The Routine

It’s been over 2 weeks of hiking now, so I’m slowly starting to overcome my impostor syndrome of being labeled a thru-hiker. Therefore, I present my first iteration of what feels like a representative day out here. I’m curious how much this will change over time.

Pre-hike

I’ve been going without an alarm, which typically leaves me to wake up between 5:30 and 7. The sun gives enough light by 7 to be productive without my headlamp, but that’s getting earlier each day. I’ve got about an hour of chores; this includes packing up stuff inside tent, taking down the tent, using the privy, loading up the pack, retrieving the food bag, checking the weather, loading up snacks in an accessible location for the day. Then comes breakfast, which is always oatmeal, I love this because it’s the only meal which is nearly the same as real life. I have learned, through trial and error, that eating an obscenely large portion is best for the day. If I’m coming from a hostel that offers breakfast, I’ll always say yes to that. I hope to be hiking a little over an hour after waking.

Hiking

This is the majority of the day, ranging from 6 to 11 hours, and generally involves 45 to 90 minutes of continuous hiking, followed by a break somewhere hopefully nice to eat a snack and/or purify water. I’m making decisions about where to stop with the app, FarOut, which makes navigation trivial. I haven’t met a single hiker who doesn’t use FarOut.

Post Hike

Now it’s time to get camp set up, and the first step is to find a place to put my tent. If you're at a location with a shelter, you can opt to sleep there (this is actually mandatory in Great Smoky Mountain National Park), but I don’t love the close proximity with strangers, the snoring, and the mice running over you. When looking for a tent site, priority 1 is flat, priority 2 is flat, and that’s about it.

Then I get all the sleeping gear inside the tent, clean myself, change into my “clean” camp clothing, get a snack, and relax if there’s time before dinner. I struggled to really relax out here at first, but I’ve gotten a lot better. Writing about my day (on Strava), watching bits of movies, and calling home (reception required) typically fills this time. I’ve tried to get out of my comfort zone socially for dinner, which usually means walking to the communal area to “cook” and eat there. I’ve met some cool, kind, weird, and interesting people this way, and I’ll continue to do this. 

Camp seems to really quiet down at hiker midnight (8pm-8:30pm), which is odd for me, as I’m always the first to bed in real life. I typically stay outside for the sunset, before winding down around 9. This gives me a whole 9-10 hours of sleep before doing it all again.

Taking the shuttle from Franklin, NC to the trailhead, a man who started hiking in Florida told me, in response to be asked to attend a sermon by a minister at some trail magic: “I’m a Christian and I believe in God, but I’m not religious. My mind is so powerful it doesn’t get influenced by what people say, so I was curious to hear what he had to say”