Random Thoughts – Part 2

c) Andrew Carter, 2021

What’s Your Trail Name?

I don’t have one.  Why?  Because most people didn’t use trail names when I started hiking decades ago.  That was the case when I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail (AT) in 1977.  79 hikers say they completed the AT in 1977.  Only four were known to have trail names.  I figured if I didn’t need a trail name then, I didn’t need one now. 

I am an anomaly, however.  Everyone else seems to have a trail name today.  In 2019 for instance, 1023 hikers say they completed the AT.  Only 21 were reported not to have had a trail name.

Thru-Hikers Aren’t Special

Most thru-hikers think they are special, but they aren’t.  Me included.  That’s because so many people complete a thru-hike every year. 

There are three major north-south long-distance trails in the US – the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and the Continental Divide Trail (CDT).  In 2019, 1023 people say they completed the AT, 985 say they completed the PCT, and 163 say they completed the CDT.  That’s almost 2200 people.

All told, over 20,000 people say they have completed the AT since the first recorded completion in 1936, over 8000 say they have completed the PCT since the first recorded completion in 1952, and almost 700 say they have completed the CDT since the first recorded completion in 1972. That’s almost 30,000 people.

These numbers represent thru-hikers (trail completed in one year) and section hikers (trail completed over multiple years).  I use the word, “say,” since completions are recorded on the honor system.  There is nothing to stop one from lying, but there is also no requirement to report one’s completion.  In 1977 for instance, I know of one AT thru-hiker who is not shown on the list of completers.

The first segment of my hike this year was from Walker Pass to the Mexican border.  I was hiking southbound, so I passed most of the PCT hikers hiking northbound.  On several days, I counted how many NOBO’s I passed.  On the highest day, that number was 70.  Not special at all.

What Was Your Daily Routine?

I got up with the sun and went to bed with the sun.  Usually, I would get up at dawn and go to bed at dusk.  The actual times varied as the days grew longer and then shorter.

In general, it took me about an hour and a half to get going in the morning.  That meant if I got up at 6:15 am, I’d be on the trail by 7:45 am. 

I would usually stop hiking when there was about an hour and a half of usable light left in the day.  If dusk was at 8:00 pm, I’d try to stop by 6:30 pm.  If dusk was at 7:00 pm, I tried to stop by 5:30 pm.  That “hour and a half before dusk” was a guideline, however, since I almost always tried to camp near water.  So sometimes I stopped earlier and sometimes later.  If need be, I could set up my tent, get water, cook dinner, and get ready for bed in less than an hour.

I spent 9 to 11 hours hiking every day, depending on the length of the day.  Shorter in the spring and fall, longer in the summer.  That doesn’t mean I was actually walking all that time.  I’d usually stop for at least a half hour at lunch, and I would take at least one 10-to-15-minute snack break in the morning and one in the afternoon.  On my longer days, I often took two snack breaks in the afternoon.  Usually, there were other short breaks in the day to catch my breath, to take a picture, to enjoy a view, to get water, to go to the bathroom, to look at my map, to talk to another hiker, etc.