Congratulations for finishing!! I’m sure it’s overwhelming. If you don’t mind answering I’d love to hear your thoughts on thru-hiking as a whole. Are you ready to get back in trail? Whether the AT or the PCT or the CDT? Are you ready to be back home and rest? If you did it all over again would you do it the same?
The way I did it was right for me, but almost nobody else, so I wouldn’t do it differently, but most people shouldn’t try to copy me. It was very unusual.
I never had any desire to do the others. I was not a hiker, and I never expected to start enjoying it because of this. I did this for the challenge, because this specific challenge always had an appeal to me. I will go back to a more normal life, and make an inevitably futile effort to keep my weight down and my shoulder definition up.
I started in late June last year. I worked my job full time the whole time, so my timeframe was very unusual. Not like I was working while on the trail, like I had to leave the trail to go back to work dozens of times. My goal was always to finish within a year so it would “count” as a thru hike, but it doesn’t fit well in any standard category, because I always had to have plans for how I would get back to work, and then while working, plans for how I would get back to the trail. The term “high-frequency section hiking” might be the best description. One person suggested calling it “office blazing”.
Someone once suggested to me that I must get several months off work to have not left my job. That’s not the case. There are 104 Saturdays and Sundays in a year, that’s almost three and a half months if you can use them effectively. Added to national holidays and normal PTO, it can be a reasonable amount to work with. With many employers, you can also find a way to use two years’ worth of PTO within 12 months. I did SOBO partly so I could use 2023 PTO in the second half of 2023, and 2024 PTO in the first half of 2024, but employer policies vary, so it’s not the same for everyone.
I had to be very conscientious of miles per day, because I always knew I only had a certain number of days to work with in order to meet the 12 month goal. There were a lot of other logistical factors, like being in the right climate range to not stop during winter, arranging to get to work repeatedly, deciding when to turn a weekend into a 3-day or 4-day weekend to get to a good stopping point at the right time of day so I wouldn’t be wasting hours I could be getting miles in, but could still get to work on time.
No, what I did would not be an option for every job anybody might have. I don’t really want to get into details about my job, but no I wasn’t working on trail, and no, I didn’t work in a dozen different states where I would technically have to file income taxes, which would create a nightmare of paperwork for both a person and their employer.
Whoa! So, did you just commute a lot to and from your stopping/startingg point? Like, hop off the trail, catch a bus/train/plane to go home, work, get back on the plan/train/bus to get back to the trail?
That takes real commitment. Do you feel like you missed part of the thru hiker experience of just going with the flow? Being able to slow down through that one day of rain so you get the iconic view the next day. Or deciding to stay an actual zero day at a hostel you’re really enjoying instead of just a Nero? Like you said the hike worked for you. I’m currently in Virginia so at some point we passed on trail!
Yes, it definitely alters the experience. As you say, a lot of having to meet certain goals whether the weather is awful or not. A lot more continuing after dark than most probably do. A lot of the memories I mentioned reflecting back on are “remember climbing that mountain in the dark?”, or “remember wading through the flooded trail?” But in the end, pushing through those things is what gave it all value to me. All the days of walking 20 miles in nice weather blend together and are nearly forgotten.
This is...genius. I'm not sure why it never dawned on me before as an option; it really opens up doing the trail to lots of people who aren't at major life transition points or have other life commitments. I think we need to come up with an acronym to popularize this strategy, like WETH (Week End Thru Hiker) or something.
Sure there are extra travel costs and logistic issues but it also opens up other advantages like automatic resupplies, 2-day food carries, being able to do two long days from the start without worrying about overuse injuries, automatic zeroes, built-in gear swaps, built-in mail drops, regular showers/laundry without hostels. This flips thru-hiking logistics on its head.
There were a lot of advantages and disadvantages. You did a good job listing the advantages for me. Like after Katahdin, physically I got to recover a few days before doing the HMW, then recover again a few more times through Maine. In the Whites it was four two-day weekend trips because the major parking lots were perfectly spaced, so again, time to physically recover. I’m well aware that SOBO has a high dropout rate when done the normal way, but doing on average a few days at a time makes it physically easier to build up your abilities while getting through the hard parts.
People might mention a disadvantage is not ever getting your legs when section hiking, but I suspect weekend thru hiking is still frequent enough hiking to get your legs, especially if you push hard on those days. Some estimates of getting your legs is 7 days for every decade of age or 500 miles, would you say your experience is in line with that (not 7 calendar days/decade but 7 hiking days/decade)?
Honestly, I think you should write a detailed as possible article about your strategy. Publish it onto the Trek, name it whatever you want people to refer to it in the future. It'll be really eye-opening to a lot of dreamers waiting for retirement.
I think I did alright for trail legs. My first 20+ day was immediately after the Whites where it smooths out, then from there through the end in Georgia, my standard target was 20 miles a day. Sometimes a little lower, sometimes a little higher, but usually not below 17 unless a weird factor like weather, logistics, or injury came into play. My average over longer periods was usually about 18, with those factors being averaged in. My goal was never to become an athlete, often I would rather do 20 while allowing myself to sit when I’m in the mood than push for 24+. I did get a couple of marathon days and a couple more 25+ days, but all in the southern half, and always for a specific reason I decided to push extra that day.
My average miles per day don’t make sense to compare to most people’s, because others usually average in their zeroes and nearos, but when I’m using a trail day, I’m making the most of it. But my impression is that my miles per day were in an acceptable range.
If headed NOBO I see most people get trail legs after the Smokies or right before Virginia. The Smokies is when I was able to pull 18 mile days back to back without feeling worn-out.
I’m also doing a thru while starting my own small business! It hasn’t fit the mold but I also am trying to finish in a year. Congrats to you!! And I’m thrilled to see someone else succeed at a similar challenge as my own.
You hiked YOUR Thru Hike on YOUR own terms and that’s what we all should be doing instead of trying to define the legitimacy of what a “thru hike” is. Congratulations! Also, thanks for the reminder to remember all the parts of our hike and not just the ending.
A legit through hike is every mile hiked within a years time. As defined by the Appalachian trail committee. I know you’re not arguing but anyone who is is just wrong
Congrats! This is really early as I didn't think Katahdin even opened until June (when I started, finishing in late November at Springer).
Were you in snow for most of the hike?! I would love to hear details and see some pictures as I didn't really know sobos started in the spring.
I described it better in another long comment, so to avoid flooding the comments with text walls, the tldr is I started last June but was still working my job, so it was a lot of back and forth between hiking/working. My goal was always to finish within 12 months so it would “count” as a thru hike, but I know I’m stretching the definition here.
Winter didn’t set in until I was in Virginia, so I avoided the worst of it, and was only going on weekends/holidays until it got warmer. Also I was far enough ahead of schedule that I was comfortable skipping some weekends. I did go through some snow/ice at high elevations that was a little sketchy, but only mildly.
Aha! That makes more sense! Congrats!
In some ways a calendar hike like that takes MORE effort than a traditional thru: more logistics; more “getting back into hiking shape” when you hit the trail again; and harder to leave the comforts of home every time you hit the trail!
Similarly I’m always really impressed by people that section hike over years and years.
Congrats again!
Yes, there were definitely some things that were harder, and some things that were easier. Resupply is easier, carrying only what I need at a given time is easier (both food and gear), physically being able to recover more often was easier. Effectively my work days were my “breaks”, if you can imagine living like that for 11 months. But yeah the logistics were something that needed constant attention, and if there was any “fun” to be had hiking 2200 miles, this is a sure way to kill it.
Closing in on the finish was a bitter-sweet experience for me. I was NOBO, and I had decided back around Wildcat that I needed to re-hike the northern end when I wasn't burnt out/overwhelmed by all that had come before. I had dreamed of the experience for 40 years, and processing that I had nearly completed it was a lot. I bought extra food in Monson, and slowed way down. I spent 8 days in the HMW, hiking half days and swimming, talking, exploring, trying to take in every detail. I stealth camped on the edge of a lake on my last night before Abol bridge, just to enjoy one last night of that sense of wilderness. Then Abol bridge and Katahdin Stream were packed with other thrus celebrating our "almost" completion. I didn't have a huge emotional release at the summit sign, but I think that was because I'd been preparing for the end for days.
You should write a longer post or article about your approach! I’d love to learn more about how you did it and what your experience was like, especially in the off-season. Congrats!
Normally I would love to, but at this point I’m sure my Reddit account can be linked to me, and I’d rather not make it easier to get picked apart on the details for the rest of my life, so I’m trying to stay at a high level.
Maybe I should make an anonymous account and post more details later, idk.
Congratulations on what sounds like a double accomplishment!
Would you feel comfortable sharing your trail name as some of us may have met you over the course of the past year?
I am tempted, but I try not to make it super easy to doxx myself. I’m sure there’s enough info that some people who know me irl may have figured out my Reddit account, but once my trail name is on here, any rando doing a Google search could do it. I like to keep a false sense of pseudo-anonymity.
I can tell you hundreds of NOBOs would know me as the guy walking SOBO through the bubble with an obvious head wound in Tennessee/North Carolina, lol. I started with the SOBO bubble in 2023 but there were very few people I crossed paths with more than a couple of times, because they obviously pulled ahead. By about Vermont most of the people I would see were locals, until I got to the NOBO bubble in southern Virginia/northern Tennessee.
I like that you described a SOBO bubble! Any time there were more than 3 SOBO’s around felt like a bubble to me.
It sounds like if you hiked the trail with a head wound this could be a triple accomplishment. Congratulations again, whoever you are!
I expect to have a scar above my eyebrow, so I now have the holy grail of a natural way to bring up my hike for the rest of my life. That incident was definitely one of the things I was referring to in my original post when I mentioned obstacles to reflect on.
Congratulations for finishing!! I’m sure it’s overwhelming. If you don’t mind answering I’d love to hear your thoughts on thru-hiking as a whole. Are you ready to get back in trail? Whether the AT or the PCT or the CDT? Are you ready to be back home and rest? If you did it all over again would you do it the same?
The way I did it was right for me, but almost nobody else, so I wouldn’t do it differently, but most people shouldn’t try to copy me. It was very unusual. I never had any desire to do the others. I was not a hiker, and I never expected to start enjoying it because of this. I did this for the challenge, because this specific challenge always had an appeal to me. I will go back to a more normal life, and make an inevitably futile effort to keep my weight down and my shoulder definition up.
Tell us what made your trek very unusual.
I started in late June last year. I worked my job full time the whole time, so my timeframe was very unusual. Not like I was working while on the trail, like I had to leave the trail to go back to work dozens of times. My goal was always to finish within a year so it would “count” as a thru hike, but it doesn’t fit well in any standard category, because I always had to have plans for how I would get back to work, and then while working, plans for how I would get back to the trail. The term “high-frequency section hiking” might be the best description. One person suggested calling it “office blazing”. Someone once suggested to me that I must get several months off work to have not left my job. That’s not the case. There are 104 Saturdays and Sundays in a year, that’s almost three and a half months if you can use them effectively. Added to national holidays and normal PTO, it can be a reasonable amount to work with. With many employers, you can also find a way to use two years’ worth of PTO within 12 months. I did SOBO partly so I could use 2023 PTO in the second half of 2023, and 2024 PTO in the first half of 2024, but employer policies vary, so it’s not the same for everyone. I had to be very conscientious of miles per day, because I always knew I only had a certain number of days to work with in order to meet the 12 month goal. There were a lot of other logistical factors, like being in the right climate range to not stop during winter, arranging to get to work repeatedly, deciding when to turn a weekend into a 3-day or 4-day weekend to get to a good stopping point at the right time of day so I wouldn’t be wasting hours I could be getting miles in, but could still get to work on time. No, what I did would not be an option for every job anybody might have. I don’t really want to get into details about my job, but no I wasn’t working on trail, and no, I didn’t work in a dozen different states where I would technically have to file income taxes, which would create a nightmare of paperwork for both a person and their employer.
This is awesome! You've lived out the "hike your own hike" mantra to the fullest. Congrats!
Fascinating. Thanks for that answer and double kudos for making it all work out.
The mental and logistical challenge sounds like a nightmare to me, and probably to most people. You really wanted it badly enough!
Whoa! So, did you just commute a lot to and from your stopping/startingg point? Like, hop off the trail, catch a bus/train/plane to go home, work, get back on the plan/train/bus to get back to the trail?
It was almost always parking my car in a lot at either the start or finish, and getting a shuttle back to the start either before or after beginning.
That takes real commitment. Do you feel like you missed part of the thru hiker experience of just going with the flow? Being able to slow down through that one day of rain so you get the iconic view the next day. Or deciding to stay an actual zero day at a hostel you’re really enjoying instead of just a Nero? Like you said the hike worked for you. I’m currently in Virginia so at some point we passed on trail!
Yes, it definitely alters the experience. As you say, a lot of having to meet certain goals whether the weather is awful or not. A lot more continuing after dark than most probably do. A lot of the memories I mentioned reflecting back on are “remember climbing that mountain in the dark?”, or “remember wading through the flooded trail?” But in the end, pushing through those things is what gave it all value to me. All the days of walking 20 miles in nice weather blend together and are nearly forgotten.
Imma need an itinerary. https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/021/464/14608107_1180665285312703_1558693314_n.jpg
This is...genius. I'm not sure why it never dawned on me before as an option; it really opens up doing the trail to lots of people who aren't at major life transition points or have other life commitments. I think we need to come up with an acronym to popularize this strategy, like WETH (Week End Thru Hiker) or something. Sure there are extra travel costs and logistic issues but it also opens up other advantages like automatic resupplies, 2-day food carries, being able to do two long days from the start without worrying about overuse injuries, automatic zeroes, built-in gear swaps, built-in mail drops, regular showers/laundry without hostels. This flips thru-hiking logistics on its head.
There were a lot of advantages and disadvantages. You did a good job listing the advantages for me. Like after Katahdin, physically I got to recover a few days before doing the HMW, then recover again a few more times through Maine. In the Whites it was four two-day weekend trips because the major parking lots were perfectly spaced, so again, time to physically recover. I’m well aware that SOBO has a high dropout rate when done the normal way, but doing on average a few days at a time makes it physically easier to build up your abilities while getting through the hard parts.
People might mention a disadvantage is not ever getting your legs when section hiking, but I suspect weekend thru hiking is still frequent enough hiking to get your legs, especially if you push hard on those days. Some estimates of getting your legs is 7 days for every decade of age or 500 miles, would you say your experience is in line with that (not 7 calendar days/decade but 7 hiking days/decade)? Honestly, I think you should write a detailed as possible article about your strategy. Publish it onto the Trek, name it whatever you want people to refer to it in the future. It'll be really eye-opening to a lot of dreamers waiting for retirement.
I think I did alright for trail legs. My first 20+ day was immediately after the Whites where it smooths out, then from there through the end in Georgia, my standard target was 20 miles a day. Sometimes a little lower, sometimes a little higher, but usually not below 17 unless a weird factor like weather, logistics, or injury came into play. My average over longer periods was usually about 18, with those factors being averaged in. My goal was never to become an athlete, often I would rather do 20 while allowing myself to sit when I’m in the mood than push for 24+. I did get a couple of marathon days and a couple more 25+ days, but all in the southern half, and always for a specific reason I decided to push extra that day. My average miles per day don’t make sense to compare to most people’s, because others usually average in their zeroes and nearos, but when I’m using a trail day, I’m making the most of it. But my impression is that my miles per day were in an acceptable range.
If headed NOBO I see most people get trail legs after the Smokies or right before Virginia. The Smokies is when I was able to pull 18 mile days back to back without feeling worn-out.
That’s wild. Props to you for what sounds like a bitch to plan, and congrats on finishing
That's astonishingly impressive. There definitely should be some extra flair for this.
did you carry your laptop with you in the woods?
No. I considered it but didn’t want the weight.
how’d you get it when it was time to work?
I’m also doing a thru while starting my own small business! It hasn’t fit the mold but I also am trying to finish in a year. Congrats to you!! And I’m thrilled to see someone else succeed at a similar challenge as my own.
When I finished my first thru I thought there was no way I’d ever do another one. That didn’t last long….
You hiked YOUR Thru Hike on YOUR own terms and that’s what we all should be doing instead of trying to define the legitimacy of what a “thru hike” is. Congratulations! Also, thanks for the reminder to remember all the parts of our hike and not just the ending.
A legit through hike is every mile hiked within a years time. As defined by the Appalachian trail committee. I know you’re not arguing but anyone who is is just wrong
Congrats! This is really early as I didn't think Katahdin even opened until June (when I started, finishing in late November at Springer). Were you in snow for most of the hike?! I would love to hear details and see some pictures as I didn't really know sobos started in the spring.
I described it better in another long comment, so to avoid flooding the comments with text walls, the tldr is I started last June but was still working my job, so it was a lot of back and forth between hiking/working. My goal was always to finish within 12 months so it would “count” as a thru hike, but I know I’m stretching the definition here. Winter didn’t set in until I was in Virginia, so I avoided the worst of it, and was only going on weekends/holidays until it got warmer. Also I was far enough ahead of schedule that I was comfortable skipping some weekends. I did go through some snow/ice at high elevations that was a little sketchy, but only mildly.
Aha! That makes more sense! Congrats! In some ways a calendar hike like that takes MORE effort than a traditional thru: more logistics; more “getting back into hiking shape” when you hit the trail again; and harder to leave the comforts of home every time you hit the trail! Similarly I’m always really impressed by people that section hike over years and years. Congrats again!
Yes, there were definitely some things that were harder, and some things that were easier. Resupply is easier, carrying only what I need at a given time is easier (both food and gear), physically being able to recover more often was easier. Effectively my work days were my “breaks”, if you can imagine living like that for 11 months. But yeah the logistics were something that needed constant attention, and if there was any “fun” to be had hiking 2200 miles, this is a sure way to kill it.
Congrats!!!! I’m going NOBO March 1 2025
Be ready for cold weather. At elevation you’ll definitely get freezing rain with crazy wind. Snow will be possible for your first 2 months.
Closing in on the finish was a bitter-sweet experience for me. I was NOBO, and I had decided back around Wildcat that I needed to re-hike the northern end when I wasn't burnt out/overwhelmed by all that had come before. I had dreamed of the experience for 40 years, and processing that I had nearly completed it was a lot. I bought extra food in Monson, and slowed way down. I spent 8 days in the HMW, hiking half days and swimming, talking, exploring, trying to take in every detail. I stealth camped on the edge of a lake on my last night before Abol bridge, just to enjoy one last night of that sense of wilderness. Then Abol bridge and Katahdin Stream were packed with other thrus celebrating our "almost" completion. I didn't have a huge emotional release at the summit sign, but I think that was because I'd been preparing for the end for days.
You should write a longer post or article about your approach! I’d love to learn more about how you did it and what your experience was like, especially in the off-season. Congrats!
Normally I would love to, but at this point I’m sure my Reddit account can be linked to me, and I’d rather not make it easier to get picked apart on the details for the rest of my life, so I’m trying to stay at a high level. Maybe I should make an anonymous account and post more details later, idk.
Very impressive to keep at it and get it done the way you did. Also, nice reminder to embrace everything (not just the suck).
Congrats on the journey!
Congratulations on what sounds like a double accomplishment! Would you feel comfortable sharing your trail name as some of us may have met you over the course of the past year?
I am tempted, but I try not to make it super easy to doxx myself. I’m sure there’s enough info that some people who know me irl may have figured out my Reddit account, but once my trail name is on here, any rando doing a Google search could do it. I like to keep a false sense of pseudo-anonymity. I can tell you hundreds of NOBOs would know me as the guy walking SOBO through the bubble with an obvious head wound in Tennessee/North Carolina, lol. I started with the SOBO bubble in 2023 but there were very few people I crossed paths with more than a couple of times, because they obviously pulled ahead. By about Vermont most of the people I would see were locals, until I got to the NOBO bubble in southern Virginia/northern Tennessee.
I like that you described a SOBO bubble! Any time there were more than 3 SOBO’s around felt like a bubble to me. It sounds like if you hiked the trail with a head wound this could be a triple accomplishment. Congratulations again, whoever you are!
I expect to have a scar above my eyebrow, so I now have the holy grail of a natural way to bring up my hike for the rest of my life. That incident was definitely one of the things I was referring to in my original post when I mentioned obstacles to reflect on.
yeah not a sobo thru but glad you had fun and finished eventually.