Gear Splitting

[Goozpah]

Hey, just looking for some words of advice from experienced hikers. Me and two of my friends are planning a sobo 2016 thru hike, and we are all physically fit and (I firmly believe) mentally capable of completing the hike. I do have some worries about the way they plan on carrying gear, though. Their idea is to split the load so one guy has the food, one guy has the tent (they're thinking of using a 3-man tent) and sleeping bags, and one guy has the rest of the gear and misc. items. In a perfect world, this would be a great idea, but after taking into account hiking pace and the possibility of being split up due to weather, trail difficulties, etc., the plan suddenly seems disastrous. The only problem is, my friends don't see it that way. One in particular is as stubborn as a mule and can't be convinced he's wrong unless he personally experiences failure or Gabriel himself comes down from heaven to tell him otherwise. I think it is extremely important for each hiker to be self-sufficient, but maybe someone has heard of or successfully used the gear-split method. So, in summary, is my friends' idea even a possibility, or should I continue to try and dissuade them?

[Bronk]

You are right on track. I think your two friends think that you'll be walking in a line only a few feet from each other all the time. The reality will be much different. The reality is that it is very unlikely that all three of you will finish the trail. I've seen father and son split up because one hikes faster than the other or vice versa. The only couples I saw on the trail that didn't split up before the hike was over were husband and wife. Every other group I saw split up at some point. I hiked 850 miles in 2002, but because I started at the end of February and hiked very slowly EVERBODY passed me, so I got to meet hundreds of hikers that year, and after they passed me I could read about their progress in the shelter registers. Its pretty foolish to go into the woods without carrying all of the gear needed to sustain you unless you're never going to be more than an arm's length away from your partners...which is an unrealistic expectation when hiking a trail over 2000 miles long. You're going to want your own food. You're not going to want to cook communal meals every day. You're not going to always want to eat the same thing your buddies do. You'll fight over what food to buy when in town and who has to pay for it. Your buddy will buy a 5 and a half pound sleeping bag because he knows you'll be the one carrying it...ditto for food supplies. I'd tell these guys you plan on carrying all of your own food and gear and if they want to split up their stuff they are free to do so but they are playing with fire.

[Feral Bill]

Do you really want to hike with a mule?

[Traveler]

I would think night 6 in the three man tent will take the three musketeers from "all for one and one for all" to "everyman for himself".

[Slo-go'en]

That's a disaster waiting to happen. There are just so many ways this can go bad. You'd be lucky to make it out of the 100 mile wilderness still on speaking terms with each other. What happens when the two carrying all the gear find out their packs don't get any lighter with time, but the guy carrying all the food does? What happens if the guy with all the food falls off a cliff?

Everyone needs to be self sufficient and self reliant.

[bigcranky]

Please, please, take separate one-person shelters. Carry your own gear, all of it. Trust me on this.

The only person I will share a tent with is someone with whom I am sleeping every night off the trail. Sharing a tent with anyone else just totally sucks.

It is far, far too easy to get split up, even unintentionally -- leaving one person to have dinner, and another to get out of the rain, and the third to -- what? Put on everyone else's extra clothing? Hmmmm.

[Deadeye]

Everyone needs to be self sufficient and self reliant.

Unless it's a parent/child or husband/wife relationship, exactly this.

[Malto]

for about half of my thru hike I hiked with other hikers. there were three nights that in spite of planning to camp together we didn't. once I turned the wrong way at an intersection and my partner went the right way. he was want to catch up with me so he was moving. I was back on the trail 20 minutes after I left it and he was long gone. he ended up doing over 40 miles that day to try catching me. I stopped just after nightfall. I got up early the following day and catch him a couple hours after starting. I ended up with a 39 mile day that day.

The posts above do a good job explaining the folly of not being self sufficient. Let me give you a few more.
1) the chances of all three of you finishing are very low, then what? If the tent dude leaves then what do you do?
2) Buddy number 1 meets stinky hiker babe on day 3. She does 8 miles a day and you guys were planning 15mpd. Do you slow down to her pace, hiker buddy 1 likely will. And just how do you plan to fit the fourth in the tent?
3) Have you ever spent multiple days in a tent with other hikers? that sounds like hell on trail.

tell your friends this is a VERY bad idea. in fact, asbad IMHO as someone hiking with a shelter. But as always SYOS (Share Your Own Shelter) if that's what you care to do.

[Malto]

by the way, splitting it up the way you describe is crazy. Food load will go from insanely heavy to nearly nothing.

[ChrisJackson]

I'm a firm believer that everyone should be self-sufficient. My girlfriend and I used to split up tent components but we don't even do that anymore. We each have our own shelter systems. I would continue to dissuade them. If it really becomes an issue, get a solo shelter system and tell them to work it out between themselves. In a friendly way of course...

[rickb]

Apart from everything else that has been said, chances are at least one of them will drop out before you start.

Just for fun suggest that you all hand over $500 to an honorable third party today-- with the understanding that anyone who decides drop out between now and day 30 forfeit his contribution to whoever is left.

If they take you up on this, my guess is that you will hav a pocket full of extra cash on your way to the trailhead.

[BirdBrain]

They think it is a great idea to split the gear. You do not. Let them learn the hard way. It appears you already know it is a bad idea. You will get some flack in the short term. However, the goal is to succeed, not play along with a bad idea. The hike will teach them what you cannot.

[squeezebox]

What do scout and church groups do, and families and such. I agree with everyone else. Also what else might your friend be "mule ish" about? Enough to ruin the hike?

[Sarcasm the elf]

Aside from all the things already posted. The person stuck sleeping in the middle spot of the tree man tent is going to get really annoyed about it really fast.

[SteelCut]

3) Have you ever spent multiple days in a tent with other hikers? that sounds like hell on trail.

I can't even stand my own smell after a few days on the trail. I can't imagine what it would be like with two other hikers in the tent.

This is probably the worst idea I've ever heard I've ever read on WB.

[misprof]

I agree with Bronk. Let the other two do what they want you carry your stuff. Also the trail does not change people's characters. If they are stubborn as a mule off the trail they will be on the trail only more so. If you find that stressful now, it will be worse when you are spending 24x7 with each other. Carrying your own stuff may save the friendship

[nsherry61]

Another point I haven't noticed mentioned yet is the opportunity to intentionally split of for a day or two here and there even if overall you stay together. It might be nice to be able to just do a little of your own thing once in a while over a 5 month trip. Also, if someone is injured and needs a few days or a week off to then skip some of the trail to catch up down the trail a week or so later, it is nice to not be tied at the hip too much.

[fiddlehead]

HYOH and let them hike theirs.
Although you may think it wise to tell others how to carry their load, it probably won't help your friendship in the long run.
Many hikers make many mistakes.
They'll learn if their decision was a good one or not.

Possibly ask them to at least have backup gear on hand, ready to be shipped out, if they find their decision was a bad one.

By the way, it does work for some, especially couples.

[Googan]

i want my own gear regardless, but if someone in your party drops out 50 miles in, all of a sudden your gear list doesnt add up and you're carrying heavier gear, and more gear.

[Marta]

"Stubborn as a mule" is another way of saying "my way or the highway." If he won't compromise on the gear issue, will he ever consider your preferences about how far to hike, when to take a break, what food to buy, where to camp, where to eat, or any of the myriad decisions that hikers make all day every day? As others have said, having one person who insists on calling all the shots will get very old very quickly.

Unless you stay within sight of each other at all times, splitting gear can be inconvenient at best, dangerous at worst.

Getting along with people in stressful situations is difficult. One successful model is the military model--there's a leader whom all the other people have agreed to obey. The leader makes the decisions about who does what; tasks are assigned; the worker bees do their respective jobs for the good of the group.

When you have a group of two or more people who are supposed to be somewhat equal, tact and delicacy are called for. Each person needs to feel free to express their wishes; a compromise is reached; everyone accepts that the compromise is good for the welfare of the group; no one is resentful that they didn't get their way.

If you guys want to experiment, try it on a three-day trip and see how it goes. A week would be even better. You can probably rent a three-man tent and other gear from and REI or other outfitter, so you don't have to invest in a lot of group-camping gear.