Why do people get off the trail

imported
#1

This is meant to be a restatement of a recent thread.

What causes people to get off the trail? Loneliness, injury, external personal problems?

A survey would be interesting for prospective thru’s such as myself. It would help to know the issues and their relative frequency. That way, a prospective through could go through some (hopefully helpful) introspection and see if they could do some mental, physical, or other preparation to improve their chances of making it through the hike.

This is not meant in the spirit of criticism of anyone.

Bob

#2

In my experience, the single biggest reason for people to leave the Trail is beacuse they’re simply not having any fun: The Trail fails to live up to their expectations, usually because so many folks have a totally unrealistic idea of what the Trail is like; people tend to have this rose-tinted picture of Trail life, from reading too many National Geographics or Outside Magazines. After a couple of weeks on the Trail, folks come to realize that it’s a lot tougher than they think, and NOT every day is a good one. When the going gets tough, it hits a lot of folks hard, and that, coupled with the prospect of 160 or 170 MORE days on the Trail totally flips some people out; they simply can’t face the prospect of four or five MORE months in the woods, and they go home.

This is why planning and preparation is so important, so one has a more realistic idea of what to expect. This is why sites such as Trailjournals are so useful to so many people.

B. Jack

#3

Fantasy and reality are two different things.

Wolf

#4

I saw multiple people leave due to both family deaths and unique job opportunities.

Eric

#5

Here’s one of the biggest reasons people complete a thru-hike.

They learn to adapt. Thru-hiking the AT is probably the biggest lesson in adaptation that thru-hiker will experience in their lifetime.

Learning how to be alone with oneself for long periods of time and learning to enjoy it. Learning to be with others who are not like you and, over the course of time on the Trail, opening the mind and seeing and respecting the viewpoint of others. Actually enjoying the company of people who are not like you.

Finding out that life is not black and white but green. Ha.

It’s really about learning how to enjoy every day for what it is, without having any pre-conceived notion about what you ‘intend’ to make happen.

And not getting upset when something doesn’t go your way. You learn to take it in-stride and continue on because you learn that things can be great every single day on the Trail if you wish to see it that way.

It’s not so much about ‘taking on’ the Appalachian Trail. That is guaranteed to beat you down because there is no ‘winning’ to a thru-hike. It’s more about enjoying the experience when an orange lizard stands in front of you and faces you down for ten minutes while you watch it and inspect it in great detail. Or that breeze as you approach a ridgeline and the different smells it brings to your nostrils.

It’s also about the beauty en masse one can see if only to open the eyes. Man, some of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life I saw on the Appalachian Trail. And not just necessarily vistas.

It is much about opening your aperture. Letting senses become acute for a while. Not always being on the defensive but learning to be open.

Oh sure, there is pain every so often – Ha, face-plants in Pennsylvania, slipping on the bog logs in Maine and denting your fanny. But then you laugh later because you immediately got up quickly before anyone could see you wallering in the mud. As if anyone would care except to laugh with you about the comedy of it.

So, it’s more about adaptation and maybe perspective once a person has started a thru-hike.

Datto

Datto

#6

Datto, my friend, that is why I want to hike. Well-stated.

Kyle

Kyle & Lisa