Top 10 mistakes beginning thru-hikers are making

[twistwrist]

Hey y'all! The best way to live is to live as a lifelong learner. So read up to learn some easy ways to ensure you're (and the other thrus this year!) setting yourself up for success from the beginning! I'm stationed at Amicalola working with hikers before and as they set off on their journey. Hope to meet some of you all this season! ~Clarity

Top 10 Mishaps of Beginning Thru-Hikers

[Abatis1948]

Very good post. While you are greeting these new thru hikers are you asking them if they are White Blaze members or at least if they visit the forum or other forums concerning hiking the AT. I would like to know how many have done research before the hike.

[MuddyWaters]

5. Carrying a pack weighing 50 pounds or more

While I certainly agree that 50 is a huge mistake, I think that for long distance success, ie 1000 miles and up, in strenuous terrain, the mistake bar is positioned a tad lower than that. Yeah, some can carry 50-60. But with every lb , chances of success are reduced. And we'd like people to have a high chance of success, higher than say...1980.

Nice post.
Hope you can help a few before they get on the trail.

[Malto]

You will have plenty of disagreement with the food in the tent as well as the trail runners.

[Tipi Walter]

Allow me my fanatical blaspheming but here are some of the mistakes I see thruhikers making (from observations in a trip report on an 18 day trip in April 2015)---

THREE BACKPACKERS SEEN IN 18 DAYS
All of them were associated with the BMT which gets me to rethink the thruhiker mentality. Backpacking is a strange affliction anyway and thruhiking a long trail is a specialized version of an already narrow field. General backpacking for most is a weekend 3 to 5 day trip. The opposite of thruhking would be expedition backpacking, hence the need for an expedition pack. But that's another subject. Here are some observations---(about some thruhikers)---


** Thruhikers are on a forced march whereby daily mileage is vital and may be the most important aspect of their outdoor experience. This mindset limits their ability to go off trail on blue blaze adventures and to possibly derail the entire hike to explore other trails. Mistake #1.


** Thruhikers generally hate deviating from the prescribed path as then they won't be "official" and can't get the patch and recognition. Mistake #1.5.


** Thruhikers generally cannot carry more than 5 days worth of food because their packs are not designed to handle the weight. This complicates matters and results in the following point---
** Thruhikers obsess about the next town and the next resupply. Some will travel fast thru beautiful country on a big mile day just to reach a town and to get a motel room. Instead of pulling short mile days or zero days on the trail in their tents, they often drool over hot showers, soft beds and restaurant meals. For this reason they pour over their guide books and maps and data books to plan their next town trips and resupply, so when I meet them out in the woods they are either coming from a town or heading out to a town. It's depressing. Mistake #2.


** And here's the kicker: Thruhikers use up big chunks of time to do their hikes like 20 or 30 or many more days but you will never see a thruhiker using that block of time to carry 30 days worth of food and stay out in a wilderness area with hundreds of miles of trails and loops opportunities. For some reason their brains cannot compute such an "expedition"---an uninterrupted month in the backcountry with no laundry mats and no motel rooms and no restaurants and little to no cell service and no battery recharging---just them and their gear and food for a month. Mistake #3.


For some reason such backpacking is not official like a completed thruhike and there's no recognition and no patch and yet they all have the time to do such trips. It must be the social aspect and town support and the shelter system which these backpackers find so attractive. It's definitely not about getting an unbroken amount of time out in the woods.

There's also another mistake (#4) I just remembered while editing this: How many newb thruhikers on the AT become seasoned trail and backpacking experts after just 3 short months on the trail. Many of them will sit at shelters "holding court" whereby they will take your questions about all things Ruck but never ask a single question from anyone in attendance. I call it Holding Court as the elite Trail Prince has arrived and will now deign to take your questions. It's an offshoot of the pecking order: Thruhikers are at the top of the rung, section hikers far below, and mere weekend backpackers don't rate. Just my opinion.

[Lone Wolf]

tipi is correct

[Lone Wolf]

tipi is correct

and an AT thru-hike is about the destination not the journey

[DuneElliot]

Allow me my fanatical blaspheming but here are some of the mistakes I see thruhikers making (from observations in a trip report on an 18 day trip in April 2015)---

THREE BACKPACKERS SEEN IN 18 DAYS
All of them were associated with the BMT which gets me to rethink the thruhiker mentality. Backpacking is a strange affliction anyway and thruhiking a long trail is a specialized version of an already narrow field. General backpacking for most is a weekend 3 to 5 day trip. The opposite of thruhking would be expedition backpacking, hence the need for an expedition pack. But that's another subject. Here are some observations---(about some thruhikers)---


** Thruhikers are on a forced march whereby daily mileage is vital and may be the most important aspect of their outdoor experience. This mindset limits their ability to go off trail on blue blaze adventures and to possibly derail the entire hike to explore other trails. Mistake #1.


** Thruhikers generally hate deviating from the prescribed path as then they won't be "official" and can't get the patch and recognition. Mistake #1.5.


** Thruhikers generally cannot carry more than 5 days worth of food because their packs are not designed to handle the weight. This complicates matters and results in the following point---
** Thruhikers obsess about the next town and the next resupply. Some will travel fast thru beautiful country on a big mile day just to reach a town and to get a motel room. Instead of pulling short mile days or zero days on the trail in their tents, they often drool over hot showers, soft beds and restaurant meals. For this reason they pour over their guide books and maps and data books to plan their next town trips and resupply, so when I meet them out in the woods they are either coming from a town or heading out to a town. It's depressing. Mistake #2.


** And here's the kicker: Thruhikers use up big chunks of time to do their hikes like 20 or 30 or many more days but you will never see a thruhiker using that block of time to carry 30 days worth of food and stay out in a wilderness area with hundreds of miles of trails and loops opportunities. For some reason their brains cannot compute such an "expedition"---an uninterrupted month in the backcountry with no laundry mats and no motel rooms and no restaurants and little to no cell service and no battery recharging---just them and their gear and food for a month. Mistake #3.


For some reason such backpacking is not official like a completed thruhike and there's no recognition and no patch and yet they all have the time to do such trips. It must be the social aspect and town support and the shelter system which these backpackers find so attractive. It's definitely not about getting an unbroken amount of time out in the woods.

There's also another mistake (#4) I just remembered while editing this: How many newb thruhikers on the AT become seasoned trail and backpacking experts after just 3 short months on the trail. Many of them will sit at shelters "holding court" whereby they will take your questions about all things Ruck but never ask a single question from anyone in attendance. I call it Holding Court as the elite Trail Prince has arrived and will now deign to take your questions. It's an offshoot of the pecking order: Thruhikers are at the top of the rung, section hikers far below, and mere weekend backpackers don't rate. Just my opinion.

Nicely said, although carrying 30 days of food is nothing short of impossible without animals. I fully admit that I would prefer to worry less about towns and resupplies...I go hike in the woods because I want to be in the woods, not in town. I do like meeting new people on the trail though.

[Puddlefish]

I chuckled at the holding court part. Some people just like to hear themselves speak. I was sitting in a crowded airport, and this guy was talking non stop about some NASCAR driver, who wink wink nudge nudge, was sneakily/not sneakily retaliating against some other driver. He carried on for 20 minutes while the poor woman next to him looked like she wanted to chew her leg off to escape. People who talk at captive audiences suck.

I'm still a mere day hiker at this point, so I don't even rate on your list... but some of the mistakes I see are people on White Blaze who are here solely to drive their Youtube hits. Never a word of support, never a bit of advice, never adding an interesting opinion to a discussion, just looking for openings to tell about their most recent video.

I generally don't even click on the "10 things you didn't know you were doing wrong!," life hacks, trail tips, or any other of the "teach your grandmother to suck eggs" kind of silliness. It's not against the websites TOS of course, it's just not interesting to me.

[Malto]

Allow me my fanatical blaspheming but here are some of the mistakes I see thruhikers making (from observations in a trip report on an 18 day trip in April 2015)---

THREE BACKPACKERS SEEN IN 18 DAYS
All of them were associated with the BMT which gets me to rethink the thruhiker mentality. Backpacking is a strange affliction anyway and thruhiking a long trail is a specialized version of an already narrow field. General backpacking for most is a weekend 3 to 5 day trip. The opposite of thruhking would be expedition backpacking, hence the need for an expedition pack. But that's another subject. Here are some observations---(about some thruhikers)---


** Thruhikers are on a forced march whereby daily mileage is vital and may be the most important aspect of their outdoor experience. This mindset limits their ability to go off trail on blue blaze adventures and to possibly derail the entire hike to explore other trails. Mistake #1.


** Thruhikers generally hate deviating from the prescribed path as then they won't be "official" and can't get the patch and recognition. Mistake #1.5.


** Thruhikers generally cannot carry more than 5 days worth of food because their packs are not designed to handle the weight. This complicates matters and results in the following point---
** Thruhikers obsess about the next town and the next resupply. Some will travel fast thru beautiful country on a big mile day just to reach a town and to get a motel room. Instead of pulling short mile days or zero days on the trail in their tents, they often drool over hot showers, soft beds and restaurant meals. For this reason they pour over their guide books and maps and data books to plan their next town trips and resupply, so when I meet them out in the woods they are either coming from a town or heading out to a town. It's depressing. Mistake #2.


** And here's the kicker: Thruhikers use up big chunks of time to do their hikes like 20 or 30 or many more days but you will never see a thruhiker using that block of time to carry 30 days worth of food and stay out in a wilderness area with hundreds of miles of trails and loops opportunities. For some reason their brains cannot compute such an "expedition"---an uninterrupted month in the backcountry with no laundry mats and no motel rooms and no restaurants and little to no cell service and no battery recharging---just them and their gear and food for a month. Mistake #3.


For some reason such backpacking is not official like a completed thruhike and there's no recognition and no patch and yet they all have the time to do such trips. It must be the social aspect and town support and the shelter system which these backpackers find so attractive. It's definitely not about getting an unbroken amount of time out in the woods.

There's also another mistake (#4) I just remembered while editing this: How many newb thruhikers on the AT become seasoned trail and backpacking experts after just 3 short months on the trail. Many of them will sit at shelters "holding court" whereby they will take your questions about all things Ruck but never ask a single question from anyone in attendance. I call it Holding Court as the elite Trail Prince has arrived and will now deign to take your questions. It's an offshoot of the pecking order: Thruhikers are at the top of the rung, section hikers far below, and mere weekend backpackers don't rate. Just my opinion.

mistake or maybe they have different goals than you?

[Puddlefish]

mistake or maybe they have different goals than you?

I probably could have condensed my rambling post down to this sentence, directed at both Walter and the OP.

[Uriah]

I probably could have condensed my rambling post down to this sentence, directed at both Walter and the OP.

Indeed. I'd rather be out there making mistakes than inside on an Internet forum talking about those making the mistakes.

[Traillium]

Tipi, I'm glowing to be reflecting deeply as I pursue a thruhike starting Ina couple of months.
I will attempt to have an A-to-B mentality, but I know I will at the same time be missing and at times deliberately bypassing so many potential experiences along the way …


Bruce Traillium

[mountain squid]

Nice article!

Here are my 'observations from fs42' (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthre...l)?highlight=) over the past 10 years.

Some additional thoughts/reiterations:

- strive for a 30#ish pack
- as far as clothing, if you won't wear it all at the same time, you're probably carrying too much (with possible exception of undergarments/socks)
- 2-3 pr of socks max and always keep one pr dry
- low mileage days to start (if you get to campsite/shelter, at when you 'think' is too early, stop anyway. Setup camp and wait for the stream of hikers to arrive ... your feet, legs, back will thank-you!)
- make an itinerary for the first week or so ... and stick to it! (plan for the 'bear area').
- at each break, take off shoes and socks to allow feet to air dry and tend to hot spots immediately
- until the leaves come out, don't forget some sunscreen
- as it gets warmer, don't underestimate the amount of water needed (Georgia Mountains are tough with no water)
- you need money! Regardless of what you've heard, don't expect hiker feeds or full hiker boxes or work-for-stays at hostels. Cold weather might mean extra town stays.
- don't be stubborn ... consider other hikers advice. (All too often, when someone asks for advice here, if said advice is contrary to their thoughts/expectations the hiker might dismiss the advice and try to justify their own thoughts/expectations.)

For future years hikers:
- if possible go to Neel Gap a year or two prior to your hike. Preferably during 'thru hiker' season. You'll see and learn so much from the experienced staff and the current years, inexperienced hikers (try not to laugh - it'll be you soon).
- if possible go to Trail Days in Damascus, VA. Great opportunity for light weight gear purchases!
- research gear choices and make wise decisions. Ask on WhiteBlaze for suggestions and reviews. If you can get your big 3 (tent, sleeping bag, backpack) to around 5-6 pounds, you're doing very good.
- shakedown hikes can be very beneficial but not always necessary. You can figure out how to use your gear in your backyard or in a local park.
- don't be stubborn ... consider other hikers advice. (All too often, when someone asks for advice here, if said advice is contrary to their thoughts/expectations the hiker might dismiss the advice and try to justify their own thoughts/expectations.)

The first day of a long distance hike is very exciting. That excitement can wear off quickly, though, if you are struggling up the mountains. However, you will find excitement again at the shelter/campsite when you meet all your fellow hikers, compare gear (gear envy!) and prepare your first package of ramen noodles for dinner (haha)!

You don't have to be in 'great' shape or have the 'lightest pack', but doing what you can beforehand will help your enjoyment in the beginning! How does that saying go? - Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance (there might be an extra P in there!)

Good Luck and Have Fun everyone!

See you on the trail,
mt squid

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[Slo-go'en]

** And here's the kicker: Thruhikers use up big chunks of time to do their hikes like 20 or 30 or many more days but you will never see a thruhiker using that block of time to carry 30 days worth of food and stay out in a wilderness area with hundreds of miles of trails and loops opportunities. For some reason their brains cannot compute such an "expedition"---an uninterrupted month in the backcountry with no laundry mats and no motel rooms and no restaurants and little to no cell service and no battery recharging---just them and their gear and food for a month. Mistake #3.

Well, the whole point of a thru hike is to go from Point A to Point B, not to base camp and wander around one area for a month. There is nothing wrong with base camping, but it's not thru hiking.

[Another Kevin]

Hmmm. Clarity, I'd say that's a great post, but I'd say that from what I read in it, you left out mistake #0: starting out without any multiday backpacking experience at all. I'll probably never be a thru-hiker of any major trail (the idea of walking away from my life for half a year doesn't appeal), but I like to think that I'd avoid most of what you mention. I have done some 100+-mile trips (seriously endangering my claim to be a clueless weekender!), and I can't imagine that Springer to NOC would be that different from any other hundred-mile hike I've done.

So, how would I plan as someone with a lot of weekends and a few short sections behind me?

I'm not asking anyone to shake down my pack. It sees enough bumping and shaking as it is.

I over-carry food a little bit. I like being able to make the occasional unexpected side trip, and I'm accustomed to bushwhacking, where times can be very uncertain, so I do occasionally take an extra day (and like to eat on that day). I also do slightly more elaborate cooking than most hikers, because I find that good food (well, better than what most hikers consume, anyway) is a tremendous morale booster for me.

I'd carry about a pound more water than you recommend. In well-watered country, I fill my 2 litre Camelbak, and carry about a pint as a "reserve tank" because it's hard to check how much I've got in the reservoir and I hate running out.

My big three are in the 6-7 pound range, but that's because I don't have a summer bag and carry my 3-season kit through the summer. If I ever were to do a thru-hike, I'd invest in a summer-weight sleeping bag and be down in mt squid's 5-6 pound range - from Hot Springs or Erwin to Hanover, where I'd pick up the cool-weather gear again. I don't go overboard on the clothing, but I do like to have an extra baselayer or set of underwear (depending on the weather) so that I can change from skin out for sleeping.

I carry rather more toys than most thru-hikers. I'm often out there to do photography, or mapmaking, so I have the necessary gear, and I carry my bucket and piece of Tyvek (less than half a pound together) because I like to be able to bathe. And if I can't have real cofffee I'm not going, so there's one Nalgene bottle that serves me for coffee maker and cup and Thermos (with a Reflectix jacket), and a Melitta coffee funnel.

Aside from that, my pack is pretty middle-of-the-road. I don't weigh it, so I don't try to make any kind of magic number. But I figure that if I can carry it on a hundred-mile trilp, I could carry it on a thru. I don't go crazy with clothing, but I do like having an extra baselayer so that I can be in dry gear from skin out for sleeping.

If you ever find my poo or TP improperly disposed of, you have my permission to shoot me.

I wouldn't sleep with food on a busy trail like the A-T, which must have habituated wildlife from end to end. (What I do when I'm miles off any trail is my business and the bears'.)

I don't ever plan more than 10-12 miles/day out of the gate until I know what's what. On the Northville-Placid (138 miles, my most recent hike long enough to need resupply), I found myself doing 15's a couple of times, just because. I figure that if I were to start a traditional thru, or do the southern end as a section, I'd wind up rolling into Slaughter Creek mid-afternoon after a twelve-mile day and unwisely deciding to push on to Neels Gap, then spending a zero-day at Mountain Crossings gulping ibuprofen and cursing my foolishness. And I know that no matter how much I told myself in advance that I wasn't going to do that, I'd do it anyway. Otherwise, I think I'd probably follow AWOL's 12-mile/day plan pretty closely until my body told me that it was time to start pushing harder. A fourteen-mile/day average is enough to finish in six months, even if you take twenty zeroes, so there would be time to start increasing mileage gradually.

On the other hand, I think I'd have to push hard in GSMNP, given what the shelter spacing is there. I understand you're allowed only 8 days/7 nights: Birch Spring, Spence Field, Derrick Knob, Double Spring Gap, Newfound Gap, Peck's Corner, Cosby Knob - no zero day for me in Gatlinburg, and either a hurried resupply at end of day after making it down to Newfound Gap or else ten miles on top of grocery shopping the next day. Unless by that point I've found my trail legs enough to try for an itinerary like Fontana-Russell Field-Silers Bald-Newfound Gap, or an even more aggressive Newfound Gap-Tricorner Knob-Standing Bear, I'd be right up against Uncle Sam's deadline through there.But maybe by then I'd be hiking efficiently enough that tthose mileages wouldn't be a problem. I don't ever see myself doing something like Fontana - Spence Field - Mt Collins - Pecks - Standing Bear, which I've seen in a couple of trail journals. I'm an old man, I don't go that fast.

So, am I sensible or totally clueless? What I've described sounds like a significantly less mileage- and weight-obsessed plan that most of what I read around here, but feels like something that I could handle, ideally as one or more section hikes when the bubble isn't going by. But I'm probably advocating my own set of stupid mistakes.

[Seatbelt]

Mistake #11 .... reading this thread instead of getting out there and do'in it.

[Seatbelt]

After the 1st post that is.

[colorado_rob]

mistake or maybe they have different goals than you?

I'd say so! Like maybe hiking through new, fantastically beautiful areas rather than wandering around the same woods over and over and over and over and over for weeks on end????

Anyway, thanks for posting OP, maybe some will listen.

[twistwrist]

5. Carrying a pack weighing 50 pounds or more

While I certainly agree that 50 is a huge mistake, I think that for long distance success, ie 1000 miles and up, in strenuous terrain, the mistake bar is positioned a tad lower than that. Yeah, some can carry 50-60. But with every lb , chances of success are reduced. And we'd like people to have a high chance of success, higher than say...1980.

Nice post.
Hope you can help a few before they get on the trail.

Agreed. In practice if their pack is above 40 pounds, I offer a shakedown or advice they can take or leave. However, because I understand the sensitivity of the pack weight issue, I opted to use 50 for the article as it's a bit less arguable. My goal isn't to ever cause arguments or convince anyone of anything, only to help people think of things they may not have thought of before. It's how I roll. I love learning from others!

You will have plenty of disagreement with the food in the tent as well as the trail runners.

Of course I will! The numbers of bear incidents since the year 2000 have clearly augmented to the point of bears being killed as we are becoming more and more associated with food. Sleeping with your food is fine...until that one time it's not. And then, well, hope you're able to scare him off. Bear canisters are regulated on trails out west. I guess my hope is that if we'd all be a little more cautious with our food, we could avoid those kinds of regulations on the A.T.

and an AT thru-hike is about the destination not the journey

Not for all of us. I'm still enjoying the journey!