Hiking and Backpacking Advice
Top 5 Reasons Thru-hikers Fail to Complete the Trail
How to complete the dream the way you intended
The new thru-hiking season approaches and thousands of hopeful hikers will soon attempt the peak adventure of our sport.
75% of them will fail.
How can you avoid becoming one of the majority and instead find yourself with a life-long badge of honor and accomplishment? Surely it’s just a matter of walking really far each day, sleeping, then doing it all over again the next day — it’s only 4–6 months, right?
Oh, if only it were that simple.
Here are the top reasons thru-hikers don’t complete their goal, along with methods to avoid each pitfall.
Lack of funds
As you will see, most of the top reasons come from a lack of planning and preparation — funding the adventure is no different.
Although a thru-hike can be completed for very little money (technically; $1500 has been reported), most will ultimately underestimate their individual spending. There’s a good reason for this: most non-thru-hikers will completely underestimate the allure of town and all its creature comforts.
