Do’s and Don’ts for Prospective Thru-Hikers

Don’t Overplan

Think of a thru-hike as a bunch of little 3-4 day backpacking trips strung together. For the most part, there’s no need to plan beyond your next resupply. You have no idea how each day is going to go, and the farther out you try to plan, the less accurate your predictions will be. You are going to have bad weather, you might get sick or injured, you might end up hiking with someone who is going a different pace than you planned. Your tastes are going to change, your daily mileage is going to change, you might even make changes to the route you follow. See my PCT resupply post for some insight into how even with a medium amount of planning ahead, only about 50% went to plan, and the adjustments were expensive.

That being said, there are a few things you need to plan for. Do your homework on what permits you need, areas you need to carry a bear canister or bear spray, and make those necessary arrangements. But you don’t need to pore over maps or try to plan out where you are going to be and when. You don’t need to prep packages from home. You don’t even need to train (although it won’t hurt). Just hit the trail with your gear and enough food to get you to the next resupply, and you will be just fine.

Do some Shakedown Hikes

Learn how to use your stuff and make sure it all works for you. Learn how to set up your tent (or hammock, or tarp). Try out how the pack weight feels. Try packing your load a few different ways. Hear how loudly your mat crinkles when you turn over in the night. Feel how inaccurate that comfort rating is on that sleeping bag. Make sure your shoes don’t rub you in the wrong places. Make sure everything is right for you. Work out the kinks ahead of time. If you need to return anything, it’s easier to do when you still live in one place. The first day of a thru-hike is full of nerves and anticipation, meeting new people, and adapting to your new reality. It’s an easier transition if you are at least comfortable with your gear.

And on that note, learn to use your ice axe. This is an essential piece of safety gear that is useless if you can’t use it. Get out in some snowy conditions and practice self-arresting on safe slopes. Experiencing your axe and how it works will give you a lot more confidence on sketchy snowy slopes. Knowing how to properly self-arrest could save you from serious injury or death.

Don’t Start too Early

It can be tempting to start early on the PCT or CDT in order to get through the desert before it gets too warm. The problem is, hitting the mountains too early means dealing with heavier snowpack and more treacherous conditions. “Below-average snow year” does not mean “low snow year”. Hikers hitting the mountains too early often find themselves taking time off to wait for conditions to improve. With PCT permits these days, you might not be able to avoid an early start date, but you should at least be prepared to adjust your plans for the mountains.

The Appalachian Trail is a bit different since you don’t have to deal with persistent snowpack at altitude, but it will still be cold if you start early. Be prepared for wet, snowy conditions, and know that even starting early on this trail will not necessarily bring you solitude. It’s a busy trail, even in the early season.

Do Start off Slowly

Unless you’re doing some serious training beforehand, treat the beginning of your hike as your training period. Give your body a little time to adapt and adjust to this new reality of walking with a pack all day every day. It can be tempting, especially in the beginning of a thru-hike, to want to hike as many miles as you possibly can. This leads to blisters, because your feet haven’t had time to toughen up. Or shin splints, because your body isn’t adapted to the impact of constant walking with a load. Or knee pain, since your knees aren’t strong enough for the unrelenting downhills yet. Give it a little time and allow your body to build up strength. You’ll be crushing miles in no time.

Don’t Run out of Money

Make sure you save enough for your hike, but also make sure your trail spending is in line with the amount you’ve saved. There are plenty of ways to save money before your hike as well as on trail.

Do Consider Alternates

On the AT, Paul and I were purist whiteblazers. That is to say, we followed the official trail, and we did not take alternates. We might have even been so pure as to always resume our hike coming back from town exactly in the spot we got off, to the point that if we got dropped off across the street from where we left off, we’d cross back to the other side, just to say we hiked every foot of the trail. It seems a little silly looking back. Because most alternates are shorter, it felt like cheating to us, because we regarded them merely as shortcuts. But on the CDT, a lot of the alternates are the best parts, even if they are shorter. And there are a lot of alternates. And that’s what makes the CDT special. Your hike can be whatever you want it to be, so don’t restrict yourself with imaginary rules.

Don’t Make Rigid Plans with Friends

A lot of your friends are probably going to suggest coming out to meet you along the trail somewhere and hiking with you for a few days. It sounds fun, and I’ve done it with a friend of mine, so it’s not impossible. But there are a lot of logistics involved, and you will be in drastically different physical shape than them, so you need to be prepared to slow your mileage down. Oftentimes it is easier to just meet friends and family in one of the towns along the trail. Sometimes friends and family of a hiker might even drive out to meet them at the trailheads and support them for a few days. If you’re lucky, you’ll have friends and family living in or near a trail town, and you can stay with them for a few days.The important thing to remember is that flexibility is important, and your friends and relatives should be comfortable with not knowing exactly when you will be coming into a certain town until a few days in advance.

Some people choose to leave the trail for events such as weddings. A prolonged time away from the trail can lead to being “home poisoned”. You enjoy the luxuries of home life a little too much, you spend time with the people you’ve been missing, and when you get back to the trail you find yourself in a different bubble of hikers. You have to say goodbye to family and friends all over, meet new people to hike with again, and get back into the swing of hiking life again. A lot of people lose their motivation. Really consider if you want to be interrupting your adventure, what is worth it and what isn’t.

Do let People Know how to Send you a Care Package

Getting a little mail is awesome, especially if it is full of goodies. If you have people in your life interested in sending you something along the trail, make sure to let them know specific things you would like. Maybe there is a certain hot sauce or candy bar you can’t get along the trail, or a favorite backpacking meal that doesn’t fit in your budget. And of course, give them specific information on where and how to send you a package. It can be a real morale booster to get something special from your loved ones, who you are probably missing.

Don’t Compare Yourself to Others

Always remember the phrase “comparison is the thief of joy”. Or, as hikers like to put it, “hike your own hike”. No one is keeping score on this adventure. There are going to be people who hike faster than you, there are going to be hikers who hitchhike past huge sections of trail, there are going to be people who spend more time in town than out in the wilderness. All of this has no effect on you, your hike, or your enjoyment of it. This journey is yours to experience the way you want to, don’t worry about what other people are doing or what they might think about your choices. None of that matters. What matters is getting out and doing it.

If you’d like more resources for planning your upcoming thru-hike, check out How To Dress Properly for Backpacking or Thru-Hiking (and Not Get Cold), How Much do I Need to Save for a Thru-Hike?, or 10 Things No One Tells You about Thru-Hiking.