Hmmm...
Lately Elliott, Marit and I have been talking about reasons why people quit the AT before they finish….
Here are a few of our thoughts
- Rash decision to hike the trail.
- Did not plan ahead financially.
- Romanticized view of hiking meets physical pain = quitting.
- Carrying too much weight.
- Lack of determination.
- Mental break downs.
- Missing comforts of “civilized” life.
Hoping we don’t fall to any of these…
Can you think of other reasons why someone might quit the AT?
Well Karen, you asked...
ReplyDeleteMisery - rain that makes everything you own wet including the inside of your tent and every time you get out of your wet sleeping bag you are cold, darn cold. Add to this a persistent hunger that a hearty meal satiates for 30 minutes at most. Then there are mosquitoes/noseeums/deer flies/black flies that pounce and give no peace except in your tent (unless it gets ripped). Aches and pains that are always there sometimes flaring to intolerable levels. Add blisters. On top of all this is mind numbing fatigue.
Head game - you really don't think you can do it. You are sore, hungry, constantly fatigued. The last several people you talked to thought you would never make it or you are nuts to try.
Illness/injury - takes a lot to cover the required daily mileage. Injury or illness takes rest. Get something that persists and you are dragged down emotionally every time you try to get going again and have to rest again. A version of the head game as you are bored & stuck going anywhere. All you can think about is not being able to cover miles. Being someplace else gains favor over time and after each failure to get going.
Misc - some variation or combination of the above, a run of bad luck, a run of camp pests (animal and human) that exceeds reason, etc.
Determination can help you ride out a lot. Sometimes it isn't enough. Few will ever understand what you went through either way.
Anyway, I think you guys can do it. You will have your story(s) of coming close to quitting. It is after all, a part of what you are doing.
If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
sam