Anyone ever regret a thru hike??

Well at least you got the sleeping pad right.

How 'bout some wool underwears? I love my Cap3, but damn do they get stinky! I think I'd be using Merino wool on a long walk.

"…although there are things I would have done diffidently in hindsight."

please tell us more.

Michael –

I would have done a number of things differently. First, I did study up on the trail and felt I had a fairly light gear.

The issues: being out of shape. You are a Pacific Northwesterner, like me, and you probably can appreciate the fact that hiking season really doesn't begin in earnest until mid-June when the mountains finally begin to melt out. Well, come May when I started I was still not in even good hiking shape. I'd be in better shape the next time, and not because the PCT is so strenuous. There are a lot of climbs and descents, but the grade of the trail isn't particularly difficult. The problem I had initially was due to the heat of Southern California. Going from barely breaking 60 degrees to 90+ degrees really socked it to me. Being in better shape would have helped, most certainly.

If I were to do it again, I'd ramp up the miles slowly. My feet and body would have thanked me for being more conservative in terms of miles early. Fewer miles would have helped my feet in particularly, which were pretty blistered and sore for the first two months. It took me a while to begin the practice, but early in the trip when temperatures soared, I stopped hiking midday. We'd hike from 5:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and then stop for four or five hours. We'd then get back underway and hike again until it got dark. It was surprising how it really didn't affect your overall mileage because you didn't have to carry a ton of water and you didn't wear yourself out as fast. Later in the hike hot days weren't really as much of an issue since by then I was in better shape.

I would have also like not to have been so obsessed, particularly early in the trip, with the goal of reaching Canada. I think this is normal – it took a while for me to relax and just learn to enjoy the moments and not worry about it. Make 20 miles a day for a 132 days, and you too will reach the border. Of course, town stops and zero (mile) days have their allure, which means….

…Taking zero days early in your trip come at the expense of zero days later in the trip. Ask anyone who is still hiking in late September / early October if they'd have liked to have a few of those zero days back – I know I did. But the truth is your second half of the trip will be much faster than the first half – you are bound to be a faster, better hiker by then.

I wouldn't worry so much about gear. Everyone talks about gear early in the trip. After 1,000 miles, NOBODY worries much about it. It all works, some better than others. People are comfortable with what they have. If anything, I became way less of a gear head doing the trip.

Hope that helps!

Dirk

Thanks for the insight Dirk, always nice to read a succinct "what worked/what didn't"

I will say I wish I got into Hiking much earlier myself as well. I now have the Family, Mortgage, and Career to keep in check. Luckily my job allows for a few weeks off here and there but never anything that would allow for me to do a full thru hike. I have been able to do Sections of the NCT but due to it still being under construction and me not wanting to do long miles of road walking I don’t end up with more than 40 or so miles on the trail.

Wife knows she will be without me when I retire at 52 in 2032 and I will be on the AT, PCT the following year, and CDT after that.

I regret not being able to thru hike. I regret not finding my passion and appreciation for the outdoors until after I had made commitments. I regret that I am not willing to take the risks that it would involve for me to do the hikes I want to do now.

Dirk that was very helpful. One of the (smaller) goals I have for such a trip is to STOP being such a gear obsessive nerd. I'm sure I'm not the only one who spends long stretches between trips drooling over cool gear because I don't have sufficient opportunity to use what I have.

The thru hike bug really hit last year while I was in Patagonia. We stretched the trek to 11 days to take side trips and I found I just wanted to keep walking and walking and walking…and other than really wanting a shower I had no desire to stop sleeping in my tent and getting up every day with no responsibility except to walk. I wanted to do it until I was bored of it…then do it some more. Mentally and physically it was such a free feeling…..

So yes, the gear obsession, I believe, is what happens when you enjoy something but don't get to do it every day. How else do you channel your hobby?? So if you really do get to do it everyday – even when you don't want to – it makes sense that you stop obsessing about your kit.

Which means even without 6 months' salary…it would actually be CHEAPER……………

I've never done the entirety of the pct at one go, but in my mind I would always skip the the whole first bit from the Mexican border to well into the southern Sierra. I always figure that I could do this bit later. In other words, I'm not a 'completist'. The desert section of the pct presents so many problems (water primarily) for fewer rewards (for me!) that I'd rather just begin in the mountains. Sorry if this comment is a bit of a drift.

In short,given time/job constraints, I'd regret thinking that I had to do the whole pct border to border or it wouldn't count. Surely two months or so of hiking the trail is very worthy in and of itself.

The guy who wants to pogo stick the jmt to set a record…wants to set a record. Maybe hiking the whole enchilada doesn't have to be an end in itself.

A couple of comments about this:
"I've never done the entirety of the pct at one go, but in my mind I would always skip the the whole first bit from the Mexican border to well into the southern Sierra. I always figure that I could do this bit later. In other words, I'm not a 'completist'. The desert section of the pct presents so many problems (water primarily) for fewer rewards (for me!) that I'd rather just begin in the mountains."

The reality of a thru-hike I think is *typically* different than what people expect it to be, and that was certainly the case in spades for me in two different "dry sections". I approached SoCal (and sadly, also NM on another trip) with similar feelings. I'm now very glad that I hiked that.

The not-really-a "desert" stretch of the PCT is such a different climate than where I live in terms of land form, flora and fauna, and it offers some real advantages. Starting earlier in the year for one. Being able to wash things and those dry fast. Sleeping under the stars every night, while coyotes yip and howl, just like you're living in a cowboy movie.

Another thing for a thru-hiker, though, is that those first 700 miles or so is a sort of "bonding" time where pretty much everyone you meet on the trail is someone attempting a thru-hike. If you jump on trail later, you can still join the "tribe", but it's a very rich experience IMO to start right from the beginning with others who are also having such an adventure.

Finally, it's a big advantage to have 700 miles of experience and body-toughening/strengthening under your belt before getting into the Sierras.

I think that it CAN make excellent sense to "chunk" hike (hike a large percentage of) rather than thru-hike a trail, but for me at least, that wouldn't include skipping the beginning bits.

In terms of obsessing on gear — a lot of wise words spoken there. Just practically speaking, people get bored with gear discussion after a while. In the first few hundred miles everyone wants to talk about gear and about people getting trail names. After that, the names are mostly in place and the gear has just become "your stuff", and you talk about anything but (certainly food-related conversations are high on the list).

Ozzy and Jennifer – you are both welcome. Glad to be of help. I must confess the thru-hiking experience leaves me sounding something like the bride who can’t quit talking about her wedding that happened four years ago. I am sure others tire of hearing about it. But really, i would urge you all to give it a go when circumstances allow.

But if you want better advice, I would follow the lead of Brian, he’s a a Triple Crowner (all three major trails completed.) I’d urge you to pick up his e-book named “Make Your First Thru-Hike a Success”. I wish it had been around prior to my trip, would have saved me a lot of grief. It is full of practical advice and insights.

Jennifer, I agree on the gear thing. It makes the hobby fun and certainly, being gear obsessed in backpacking is way cheaper than other hobbies. I have taken up cycling but refuse to get caught up in the arms race that is bike technology. I don’t have the deep pockets.

As for your revelation about wanting to be outside, I would urge you to try a thru hike when you can make the time. Financially it can be a hit. But I never think about the cost, only the benefit of having done such a trip.

Dirk

Such a cliche, that phrase, and yet those three small words have such power and punch. Jennifer, I'll be right behind you…maybe by a year or two, but I'll be there, walking along the paths that you and many others have taken. I'm 46, mid-career, and nothing to show for it in the sense that, with no spouse or pets or debt, i haven't made a firm commitment to do what I've dreamed of. I've NO excuse to not begin my adventures.

This thread has been inspiring and I appreciate the candid question you asked to initiate it. I now have a plan and it involves simplicity, risk, and many nights under a tarp :-)

Wishing you the best!

Jennifer,

I think you should do the PCT, then move out west. If you don't have a problem with finding a new job (and I agree that as a PT you don't) what's a summer out of your life? From several other posts I think you believe you need a life/location/priorities change, and if you are going to make one of those, the next life chapter can wait a few months. Don't know if you are a skier, but one line from lifetime ski bum Warren Miller's films has become a mantra for me since I left the rat race. He was referring to heliskiing but it could apply to any special trip, bucket list item, or other objective. "If you don't do it this year, you'll just be one year older when you do."

Cheers, Richard

Thanks to all of you for the PCT inspiration…and to Richard for your repeated (and much appreciated!) nudging to relocate. I have a great plan now, I still can't find anything wrong with it, and I haven't been this excited in years.

Ill do the JMT in August, the pct in 2014, and end up in Portland (?) or some other environs (maybe after a summer on the pct ill be ready for a much smaller town!)

Anyone want to buy a kitchen table?

I did the JMT in the summer between my jr and senior years on college, so it was not a huge interruption in my career or schooling. That and my other trips in the Sierra were life changing for me. They made me think that backpacking and outdoors activities were a way of life, not a recreational activity.

After college I put all my worldly possessions in my Ford Falcon and drove to Washington state. Before leaving CA, I rode my bike around Lake Tahoe, and hiked in the Immigrant Wilderness. Day 3 in WA I climbed Mt. Rainier. I had $400 and 5 lbs of soy beans, and spent the summer doing week long hikes in Washington and Canada. After Rainier, the Enchantments, Holden Village to Darrington, Revelstoke, Cascade Pass and Sahale Pk. I went back to Wenatchee and found a job when I ran out of money.

I worked September thru June, then quit the job and did another 3 months hiking in Washington: the Olympics, Alpine Lakes, the Pickett Range, the Ptarmigan Travers in the North Cascades, and lots of time in the Enchantments and Stuart Range.

The next summer I also took off 3 months for hiking; ElDorado, the Ptarmigan again, Enchantments, Mt. Stuart, Rainier again, Rampart Ridge, Tuck and Robin Lake, and the upper Enchantments via Colchuck Lake many times (no permit required in those days). I saw more of Washington in those 3 summers than people who live there all their lives. It was probably a setback to any kind of career, but what I ended up doing is totally different than what I planned to do anyway.

I don't take the big chunks of time off now, with mortgage, business ownership, and kids in school, but I get out as much as possible, including at least one 9 day backpack. Now its with my son, so that is a huge bonus. Have a great trip!

"Anyone want to buy a kitchen table?"

Are you crazy! You just gonna eat off your lap on your hike? You need that thing!

Yep… most carry the kitchen sink with them too.

…

How in the world am I supposed to work and concentrate on life and saving money NOW when I have a JMT and a PCT to look forward to??!!

It's a good thing my employers aren't on this forum, because heaven knows I ain't putting much energy into work lately; nor will I for the next several months. Ha!!

I am going to tell your Boss Jennifer ;-)

I once saw a couple of mall security guards "escorting" an elderly man to the exit. The man asked out loud why he had to leave and the guards barked back that he was seen picking through the trash cans. Very, very sad.

Not saying that will happen to anyone here… but life is a balancing act. We all need to live a little — but we also need to save up as well. Relying on social security won't make for a fun retirement — even assuming there is still money for us. And we need to be realistic — food and gas prices are always creeping up…

Edited on request

Yeah, erase it.

Jennifer only wants to know if anyone regretted doing a thru hike. The biggest regret would be not going after your dreams.