Why People get off trail so soon?

[bwendel07]

I have been doing some research on mental prepardness and one thing that I commomly read is that many people about 25 to 30% get off the trail at Neels gap? and when asked why, the typical answer is that "it wasent what they expected." My question is what exactly were they expecting? and how was it different? I am just a little suprised at the answer. And a little baffled at their quitting after 30 miles when they really set out to walk 2000? I am just wondering and trying to envision what others mindsets are as to why they think something is so vastly different than what I would expect when I set out on something if this magnitude.

[10-K]

I would be really surprised if 25-30% of people who prepared to thru hike quit at Neel's Gap.

I think that's an urban legend. Maybe before Erwin or Hot Springs but I doubt just 30 miles from Springer.

[Jim Adams]

I didn't know that it was longer than 1000 miles when I started at Springer!

That's not as bad as the guy who showed up on Springer wearing leasure sports clothing, a fanny pack, his credit card and wanting to know where the shelter was with the overnight accomodations and food.

Alot, (including me the first time) don't have any idea what they are about to do and when they get there are totally overwhelmed. The only thing that saved me was the amount of experience that I had canoeing in the wilderness let me adapt and continue.

geek

[hikerboy57]

Sometimes they just miss all the stuff the rest of us want to leave behind.TVs,iPods, Blackberrys. 4G phones(I'm holding out until at least 7G is available). Sometimes they come to realize that hiking is very often hard work, with the only reward being the hike itself.

[dragoro]

I got off in hiawassee last year because I found out I was just not in nearly good enough shape. Been working out though, and plan to continue on from there this year.

[Blissful]

I thought there was no way I could see people quitting at Neel, until I went out there in '07 and did it, then I could see. The first 30 miles is tough when you are new with blisters, aching muscles all over and an overweight backpack.

[fiddlehead]

I didn't know that it was longer than 1000 miles when I started at Springer!

That's not as bad as the guy who showed up on Springer wearing leasure sports clothing, a fanny pack, his credit card and wanting to know where the shelter was with the overnight accomodations and food.

Alot, (including me the first time) don't have any idea what they are about to do and when they get there are totally overwhelmed. The only thing that saved me was the amount of experience that I had canoeing in the wilderness let me adapt and continue.

geek

Possibly because THAT'd how they do it in Europe.
Even Eastern Europe hikes or treks this way.
I've hiked in Ireland, Spain, Andorra, France, Switzerland, Chezch (sp?), Poland and they all have places to stay where you can buy food and a bed every night.
It's not the same as the AT and I'm sure many aren't aware of that.

Of course with the internet now, you'd think they would know better.
But, not everyone has a computer either.
It's all what you are used to.

Experienced hikers quit due to injury or problems back home IMO.

[4shot]

Sometimes they come to realize that hiking is very often hard work, with the only reward being the hike itself.

does not emphasize this enough or at all. Most people hear about the romance, trail angels and trail magic, the hiker towns, etc. and not nearly enogh about the blood, sweat and tears. This is from my perspective. I knew not many people finished but heard disproportionally more about how awesome it (the trail) is. Yes, it is awesome but people should understand one thing...the reason most don't finish is that there is a hell of alot of hard work interspersed with the awesomeness of the trail. As the saying goes, if it were easy, anyone could do it. Not trying to discourage anyone newbies here - just trying to balance the perspective a bit.

[Ontiora]

Those who quit so early probably have an idealized version of it in their head, and think it's going to be an easy 2,181 mile walk that will magically cure all their problems. They don't realize that to actually hike a significant portion of it requires a hefty amount of strength and perseverence. I know a lot of people who think that by simply stepping on the trail they'll be greeted with sunshine and rainbows around every bend- which we know is far from the case. While the trail is beautiful, it's not the same as a static painting. You have to paint your own representation of it as you progress, and most people are too lazy to do that themselves. I think to quit after a mere 30 miles is foolish, even if it's not what was expected. How can you quit so soon after so much planning....

[earlyriser26]

Many people hike the trail for the first time and as you said, "it wasn't what they expected" It is not a "walk in the woods", it is a climb in the snow, rain, etc. It is also having to pack up your wet dirty cold gear in the morning knowing that after a hard day you will be sleeping in the same cold wet dirty gear again, and again, for maybe 150 days.

[Hoofit]

Thought that I would hike the whole thing but the promise of two weeks in the Florida Keys fishing and relaxing with Margeritas under the Coconuts was too much to ignore by the time I got to Pennsylvania.
So south I went. Can you blame me?
It was only after I took off my shirt that my honey saw a huge bullseye on my back and diagnosed a very serious case of Lyme Disease.
Them 'effin ticks!!!
I couldn't even climb a set of stairs without pausing for a breather!
I'll be back because I love it but my point is, you never know when life can take a turn and halt your hike.
Thirty miles though, that's laughable!!!
At least make it to Damascus and Traildays!!

[Iceaxe]

I failed at mile 43 on my first attempt to thru hike the PCT back in 1992.
All my romantic notions about unicorns and rainbows were shattered as i labored up and down the hills under a 70 lb pack with blistered feet and blue swollen toenails in my ill-fitting and not broken in boots.
That failure shattered my ego.
After i got over blaming the gear, the trail, weather.. I ended up looking long and hard at myself. There was no internet then so i started to read books. Ray Jardines book: PCT Thru Hikers Handbook in particular. Right there in that book was a description so close to my experience I actually put the book down for a few days because it was so painful. I was "hapless hiker".
It took a long time and a lot of hiking over the course of 17 years that followed before I woke up one morning and looked into the mirror and knew i would hike the PCT the next year.
Looking back now I am still humbled and ashamed at my failure and can remember the disappointment of friends and family when i returned so completely crushed.
What changed for me in 2009?
I trained, used lighter gear, wore trail runners. But the mindset was the real difference.
I KNEW with all my being I was going to hike from Mexico to Canada. There was no margin for error or room for failure. I was willing to accept whatever pain or discomfort was waiting.
I took the trail one day at a time empty of expectation and was rewarded with a fantastic journey. But it was HARD WORK everyday.
I had to be able to put my mind forward through the tough parts and realize things always change. If i just kept going I would make it.
Thru hiking is a beautiful thing but it's not without physical and emotional and mental pain.
Just writing this post brings back some pretty hard feelings inside. I actually thought about hiking SoBo because a lot of my friends said i will see many hikers quitting and falling off trail with injuries NoBo.
I hope thats not the case cause i know what that pain is like. The blisters and sore muscles heal eventually but the mental and emotional stuff is the most lasting.
The most important thing for me to accept was that I quit the trail in 1992. But the trail was there all those years later waiting for me to come back when I was ready.

[Captain Blue]

I have been doing some research on mental prepardness and one thing that I commomly read is that many people about 25 to 30% get off the trail at Neels gap?

The real number is closer to 10% for the drop out rate at Neels Gap. My source: ATC

[mweinstone]

i quit at neel gap once. missed my son. way too much to hike on. was an exsperienced long distance hiker of AT miles.

[mweinstone]

hikers quit cause of baggage that cant be arried of one kind or another. they go home to correct major life wrong turns and the AT triggers all that thru failure. a wonderful thing. it is a path that straightens.

[Iceaxe]

hikers quit cause of baggage that cant be arried of one kind or another. they go home to correct major life wrong turns and the AT triggers all that thru failure. a wonderful thing. it is a path that straightens.

I agree totally. And you managed to say it with a lot fewer words than i did.

[Sly]

I agree totally. And you managed to say it with a lot fewer words than i did.

Of course, Mattooski is Whiteblaze's poet laureate.

[Different Socks]

When I did the trail back in 1992, for a reason for leaving the trail other than injury, not enough money, something happened at home, etc, would be that many of them thought it would be "fun".
The ones whom said this never believed it would be such hard work. What I can't believe is that so many give up these days and yet they so many are carrying so little compared to what I carried back in "92".

[Torch09]

Last summer I got a job driving an ice cream truck. It sounded like the coolest job ever. I quit after two days.

Reality can sometimes be overwhelming.

A thru hike might sound good on paper, but if you don't experience any of the "fun" you've heard about in that first 30 miles, why would you think there will be any in the next 2000?

[4shot]

What I can't believe is that so many give up these days and yet they so many are carrying so little compared to what I carried back in "92".

or doesn't have is of little significance in finishing a thru-hike imo all things being equal. I would imagine that you carried what others carried back then more or less and it was much better than the gear Lewis and Clark carried across the US on unblazed trails. Yet you finished and others didn't. In 20 years the stuff carried last year will probably seem antiquated as well. Everybody starts with about the same weight and "toys" in their pack (or adjusts quickly enough). I just think the gear fixation is way overblown relative to who finishes and who doesn't.