Date: 2008-08-25
To: Successful Practices - Part One
Miles today: 0.0

I wanted to go over some of the things/experiences/practices that seemed to make my thru-hike successful. Maybe some of you can benefit from them. At least they worked for me. This entry covers non gear-related stuff. My other journal entry will go over how gear (in general) helped or hindered my hike.Obviously, everything I write is just my opinion ¢ and we all have opinions just like we all have something else. So please keep that in mind.#1 ¢ Keeping my head and heart wrapped in the right direction. I think my heart has always desired a thru-hike, I didn¢t see a problem there. That remained a constant through out the hike. But although my head was initially moving in the right direction (staying focused and positive), there began to be times that I questioned whether I was happy; or enjoying myself; or lonely; etc.I saw a number of hikers quit because their head made them realize they were either mentally tired; or lonely; or no longer enjoying what they were doing on a thru-hike; or any number of other things they were thinking about. I experienced all of the above. And more than once. Here is how I dealt with those mental situations when they came up:1.        Before I even started my thru-hike I ¢sat myself down¢ and asked if this is really what I wanted to do. I weighed the pros and cons by listing out the reasons for starting or not starting. By the time I started I liked to believe I knew the mental obstacles that would have to be faced.2.        I normally hiked alone ¢ which can make anyone, after a while, become lonely. So, when that happened I¢d try to find someone else to hike with for a period of time. Or, instead of sleeping in my tent or hammock all the time, I¢d spend more time in the shelters interacting with the other hikers. Or, team up with some other hikers for some zero days in a town ¢ chill out.3.        There were times when I knew I was mentally tired of the hike, would get frustrated, and would almost quit. Some of the time I was just wearing myself out physically and needed some rest. Other times I needed a longer break and would arrange for Trail Boss to come up and visit.4.        Only once did I really, really convince myself that I wanted to quit. I was not enjoying the hike, felt miserable and alone; and wanted to go home. Indeed, I would have quit right there and then. But Trail Boss made me agree to sticking to the hike for just one more week. After that if I still wanted to quit, she would come get me. Having that extra week gave me time to consider everything, knowing that I could either leave or stay. I began to look at the hike more rationally and the hike went on.# 2 -         Strain of FinancesI have read that there are three, primary reasons that a thru-hiker is likely to quit a hike early: First is the ¢head game¢ I mentioned earlier; Second, is some type of injury that requires stopping a hike; the Third reason is not having enough funds. It used to be suggested (years ago) that you needed $1 for each mile of the trail you hike. Then that amount was raised to $1.50 and I¢d guess it now may be around $2. That means I would need between $3,000 and $4,000 for a typical thru-hike. And that is not counting the cost of the gear you need to carry.Because of my two prior thru-hikes, I had a sense of how much money I would be spending on this thru-hike. I figured around $3,000. Using mail drops I think the food costs were kept quite low and I was never picky about what I ate (except when in town). But what I did not anticipate were all of the trail towns I would be going into; all of the hostels (or more likely, motels) I would stay at; and all of the town food spots I¢d enjoy myself at. I justified all of those town stops (and the associated costs) because I¢d use them whenever I felt a bit ¢down¢ on the trail or needed a mental respite to re-charge my batteries. When I left those town and got back on the trail, I felt great. But I also had a lighter wallet.I bring up this financial cost stuff for a couple of reasons. If I were hiking with (and enjoying) a group that goes into a trail town, I¢d want to go along with them. No problem unless you don¢t have enough money budgeted for such things. What could have happened to me (and to anyone else) is to run out of money before you get near the finish of the thru-hike. Lack of funds could, just like that, have ended my hike. So both Trail Boss and myself kept constant track of how much was left. Indeed, towards the end of my hike I had to scrimp somewhat on where I spent my trail money.# 3 ¢ I know that for me (and maybe everyone else) there was one other possibility that could, at any time, cause me to end my thru-hike ¢ a serious injury. I¢m now 53 and can¢t begin to have the physical stamina or strength of those hikers half my age. I had to use due diligence to try and prevent any major injury that would keep me from hiking. Or getting sick (Lyme¢s Disease?) where I wasn¢t able to go on. Yes, it¢s true that I hiked the majority of this thru-hike alone. And that the first month was in freezing, icy, snow conditions. In other words, I wasn¢t really being very smart. Having another person nearby would have provided a safety factor. But it wasn¢t just the bad weather that I had to watch out for. I am notorious for tripping or stumbling over rocks or roots or holes in the ground. I have fallen a number of times and several of those times I was lucky not to break anything. Such a break might well have ended my hike.Another form of injury I didn¢t really have to worry about. I was never in a hurry to try to get somewhere as soon as possible. I understand a lot of hikers enjoy completing the hike in five months; or consistently put in 25 or 30 mile days. And I think most of them do so without any negative consequence. But for me, I would be only inviting some type of injury.While hiking every day, and in camp every night, I¢d try to be aware if my body was hurting somewhere. And then take the hiking easy for a day (or more) so nothing was aggravated. If necessary, I¢d take a zero day on the trail to really relax what was hurting.Finally, there are some little things that I did to help me through the hike: 1.        I¢d always keep a personal journal and make myself update it every day. This gave me ¢purpose¢ in moving forward. 2.        Also, I tried to learn about the various plants and flowers and animals I¢d encounter. Interacting in this way to a lot of the ¢routine daily hiking routine¢ and made it more interesting ¢ thus making the day seem both easier and shorter.3.        Instead of taking one, longer lunch break I would usually take three, shorter breaks spread out over the day. Doing this allowed me to break up the day¢s hike and also get those power bars/snickers into my system throughout the day. I¢d also use those breaks to keep my journal up-dated.4.        Take a little time and chat with the hikers you run across. At first I was terrible about doing this (I probably even came across as being rude). But I got into the habit of talking with just about everyone. Sometimes I would get some valuable trail info for up ahead; sometimes someone would offer some trail magic; sometimes I¢d manage a hitch into town. But most importantly, I was able to take a break from my ¢hiking alone, all alone¢ to resting a bit and doing some social interaction. That could be a big ¢picker-upper" on a otherwise rough day.I know there¢s more but I just can¢t think of anything else right now.