Defining Success

[TwoSpirits]

From the Random Musings file --

What makes a "successful" hike for you? What kinds of things define "success" for your hiking adventures?

Maybe "success" isn't the right word for everyone -- so substitute "Gratifying"?

For those planning a thru-hike, I imagine answer Number One is probably "Finishing"...though maybe not necessarily. So I'm just curious about people's different thoughts.

For me, I think any given hike is successful if I --
1.) Reached the planned end-point;
2.) Go home in one piece;
3.) Feel happy & motivated enough to plan another one.

(If I don't reach the "planned" end-point, #'s 2 & 3 certainly make up for it!)

[Coffee]

Continuous footprints from start to finish, even if not every footprint is on the official trail. And ending without injuries, an increasingly important concern as I get older and take more time to recover from hiking/running injuries.

[The Solemates]

Success = maximizing Remoteness

[Traveler]

No police, no doctors = success

[Odd Man Out]

Two objectives:

1. Don't die
2. Learn from my mistakes

To this point I have always not died and made mistakes. Thus all hikes are 100% successful.

[garlic08]

I think for every ten hikers, there are eleven reasons to go hiking, so probably just as many definitions of success.

Some are out to improve fitness, some for solitude, some for company, some love various facets of nature, some for the FKT, some are in tourist mode, some are religious/seeking enlightenment, some don't know, some are geography/sociology/history buffs, some are photographers, some want to write a book, some are following a partner. Once I met a young woman trail-named "Quickie," and I won't go into her reasons for hiking.

[JNI64]

As for me, 1,2,and 3 are always a success. Right now just getting out for 7 to 10 days in the woods would be a success for me.

[TwoSpirits]

Two objectives:

1. Don't die
2. Learn from my mistakes

To this point I have always not died and made mistakes. Thus all hikes are 100% successful.

Love this.

[TwoSpirits]

Right now just getting out for 7 to 10 days in the woods would be a success for me.

And this. Agree 100% -- hell, just a weekend is joyously welcome!

[ldsailor]

Two objectives:

1. Don't die
2. Learn from my mistakes

To this point I have always not died and made mistakes. Thus all hikes are 100% successful.

Yep. This is definitely my goal with the emphasis on "Don't die."

[Coffee]

As for me, 1,2,and 3 are always a success. Right now just getting out for 7 to 10 days in the woods would be a success for me.

Absolutely… right now I’d be happy if I can just get away for a week.

[Tipi Walter]

The OP doesn't really define "Hike" vs "Backpack". A successful dayhiking trip is much different than a successful backpacking trip.

To me success is measured by my ability to carry a heavy pack and not fall. But before that Success is measured by being able to get out at all and keep the game going---to stay active in the game. Like an aging pro football player, it's neat to stay in the game despite turning 50 or 60 or 70 etc. "His active playing years are over"---it's something you want to put off as long as possible.

On each of my long backpacking trips I start with a couple goals or Quests---reach Scorch Mt, traverse Skull Mt, take 15 days to reach Wildcat Creek, ETC ETC. But these goals do not define a successful trip. Like Reinhold Messner says, a successful trip is coming home.

And also a successful trip is keeping my head in the game with enthusiastic motivation and joy. With this comes the exhilaration of following trails like in a tunnel maze and arriving at pretty CSs by wilderness creeks and turning the outdoors into home. To me a very unsuccessful trip is being outside but pining to be somewhere else. It reminds me of mountaineer Ed Viesturs's word "crumping"---when all ambition is lost and you want to be somewhere else. Bad mojo for both a climber and a backpacker.

[Odd Man Out]

Yep. This is definitely my goal with the emphasis on "Don't die."

That's why it was #1

[RockDoc]

The hike ended before I wanted it to.

How 'bout you, thru hikers, is that true? Not the ones I met...

[Odd Man Out]

The hike ended before I wanted it to.

How 'bout you, thru hikers, is that true? Not the ones I met...

The vast majority of thru hikers whose objective is to complete the trail in one trip will fail. But if you're a section hiker and your objective is to hike the whole trail in your lifetime, the only way to fail is to die, but then you won't care because you'll be dead.

[OwenM]

I suppose what constitutes a success depends on the objective, just like what makes it a "hiking adventure" depends on what you consider adventurous. I've seen people use that word about trying a new restaurant...

Sometimes I feel burned out, and just want to get in a nice rejuvenating walk, followed by sitting around a small campfire, and a good night's sleep. 12hrs of sleep? Success!

Solitude and outdoor time are things I get loads of already, though, so I usually don't find just "getting out there" or going camping very motivational. Most of the time I want it to feel like a genuine adventure, challenging and stimulating, with constant anticipation of things to come.
I also live with a lot of pain, so whatever I'm doing has to be worth the suffering it causes me.

As a result, I'm almost exclusively a destination hiker. My hikes and trips tend to be based on specific things I want to do or see and can fixate on, whether it's an overnight hike 1-5hrs from home or a weeklong trip on the other side of the country. Arches, waterfalls, lakes or basins that I want to visit, things like that, all depending on where.
Then I have extras that are optional; offtrail exploration, additional destinations, etc., that are icing on the cake.
As long as I make it to my primary destinations, though, which is sometimes all I can manage, it's a success.

btw, I often intentionally plan beyond my perceived ability, and find that most rewarding of all. Making an overly optimistic trip plan happen through sheer willpower, in spite of long miles, bad weather, daunting elevation gains, and nonstop pain, is more than a success; it's a victory.

[Slugg]

At the end of a trip, whether it’s a backpacking trip or a day hike, I want to feel like I just completed a significant physical endeavor. On longer trips it becomes a significant mental endeavor as well. I set ambitious goals, and regardless if I meet them or not, I consider the trip a success if I feel I truly gave it everything I have (safely).