether it’s 50 miles, 500 miles, or 2000 miles - make the trip a success. No AT hike is a “moot point”.
Hold’em
If you can hike for a week then you can do the whole trail. It’s a good test to see if you like hiking enough to do it every day for several months. The test isn’t the first week. It’s when you go to town and have to leave the comforts of civilization for the woods. The mental game is much more difficult than the physical pains. That said even if you start a hike and quit before the end it doesn’t matter because you tried it. No one knows if there going to go all the way when they start there thru-hike. Go for hike a week and if you like it then plan your thru hike.
Darth Pacman
it wont give you a definitive answer but it will give you an idea. if you find a week-long trip immensely more enjoyable than a weekender, youve got a good shot
crash! bang!
If your mouth is watering and you find yourself not wanting to go home, well thats probably a tell tale sign. Do realize that a week may not tell you anything.
I had never been out for more than 4 days and most of the other thru-hikers had very little experience, and almost everyone I knew made it. In fact I quit a 2 week section hike after 3 days.
I’m a strong believer in the shakedown hike to get comfortable backpacking and know what to expect. But it’s certainly not imperative to be out a week before you start. A thru hike is completely different from any week hike. It’s magic
A-Train
I enjoyed the first week the most out of the month that I hiked. After that the constant rain and homesickness is what killed me. It was strange but after a month physically I felt great and could hike all day without getting sore. Mentally though I just was not in it at that time. My atempt was in 2000 and I think about it everyday. Someday I know I will be back to try again.
Big B
they say that half of those who quit do in the first THIRTY-TWO MILES!!
it is almost all due to having bizzare and misguided expectations. the other half is more complex.
for sure, a week out would tell you a whole lot.
if you can get out there, get out there!
it wont be any sure fire litmus test, but it will tell you a whole lot. like if you enjoy backpacking.
milo
One week of hiking will probably tell you a great deal if you can stand being away from the creature comforts of home and things like that, thats for sure. But its difficult to say about the mental aspects of the whole thru-hike. People attempt the thru-hike for a great many deals. I know in 02, when i got to Franklin, I realized mentally I wasn’t prepared. I still came back to hike other parts to see the people i hiked with along the way as they finished thier thru hike, but something inside me said “you proved what you came out here to do, its not your time, go home for now” Everyone goes for different reasons and challenges, sometimes, once they find the answers, its more important than finishing. Do I want to go back, and start over and do a thru hike? yes. and I will.
But in answer to your question, if you start at springer, or on the approach trail, and can do that hike from there for 1 week, and you are still rarin’ to go afterwards, you’ve got the physical side down, and you can definately go for as long as you decide to keep picking them up and setting them down
big boy
How bout this…take your week hike. If you like it, take another.
Don’t fret it…from reading everyone’s posts here (I haven’t thru’d yet), it seems like you’ll know it when the bug hits.
Jeff
Jeff
That had been recommended to me before hiking, but I kinda didn’t see the point. I already knew that I wanted to hike the AT and knew that once I started, I would be too stubborn to finish. The idea of hiking a shorter trail, or going out for just a week, seemed dangerous because then I might realize how miserable things could get, and maybe then I wouldn’t want to go hike the AT so badly. Maybe just getting to Springer would then have been dreadful instead of exciting. I don’t know…but I would think that it all depends on how badly you want to finish. If you really want to finish, and continue to hold that determination, then the one week pre-hike won’t make much of a difference. My opinion anyway.
Leki-Less
On my hike I just concentrated on short goals. Looked forward to Neel’s Gap. Looked forward to Fontana. Hoped to make it through the Smokies and to Hot Springs, etc, etc.
Before I knew it I was on Special K.
Just go walking and enjoy yourself.
Tim
If people stop after a week or so because their expectations were misguided, what were they thinking?
What are some misconceptions about thru-hiking that people get, that might cause them to quit?
James
I think that people often think that it is going to be a walk in the park. A nice trail (nice and flat) something like they would find around their towns (a very nice trail) They don’t realize that the trail is not flat and always well maintained. I also don’t think that some people realize that at night it might be pretty cold (early in the year and late in the year it might be below freezing). I don’t think people think about that fact that it might very well rain day in and day out for weeks at a time… I don’t think one can really understand how far 2171 walking miles really is. It is a long, long trail.
In short they have romanticized the trail. And don’t realize the game is not physical it is very mental.
When the chips are down…can you laugh?
SweetAss03
Do what Jeff said, take a week, if you enjoy it take another week, then another, then another… After doing that about 24 times you’ll be in Katahdin and have a pretty good idea whether you could handle the whole thing.
The Cheat