Advice from failed attempts?

[WanderlustWolf]

I have been reading about how only about 17%-20% of Thru-Hikers actually make it! Has anyone on here had an attempt at a Thru-hike not go so well? Would you be willing to share what you learned from it experience? What did you learn that you wish you knew before you made your first attempt? Are there any articles about this topic anyone can recommend? I am getting my life in order to make a first attempt in 2015 and any honesty would be much appreciated!

[rhjanes]

walking to far, to fast, with to much weight.

test all your gear, at home. then on over night camp outs and hikes. Get in shape. Then test all your gear again in the dark, in the rain, in winds.

and no, I've not been out more than a week at a time either............ but I am slowly taking the advice and applying it.

[DavidNH]

people should do some backpacking (weekends, vacations etc) BEFORE attempting a 5-6 month thru hike so they at least no what they are getting into, and know their geer.. what they do and don't need and how it works.

[Mags]

people should do some backpacking (weekends, vacations etc) BEFORE attempting a 5-6 month thru hike so they at least no what they are getting into, and know their geer.. what they do and don't need and how it works.

Yes!!!

You can discuss gear all day, but until you use it, you will not know what works. Plus it is fun to go out and backpack!

I know people have done the trail with NO backpacking experience. But if I was committing to 5 months+ of my life to a journey, quitting a job and making other plans, I know I'd want to do everything I could to not be in the approx 75% who do NOT complete the journey.

We rarely hear from the 75% who do not compete the journey. Good thread.

[Dogtra]

Don't use the word "fail" to describe my incomplete thru-hikes that much anymore. Mainly because I still treasure the experiences and I'm glad I was out there as much as I was. My first attempt was by far my best and I think I had the best chance of completing the whole Trail in one go that year... but tragedy stopped me in my tracks in PA. Looking back I can't say there was really anything that could have prepared me for it. Sometimes **** just happens. The second attempt was three years after the first and I just made bad decisions regarding who I started to hike with and why.

Your starting fitness level isn't a big deal because the Trail will beat you down and spit you out stronger than ever - IF you don't quit before then. The best advice I think I could give anyone preparing for their first attempt would be to do a 2 week long section hike. This would be a great test run to see if you have the mental fortitude to push on day after day. Would also give people a better idea of what gear they need versus what they want, and what they would be willing to haul up the trail. Two weeks is quite a long time away from work in itself but I strongly encourage you to try it if you can. A lot of people drop off the trail before that much time has passed and many of them had been dreaming of it for far longer. Dreaming didn't help them when they realized it wasn't as glamorous as they had thought it would be... It can be a costly reality check.

What helps: Better quality gear? Yes. Better physical health? Yes. Extra money? Yes. Better nutrition? Yes. Support of family and friends? Yes.

Yet the determining factor will come down to mental fortitude. Excluding injury, illness, death, and financial issues that could end your hike.

What will you do if it rains for 16 days straight and despite your valiant efforts just about everything you have is wet? If you wake up one morning and your feet no longer fit into the shoe/boot size that you've had for all of your adult life? If you get chased down a mountain by a deer... or worse yet... an aggressive emu? If your foot becomes cut open at the heel when a stick rips through your footwear? If you experience a month long episode of Giardia and have reached epic levels of "sick in the woods"? If on one of your most miserable evenings you're stuck on a privy covered in only rusty nails, its cold, raining, you're swearing profusely as the last of your precious TP has run out, and the only thing left to comfort you is the not so hushed laughter coming from the nearby shelter at your expense?

There will be hunger, pain, discomfort, and boredom. Yet despite it all... when you look back to your time on the Trail - You will be happy. The good times will overshadow the bad.

I wish you the very best for your 2015 hike. Enjoy it.

[Old Hiker]

1. Too much weight, although I was lugging it fairly well.

2. Walk AROUND mud puddles. http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=378951

3. Post #2 - test, test, test. Testing is MUCH harder than the Trail, in my opinion. You aren't out there long enough to become accustomed to the tiredness, hunger, etc. You know you can always bail and start again next weekend or whatever.

[Nooga]

Trying to crank out too many miles too early. Give your body time to acclimate.

[Mags]

Your starting fitness level isn't a big deal because the Trail will beat you down and spit you out stronger than ever - IF you don't quit before then. .

(Emphasis mine)

Exactly. So why not have a base level of fitness to start? Again, when 75% of people do not finish their AT thru-hike, what's wrong with some conditioning before starting?

The hikes are mental challenges, but the mental challenges are easier if you aren't struggling excessively up every hill and dale to start.

Agree on the long hike before hand. I did a three-week hike on the Long Trail the year before starting my AT hike and it really helped. My gear was dialed in a bit more and my daily routine as well. And I found out I really enjoy backpacking. In many ways, my thru-hike of the LT was my most helpful backpacking trip ever on many levels.

[Praha4]

#1 do not start hiking too many miles/day, allow yourself time to acclimate to the trail. Injuries come on quickly when you start out doing big days too soon. #2 train, train, train before your hike. Train on hills. Train using a full weight backpack. Build an aerobic base, as a long distance runner would do. #3 reduce your pack weight as much as possible. #4 Mental: take the hike one day at a time, don't think weeks or months ahead, take it one day at a time, live in the moment, enjoy every moment, take breaks during the day, it's a marathon, not a sprint #5 Find a group or buddy you enjoy being around, you don't have to hike all day with them, but it's more enjoyable if you find someone or a group you can pal around with at the end of the day, and in towns. #6 Don't sweat the bad days, there will be bad days, and you can't let them make you quit. After the nasty weather and rain, the good weather will eventually return.

[4eyedbuzzard]

I think a lot of people truly believe they will enjoy a thru-hike, but learn by trying it that they really don't want to hike for 5 to 6 solid months day in, day out, and deal with all the not so enjoyable aspects of thru-hiking. I think many of us fall in love with a romantic notion of thru-hiking, but find that we don't like the reality of it. While times, equipment, and the trail experience were much different when I stopped in Damascus back in the late 1970's, I just found that I wasn't enjoying it any more. I much prefer just going out for two days to a week max. I would admit that I get bored with many activities easily, including hiking. It's just not for me, and probably just not for many others. But the only way you'll ever know is to give it a try.

[Dogwood]

I bet you can learn as much or more about completing thru-hikes the first time from those that do that also take notice of what takes many(most?)off their intended thru-hikes. With the many possible scenarios I've observed that take thru-hikers off their intended thru-hikes the Number #1 thing by far is loosing the mental game. This is going to rub most the wrong way but it's not the gear, money, weather, physical conditioning, so called boring trail, or even injury that takes most first time thru-hiker wanna bees off their thru-hikes. It's not managing and routinely adapting to the new mentality it takes to thru-hike.

I failed to finish one thru-hike in more than twenty 300 mile plus thru-hikes. This occurred recently this late spring on the 740 mile Grand Enchantment Trail where I only went 360 miles. I could claim it was about the heat, starting too late, lack of humidity, copious water hauls, not being ultimately physically prepared, gear break downs, tight trail budget, bah blah blah. Plain and simple my head never stayed focused on appreciating the thru-hike. I trudged begrudgingly mile after mile at times. I fell into a mental funk letting myself get mentally negative that began by letting myself be mentally complacent by allowing and entertaining negative thoughts. I absolutely HATED that I wasn't fully realizing the awesomeness that a long distance remote desert hike in blooming spring is! I absolutely HATED that I didn't finish. More importantly, what really irritated me was that I took the thru-hike for granted. That's a sure way to back yourself into trouble both on at thru-hike and in LIFE - lack of gratitude and humility! I took a few days off. I got my head back together appreciating the wonder that a thru-hike involves. I regained my appreciation while adding some humility for this blessing of being ale to backpack long distances. I immediately went on a different 300 mile hike elsewhere and then a 140 mile thru-hike joyfully completing both. Since than, I've added another 300+ mile thru-hike and I'm currently on yet another. Most importantly is not those stats though. It's my attitude of gratitude is back!

[Malto]

One through thru hiker once said.....

"If you are properly trained then it is much more of a mental game. If you are not trained then physical pain will become mental pain."

[Second Hand]

Awesome post Dogtra!
I agree, your attempts were not a failure! Maybe someday you'll get back to PA and finish a section hike.

[MuddyWaters]

Leave yourself enough time and money to do it YOUR way. Squeezing in a window shorter than you really need, or rushing due to limited money, will both end up getting you hurt, burnt out, or financially depleted.

[likeahike]

I agree with 4eyedbuzzard, thru-hiking the AT is not for everyone. When I hiked in '05, I had the time, the money, the gear and the fitness to do it. What I did not have was the inclination. I actually hiked longer than expected and ended up at Harper's Ferry. At that point I was deathly bored and having no fun at all. So I went home. Since then I've never once considered a hike of more than a week. Love my hiking, but in moderation.

[CrumbSnatcher]

a crappy day on the trail is better than a good day at work :-)

[WanderlustWolf]

I hope I did not offend anyone with calling these “Failed“ attempts. I started doing ultramarthons on trails last year and I learned that as long as I know I honestly gave my best effort (training, nutrition during before and after the race, got enough rest but not more than I should, proper clothing, etc) that not finishing a race could be so much more rewarding than finishing something I KNEW I could do. Not finishing is not a failure in my book, I just thought it might be easier for others to look up if I used lingo that so many others tend to when first starting to get REAL about the idea of a Thru-Hike.

You have all been awesome! This is so great! Thanks for all the info!

[2015 Lady Thru-Hiker]

a crappy day on the trail is better than a good day at work :-)

Once again wish we had a like button on here

[rafe]

I quit my attempted thru after 60 days or so, a day shy of McAfee knob. It had stopped being fun. I finished the trail 17 years later at the very same road crossing. It took a long long time to acquire and maintain a positive attitude on the trail. For me it wasn't about fitness or money or injury or family crisis. It was and remains all about attitude.

[TJ aka Teej]

There are no "failed attempts," there are only successful section hikes.