Getting Off

[Monkeywrench]

A question for those of you who started a thru in the past and got off the trail before completing your hike: Why did you get off?

I know the odds are against completing a thru and I am just trying to do what I can to improve my odds. I figure knowing why others got off and trying to prepare, either physically or mentally, can only help. In addition to knowing why you got off the trail, I'd like to hear what you think now. Do you regret your decision? Do you now think you could have stayed on if you had [rested for a couple days / seen a doctor / not listened to that other person / taken the advice of your fellow hikers / called home more often / ???????]?

[Lone Wolf]

A question for those of you who started a thru in the past and got off the trail before completing your hike: Why did you get off?

wasn't fun anymore

[rafe]

Agree with LW. Actually, it was only a few weeks after meeting LW.

[fiddlehead]

I believe that if you know you are going to finish (when you start) then you will finish.

If you are not sure, your chances are not so good.

[modiyooch]

I got off due to weather. It was 1980 and there wasn't much advice to be found while I was planning. I was 21 and definately waited too late in the year to get started. I'm still working on that trail, but I am enjoying each trip. I moved to NC in 1981 to be closer to the trail to accomplish my goal. I notice the thru hikers that concentrate on high mileage everyday, and it makes me think that their only goal is to reach the finish line. Are they enjoying their hike or are they just trying to get it over with? It seems to be another "rat race" but different venue. If you get to the point where you are just trying to get it over with, I would reevaluate why you are even out there. Then there is the thru hiker that has to quit. They beat themselves up over the fact that they have to quit, but don't realize that they have accomplished so very much to reach the point where they quit. What they have accomplished is admirable. It should be a trip of memories, not regrets because you didn't finish in one season. And I really can't relate to the ones that start completely over at Springer because they had to quit somewhere inbetween. Personally, I want to see the rest of the trail AND I WILL eventually get there. And when I do, I don't feel that I have achieved any less than the thru hiker because I had to do it in sections. Everyone's hike is unique. Enjoy it.

[Lyle]

I got off due to weather. It was 1980 and there wasn't much advice to be found while I was planning. I was 21 and definately waited too late in the year to get started. I'm still working on that trail, but I am enjoying each trip. I moved to NC in 1981 to be closer to the trail to accomplish my goal. I notice the thru hikers that concentrate on high mileage everyday, and it makes me think that their only goal is to reach the finish line. Are they enjoying their hike or are they just trying to get it over with? It seems to be another "rat race" but different venue. If you get to the point where you are just trying to get it over with, I would reevaluate why you are even out there. Then there is the thru hiker that has to quit. They beat themselves up over the fact that they have to quit, but don't realize that they have accomplished so very much to reach the point where they quit. What they have accomplished is admirable. It should be a trip of memories, not regrets because you didn't finish in one season. And I really can't relate to the ones that start completely over at Springer because they had to quit somewhere inbetween. Personally, I want to see the rest of the trail AND I WILL eventually get there. And when I do, I don't feel that I have achieved any less than the thru hiker because I had to do it in sections. Everyone's hike is unique. Enjoy it.

This is all true, I agree whole heartedly. I also agree with Lone Wolfs very succinct. "wasn't fun anymore". Two ways of saying the same thing.

Gee, not often I get to say I agree with Lone Wolf!!

[Jack Tarlin]

The main reason people get off has nothing to do with boredom, loneliness, injury, lack of money.

Like Wolf said, people quit when they're no longer having a good time.

Or to put it a different way, people quit because the Trail fails to live up to their expectations, and this is often because people had unrealistic expectations from the outset. The Trail tends to be overly glamorized, and all these NOVA or National Geographic specials, or attractive articles in glossy outdoor magazines, well this only helps portray a not necessarily true picture of the realities of life on the Trail for six months.

I think the Trail proves a lot tougher than most people (both in terms of mental and physical challenges) are expecting. And when it gets too tough, people go home.

[jersey joe]

I agree with Jack, most people that drop off the trail do so because they had unrealistic expectations at the outset.

Also, it takes a decent amount of hard work to complete a thru hike, it isn't ALL fun. Many people can't handle the hard work involved, stop having fun and drop off.

[ofthearth]

deleted/double post

[ofthearth]

All of the above. I think if you read what the posts say, including Jacks, it comes down to not having fun. "boredom, loneliness, injury, lack of money" sounds like not having fun to me. If your feet are hurting you it's hard to "enjoy yourself". I think LW was in the Marines and I somehow think that would be a little more challenging, both mentally and physicllay, than the AT. It just takes a little more to say "This is no fun for me". If it is a goal that you set for yourself and you enjoy it then you will get it done. Enjoy your walk in the woods.

[jersey joe]

I think LW was in the Marines and I somehow think that would be a little more challenging, both mentally and physicllay, than the AT.

I disagree only for the mere fact that it is much easier to stop a thru hike then just up and quit the Marines. One of the biggest challenges is not quitting when it is so easy to do so.

[ofthearth]

Like the AT the toughest part of the USMC is the boredom. (and maybe the food).

[Lone Wolf]

i was never bored and the food was fine

[rafe]

Also, it takes a decent amount of hard work to complete a thru hike, it isn't ALL fun. Many people can't handle the hard work involved, stop having fun and drop off.

That's a good point. But not so much "can't handle" as "choose not to."

There's a natural urge to use our free time to be lazy and not work too hard. Nothing wrong with that. It's more than a bit weird to want to use your free time on something that's going to involve a lot of hard work and discomfort. At the start of a thru-hike, the freedom and sense of adventure are powerful, and doubts are easy to suppress.

Some folks, after a few days or weeks or months on the trail, re-evaluate the balance sheet and decide that whatever they're getting from the trail just isn't quite worth the work and discomfort.

[taildragger]

I got off due to lack of fun and funds.

I got sick and got off the trail to reevaluate my gear and go to yosemite to adjust to altitude, and take it easy till I got better. After a week of having to force myself to eat, drink, and not throw everything up, I just found myself not able to have near the fun that I had planned to.

That and figuring out how to get back to a trail that was on fire became a logistical nightmare with the information that I had available in Yosemite.

[ofthearth]

i was never bored and the food was fine

Then you didn't get sent to radio school, get assigned to amtracs and spend your time aboard ship. But then Naples was interesting

[Blissful]

There will be plenty of times the trail isn't fun. There will be tough stuff and fun stuff. Good days and bad days. But if it's something you really want to do...almost a passion of sorts, then you have good chance of getting through it to the end, even when it isn't fun on that particular day or days.

Having a good support system on the home front helps as well.

But it's true...the trail is really all mental.

[Lyle]

Never make the mistake of deciding to get off trail on a bad day. Wait until a good day, if you still feel like getting off, then that may be the thing to do. Take a few days or a couple of weeks to make your decision.

[Newb]

Backpacker magazine made it looks so easy...

[Footslogger]

Been said already but it can all be summed up in one word ...EXPECTATIONS.

I remember vividly hearing hikers commenting as early as Neels Gap that ..."this wasn't in the brochure".

Unless it's a repeat hike ...preconceived notions about what a thru is like are generally false.

You gotta stay really flexible !!

'Slogger