Quote Originally Posted by LShuman024 View Post
I could use some advice from those who may have been in a similar situation. My boyfriend and I started hiking the AT NOBO in March and we had a few setbacks like injuries, total gear replacement, and sometimes we got sucked into the town vortex, especially when we were hurting from our feet issues (plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinitis). We knew we were behind and at the end of July, we were only 1/3 of the way to Katahdin and our funds were too low to continue and we went home to reevaluate. We’ve been home three weeks so far and we were hoping to get back out on trail starting at Katahdin and heading back south to our stopping point in Virginia. The reason we’re taking so long to get back out on trail is because of our money situation. We’ve been trying to do quick odd jobs, sell things, and we even started a GoFundMe ( https://gofund.me/09037445 ) even though we HATE the idea of asking folks for money. We’ve been through the worst stress/post Trail depression since we’ve been home and we want nothing more than to get back out because our goal is to finish the trail before the end of this year. We have a unique living situation and can’t wait until next year. On the trail, we met a guy who was hiking with his car. He would work for stay at hostels, and when he could hike, he’d drive forward to the next gap, slackpack, then hitch a ride back to his car. We thought about this being a possibility and possibly make money in the meantime doing shuttles or food delivery service. However, with Maine being so remote, we worry about being able to hike with our car and hitching rides to it.Has anyone ever been faced with such a unique problem? We are trying anything at this point. All we know is that our trail friends/angels have all told us to get back out as soon as we can or else we may never get back there. We know this was a one time adventure for us before we start building a life and the lack of support back home has been hard.Advice, if any? Thanks
Reality checks are painful, both physically and psychologically. Based on what you posted here and in your gofundme posts, you started March 15 and got off the trail roughly July 18. You went 750 miles in 125 days, averaging 6 mpd (miles per day). Yes, I know there were foot problems, gear swap outs, and weather delays. Most hikers experience some, if not all of these to some degree. But the reality is still 6 mpd (miles per day). Ask yourself, "did we spend 60+ zero days because of foot problems and weather?" Because a 12mpd average is pretty much a bare MINIMUM for successfully thru-hiking in a single season.

Please consider that the trail will NOT get easier in the north and that goes doubleplus for Maine and New Hampshire, where your daily mileage will drop due to difficulty of the terrain, possible bad weather at higher elevations, and logistics of where you can resupply and camp.

I don't think the car plan will work, especially starting SOBO at Katahdin. You'll be spending both precious time AND money moving the car around, and Maine is likely not a place you'll likely even break even on gas money. You'll spend more money fueling AND more time driving the car around (and NOT hiking) than you'll take in. How would people even contact you for services given the spotty at best cell service? Then add in the possibility of a car breaking down and requiring repairs in a remote section of Maine - when you are on a razor thin budget. By the time you get back on the trail, even if just a week from now, Maine's realistic summer will be almost over (Labor Day, Sept 6), and daylight hiking hours will start getting much shorter, especially in ME and NH. The weather will start to turn as well, with cold rain and even frozen precipitation at higher elevations in the Whites as early as mid-September. Later season NOBO thru-hikers will be going the opposite direction from you, and within a few weeks they'll all be well north of you. I don't see them needing shuttle rides or such anyway - they'll likely have resupply and other such needs already planned for.

Given your prior history in regards to average pace, the increased difficulty of terrain, seasonal weather and daylight changes, potential for foot problems, etc., I just don't see you completing this hike this year. Hey, you hiked 750 miles. You are part of the very large majority of people who planned to thru-hike and never completed their thru-hike due to a myriad of reasons, and running out of money is a common one. You made it farther than most people do. And you can always go back and finish, either in a single season or over multiple years.