Date: 2015-12-23
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A thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail is a personal journey of self-discovery. Albert Camus once wrote, "Au milieu de l'hiver, j'ai decouvert en moi un invincible ete." In English: "In the middle of the winter, I discovered within myself an invincible summer." When I started on top of Katahdin, I was an ordinary person. Along the way, I discovered within myself an inevitable extraordinariness which got me to Springer. I witnessed the same metamorphosis in all the other thru-hikers I met. Meeting and connecting with these other hikers was what I enjoyed and looked forward to most on the trail.It was hard starting out in Maine. East Coast hiking was new to me, and it was a challenge to adjust to the difficult treadway, dense forest, dampness and humidity. I loved the South. The further south I hiked, the more leaves were falling off the trees, and the greater was my sense of air and space and personal freedom while I was hiking. During the first month, from Katahdin to Glencliff, the trail was crushing me. During the last month, from Damascus to Springer, I was crushing the trail.My goal of swimming over 1,000 miles the same year I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail never came to fruition. On my first day in the Smokies, I fell hard and injured my right shoulder. On the day before I finished, I fell hard and injured my right shoulder again. I do not expect to start swimming again until January 2016 at the earliest.I will be thru-hiking the PCT next year. My tentative start date is April 29, 2016. To avoid hiking hundreds of miles in snow, I plan to take "The Great Leap Forward" by getting off the trail at Walker Pass at the end of May, getting back on at Donner Pass at the beginning of June, getting off at the Columbia River and getting back on at Walker Pass around the third week of July when most of the snow will have melted, getting off again at Donner Pass, getting on again at the Columbia River and finishing in Canada in September. Thru-hiking is a highly individualized experience. What works for some thru-hikers may not work for others. In no particular order, here are my Ten Commandments of Thru-Hiking:1. Minimize the time you spend on the trail. You are more likely to sustain yourself by hanging out at a shelter near water than idling on top of a mountain.2. Hike your own hike. Don't wait two hours for a hiking partner to get ready to hike with you. Don't kill yourself trying to keep up with a hiking partner who is faster than you. Don't be a slave to another person's thru-hike. Don't compromise when you don't have to.3. Take advantage of amenities. If you are coming up to a hostel, stay there. If are passing a water spigot, drink there. If you are passing a store, buy food there. If you are in town, take a shower, do your laundry and resupply. Be as kind and as generous to yourself as possible.4. Take advantage of good weather. If you are hiking in the desert or in the Sierra in monsoon season, get on the trail well before the sun rises to avoid hiking in the heat or in a thunderstorm. If the weather is perfect for hiking, crush the trail. If the weather is horrible, take a zero.5. Research everything thoroughly and meticulously. Know what's coming up. Know how far you have to go from one water source to another. Know how many miles you have to go and how much elevation gain and loss you will have to reach your end destination for that day. Know when the next resupply opportunity will be. It's hard to plan too much. It's easy not to plan enough.6. Meet as many people as you can. The best thing about thru-hiking isn't the hiking, it's the people you meet while hiking. Hikers going your direction can be excellent company for much of the trip. Hikers going the opposite direction are the best source of information for what's coming up ahead.7. Carry only what you need. The less you carry, the more enjoyable your hiking will be.8. Hike with a purpose. When you get on the trail in the morning, decide what your end destination for that day will be and get there.9. Document the experience. Keep a journal, and be scrupulous about keeping it current when you have the time and energy to do so. This is the best way to capture the experience of a lifetime.10. Minimize any non-hiking energy you expend. Avoid any physical activity which does not serve to sustain yourself or get you further down the trail. Don't pitch a tent if you don't need to stay in one. Don't collect or treat water if there is a spigot coming up. If you are heading into town, don't walk if you can get a ride.