It's been about two months since I finished my thru-hike of the Long Trail. I've been thinking about it a lot lately so I figured it was time for another list!
The Top Seven Things That Surprised Me
1. Hiking a long distance was easier mentally than I thought it would be. I heard that long distance hiking was a true mental/emotional challenge, much more so than the physical side of it. The bad weather, the pain, the boredom, the loneliness – they all take a toll on the psyche, they said. I think that's true but much more so for the truly long trails like the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail. For those hikes, you're on the trail for months and months. But on the wonderful Long Trail - a much shorter endeavor – I found I was able to cope with the mental side of things for the few weeks I was out there. There are a few reasons for that. First, I knew I was only going to be out there for a relatively short amount of time. That helped. Second, I’ve had some challenges in my life that helped me build up some resilience. Overcoming losing a job, quitting drinking, surviving Army basic training and airborne school, getting deployed for a year in Afghanistan, etc. You have to embrace a lot of suck to get through those experiences. Being out in the woods for a few weeks was heaven in comparison!
2. That being said, it was harder physically than I thought it was going to be. I wasn’t in the best of shape when I started and I’m not young anymore, but still, the trail did a number on my feet and my knee. Fortunately, nothing serious, but the feet got pretty beat up from walking all those miles on roots and rocks. And my osteoarthritic knee hurt like hell every evening when I lay down in my tent. Mental fortitude helped overcome all that. Fortunately, I healed up pretty quickly once I got home.
3. The southern part of the trail wasn’t as easy as people made it out to be. In my research for the hike, I kept reading how much easier the south was compared to the north. As a southbounder, I kept that in the back of my mind as I was going through the rugged north. Something to look forward to as I knocked out the “hard” miles first. But the easy part never seem to materialize. I averaged about five more miles a day in the southern half so I’m sure there is something to it but it didn’t feel like it. Perhaps it’s not as technical after Camel’s Hump but I still found the trail had challenging sections throughout.
4. I wasn’t as hungry as I thought I’d be. I knew I wasn’t going to be out there long enough to get “hiker hunger” but I still thought hiking all those miles each day would increase my appetite enough where I wouldn’t be able to keep up with it. But it didn’t. More often I had to make sure I ate enough, especially during the day. Wish that was the case at home!
5. I mentioned this in my last post but hiking in driving, hard rain is really miserable. I didn’t expect it to be fun, but I was surprised how much it really sucked. I’ve hiked in intermittent rain before so getting wet wasn’t new to me but I never hiked in downpours. They are a different beast altogether. I was amazed how quickly I got cold in a heavy rain, even though it was August, and how quickly you start chafing. We've all been caught in it but in the woods you have nowhere to run unless you just happen to be near a shelter. Miserable stuff.
6. I didn’t get hurt. At my age (I’m 52), I knew I didn’t have the nimbleness of youth, so I was very cautious throughout my hike, especially going downhill. That slowed me down quite a bit but speeding up wasn’t worth the risk (or the pain). I tried to stay present throughout the hike so I could be alert to dangers. It worked. Still, prudent hikers get hurt too so I feel fortunate I was able to avoid anything serious.
7. I really didn’t mind being dirty for days at a time. I thought going without a daily shower would be a bigger deal than it was, but it really wasn’t that bad. I wore the same clothes for several days too (I only had two sets: my hiking clothes and my sleep clothes). I always wondered how folks from past centuries did it without today’s modern conveniences. I soon realized you get used to it pretty quick. As a corollary, I was surprised how I rarely noticed other hikers’ funk either. Granted, I never got too close to others but still…
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