Chapter 1 Excerpt

Hike Your Own Hike

I met my first thru-hiker in Maine. He was a bearded, disheveled man resting by a lake. His resolute eyes hinted that he had walked from Georgia. His intense odor confirmed it.

He asked, “So how was Mount Katahdin?”

“Tough,” I replied, “but it helps if you leave most of your gear at the ranger station. After all, you have to return to the station on your way back down, so you might as well carry only what you need for the hard climb.”

“No way,” he said, shaking his head, “I’ve carried my pack and all my gear from Georgia, and you better believe I’m going to take it to the top of Katahdin.”

What a stubborn, impractical man, I thought.

As if he had read my mind, he added, “Hey, you gotta hike your own hike.”

I would hear that statement over and over again. Clearly, this was a core belief of thru-hikers. What did it really mean and did it have any implications for life off the trail?

Hike your own hike means that you should hike the trail in the manner that you enjoy, and not the way somebody tells you to hike it. Although you should ponder the advice of others, ultimately make your own decision and focus on having fun! For example, some insist on eating at every possible restaurant along the way, while others contemplate the nutritional value of the bugs crawling in the mud.

Hike your own hike also means that you can backpack in any direction you want. In 2007 most CDT thru-hikers will go north, a few will head south, and others will flip flop (i.e., jump around). In many cases, hiking your own hike may mean quitting the hike. Most hikers who intend to thru-hike quit. Some of them return the next season(s) to complete the sections they missed; thus, they become Section Hikers. However, many who quit never return because the hike wasn’t fun for them. After all, digging a hole in the dirt and squatting can get old after a while.

Whether you quit after 20 miles or you go the entire distance, thru-hiking teaches you the same lesson: hike your own hike. Listen others, but ultimately do what you enjoy.

Next—Read the Chapter 2 excerpt