I Asked 8 Appalachian Trail Hikers Why They Hike

Civilization vs. Trail

“My car needs to go to the shop. When’s my next paycheck?”

“My toes are sticking out the front of my Altras. When’s the next gear store?”

“I can’t fall asleep without a fan.”

“I just fell asleep on a bandstand in a random park”

The glories and simplicity of thru-hiking. Why do we do it? I asked 8 hikers why they hike, here’s how they responded. 

Trail Magic: July 21st Kinsman Notch Appalachian Trail 

Wonder Woman has walked the PCT, CDT, and is almost finished with her triple crown by hiking the AT.

Wonder Woman: “It beats working. It reminds me of how easy it can be to be happy. It brings me back down to earth.”

Emma: What’s the difference between how you feel at home in civilization and how you feel on the trail?

Wonder Woman: “I really like the feeling of living outside. I like shorter hikes too, but having a long period of time where you feel at home in the wilderness is somehow soothing to me. Had to get that triple crown, you know.”

Orphan: “I mostly hike for the people around me. I like surrounding myself with like-minded people, especially from all different ages, backgrounds, and places. It’s really inspiring to have a common goal with everyone around you. You’re all pushing yourself physically and being around a supportive community.”

Haze: “I hike for more than one reason. Friends, I like the community, I like to stay moving, and camping is really peaceful to me. I like the routine and exercise. I just don’t want to be older and say, ‘Oh, I wish I had done it when I was your age.’ I feel lucky and fortunate that I can appreciate this at my age. I feel blessed and thankful for the friends I’ve found doing it.”

Saguaro: “My girlfriend got me into it. Day hiking and peak bagging, but the reason I’m thru-hiking is to do something new that I’ve never done before. I saw a TikTok about it. It was this one girl who joined the Peace Corps because she had a midlife crisis, so she hiked the Appalachian Trail. And then I got sucked into the rabbit hole after that. I’m only 23, so maybe a quarter-life crisis.”

Emma: What’s the difference between how you feel at home in civilization and how you feel on the trail?

Saguaro: “On the trail, life is so simple. You don’t have anxiety. It’s the simplest it can be. Wake up, eat, shit, walk. In normal life, you’re always stressed. Money, jobs. It’s night and day.”

Nightwhisperer: “I like to be in nature and find backpacking really empowering, carrying everything I need with me. Having that time to myself with my thoughts.”

Emma: What’s the difference between how you feel at home in civilization and how you feel on the trail?

Nightwhisperer: “Being in nature instills a sense of confidence in myself. I can have some anxiety and insecurities, and being on the trail, I’m really having to look out for myself. I have a stronger sense of myself and my capabilities that will hopefully carry over to my transition back to real life.”

Party Foul: “I got into hiking because of my dad. He inspired me to hike the AT because he always wanted to do it. He passed away before he was able to get around to it. That pushed me more to get into it.”

Emma: What’s the difference between how you feel at home in civilization and how you feel on the trail?

Party Foul: “At home, I was stressed out a lot with my work, and out here, I feel a sense of calm. There’s no beeping and crazy stuff happening all the time. I’m starting to crave the adrenaline there.”

For context, Party Foul is an ICU Nurse.

Styles: “Back home, if I’m doing a day hike, I just like being outside, usually with my dog. But I’m doing the AT because I was sick of my job and I wanted to do something different.”

Emma: What’s the difference between how you feel at home in civilization and how you feel on the trail?

Styles: “I feel like I live in a bubble in the northwest, living in Oregon, and coming out here was a little bit of a culture shock. The lifestyle is different but overall just a little more grungy.”

Tornado: “I’m still trying to figure it out, but I just like to be outside and I like to push myself mentally and physically.”

Emma: Why’d you choose the AT?

Tornado: “Honestly, because it’s what I knew and what was closer to home. I always liked the Appalachians. I grew up going to the Smokies, so I figured I would just walk through it.”

Emma: What’s the difference between how you feel at home in civilization and how you feel on the trail?

Tornado: “There’s a lot fewer decisions to make out here. Life is a lot simpler because you only have to worry about food, water, and where you’re sleeping. Definitely less stressful. It’s type 2 fun. It’s more fun the next day when you look back. It’s hard some days, but there are fewer decisions, which I like.”

I asked the trail angels next 

Islander: “Life is too short not to achieve big, crazy, ridiculous dreams, and I wanted to hike the AT since I was in college and decided there was never going to be a better time. I was working a job I hated, and I wanted to discover more about the world. What better way than to take the world by two hands, two trekking poles, and take on a big challenge like the AT? I discovered that the outdoors is like a mirror and you can learn a lot about yourself out here. And so I hike.”

Good: “I like it. It’s fun and relaxing. It feels good to accomplish something.”

Emma: What’s the difference between how you feel at home in civilization and how you feel on the trail?

Good: “I feel alive on the trail. In normal civilization, I feel like I’m on life support, like I’m just getting by. But it doesn’t feel real necessarily.”

Mike: “I hike because I really love using my body and exercising. The breathing and meditative sense I get from it. The feeling of just being out there, connected to nature.”

Boosted: “I hike to physically push myself. It’s what I enjoy most when I hike.”

Emma: What’s the difference between how you feel at home in civilization and how you feel on the trail?

Boosted: “On the trail, I tend to be more genuinely me. When I’m living life in the city, there’s a lot of standards you have to set yourself to. On the trail, you’re in more of a free environment to express yourself.”

Before I asked this question, I had a sense there would be common answers. That’s almost the point. Within reason, of course. Each hiker has a unique story with a different message.

Whether we are in the meditative act of walking a long trail, surfing, kayaking, or painting in a park, there’s a lot to be said about the way we as humans relate to nature. However you spend time in nature (there is no right way to), we are not designed to be under fluorescent lights, limited to social constructs designed by an instant-gratification-hungry society. Be more human. Be in nature. It is where we feel most belonging because it is where humans belong. Nature won’t judge you; it doesn’t tell you who to be. There is no wrong perception of you, It allows authenticity.

Thank you to those who participated. Happy trails to the Appalachian Trail class of ’24!

 

Author and host of REI’s Co-op Wild Ideas Worth Living podcast, Shelby Stranger, wrote a book I’ve been carving away at: Will to Wild: A Book of Adventures Great and Small to Change Your Life. Stranger’s galvanizing storytelling has given me pieces of inspiration whenever I open the pages to jump before belief. As a surfer, spending much time in the ocean, she found awe—a stage of courage, Stranger explains. Not only awe but an entire transformation in the state of being. The ocean is humbling, an awe-enlightening perspective. And for Mother Nature, a form of utter respect, patience, and humility. Stranger wrote, “…the ocean also humbled me. The ocean doesn’t care who you are, how old you are, where you’re from, what you studied in college, if you even went to college, or what you look like.”

A quote I’ve been repeating to myself, derived from Stranger’s writing: “Nature never judges.”