If you like this post - check out my fundraiser to support the AZT, CDT and Te Araroa!
I’m certain we are entering a Golden Age of through hiking powered by social media, volunteer mapping efforts, GPS equipped smart phones and the trail organizations themselves. You can see it in the rapid rise in numbers of PCT through hiker permits given each year and anecdotally on the Continental Divide Trail which does not formally track through hikers. Each year’s through hiker class has more hikers than the last and many maintain blogs or online journals every step of the way. It’s easy to blame Cheryl Strayed’s “Wild” for this surge but I believe she is part of a trend, not creating it. Even before her book blew up, through hiker rates were rising.
I’m certain we are entering a Golden Age of through hiking powered by social media, volunteer mapping efforts, GPS equipped smart phones and the trail organizations themselves. You can see it in the rapid rise in numbers of PCT through hiker permits given each year and anecdotally on the Continental Divide Trail which does not formally track through hikers. Each year’s through hiker class has more hikers than the last and many maintain blogs or online journals every step of the way. It’s easy to blame Cheryl Strayed’s “Wild” for this surge but I believe she is part of a trend, not creating it. Even before her book blew up, through hiker rates were rising.
The cause is based in the information age that we live in,
not one particular person or invention.
Previous barriers to entry to through hiking were largely information
based. For instance, if you wanted to
through hike the PCT in the 1990’s or earlier you had to:
- Know that the PCT exists and can be hiked in one year – probably by word of mouth, by encountering it by accident or from a printed National Geographic Article
- Arrange for permits along the 2,600 mile trail corridor for dozens of wilderness area’s, national parks and USFS land by snail mail
- Acquire the maps along the trail, also by mail from a litany of agencies and sources and with little added information like tabulated mileage between points, reliable water or trail conditions.
- Determine where you can resupply, what’s available and whether a box is needed
- Determine reliable water sources (no water caches existed either) or just carry more water all the time
- Acquire the skills and gear of a long distance backpacker without Google
All of those are largely information based and are now
available for free on the internet by a few google searches and mouse clicks. The PCTA provides a permit for the entire
route, Halfmile provides excellent maps for free download on his website and
tabulated mileage the water report (pctwater.org) gives up to date information
on water sources and town information can be found for free on the internet or
through yogi’s guidebooks as well. Not
only that, you can download halfmile’s app for free on a GPS enabled smart
phone and not even carry maps, a common practice. Guthook also offers an app for sale with more
detailed information like additional campsites and water sources not shown by
halfmile. Even that last bullet point -
a huge amount of experience can be informally learned from the trip reports and
blog posts by others and dozens of gear reviews are only a google or youtube
search away.
Equally important is social media. Thru-hiker blogs like Walking with Wired and
Carrot Quinn have taken off and become incredibly popular among day hikers and
people who might never have heard of the “big three”. The most popular blogs are those who post
entries daily or almost daily – something only possible by typing out entries on
trail, in camp with a smartphone and uploading them when cell service or wifi
is available. These blogs are then
shared, tweeted, liked, forwarded and reach potential hikers by the thousand. Before the internet you would be lucky to get
a post card! Popular bloggers are able to capture the sense of grandeur,
community and freedom through hiking provides – a stark contrast to an office
laden 9 to 5. Combined with breath
taking photo’s they grab those of us bored with everyday life by the heart
strings, hook line and sinker. Gear lists are googled and cottage manufacturers
eagerly provide lightweight gear catering towards specific needs of long
distance hikers and those who dream of it.
The trail associations themselves have grown to be
incredible forces of both sharing the information about the trails and helping
to construct and maintain them. If the
PCT had as much road walking as it did 30 years ago, I don’t think you would see
the numbers we do today. A quick look on
the PCTA website shows listing for all the information you could want as a
through hiker and a blog feed from the current years hikers. Trail conditions such as fire closures and
news are also posted and shared on facebook.
The CDT is undergoing a similar transformation with the help
of the new CDTA and their excellent website in addition to miles of new trail
going in faster than they can be mapped.
Guthook is already working on an app for the entire trail and free maps
from Jonathan Ley and Bear Creek have been available on the internet for years. The
uncertainties of navigation, terrain and resupply are largely taken care of
with a smart phone and a large enough battery.
This does not make through hiking easy (I still plan on using map and
paper) but it makes some of the logistics easier.
Each year more people through hike one of the big three
blogging along the way. Each year some
of their friends are inspired to do the same and some will through hike other
trails. I did the PCT in 2013 and many
of my friends will be joining me for the CDT in 2015. In several more years I wouldn’t be surprised to see more
experienced thru’s on the PNT, GET, TA, AZT and other less known trails which
will drive the same kind of information sharing that is making the PCT so
popular. The snowball is building and
the Golden Age approaches!
What does a Golden Age mean?
Many will decry a perceived loss of solitude or
complain about the increased numbers.
Others will moan about how much harder it used to be, without all the
information. Both sentiments share hints
of elitism and entitlement but the trails are public spaces, they are not
private play grounds for fantasy adventures into unknown lands. If that’s what you’re after, it never existed
on a long distance backpacking trail constructed by people, mapped and
described by other people and maintained by still more people. A better response is to welcome and educate
the newbies, something that actually does happen often in real life. The
community of long distance hikers is growing exponentially and there’s no
stopping it!If you like this post - check out my fundraiser to support the AZT, CDT and Te Araroa!
