Five Things I Wish I’d Known Before Hiking the Triple Crown

I hiked the Triple Crown in a total of two years and two months, and it’s still the most amazing thing I’ve ever done. I started with the PCT in April 2016, then moved on to the CDT in 2017, before finishing the AT in June 2018. Hiking the Triple Crown is just a series of thru-hikes, in the same way that a thru-hike is just a series of day or section hikes, but it comes with a whole host of additional logistics and challenges.

Here’s what I wish I’d known before I started.

Right before taking my first steps on an 8,000+ mile journey.

1) The best order to hike the trails.

There isn’t just one best order to hike the trails, and much will depend on personal preference. Most people start with the AT, graduate to the PCT, and then finish with the CDT. In many ways, this is the best way to hike the Triple Crown.

The AT is by far the easiest trail in terms of logistics, distances to resupply, and navigation, while the CDT is the most challenging. And while the AT has its own charm and beauty, it can seem anticlimactic after the big mountains out west.  Hiking the AT and the PCT first will also give you the skills you need before you “brave” the CDT, which is in a whole class of its own in terms of difficulty and danger.

That being said, lots of people start out with the intention of Triple Crowning and decide that it’s not for them. Only about one in four people finish a single thru-hike. Many others, including me, start out with the intention of only hiking one trail, and then fall head over heels in love and decide to do all three.

If you’re not sure you want to hike the entire Triple Crown, do the trail that appeals to you the most first. For me, that was the PCT. I have no regrets about not doing the AT first, even though that order would have made more sense. The PCT was my favorite trail, and I might not have gone on to hike the others if I hadn’t had such a great time.

READ NEXT — 8 Reasons the AT is the Easiest Triple Crown Trail for First-Time Thru-Hikers

Descending from Forester Pass on the PCT.

2) It pays to plan ahead.

You’re probably already familiar with the logistics involved in leaving your regular life behind for a thru-hike. Quitting your job, selling your house, and leaving your family are some of the most intimidating parts of thru-hiking. Now imagine doing this three times. It’s a lot.

There are two ways to handle this. The first is to take a few years off between hikes to enjoy normal life and save money for the next trail. The second is to condense the Triple Crown into just a few years, a strategy that’s becoming more and more popular.

I found myself in the second camp by sheer luck, but I wish I’d been able to plan it better. My Triple Crown cost around $15,000. Purely by chance, I’d already been working my butt off for years and saving every penny. This meant I could take from my savings and not worry about more than just my living expenses over the winters.

A room in a house with 10 roommates and a seasonal retail position conserved my money between hikes, so I didn’t have to go back to my old career. But with a little more planning and money saved, I almost certainly could have found a better way to spend my winters between hikes—perhaps even on a beach somewhere warm, or hiking in the Southern Hemisphere.

3) 8,000+ miles can take a physical toll if you’re not careful.

A regular thru-hike is tough on your body. Now multiply those effects by three. I finished my first trail with a little plantar fasciitis and some fatigue. I finished my last trail barely able to walk from a knee injury, covered in hives, and exhausted for months after.

In hindsight, I wish I’d followed through on all those empty promises to take vitamins, eat better, and stretch at the end of the day. Nothing will completely mitigate hiking over 8,000 miles in such a short time, but taking care of yourself should be a priority. More time off between hikes also would have helped a lot with this. The Triple Crowners I’ve met who did not cram their hikes into under three years had far fewer physical problems.

The Wind River Range on the CDT is a highlight of the Triple Crown.

4) Post-trail depression can come back with a vengeance.

I watched my tramily struggle after the PCT with post-trail depression but found that it didn’t hit me as hard. After all, my next trail was just a few months away. This came back to bite me after I’d finished my last trail. Suddenly, I had completed a goal that had taken years to achieve. Because I’d had an easier time when I had other trails on the horizon, I was not expecting to feel so awful. My normal coping mechanisms for dealing with post-trail depression suddenly weren’t enough, and it took a long time for me to feel like myself again.

I also found it substantially more difficult to transition back to “real life” after each hike. I still struggle with many things that are important in normal life, but not on trail. I’m not sure this is bad, but it can make interacting with coworkers and non-hiking friends who don’t understand more difficult.

Crater Lake on the PCT.

5) It will change your life.

I’ve been to some of the most amazing places in the US, fitting a lifetime’s worth of hiking into just a few short summers. Watching the sunrise in Wyoming’s Wind River Range or the sunset on the peaks behind a High Sierra lake are bucket list items for many people, and I’m so lucky that I was able to experience that.

I’ve also met some of my best friends (and the love of my life) over the course of the Triple Crown. Tramily members have traveled to different continents to visit each other, and no matter how long it’s been since we’ve spoken, I still feel like I can tell them anything. Nothing compares to the instant connection you feel with other thru-hikers.

Naively, I thought I would finish the PCT, go back to my old town, and pick up my old life. I now live in a different country, married to a man I met on the PCT, and make getting outdoors even more of a priority than it was before. I’ve hiked a long trail every year since 2016 (with the exception of this year; thanks COVID). I’ve gone from clumsy and out of shape to someone who exercises for a few hours every day. I’m independent, strong, and confident. I’m not the same person I was when I stood at the US/Mexico border and took my first steps on the PCT.

In hindsight, I’m incredibly happy with the amazing experiences I had hiking the Triple Crown. I wish I’d taken better care of myself, but even if I’d known more about the order to hike the trails or logistics, I wouldn’t have changed much. The Triple Crown completely reshaped my life in a way I couldn’t imagine before I started, and I’m so glad that it did.

 

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Comments 18

  • Lance A Goehring : Aug 27th

    Great post, Eloise! And I’m jealous of your accomplishment. I would love to eventually repeat it. I’m looking forward to hearing about your Great Divide Trail hike. Hopefully, I’ll be on the PCT then. Fingers crossed for both of us.

    Also, thanks for the link to my post.

    Reply
    • Richard (Roub) Massie : Sep 3rd

      Congrats Funsize on your many accomplishments, especially your marriage.
      My wife and I have thought of you and your adventures ever since you stayed at our home, along with a assortment of other hikers, after we picked you up off the AT north of McAfee’s Knob. We all were in awe of you when we found out you were on your way to finishing your triple. Enjoy reading your blog, you are such an inspiring writer. If you ever are back in our neck of the woods would love to see you again.

      Reply
      • Eloise Robbins : Sep 3rd

        Hey Roub!

        Your wife and you are the best! Picking me up in the middle of a snow storm and taking me to the Home Place is definitely one of the best pieces of trail magic ever (and especially making room for me in that tiny shelter too!) Thank you again for all of your kindness- it’s some of the best trail magic I’ve ever experienced!

        Reply
  • Scott W Poindexter : Aug 28th

    Walking across the US now from Neah Bay, Washington state through Montana, Colorado then East. Not the same yet this article was very helpful! After this I’ll start the triple crown. Explore On.

    Reply
    • Daniel : Aug 28th

      Wow, that is an ambitious goal and one I wish I could embark on! Best wishes.

      Reply
  • David Odell : Aug 28th

    Great article. David Odell AT71 PCT72 CDT77

    Reply
    • Mark F : Aug 28th

      Legendary. One of the first to do it, David?

      Reply
      • Just Bob : Jan 7th

        WOW ! …..No other words…..Just WOW !

        Reply
  • Elizabeth Koby-Burley : Aug 28th

    A couple of my favorite pictures. Amazing to see Forester Pass without ice and snow! AT99, PCT08, CDT 10&12. Great points all. Wouldn’t change a thing about my hikes either as I too found my future husband on the trail.

    Reply
  • Indy : Aug 29th

    Excellent write-up. Thank you for the perspective. I have a family with a couple of kids that I will soon have to put though university so thru-hiking may be a way off for me, but I’m going to try for at least the CT one day.

    Reply
    • Rocketman : Nov 12th

      Indy: I can vouch that doing the CT right after you drop your eldest at college is a great idea. Of course, I have a very supportive wife. Just be sure to pay the tuition before you hit the trail; I had to figure out how to transfer money from his 529 to his college with 1 bar of cell service on the continental divide in southern CO. 🙂

      Reply
  • Mike J. : Aug 29th

    Love reading your stuff, Fun Size. Enjoyed finishing the last part of my Long Trail thru-hike with you and remain grateful you were still at the terminus to take my photo so I could properly memorialize the finish!

    Reply
  • Dogwood : Aug 31st

    Fun size. Great trail name. Oh, wait you changed your birth name to Fun Size after the TC?

    Reply
  • Dan P. (Tr. Name: Monk)(Pct 14 & 18) : Aug 31st

    Good write up, Fun Size.
    I used Frogg Toggs in ’14. I ripped them coming down San Jacinto. Patched them in Cabazon, but didn’t last long since the next day I had heavy rain and wind going into Whitewater preserve. Many repatches and a couple new Toggs along the way helped me decide the gear for my next thru hike.
    On the ’18 thru hike I replaced the Toggs with more durable gear, Gortex, on sale @ REI. This saved me time and money. If someone spends $40-$60 on Toggs during a thru hike, then investing in better gear will pay for itself in the long run, ONLY if one has intentions of future thru hikes, which I do. If you dont do more than one thru hike, then stick to Toggs, you’ll save $. The Gortex held its own, kept me very warm thru the wet, cold hikes, and is still going strong. For bottoms, I keep it simple…leggings and a rain kilt. The rain pants kept my body temp running hot and I wanted to shed clothing. With leggings and a rain kilt…the kilt kept me dry and the leggings kept me warm, not hot.

    Reply
    • Cathy gilligan : Nov 14th

      Great article! Helped a friend complete the AT a few years back. Hoping to do the Colorado trail in 2021!

      Reply
  • Scott Gaskin : Nov 29th

    Truly amazing and lucky to have been able to live your dream. Congratulations on your Triple Crown. I had a dream to do a triple finished the A.T. But physical disabled set in and now I just read accounts and appreciate reading others dreams come true. Maybe with technologies help I might some day in the future.
    Keep the sun on your face, your feet pointed up hill and the wind to your back all your days

    Reply
  • Tim Shaffer (“Blaze”, AT-GaMe, ‘94) : Dec 3rd

    Impressive accomplishment Fun Size! Thanks for sharing!
    Some comments if I may: lasting physical problems after such concentrated activity might indeed be a serious concern; hopefully your body will eventually adjust. I finished my lifelong dream of an AT thru-hike at age 57; now in my early 80s, I have chronic foot pain. Is it from my AT hike (and many years of hiking afterwards)? Who knows, several podiatrists have not been able to find any reason for this sometimes acute pain. (Some years later an attempted PCT thru-hike was aborted by – you guessed it – foot problems [Morton’s neuroma]).
    The possible message here: go early (in life), go as light as possible, wear good footwear, and take it easy. And if your dream is also a Triple Crown – go for it!

    Reply
  • Just Bob : Jan 7th

    WOW ! …..No other words…..Just WOW !

    Reply

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