Got a decent day hike in today, pack (light, but a pack) and all, over uneven ground in a state park. Different from my usual sidewalk-and-road-to-work, but I enjoyed it a lot. Have been continuing to think about the possibility of a multi-day hike after more training and preparation. I have a few questions about things I'm not seeing pop up too often online.

1) There's a lot about picking up packages at post offices. Do trails (like all the 60-250 mi trails) tend to have mailboxes for sending postcards or letters? Or is that kind of hit-or-miss? I don't mean every mile, but at roads every couple days, places visible from the trail -- or do you need to know where you're going and/or wait for a post office to mail something? Or does no one send mail? Maybe it's 'gauche'?

2) Everything I read online and hear from hikers and thru-hikers is all 'hike your own hike' and 'there's no best way to do something'. That's cool, but when you meet people on the trail...what's it really like? Are there a lot of hiking blowhards and bullies that you need to be prepared to encounter?

3) How do you really know when you're fit enough to tackle a thru-hike of any distance? I mean, I know you should be up for walking the miles you're planning to cover over that kind of terrain, but is day after day somehow draining in a way unpredictable to a newbie?

Thanks a lot.

1. Maildrops are more typical of long distance backpacking trips to resupply. There are no mailboxes I am aware of for any trails. Most require hiking a few miles down the road to a town's Post Office or a place of business which will hold packages. These aren't for postcards and letters. They would be for food/gear.

2. There are all types on the trails. I tend to shy away from the busy trails so I encounter few people. When I do, we exchange pleasantries and sometimes intel if we are traveling opposite directions. Sometimes gear is discussed if we are sharing a site. The more people, the wider the range of personalities. Even on busy trails, it is possible to keep your distance.

3. When one is ready is too personal to generalize. I am not a thru-hiker. I just like to be outdoors. I have done a few longer trails and many multi-day trips. I just enjoy it. Others have different desires. Some have done thru-hikes of the AT (for example) with no backpacking experience. others with considerable experience have bailed on the trail.

Have fun!

It sounds like, in your search for useful info on the web, you've stumbled onto sites that cater mainly to thru-hikers. In reading these sites, it will help you to know what thru-hiking is, so you can assess what they're talking about.

Thru-hiking most often refers to an attempt to hike one of the three longest trails in the USA within a single hiking season. Those three trails are the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, or the Continental Divide Trail. All of these are more than 2,000 miles long and a thru-hike typically lasts for 4 to 5 months of hiking 20 to 30 miles a day.

Because the demands of thru-hiking are of a magnitude that dwarfs the typical backpack of two to seven days, the techniques and concerns of thru-hiking are of a specialized and somewhat rarified nature. You can learn many interesting things from reading about thru-hike preparations and techniques, but applying these techniques and lessons to ordinary backpacking requires some experience at ordinary backpacking first.

Well, now I feel foolish. Here I thought it referred to any hike of the full length of a trail (say, 150 miles) over more than a few days. All right, then.

Don't feel foolish. New jargon is hard to decipher.

Though we put our tent near a very crowded shelter last night, having got there after dark, we basically stayed to ourselves. The shelter was filled to maximum with AT thru-hikers, as it's the time for lots to be coming into Vt. where I live. Some make snarky remarks about people who use the trail for short hikes, most are perfectly friendly. Some of the snark I heard last night and this morning were from guys that supplement every meal with vitamin M. Smokin' dope, I mean. Some can walk thousands of miles and still not tell a moose from a cow. Some can name every flower trail-side. Wherever you hike, you have the choice of staying away from people or being social. Stay friendly, maybe move to the side of the trail when someone is blowing by in the 30 miles by 6pm mode. In general, you won't be bothered unless you choose to be bothered. I've met a lot of great folks on the trail- even if it was only for a moment, some make lasting impressions.

I forgot to respond to #3. Though being fit enough for the miles and terrain encountered is a good indicator you'll have a pleasant time, don't forget to factor in some gear and health issues. Study up on what people suggest for backpacking meals and putting together lightweight, yet calorie dense meals. Doesn't make much difference overnight- it will make a difference 5 days plus. On some over- nighters, I'll lose 2-3 lbs., can't sustain that over a long trip. My wife often doesn't feel like eating after a long day on the trail, altitude will do the same thing. She's learned to eat as much as she can to keep her strength up. She'll eat high energy and protein rich snacks like jerky and energy bars all day long on the trail. You need to watch your diet and stay fed and hydrated.
Weather can effect your hike very negatively. 3 days in from the trailhead is not the time to discover your soaked through and have nothing dry to wear or sleep in. Have rain gear/ pack protection (garbaqe bag liner in pack at a min.) that works.
Make sure you have warm enough clothes/sleep gear for the conditions you may encounter. Kind of simple stuff, but sometimes overlooked. You were absolutely right in asking questions about short vs. long term hiking.

is day after day somehow draining in a way unpredictable to a newbie?

Some common traps that newbies fall into, which may arise over a longer hike would include getting exhausted, and getting sore hips and shoulders that make it an ordeal to hike.

The causes of hip and shoulder soreness are too much weight and an ill-fitting pack. Sometimes a pack doesn't fit because it was not designed for your size or shape or the amount of weight you tried to make it carry, sometimes it comes of not knowing how to adjust belts and straps to distribute pack weight properly.

Cumulative exhaustion can arise in a lot of ways. Trying to carry too much weight is the most common. Also, overestimating how much mileage or elevation gain you can handle, or forgetting to factor in high altitude. Then there is lack of sleep because your bed is too hard or you stayed awake listening to unfamiliar noises in the night. I shouldn't forget to mention poor nutrition or lack of appetite.

Lastly, if things do start to go wrong, for example it starts to rain and your tent leaks, and assuming you don't have a way to bail out quickly, just that feeling that you stopped having fun two days ago and all you have to look forward to is an uncomfortable slog is pretty draining right there.

Most of us have been in at least one of these situations at some time or other. The first line of defense is good planning, but once you are in the soup, what helps most is to have a good sense of humor about it.

A backpacker who starts out with a week long trip is at a disadvantage - I run a couple of groups online for hiking and backpacking, and find that what people think they can do and what they actually can do are often widely separated - because backpacking is a sport of nuances.

Does a pound make a difference? Yes. My tent is as light as I can possibly make it while having a full coverage type of shelter with a vestibule - because every pound makes a big difference. Am I a lightweight snob? Nope. Plenty of people on my trips have 50 lbs on their backs - some regret it heartily, some go the distance and the elevation gain and beat me to camp. It depends on a number of things - endurance, how conditioned you are to the activity, how your pack fits, how you pace yourself. So many people run up the trail at a breakneck speed and then we plodding pacers pass them, all flat out on the ground sleeping, at lunch break. There is a great deal of wisdom in knowing how fast you can hike *for hours* (not how fast you can hike) - a sustainable pace depends on your fitness and your boots/shoes, your pack weight, and your attitude - and it's not something you can determine without actually backpacking and figuring it out.

I'm to the point that 10 miles/day is my comfort point - I like to hike and see sights, and maintain a nice 2 - 2.5 miles per hour average (this is not the pace I sustain uphill and downhill - steep hills either direction require more care, depending on whether it is talus and scree or nice maintained trail full of granite steps - but my average over time, as on nice traverses that maintain a level trail I can easily do 3 mph while talking to my buddies). We set up camp in midafternoon and still have energy for fishing and doing whatever, sometimes playing poker or just planning the next day of hiking.

Hike your own hike is a reflection of a lot of things, mostly preference - there are an infinite number of combinations of gear, mileages, and pace - you stay within your limits and you choose your gear. I have seen people who haul a five pound winter tent all the summer long, and on the same trip, an ultralighter with a Zpacks Hexamid that weighs less than half a pound... it really is about "what works for you." This frustrates a lot of beginners but it's true.

In the Sierra Nevada where I usually go, or on the coastal range where I go in winter, there are no resupply points. The JMT and PCT are the most often thru-hiked trails in California (PCT extends to the Canadian border) and have some supply points, but many hikers go days, even more than a week, between supply stops - it's very different than the AT which is so close to towns and roads. Our backpacks are wilderness hikes.

The best way to start is by using your gear in the backyard - or a night car camping, pretending you are in the wilderness. Use all new gear at home before relying on it in the backcountry. Rent if you are not sure what to buy. Borrowing works if you know someone who has backpacked. Join a group that backpacks and see what other people have/use. Read the articles on this website. Choose short miles for the first trip out. Don't do more than one night until you've done a few single-night trips. Work up to long outings. Remember to always do research before going, particularly into water sources, food storage requirements, and weather patterns that are predicted for the duration you'll be out there. My rule of thumb is to pack to be comfortable (not survive - comfortable, those are two different metrics) to 10 degrees below the forecasted night time lows (this is particularly important in high elevation trips).

Good luck, have fun, and remember to pack out what you take in.

Fantastic post, Lori!

Yeah, thanks to everyone for the very lucid and relevant advice.

I love situations where you can ask questions and get thoughtful answers (I work in academia, so I'm not used to this). Really appreciate everyone's time.