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The below is a transcription. Minor edits have been made for clarity and readability, while preserving the original message and intent.
Okay, so I’m going to be honest. When I set foot on the Appalachian Trail for the first time, I had no idea what was in store for me. I had an idea of what the trail would be like. I knew that I would meet really cool people, hike in beautiful places. I would experience extreme cold, extreme heat, bugs, rain. But I’d also been dreaming about thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail for so long, that my expectations for the hike were already so high before I even set foot on trail.
And I don’t want you to think that I had a terrible time. I loved hiking the AT. I really did make some incredible best friends. I saw places I never could have imagined. I hiked in New Hampshire and Maine, places I’d never been before. It was everything I ever could have wanted and more.
But the truth is, there are definitely some things I wish I would have done differently. Knowing what I know now, if I could go back in time, these are just a few of the things that I would have changed about my hike.
Regret #1: Not sticking to my budget
I did not do a great job of sticking to my budget. The year leading up to hiking the AT, I was working three jobs. I was penny pinching, budgeting like crazy, and really doing everything I could to make sure that by the time I got to trail, I had exactly as much money as I needed in order to make it all the way to Maine. But unfortunately, I just didn’t do a great job once I was out there actually sticking to my plan of only spending so much money in a week. When you’re hiking on the AT, it is really tempting to stay in hostels and to stay in town, to spend a ton of money on food, great food, and to really relish the time that you have in these cities that you may never pass through again. And unfortunately for me, that really snowballed into massively going over budget. So by the time I got home, I was flat broke. Yeah. So definitely, I would say a big regret for me was not sticking to my budget.
Regret #2: Traversing dangerous water crossings alone
I did not follow my own personal creed when I said that I would not cross any dangerous rivers by myself. And I definitely did. I was in a pretty unsafe situation following Hurricane Debbie rolling through Maine. And I decided to, instead of doing the walk around, which would have been the smart idea and just added a couple of miles and hardly 40 minutes, I decided to cross Moxie River by myself. And that was my first major, really scary river crossing. And something bad definitely could have happened. The water was rushing over the rocks. I could have slipped, hit my head. So really scary situation. Really not great decision by me and sorry mom, if you’re watching this, I did promise not to do that and then I definitely did it. So number two regret was crossing dangerous rivers by myself. Do not do that.
Regret #3: Not strengthening my feet and ankles before starting the trail
Prior to leaving for trail, I did not do a good job of training the small muscles in my ankles and feet. When I got out on trail, after a couple hundred miles I really started to struggle with plantar fasciitis, and that was a major hindrance for me for probably close to a thousand miles. It made hiking really hard, and made it very painful. I was not super fun to be around during those times and I definitely had to sacrifice miles at certain points to let my feet recover. So for me, I wish I would have spent more time strengthening my feet, so that I didn’t deal with these issues when I got to trail.
Regret #4: Not hiking The Long Trail
Not flipping up to Canada to hike the Long Trail when I was already in Vermont. For me, I had always dreamed of hiking The Long Trail, and I loved that when I was on the AT I had already hiked half of it. And I had the time. I definitely could have made a point to flip up to Canada and just hike my way back to the AT and then continue on to Katahdin, but unfortunately I just wasn’t thinking of it at the time. So by the time I finished the trail and got home and then decided I wanted to go back and finish the Long Trail, I had to spend all the money to get to Vermont and then shuttling and food and all those things when it would have just been easier for me had I just done it when I was right there. So I really regretted not hiking the Long Trail when I was already in Vermont.
And this is sort of a semi aside. I also regret not going to AT Trail Days. I thought that I would get Norovirus if I went to Trail Days. I was very Norovirus afraid at the time, but I had plenty of friends that went and had an amazing time. So I really feel like I missed out on that part of the AT thru-hiker experience. I wish I just would have went to Trail Days.
Regret #5: Too much socializing
I wish I would have spent more time on my own. I got lucky enough that in Georgia I met some really wonderful people and we hit it off and we hiked basically all the way to Maine together. But unfortunately that meant sacrificing some solo time… so, forgoing the people that I could have met had I not been hiking with those folks, or some of the things I could have learned. The lessons, the experiences I could have had, had I prioritized some of my own independence rather than socializing with friends, meant that I really missed out on that key part of the hike. For me, the fostering independence and the solo journey that I had originally pictured going to the AT to have. So not a huge regret. I don’t regret making such amazing friends, but I do wish I would have had just a bit more solo time.
Conclusion
Now, all of that being said, do I regret hiking the Appalachian Trail? Absolutely not. I had a blast. I had the time of my life. I made best friends. I saw beautiful places. I challenged myself in ways I never had before. I succeeded at achieving a lifelong goal. It was everything I ever wanted out of the experience. But you know, I also think it’s important to reflect on the things that you learn. So for me, knowing what I know now, I probably would have tweaked some of these small regrets that I have. But in no way do they color the experience of my AT memories.
So for you, if you’re planning to hike the Appalachian Trail, you know, maybe learn from some of these things, the mistakes that I made so that you don’t make the same mistakes, or if you already have hiked the at, I would love to know what sort of lessons you learned, maybe what small regrets you have from your hike, things that you would have changed knowing what you know now.
Anyway, that’s it. Those are my regrets. They’re not huge regrets, but they’re my regrets.
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My name is Jess, my trail name is Sassafras, and thank you so much for watching it.
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