Top 10 mistakes beginning thru-hikers are making

[Wooobie]

You can plan and prep, you can hop on and hope for the best. There is no right or wrong way to thru hike. in regards to the AT, you have plenty of time to get rid of gear/buy gear while on the trail. You have plenty of miles to get you in shape. at the end of the day, you are either going to make it to the end, or you arent. no amount of prep and plan is going to change that.

#1 mistake of beginner mistake - Thinking there is a way you have to thruhike.

[capehiker]

I promise I'm not trying to troll, but has Tipi thru hiked the AT?

[twistwrist]

Sure! Or you can carry too much and quit within a few days because of injury or exhaustion. It's happening myriad times a day. You have plenty of time to rid of/buy gear but to start with 50 pounds or more, you may not even receive that time you need to figure it out. Just food for thought.
There's not a way you have to thru-hike, as the article clearly mentions in the header. But there ARE ways you can simplify it from the start to increase your chances of making it.

[gbolt]

Whether Tipi has our hasn't hiked the AT doesn't lessen his knowledge of backpacking. Especially in the winter. I think some people are at greater risk doing overnight hikes, without trail legs, and packs that are not trimmed down for the AT. I have never hiked the AT but I have put in many miles and day's on a trail; to trim my pack weight and gear list down to what I would take if I won the lottery and left for the AT tomorrow. This is a great site for AT hikers and hiking but it is also wonderful for those dreaming of doing a Thru Hike one day. I have learned a lot from Tipi and everyone else's participation. I have learned a lot from this thread and the video that helped start it.

[rafe]

Whether Tipi has our hasn't hiked the AT doesn't lessen his knowledge of backpacking.

I wouldn't argue with that at all. But the thread isn't about backpacking in general, it's about thru hiking, specifically.

[GreenBlaze]

Everyone should read this two-volume set called Hiking The Appalachian Trail

My books arrived today in great shape. I learned something I never knew about the AT in the first page. Thanks for turning me on to these!

The route of the Appalachian Trail, save the northern end, parallels the greatest of all Indian trails, the Great Indian Warpath, which extended from Creek territory in Alabama north into Pennsylvania.

[rafe]

My books arrived today in great shape. I learned something I never knew about the AT in the first page. Thanks for turning me on to these!

Ancient but worth the read. Read them both many years ago back in the pre-Internet dark ages. Back then I had to check them out of the library (multiple times.) Years later I acquired my own copy.

[gbolt]

I wouldn't argue with that at all. But the thread isn't about backpacking in general, it's about thru hiking, specifically.

Good point... I can't argue with that. (Not that I ever mean to argue. I just like the discussion).

[twistwrist]

Completely agree, rafe. That's definitely the audience to whom I was catering the article.

[Smoky Spoon]

Thru hikes are certainly destination oriented, I agree with you on that one but for myself the journey is equally important. But I am an odd one, I have always preferred the woods and solitude much more than towns or even ending my hikes....if I could, I would hike a hike that never ended.

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

[Smoky Spoon]

Enjoyed the article, thank you for taking the time and effort to post it.

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

[rafe]

Thru hikes are certainly destination oriented, I agree with you on that one but for myself the journey is equally important. But I am an odd one, I have always preferred the woods and solitude much more than towns or even ending my hikes....if I could, I would hike a hike that never ended.

How can you be so sure of that?

[Smoky Spoon]

Be sure of what?

How can you be so sure of that?

[rafe]

Specifically, "... if I could, I would hike a hike that never ended."

[Smoky Spoon]

Honestly, I do not know. But I find myself at a crossroads in my life. I might be able to just take this hike and write. And then take another one and hike. Repeat....again and again. And I at first thought, what? That is crazy, but now, lately, I am finding myself giving it serious consideration. So in my mind, if I keep hiking, going from one trail to the next and so on, then could that be considered a hike that never ends?

[rafe]

Honestly, I do not know. But I find myself at a crossroads in my life. I might be able to just take this hike and write. And then take another one and hike. Repeat....again and again. And I at first thought, what? That is crazy, but now, lately, I am finding myself giving it serious consideration. So in my mind, if I keep hiking, going from one trail to the next and so on, then could that be considered a hike that never ends?

Have you considered that you might be getting a little ahead of yourself?