No Pain, No Maine?
Long-distance hiking or thru-hiking is challenging both mentally and physically. Whether hiking the Appalachian Trail or another long-distance trail, the continuous step-by-step motion from dusk to dawn, repeated day after day, requires considerable effort and determination. This routine can feel monotonous, and it may involve pain and discomfort.
Thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail (AT) understand that the 2,168-mile journey from Georgia to Maine will not be free of aches and pains. This is reflected in the common exchange among AT backpackers: “No Pain, No Maine.” However, this doesn’t mean that a thru-hike is a painful or miserable endeavor. But it does suggest you must be tough. On the trail, the challenges faced become a shared experience within a community of like-minded individuals who are pushing their limits.
Pre-hike Planning
The decision to attempt a thru-hike is a significant one, but with thorough planning and preparation, it can be a deeply rewarding experience. This includes testing existing gear, researching and purchasing new equipment, gathering food supplies, obtaining proper maps and guides, budgeting, and organizing mail drops. This level of preparation will leave you feeling empowered for the adventure ahead.
It helps to know what to expect beforehand, and the hiking community is a rich source of knowledge and support. There are numerous websites and guidebooks covering thru-hike planning in detail. Whiteblaze.net, though AT-focused, is a starting resource for most long-distance trails – see Listing of other Long Trails for others. Also, read about the experiences of past thru-hikers by reading their journals and books.
Outdoor Herbivore provides food delivery services if you need a reliable partner to send you mail drops. We hold and ship hiker boxes to your resupply location when you need them, ensuring you’re always supported on your hike.
Physical Conditioning
Besides planning and preparing for the mental challenge, there is also physical conditioning. It will work to your advantage if you are already in good physical condition and your muscles primed to perform. Your starting pace will be faster, so you can cover more mileage from the beginning. And if you are not physically fit, you will become fit as you hike. Schedule plenty of day and weekend hikes to condition your body before the long hike. Build up your endurance by walking several miles around the neighborhood, park, or gym daily. When you have a day off, get to a nearby trail and stay overnight to test your sleeping system and backpack food.
Perform exercises that engage your pack-carrying muscles. Uphill backpacking requires strength in calves, glutes, and hamstrings. Downhill hiking requires strength in the quadriceps and core. If you don’t have mountains nearby, add weight to your backpack for conditioning and endurance. Add your weighted pack and go up and down hills, the stairs at home/work, or use gym equipment.
If possible, replicate some of the characteristics you’ll experience on your thru-hike – elevation changes, rugged trail conditions, and inclement weather. Use every opportunity to test new gear, shoe fit, pack fit, sleep system, water purification, trail cooking methods, and meal preferences.
Spend a few nights outside under non-ideal conditions in preparation for the big hike. You need to know how to keep walking when you feel achy, sweaty, and thirsty or wake up hungry, cold, and damp. Or to hike when the rain is pouring buckets, your fingers are numb from the cold, and your stomach is growling with hunger. Or when your shoulders and hips ache from the weight of your pack, and you are too sore and tired to stop and rest your blistered feet. The more you brave the trail experience in inclement weather or difficult circumstances, the more likely you are to keep going when the going gets extra tough.
Find a nearby trail using these trail finding resources. If you live in a metro area, also try joining a local hiking meet up group.
Mental Conditioning
You can’t prepare for the mental challenge of a thru-hike. It all depends on how much you want to finish once you are out there. You can stay motivated for a while by imagining the day you tread your last mile and how elated you’ll feel to have finished, knowing you’ve walked the entire distance. But the reality of finishing is not always enough to stay motivated when the will starts to wane. The ability to handle the repetition (walk, camp, walk) becomes a real challenge, and it can give way to boredom somewhere along the way. And boredom can squeeze out the willpower to tread on. Other things happening off the trail at home compete for your interest, plus you miss your family, friends, and bed.
What else can you do to keep yourself enthusiastic during a thru-hike?
When hiking starts to feel monotonous, get curious
Having good company on the trail helps. That is not always possible though. Human partner or not, you are never alone. Life surrounds you. Start observing and listening to all the sounds serenading you. The more you discover, the more fascinating it becomes. It truly is like removing a blindfold and seeing for the first time. Mindful hiking is meditation in action. Like anything else, thru-hiking can be done mindlessly or mindfully. Try not to let your mind aimlessly drift away on fantasies of wolfing down a greasy pizza and guzzling beer.
Instead, see and listen to what is around you and observe it carefully.
A casual observer may see nothing but endless trees, shrubs, and rocks. Look beyond the surface and ask plenty of questions: Who created this trail? What is that? When was this built? Where does this come from? Why is it that way? How does it work? Who, what, when, where, why, and how to keep the mind actively engaged and curious.
Hiking the AT in Virginia can be mentally challenging due to the long distance in a seemingly endless forested landscape. At times, the scenery may appear monotonous, but if you pay attention, you’ll discover its richness. Take note of the various shapes of leaves and the subtle differences in shades of green. Observe the vibrant undergrowth of shrubs and listen to the songs of nearby birds. Hearing the ethereal duet of a wood thrush is a true delight—did you know that a male wood thrush uses two vocal cords to produce two notes at once?
Try to glimpse the sky through the tree cover, noting the sun’s position and the different cloud formations. You might even spot black bears resting beneath rock outcroppings. Take a moment to observe the tiny insects scurrying across the path, the intricate details of spider webs, and the colorful salamanders that burrow among the rocks in cold mountain streams. The wilderness is a fascinating world waiting to be explored.black bears napping underneath rock cropping. Observe the tiny insects darting their way across the path, the intricate detail of a spider web, and the colorful salamanders that burrow around the rocks in a cold mountain stream. The wilderness is a fascinating world to explore.
Learn the habitat
Observing the natural world will give you a deeper appreciation of your environment. As part of your pre-hike planning, start learning about the habitat of the areas you will be hiking.
- What wildlife will you share the trail with? How will you recognize it? What do its tracks or scat look like? How does it survive?
- Is there a particular species you may encounter that is endangered or threatened, and why?
- Learn how to identify birdsong. Discover how each bird acquires its unique song and how they vary from bird to bird and place to place. Dive into books such as “The Backyard Birdsong Guide” or download birdsong apps where you can hear clips of birdsong.
- What type of flora is present out there? What plants are edible?
- How did the water sources form? What river do the streams eventually flow to?
- What is the history of the area? What types of historical events created the terrain? What rocks are present and why? Understanding this history will deepen your connection and respect for the trail.
Using your trained ears and eyes, you will discover continuous entertainment throughout your journey. Also, don’t fall victim to the bias that wildlife is dangerous and should be feared. These biases stem from a lack of knowledge about wildlife and how to live in harmony with it. Of course, there are incidents of conflict between people and wildlife, but generally, if you leave them alone, they’ll do the same to you. For instance, most bears are harmless and will avoid you, but don’t entice them to come near your campsite by improperly storing your food.
Can you eat certain foods to eat less pain?
What happens when you start losing interest due to pain? Your excitement and focus can diminish when aches and pains interfere with your hiking experience. There’s only so much you can do to distract yourself from discomfort. Whether you’re dealing with sore hips or knees, an injury like a twisted ankle, or even a bad headache, certain foods can help alleviate the pain naturally.
Incorporating anti-inflammatory foods into your diet can reduce both inflammation and pain. Staying healthy by eating right plays an enormous role in how you feel and your ability to complete a long hike.