There is a little bit of planning required to successfully execute a thru-hike. Some go as far as calculating their mileage for each day, mailing many food drops, and tirelessly researching the best and lightest gear while others just kind of wing it. I believe you can only plan so much before you hit the turning point in the law of diminishing returns. While I'm usually a fan of winging things, I think that not planning at all is fairly asinine. So like the majority of hikers I fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. I plan to have 6 mail drops sent, but mostly stop in towns to cobble together enough food to make it those next few days. I tested my gear out and upgraded some items to better and lighter materials but I didn’t go spend thousands of dollars to get that “Ultra Light” title that some people chase. Sure, having a backpack base weight (which includes just your gear, no food weight, water weight, or clothes you're wearing) of 10lbs will be much more comfortable than 25lbs but I don’t think sleeping in the dirt, under a tarp, getting attacked by mosquitoes all night is that comfortable either. For those who are curious, here is a list of my gear, and I will post a more detailed run down later. Yes, I plan to take 3+ lbs of camera toys. Yes, I will be sleeping in a hammock. And no, I am not taking multiple pairs of underwear.
I first came to the conclusion that I want to hike the AT just over a year ago and I knew that I had one summer to get some solid test hikes under my belt. I have done plenty of car camping and a few short backpacking trips (such as a one-nighter in the Gros Ventre Wilderness) but never with the more minimalist thru hiker attitude. Weekend warriors and day walkers can carry that extra pair of clothes, a pillow, or even a chair, but when carrying 5 pounds of unnecessary weight for hundreds and hundreds of miles, that amount of work (work = force * distance) really adds up. So in 2016 I tested and refined my gear on a 30 mile hike on the AT in Shenandoah as well as the 93 mile Wonderland Trail, a loop that circumnavigates Mount Rainier. I completed both fine-n-dandy and was convinced I was ready to go to the next step...which obviously would be a 2200 mile hike. To put a manageable spin on that length, think of it as about 50 weekend hikes in a row, back-to-back, without returning home.
The biggest 3 reasons people quit the trail are running out of money, not being mentally prepared, or getting injured. It is estimated that up to 25% of thru hikers quit just 30 miles in at Neels Gap and throw their boots in the tree and I DEFINITELY do not plan to be part of that group. One can assume that these are generally the folks who were not mentally prepared and/or who haven’t done any long distance backpacking before. After that, another 50% don’t reach the end and I don’t want to be in that group either. Some run out of funds or just get sick of the grind of wake up – walk – eat – walk – eat – walk – eat – eat – sleep. These are preventable if you prepare well enough and can avoid injury (those that know me are aware that this will be the biggest challenge for my injury-prone self!) then nothing can stop you from reaching Mount Katahdin and standing on the infamous summit sign.
(photoshopped...obviously)