As I have a bit of a break from school/work and my Pacific Crest Trail thru hike is approaching rapidly, I’ve been contemplating my reasons for thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, many of which I’ve found to be linked to my previous experience thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. Without further ado, here are (some of) the things about thru-hiking that I’m eternally grateful for.

1. Thru Hiking Creates a Community of Care

Going into my Appalachian Trail thru hike at the age of 17, I assumed I would “learn independence.” I quickly found out that the opposite was true. On my first thru hike, I learned the value of community. My Appalachian Trail thru hike was one of the first times I felt deeply known and truly cared for. I will eternally be grateful for the close friends I made on the AT.

Even when I’m backpacking as a weekend warrior, thru hikers have a way of looking after their fellow backpackers, even those they’ve just met, in a genuine and caring way. On a weeklong trip last spring, I was at a shelter with a few friends and some current thru hikers. I was complaining about my knee hurting while we were hiking earlier in the day. Immediately, one of the thru hikers offered me his knee brace, without hesitation. I explained that I already had one. The next morning, I saw him hiking out with his knee brace on. Thru hikers will often offer you the shirt off their back, whether literally or metaphorically, if they think you might need it.

2. A Thru Hike is an Opportunity to Travel in a Deeply Intimate Way

When you’re only averaging 100-150 miles a week, you have the opportunity to understand the area you’re traveling through in a much more intimate way than a more conventional vacation. Going through the woods for weeks on end, seeing the nature and landscape slowly change, and getting to explore small trail towns are all unique features of a thru hike that I’m deeply grateful for.

During my AT thru hike, I went through a lot of tiny towns on the East Coast that I likely never would have visited. There’s a certain indescribable character to many small towns. They make up a large portion of the United States, but many people will never bother (or perhaps have reason) to visit these small towns. A slower pace of travel provides opportunities to better understand the land, towns, and the people who live in them.

3. Thru Hiking Renewed my Faith in Humanity

When I was growing up, I was a highly anxious teenager who believed that the majority of the world would be against them. I was very cautious at the beginning of my Appalachian Trail thru hike when it came to other people. I was concerned I wouldn’t be accepted, which was the reality of much of the spaces I grew up in. 

My thru hike helped me understand that there was a whole world outside of where I grew up. I found that the vast majority of folks, even if they didn’t agree with me in theory, would be fine with me in practice. I gained the ability to trust other people rather easily. It is freeing to have gained the ability to trust other people.

4. A Slower Pace of Life Encourages Reflection

A thru hike inherently requires a slower pace of living. Without work or school, and with all your belongings on your back, life is simplified significantly. It is an incredible blessing to be able to have a 5-month vacation (albeit, a difficult and strange vacation). Being a young adult, at certain crossroads in my life, I’m looking forward to slowing down and deeply contemplating my future while on my Pacific Crest Trail thru hike.

5. Thru Hiking is a Practice in Self-Belief

My Appalachian Trail thru hike opened many doors for me specifically because it made me believe in my ability to do difficult things. While on the AT, I had to believe I could finish it. Eventually, that was true. After completing a thru hike, there is a bolstering in self-belief. However, you also gain the practice of setting a goal, planning for a goal, practicing self-belief throughout your goal, and hopefully, accomplishing your goal.

Since hiking the Appalachian Trail, I’ve done many other things that have required self-belief and goal setting. I’ve maintained a 3.9 GPA throughout college, I started running 2.5 years ago, I’ve started guiding outdoor trips professionally, and I’ve gotten into ultrarunning (see pic of me smiling through the pain of 87 miles in 30 hours). Self-belief is an invaluable practice, which, for me, originated from my first thru hike. 

I don’t expect my Pacific Crest Trail thru hike to provide the same lessons as my Appalachian Trail thru hike. However, these are things I’m deeply thankful for, and hope to experience some of them on the PCT. I’m an incredibly fortunate person, and I have a lot to be thankful for, including my past and future experiences thru hiking.