Now that I’m over halfway done with my thru hike, I wanted to write something new. Instead of my usual daily journal entries (which I will continue to do as well), I decided to reflect on my experience so far. I hope that giving you a glimpse into these thoughts gives you a better understanding of what thru hiking the AT is like and some of the most important lessons that I’ve learned so far.
This is harder than I thought!
Overall, this journey has been more mentally difficult than I expected it to be. Before starting my thru hike, I thought that I’d wake up every day bursting with excitement for that day’s hike. I certainly didn’t think that I would ever consider stopping my hike before summiting Katahdin. Getting to this point of my hike has been a mental battle, and this is a list of obstacles which I have to overcome on a daily basis:
- Feet issues. Particularly when it rains several days in a row, so my boots stay wet and my feet are wet all day until I get to camp and change into my crocs. When the inside of my boots are soaked, it’s easier for my foot to slide around and rub against the boot, leading to blisters. Some of the hardest days are when it’s been raining for a few days, and you start the day by putting on your soaking wet pair of socks and your feet are wet from the moment that you start hiking. Most of the time, I can block out the feeling of pain from blisters and keep hiking. I rarely put tape over blisters and have found that once my boots dry, the blisters normally improve. There have been a few blisters where a misstep which causes my foot to slide a lot in the boot creates enough pain that I have to stop hiking for a moment to let it dissipate. Your feet are EVERYTHING for a thru hike; they are the part of you which contacts the trail and experiences the most wear and tear. It’s crucial to take good care of them.
- Getting back on trail after being sick and taking five days off. It was in a motel in Virginia, when I was trying to recover on my own, that I reached the lowest point of my thru hike and strongly considered quitting. I was pretty miserable about how much the trail had worn me down, and really missed the comforts of home. I truly couldn’t fathom stepping foot back on the AT for another 1,400 miles and continuing to deal with these hardships. Ultimately, what led me to get back on the trail was something that I wrote in my journal several days before starting my hike. I wrote that one of my reasons for thru hiking the AT was to build an “unbreakable spirit.” If I gave up at that point, then I would’ve broken. In reality, even if I stopped at that point, I would still be very proud of the effort that I put out there and I would’ve already taken a ton away from this experience. However, I still had the flame burning inside of me. I chose not to let myself break. I love the mental fortitude and adaptability that I am developing on this thru hike by constantly overcoming hardships. I know that they will serve me well for the rest of my life.
- Fatigue. A slight feeling of dread creeps in when I see a big climb coming up on the FarOut elevation profile. Climbing mountains is really hard! Even if I’m fresh and it’s first thing in the morning, I often become mentally tired pretty quickly hiking up and over mountains. Also, at the end of the day when I am approaching 20 miles, I often find myself counting down the miles. These are normal parts of a thru hike and are just things that I’ll have to continue dealing with.
- Going off of the above point and to give you insight into how I get through my days, I use mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks as milestones. For example, I’ll space my mid-morning snacks of a granola bar and dried fruit out evenly between the hours of 8 AM (when I usually start hiking) and 12:30 PM (when I usually stop for my lunch break). If I really feel like torturing myself, sometimes I’ll force myself to wait until the top of a big climb to eat a snack. These tactics help immensely to keep me energized and motivated in between my larger meals.
- Missing home. People often ask me what I miss the most out here, and the answer is easy: my family. Second to them is the comforts of being at home. Having access to a bathroom with a toilet, or running tap water from a sink, are luxuries which I truly didn’t appreciate until I came out here. That’s because out here, you either have to go to the bathroom in a privy (similar to a porta potty; smelly and gross), or if you can hold the urge for a few minutes (or if you aren’t near a shelter with a privy) then you have to dig an eight inch hole into the dirt to go to the bathroom. Toilets never seemed like such a privilege in my life! Similarly, whenever I need water, it takes time and effort to collect water from a stream, and then push it through my Sawyer Squeeze filter into my water bottles. I probably spend ten minutes every day filtering water. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you arrive to camp at the end of the day and all you want to do is unwind and relax, you have to complete this chore first. We are lucky in today’s world to get water on demand from sinks whenever we want or need it. Other things that I miss about being home are healthy, home-cooked meals, and taking showers every day.
- Physical injuries. The above points have mainly focused on the mental challenges which I face, but a thru hike is a beast of a physical challenge as well. Hiking 15 to 20 miles with 40 pounds on your back every single day puts a beating on your body. Besides blisters, the biggest ongoing “injury” which I’ve had is soreness (a feeling similar to tendinitis) in both of my achilles. I am EXTREMELY grateful that the achilles pain is something that I can hike through, and it usually goes away after a few days (or certainly after a rest day). If the achilles pain was persistent every day, then I might’ve had to stop my hike – I don’t want to do any permanent damage to my body. It sucks when the achilles start hurting because every time, I start stressing about possibly having to get into a town to rest and pause hiking.
Hike Your Own Hike
“Hike Your Own Hike” is a saying which every thru hiker has heard. It means that everyone ought to create their own journey, free from the expectations of others. This is something that I struggled with towards the beginning of my hike.
Before the hike, my hope was to link up with a group, hike all the way to Maine with them, and become lifelong friends with them. I felt pressure to make a “tramily.” I’ve definitely met lots of cool people who I will stay in touch with. But my experience hasn’t been as dependent on others as I thought it would be. It would be unrealistic to stick with the same group the whole time, at least for me. Differing paces, wanting to resupply in different towns, sickness, and external/family commitments are some of the factors which have separated me from people that I at one point hiked with. Aside from natural factors which have separated me from others, I also seek out times of solitude now.
For a while, I felt insecure on my own and the thought of being alone was uncomfortable. I’ve grown past that and I now enjoy hiking on my own. To clarify, I am not completely alone. I pass other hikers every day, and meet new people most nights at my campsites. By “alone,” what I mean is that I am hiking according to my own schedule and desires. I’m not lining up my plans with anybody else’s. I may camp with people one night and never see them again.
I have grown to enjoy it that way. I think that it’s important to be comfortable on your own, doing your own thing. It’s a skill that I will practice again when I get my first job after my thru hike and move somewhere that I’ve never lived before. This thru hike was excellent practice at putting myself out there into an uncomfortable situation where I didn’t know anybody.
I also realized that some solitude is an important part of my journey. I find that I am best able to appreciate all of the views on my own, in complete silence, when the only noises around me are birds chirping or wind blowing through trees. Trying to line up my schedule with others’ sometimes makes me feel rushed. Having the time and space to reflect inwards and appreciate my surroundings has been a core part of my journey.
The AT Community is Like No Other
I’ve witnessed an overwhelming amount of generosity and kindness from strangers. I’ve received trail magic numerous times, which is when locals drive to a trailhead and cook/give away free food to thru hikers who pass by that day. A few instances of trail magic along the trail which stick out to me are getting a double cheeseburger from a Georgia church group at Unicoi Gap on day 4, and getting a delicious two course meal from Joe and Carla at Washington Monument State Park in Maryland.
Additionally, a few trail angels have gone above and beyond providing food along the trail. A section hiker named John came to my rescue when I was stranded and weak on a remote mountain road in Virginia. My old friends Tanner and Cobey drove hours to visit me and bring me food. Natalie and John welcomed me into their home in Pennsylvania for two nights and cooked me amazing, home-cooked meals.
The communities along the trail have been extremely hiker friendly. From churches feeding me warm meals in Franklin, NC and Glasgow, VA, to kind locals willing to drive me into towns to resupply at grocery stores, I’ve visited vibrant communities which celebrate the hikers that pass through every year. I truly had never met so many kind people in my life as I have in the past two and a half months.
The AT is a Great First Long Distance Trail
The AT, and especially the communities/amenities which surround it, make it very suitable for your first long distance thru hike. The longest food carry that I’ve made has been five days. Usually every four to five days you either hike through a town, or you cross a road where you can get a ride into a town, to resupply. Those towns usually offer hostels where you can shower, do laundry, and sleep in a comfortable bed. You can also eat a warm meal at a restaurant.
I’ve talked a lot with other hikers who have thru hiked the PCT and/or the CDT, which are more difficult for beginner thru hikers because they are more remote. You don’t have the opportunity to go into towns as often. Water is also less abundant along those trails. You may have to carry upwards of four liters at times, whereas on the AT you don’t need to carry much more than one liter at any given time. If you’re in an emergency situation on the AT, it’s usually possible to get medical care that day, or the next day at latest. On the PCT and CDT you’re really out there on your own and you may have to wait several days for medical care.
Another useful tool for any thru hike is FarOut. For those who don’t know, FarOut is a guide app which shows waypoints, distances, elevation profiles, and trail towns along the entire AT, with details and public comments created by thru hikers for each. I started my thru hike without FarOut (I had the physical book version), but quickly realized that FarOut is the much better option. The app can tell you your exact location (even with your phone on airplane mode), and how far away you are from any waypoint. It’s so helpful that it almost feels like cheating. I can’t imagine how much harder it must’ve been for people to complete thru hikes before FarOut existed.
A screenshot of what FarOut looks like on my phone.
A Thru Hike is a Great Bravery Exercise
Stepping through the archway at Amicalola Falls; the point of no return and official start of my journey, was a surreal moment. I was committing to leaving society and entering wilderness. It was a scary moment. There have been lots of other moments along my thru hike where I feel that I developed more courage: camping alone, hiking in the dark, stepping foot out of shelters into pouring rain, breaking away from a group and doing my own thing, and sitting down at a bar in town by myself, to name a few. A thru hike is a wonderful opportunity to push yourself outside of your comfort zone on a regular basis. I am proud of overcoming fears and insecurities, and I know for a fact that I will be more comfortable when faced with uncomfortable situations in my life after the trail.
Nature Rocks!
We are so lucky to live on Planet Earth. Spending the past two and a half months in the outdoors has been a dream come true. Every day I get to admire majestic mountains, sunrises and sunsets, rivers and lakes, and wildlife and plants. I could go on and on. I’ve also seen a variety of terrains and climates. Each state along the trail has its own character and intricacies only to be noticed by the observant eye. This journey has solidified what was already my strong connection to nature. Moving forward, nature must be a daily part of my life. That is non-negotiable. It is the best place in the world for healing, solitude, and prayer, in my opinion.
Gratitude
Above all else, I am extremely grateful to be out here. I am well aware that if I wasn’t out here, I’d likely be sitting at a desk working a 9 to 5 job. I am lucky to be at a place in my life between college and getting a job. I am lucky to have saved enough money through internships to pay many of the costs associated with this thru hike. I am lucky to have family and friends who have gifted me with gear and clothing over the past five years. I am lucky to have family who will welcome me to live at home as long as necessary after my thru hike until I get a job. These are privileges which not everyone has. I don’t take any of them for granted. I am not at all trying to complain by listing the hardships that I’ve faced along this thru hike. I could stop at any point. These hardships are my own choosing. One of the benefits of a thru hike is that it equips you with fortitude to face life’s challenges which we don’t choose.
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