Fascination Thru-Hiking

Faszination Weitwandern

While preparing for my second great adventure in the U.S. I get increasingly asked the "why" question… "Why do you do this to yourself?"

So I will try to explain the fascination of long distance hiking if this is possible at all! 

Billy Goat

Many friends could not understand when I left for the Pacific Crest Trail last year and understand it even less now that I'm getting ready for the Continental Divide Trail.
I would have proven it to myself already! So why all the pain again?

One of the legende of the PCT - Billy Goat - has on this subject only one thing to say… "If you have to ask, then you'll never understand!"

If I want to answer the question completely practical I could use the following statements :

• The scenery is amazing!
• The feeling of freedom is indescribable!
• I'm in the best shape ever!
• I'm at peace with myself!

Of course the matter is more complex. Everyone has his own access to thru-hiking. For me it started with spinal disc problems. I became a coach potato and my doctor urgently called for more exercise!
So I bought Nordic-Walking-Poles and began to march through my home town of Graz. I started directly at the front door of my flat and where gone the whole day. I quickly noticed that hiking poles are totally useless in a city. I put them away but the pleasure for marching around remained.
I can still remember exactly the moment when it bothered me one day that I always went back home when it would be much more fun to keep on walking.
I was infected with long distance hiking!

One thing must be absolutely clear… Thru-hiking is not a holiday!
With distances beyond 1.000 miles we are talking about projects of several months. Assuming good preparation it is a perfectly predictable adventure! An adventure!
Who doesn't need some adventure this time!?!
My generation is unfortunately dominated by jobs where everyone is pushed to the limit every day.
It does't matter in what position or business you are working… almost everybody is on the verge of collapse. The amount of work required is not the problem, the low appreciation leads to frustration.
And so you end up with the same "why" question… "Why am I doing this to me?"

Long-distance hiking is a kind of escape from everyday life - that's absolutely right! But in some ways, every hobby is. The difference is that the hiker isn't looking for some quick thrill, he seeks for the charm of a simpler life.

Your life gets drastically simplified… hiking, eating, hiking, looking for water, hiking, sleeping!
As long as you have a properly calculated budget - that's it!
This has nothing to do with dropping out of the society we are living in. It's a controlled reduction!

You learn to appreciate the little things again. I'll never forget the moment when I suddenly found a picnic table for lunch after endless  days in dusty southern California. I have never been so happy about a table :-)
Not to mention the luxury of a shower!

As a solo hiker - like me - you are basically own your own all the time. Although a hiking-day comes quite close to a business-day (alarm clock way too early and scheduled breaks) there is one big difference about it… I'm my own boss! A very nice thing! There comes the point when you realize that practically every day is a marathon-distance and that you have no problem doing it again the following day. As you fall asleep your are just satisfied!

I could probably keep on writing forever without knowing whether one really understands me but I can only recommend to try it out at least take a multi-day tour. Unfortunately in Austria we have the "luxury problem" of a perfect system of mountain huts which you have to use. Despite the fact that you get serviced perfectly you will never reach the feeling of freedom when you end up every night in big sleeping hall like in a youth hostel.

My conclusion:

Thru hiking is a unique therapy against our modern life… just try it!

Happy Trails :-)