A lot of people get worked up about thru-hikers hiking solo. There are multiple articles and videos about thru-hiking solo and past hikers are always encouraging people that they can do it alone. One of the first questions I get when I tell people that I’m doing the AT is: “You’re not going alone, are you?” But where’s the worry for thru-hiking with a hiking partner? For the poor souls that will have a constant companion for 2,200 miles?
I jest, but only a little.
Don’t get me wrong; those articles on solo thru-hiking are warranted. It’s a nerve-racking challenge already and taking it on alone can only escalate that. I respect those going alone. But I’m a little jealous of them also. Thru-hiking seems to go hand-in-hand with self-growth and freedom; hiking with another person contests that.
I’m not super loner girl. Meeting people and forming a tramily was something that I was very much looking forward to. And I love hiking and going for weekend backpacking trips with friends or family.
But taking on an entire thru-hike with another person has its own challenges. It has its upsides for sure, but it has its downsides too. Their bad days become your bad days. And you most certainly won’t always want/need the same things at the same time. On some level your freedom is compromised.
I took on the AT with one of my good friends of nearly 20 years. More of a brother than a friend (proven by the fact that we argue like siblings), Dan, though not my first Connecticut friend, is the one I’ve had the longest since moving here. We survived band camp together as pimply faced dweebs so we can totally tackle the AT. But, we’re also very different hikers, and we had some work to do to ensure our joint success.
1.) Know Each Other’s Goals
In my opinion, this is the most important thing to do before thru-hiking with a hiking partner. Yes, Dan and I planned on hiking the trail together with the broad goal of finishing. But we each came upon this dream separately and have our own ideas of what we want to get out of it. Understanding the other person’s goals ahead of time is imperative.
In 2018 I saw an Instagram post from a hiker who hit McAfee Knob in appalling weather. She couldn’t see a thing. She decided to cut her miles short that day, head into town, and wait for the next day so she could go back to McAfee Knob and actually see it. I knew I would do that also, but cutting my miles short that day would mean that, in order to keep hiking together, Dan would have to cut his miles short too. Surprising him with that information, day of, on McAfee Knob, that I’m not budging, while he thought we’d be going another ten miles, is just asking for a fight. Share separate, specific goals to avoid surprises and resulting fights.
2.) Understand That You’re Sometimes Going to Drive Each Other Crazy
Like really, really crazy. You can plan and try to prevent all you want but it’s inevitable. That much time with the same person who has different ideas about the trail while facing difficult and stressful situations will definitely result in some neck-wringing fantasies. I’m not sure I’ve ever taken a trip with Dan without, at some point, wanted to clock him. Prepare yourself so you can avoid violence.
3.) Strengths and Weaknesses
Learning a hiking partner’s strengths and weaknesses takes a lot of time. Dan and I had been on several hiking and backpacking trips together prior to starting the AT. We’ve learned that I should lead on the ascents and Dan should lead on the descents. Dan can also tell when I’m getting hangry from about a mile away, and will force me to eat. Things like this can be learned on the trail but it’s also comforting to have a solid base already.
4.) Prepare for Sickness or Injury
It’s important to discuss what happens if one person gets sick or injured. The worst time to try to figure it out is when someone is lying on the trail with a broken leg.
A few scenarios worth discussing:
- Hike-ending injury
- Short-term injury
- Illness
- At home emergencies
The Upsides
Thru-hiking with a hiking partner does have its major upsides:
- Morale booster on bad days
- Someone to share small wins with along the way
- Shared gear (this doesn’t apply to Dan and I, we shared a stove for a bit but even that didn’t last long. There are a lot of hiking partners out there though that can effectively share some gear.)
- Someone who doesn’t get sick of you talking about the trail incessantly
- Someone to take your picture
Post Trail Follow-Up
I wrote a variation of this article for The Trek prior to hiking the trail. Now that I (we) have hiked the trail these are my observations.
Where We Were Right
Dan and I both successfully completed the AT. But, we actually only hiked the first third-ish of it together, before splitting off. In that first third, our prep seemed to be pretty on track to what we expected. We did, in fact, drive each other a little bit crazy. But we were able to talk everything out and maintain stability. On our biggest fight day I filtered Dan’s water at camp because he was especially spent; I was able to overlook my annoyance and be the hiking partner I needed to be.
Knowing each others goals was a huge win as well. Ironically, the example I gave about McAfee Knob is exactly what happened to us. I hung back and Dan hiked on and there was no surprise or ill-will in either direction. Similarly, visiting Woods Hole Hostel was something that was on my list as an AT experience that I wanted to have. When we got close, the mileage was inconvenient to stay there and, notably, one person we were hiking with at the time was noticeably grumpy that we’d be cutting our day short and complained almost the whole time at the hostel. Dan, however, had known for months that I really wanted to stay there and had absolutely no problem adjusting.
Where We Were Wrong
I guess I thought we knew our hiking styles better than we did. While some of it turned out to be accurate there was one major thing that we didn’t anticipate: where to camp. Because thru-hiking with a hiking partner isn’t just hiking; it’s a whole bunch of other stuff too.
Dan has the most amount of energy first thing in the morning and tires out as the day goes on. I’m the exact opposite; I’m sluggish to start and gain energy as I go. Which means, when it comes to camping, we could seldom agree. Dan always wanted to camp at the bottom of a climb to hit it first thing in the morning when he’s fresh and I wanted to go through and camp at the top. This ended up being the biggest challenge because it’s not just compromising a camp spot but effects the whole following day. Let me tell you what an unhappy camper (pun intended) I can be when I am barely awake and trying to climb a mountain.
I wasn’t surprised that we split off. I figured we’d meet people along the way and fall in where we needed to. What I didn’t realize was that Dan wanted to finish together. Another fail on our part for not discussing that. He never shared that because he assumed that we’d never split. So, we’ve decided that, within the next couple of years, we’ll go and summit Katahdin together. Feels right.
