Whew! What a great experience!
The AT from Springer to Stecoah Gap was everything I expected and more. There were only a few problems that bothered me, so I took some time off the trail to determine if they could be resolved and I can return to my hike.
I’ll post my journal for the first three weeks soon, and
I can discuss my decision to leave, if you really want to know the reasons.
Best of luck to my fellow hikers still out on the trail.
Scamp
Scamp
In my opinion, just making the decision to attempt an AT hike is 85% of the learning experience of the enitre journey. Kudos to you.
Grimace
Grimace
Grimace, thanks for your support.
Progress was slow, about 1.3 mph, even before I sprained(slight) my right ankle. It dropped to 1.1 mph after.
This forced me to forego some of the sights, opt out of some photos and bypass exploration that are all important to me.
At the Hike Inn Jeff said the average time to Fontana was 19-21 days, so I was doing ‘average’ which is also encouraging.
Currently I’m reassessing the situation. I’d really like to hike the Smokies and get to Harper’s Ferry, at least.
The limiting factor for a thru-hike is footspeed.
There is also the problem of trading one routine(home) for another(trail). Routine is routine. Ugh!-(
It’s a tough trail, even under good conditions.
Scamp
Scamp
Scamp, when you get bogged down in statistics, mileages, average speed, you lose the essence of what the AT is about. It isn’t about covering miles quickly. In fact, it isn’t even about getting to ME or GA in my opinion. It’s more about taking on a challenge, realizing a goal, joining a community, championing the environment, deviating from the norm blah blah.
Scamp, only because you said you were reassessing. I mean this in no degrading way. Footspeed, in my opinion, isn’t a factor at all. Everybody is equal after a couple hundered miles. Do you truly believe your current ability is the reason you came off the trail of is there something else? I think some questions you should ask yourself are: Did you experience what you wanted to? Did you experience it enough? Do you feel you’re missing something? What are you missing? Why do you want to hike the Smokies? to Harpers? to Maine? Examine your motivation and figure out what will keep you motivated. It can be anything. Is hiking slower than some other would be thru-hikers really enough to turn your back on a dream?
You don’t have to answer any of these publicly. Just something to think about.
Grimace
1.1 mph is not bad at all. Do that for 12 hours a day, and you’ll put in some pretty good miles. Sometimes you can put in 14 or 16 hours. You’re bound to improve if you stick with it and polish your outdoor skills. The trail is challenging you to adapt to its terms.
Just for reference, 12 hours a day at 1.5 miles per hour makes a thru-hike of 120 days, or 4 months. Most thru-hikes take 5.5 to 6 months, don’t they?
I bet when you hit Virginia, you’ll be able to average 2 mph or better… but will you accept or endure the mental fatigue?
If you read James Hare’s “Hiking the Appalachian Trail,” I suspect you’re much better prepared than you give yourself credit for. Great, great books. You can see all the roots of ultralight hiking in there, such as in Owen Allen, Andrew Giger and Ned Smith’s accounts.
My suggestion is to be patient with yourself and draw inspiration from the sunlight showing through the trees and reflecting in the water. Best wishes.
Linguini
Scamp, don’t obsess about footspeed, like grimace said, its not important. Enjoy the minutes spent hiking and take 6 months to reach Harpers Ferry if you want. “If you want” to is what the trail is all about. Whatever makes you happy, and along those lines, the trail is not for everyone, so if you are not enjoying the journey, dont do it. I would not think bad of you one way or the other, however, the miles get easier as you get used to doing them, so stick it out if that is part of your reason to maybe leave. Peace and good luck to you
Heatmizer
Scamp,
Those of my class in '99 will probably remember either Elk or Wyoming Skateboarder. Neither hiker was fast. I could blow past Elk who was doing a 1.2 to a 1.5 mile per hour pace with hardly any effort at all. Yet, he paced me all the way to Harper’s Ferry. While I could pour on big miles, he sludged along with what he could do and did a great job. Great attitude too! I never saw the man whimper or get depressed over how slow he was going. He always had a smile on his face. Many of us agreed, he knew more of what the trail was about than any of us.
Wyoming Skateboarder took a whole year to do the trail. He had a couple of bum toes to slow him down. He still to this day is one of my favorite examples of determination in face of the trail’s hardships. He never quit. And he had a great time.
So, if you are bothered by a slow pace, just remember, what ever step you take on the trail is one that it can never take back from you. What ever day you spend on the trail is one day closer to the day you finish the trail.
Gods Speed Scamp and hike on!
Mr. Boo
I think I was the slowest ever to complete the AT in a calender year. I had fun but many problems too. I came down with Pneumonia just in the short distance from Springer to Suches GA, where I spent a whole week flat on my back and only semiconcious. I spent two weeks afterwards hiking on fluids alone and little solid food. It was not til roughly past the Smokies did I really regain my health. I suffered a busted toe in the Whites and two hurricanes in New England and countles winter storms. I was passed by almost the entire AT class of 1999,not once,but TWICE,because I flip floped. I stayed in almost every town,hostel and shelter on the AT. I averaged about nine miles on hiking days and about six miles on a daily basis. I had more than a few days I went less than five miles a day. However, I lived comfortably and enjoyed visiting the many unseen corners of Appalachia and meeting all sorts of folks. Hike your own hike and do not worry about pace,miles or what everyone else is doing or thinks you should do. Enjoy the trail and the country around it.
Wyoming Skateboarder
Thanks for all your considerate replies.
I’m pleased with my hike and I might return to the trail at any time.
Scamp
Scamp
Yea! Hurrah! Fantastic! Yippie! You are going back to the trail. All right! Go for it! It is the journey of a lifetime.
Just remember…
Speed demons never stop to look at the view,
They just drive on thru,
And too soon they look back from katahdin,
And wonder what they have done.
Hike on, hike on!
Mr. Boo