Hi,

I'm new here but I thought I'd chime in since two weeks ago I aborted a thru-hike of the AT at Fontana Dam.

The people on the blog are clearly interested in self-promotion. Drama and challenge help with that. I say Hike Your Own Hike, and get what you want out of it.

That being said, I enjoyed being a thru-hiker for the 18 days that I was one. My longest day was 21.7 miles. This was in the easy part of the Nantahala National Forest before getting to the NOC. It was not as tiring as a 16 mile day I pulled afterward, and the 16 mile day was not as tiring as the 13 mile day I pulled on the steep downhill to Fontana Dam.

I see thru-hiking as an immersion experience. For me it's:

- Mental challenge versus the terrain.
- Physical challenge involving fitness and age.
- Lifestyle immersion in the wilderness environment.
- Lifestyle challenge to retain my principles and values.
- Meeting other people with similar personalities and experiences as myself. This may not happen in the (un)real world.
- The "Zen" experience of a self-imposed Sysiphaean (sp?) task. Also, the letting go of desire for comforts and laziness.
- The "yoga of the thru-hiker" if you will. (I'm not really sure what I mean by that either ;-) but I suppose it's similar to how mountain climbers must feel.)

After quitting the AT (for financial reasons), I recaptured some of this "spirit" on the Laurel Highlands Trail, where I was able to make a 17.5 and ~18-19 mile day back-to-back.

For the reasons mentioned above, I only want to do the AT as a thru-hike, so on my next attempt I will be back at Springer, not at Fontana Dam. I *do* stop and enjoy the environment and views where I want (at least I think so!), but there is nothing to do out there but hike, and I really enjoy pushing myself as well. The views and the natural environment are the reward for the hard work involved in getting there. You can hike the AT to Wayah Bald or you can drive there and walk 100 feet on pavement. I got there the hard way, and because of that, I feel I enjoyed it more than the people I met there who hadn't.

In the short time I was out there, I met great people, had great experiences, and enjoyed myself tremendously. At the same time, I was trying to "bootstrap" myself toward greater fitness and longer mileage. In fact, I miss it terribly and will probably do everything in my power to return as soon as possible (next year or the year after). I need this sort of thing as a challenge in my life, it brings out the best in me. But that is true of other things I do in life, not just hiking.

Peace,
Peter "CamelMan"