I day hiked Katahdin with my Dad yesterday (very nice day too) and got to talking with the ranger on tuesday night about the number of thruhikers he’s seen come through this season. He reckoned that numbers were down by about 40 on this time last year, which in the scheme of things is quite drastic considering the number of people who start the trail, or who apparently didn’t. Is a thruhike becoming less popular? Any other thoughts on this?
Cheers
Section hiking to glory!
Cheers
I agree with Wolf.
That’s why I intend to ask George W. to build a mountain range from Minnesota to Texas to alleviate the crowding in the east and west.
He’s done crazier things in the past.
Twizzler
In brief, backpacking numbers in general are down.
Ultimately, the decline in overall backpacking numbers is probably equaling a decline in overall thru-hiker numbers.
Paul Mags
the number of prospective thru-hikers has been declining for a number of years, but the number of successful hikers is going up (if you can believe the numbers, that is).
with more people reaching Maine, i think it’s best that we have fewer starters to balance out the crowds.
fine with me, too. i would have thought it pretty awful if i was still fighting for shelter space in Vermont like I did in Carolina.
0101
I know it’s been a while since the book came out, but wondering if its effect is still diminishing.
Not So Fast
Maybe the partying crowd has found an easier place to hang out. I still go to the woods to enjoy the quiet and lack of crowds. There are also many other trails and I think the A T helped to promote getting out on other hikes.
cowboy
it seems like a ton of people hike for the solitude and wilderness experience, and the AT is losing that more each year. maybe more experienced hikers are recognizing this and opting for the PCT or some local trail over the AT these days.
0101
Cheers: What were the numbers that created the difference of “40”? That is, how many AT through hikers completed the trail in 2006 and how many so far in 2007? Also, for purposes of this discussion, are we referring only to “single season” through hikers?
Thanks, Conan
Conan
I forget the exact numbers but I think he said that 120 thru’s had registered as oppose to 160 at this time last year. My guess was that people had smartened up and left in April or May to avoid the cold down south in late Feb and March. I also guess that most of the folks finishing now are going back to school which makes me think that the trail is now inhabited with “older” people, retiree’s etc. I’m not exactly sure whats going on. I’m sure the trail has seen these kind of peaks and troughs in the past.
Cheers
Cheers
Hate to point this out but as it is expected that by 2010 the percentage of Americans who will be catagorized as ‘obese’ (defined as being 5% above ideal weight) will hit 66%. Currently, the figure is %50.
Fat follks do not hike. The pool of potential hikers can not keep up with the growth in the waistline.
Acorn
As I hike more as I get older, it does seem to me that there are far less overnight backpackers on the trails than there were when I was a kid in the 70s. It could just be my impression, but I truly don’t encounter the large numbers of backpackers I hiked with as a teenager.
PhilOchsLives
101: I agree there are so many other trails out there. I hiked part of the Great Eastern Trail this past summer and came across so many other trails… I was basically totally alone on just about all of them.
Acorn: I’m a chubby chick who hikes. :girl (I wish more did.)
Hammock Hanger
Cheers! Wish I’d known you were in the area. I’m the Abol Ridgerunner this year ya know!
Yes, K.S. rangers keeps stats, as of 8/17 we had 88 thru-hikers finish versus 128 the year before, so that was the 40 spread. It has stayed consistent since that date, I will get better numbers when I head back to BSP tonight from days off. I had 10 hikers @ The Birches Monday night and talk of some pack of 40 leaving Monson last Saturday. I don’t quite believe that yet, everyone always thinks there’s some pack behind them. They disperse, spread out, even this far north.
I’ve been asking everyone for possible reasons but who really knows? The last NOBO through H.F. was #613 which seems slightly low, so it seems to me either folks got off trail in the northern half or have slowed down and we just haven’t seen them yet. I will try to keep this thread going as the season progresses, but I don’t get much email access up there to Baxter park way.
Bluebearee
