Remember back in early 2020 when we were all blissfully ignorant about Covid-19? As a former schoolteacher, I can remember the date that I last stepped foot into my school’s building to teach: March 13, 2020. Little did I know that this would be the last time I taught in person. As the weeks progressed it became more clear that Covid wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. I witnessed the major impact that this virus had on the education system, and as a hiker, I faced difficult decisions about continuing in my own quest to hike all of the trails in New Hampshire’s White Mountains Ultimately, I ended up postponing my 2020 hiking plans as it became clear that it was no longer acceptable for me to drive hours north to continue hiking during a global pandemic.
March 2020: Off the (T)rails
The impact of Covid on the hiking community was widespread. As a frequent user of Instagram, I remember as thru-hiker hopeful after thru-hiker hopeful began to cancel their plans or were forced off trail. The Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) asked thru-hikers to leave the trail, and for those who hadn’t started to postpone them. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) followed suit less than a week later. The majority of thru-hikers heeded the call and got off trail or postponed their thru-hikes. A glimmer of hope was found in the possibility of heading southbound later in the summer, or in the chance that trails would open back up for shorter hikes as the country began to reopen.
Despite far fewer thru-hikers on the trails, it seemed like outdoor recreation was becoming the new thing to do. As restaurants, movie theaters, and other indoor entertainment shut down, droves of underprepared people flocked to the trailheads. It no longer became possible to social distance at a lot of the more popular hiking trails. I remember one instance in particular when the United States Forest Service attempted to shut down some of the most popular trailheads in The White Mountains to discourage hikers from congregating in large numbers, only to have the individuals park all along the roads instead of in the parking lots. It seemed like there was nothing that could be done to stop people from doing what they wanted to do.
Summer-Fall 2020: Glimmer of Hope
As we progressed into the late summer / early fall 2020, things began to calm down at trailheads. We saw the reopening of some alternative forms of recreation. The phrase “the new normal” seemed to be more than just an empty threat. This was the way of the future and as a community, hikers began to find alternatives to thru-hiking the Triple Crown trails to recreate outdoors. Shorter hiking trails saw more traffic, thru-hiker hopefuls began to set their sights on 2021, and the PCTA said they would be holding a lottery for permits at the start of the new year. However, for the second year in a row, the ATC has made the statement that they are “actively discouraging 2021 AT thru-hikes.” The trail will always be there, but how long until it’s deemed acceptable to do a Triple Crown thru-hike?
As a non-thru-hiker I can’t completely relate to the frustration or sadness that comes with canceling a thru-hike for the second year in a row. I can relate to the feelings of having to postpone plans, and the psychological impact that has on an individual. Many hikers see thru-hiking as the be-all and end-all—the only option—but that’s not necessarily the case.
In the past six years I have struggled to feel like a “real hiker” because the longest backpacking trip I’ve gone on was 55 miles. I wrote for The Trek from 2017-2019, and the whole time I suffered from imposter syndrome, feeling unworthy and embarrassed by my meager backpacking resume.
Looking back on the canceled thru-hikes in 2020, I realize it’s not the length of the trail you hike that makes you an experienced hiker. You don’t have to hike one of the Triple Crown trails to be a thru-hiker. You don’t even have to do an overnight to gain experience in the backcountry.
If 2020 has taught me nothing else, it has taught me that being a day hiker, weekend warrior, or short-distance backpacker may be the way of the near future. Just because you have to cancel your intended thru-hike for the second year in a row doesn’t mean you can’t go on a shorter thru-hike.
2021: What is the New Normal?
We all jumped for joy as the dumpster fire of 2020 ended, and only days later the chaos continued with the Capitol Building insurrection. We need outdoor recreation now more than ever. Rather than calling it quits on hiking this year because you’re being discouraged from hiking one of the Triple Crown trails, I encourage everyone to use this as an opportunity to see what else is out there.
There are hundreds of long-distance hiking trails in the United States and many of them are less than 200 miles long. Rather than hiking just one long-distance trail, you could end up doing several short-long trails in 2021, and see several different parts of the country as well, traveling between trails. Have a weekend? Hike a 50-mile trail. A month? Something between 300-500.
I understand that the logistics of planning a thru-hike doesn’t make shorter trails mindlessly easy, I also understand that people get their hearts set on a specific trail and don’t necessarily want to do something else. As someone who had their heart set on redlining the White Mountains in 2020, it took me a month of self-pity and living in my sweats before I was willing to give another hiking list a try.
Looking back, I am thankful I didn’t give up on hiking during the months that I spent waiting for the Whites to be a viable option. While I waited, I was able to redline a whole different part of my state and do two traverses that were on my wish list for future hikes. Part of the excitement of a thru-hike (or for me, day hike) is working out the logistics of making it a reality. If you’re forced to cancel your thru-hike for 2021, rather than plopping on the couch for the next few months, use this time to plan a shorter adventure.
Alternatives to a Triple-Crown Hike
Many of us thought the pandemic would only last a few months, that things would go back to normal by the summer. Before we knew it, it was fall, then winter, and then we were ringing in 2021. Now, we’re two months into 2021 and the ATC has stated for the second year in a row that they are not encouraging individuals to thru-hike one of the most popular long trails in the United States. The hiking community, myself included, can no longer continue under the assumption that things will go back to normal by summer, for the second year in a row.
Rather than living under the delusion that everything will revert back to pre-Covid by summer of 2021, perhaps we need to accept that shorter thru-hikes might be the best option. Hikers are a community of strong, resilient individuals. We roll with the punches, and know that plans can (and will) change on trail. Let’s take that attitude and apply it to how we handle the coming thru-hiking season.
Regardless of what trail we end up on, whether it’s the Pacific Crest Trail, the Arizona Trail, or the Cohos Trail, the ultimate goal is the same. This is all just part of the adventure, so let’s roll with the punches, and make 2021 the year of the short-long trail.