The Trouble with Shakedown Hikes

In late 2023, I attempted a thru hike of the 223 mile Ouachita Trail (OT). Though I was ultimately able to complete the trail from end to end, I did not complete it as a single continuous thru hike as I had originally planned. My hike of the OT was completed in three sections.

Section 1: 121.7 miles from Talimena State Park to Hwy 27 in ten days late November 2023

Section 2: 38.7 miles from Hwy 27 to Hwy 7 in three days early February 2024

Section 3: 62.6 miles from Hwy 7 to Pinnacle Mountain State Park in three days late February/early March 2024

You can read the detailed account of that trip here.

I'm proud that I completed the trail end to end, even if it wasn't as originally planned. I have had a good amount of time to reflect on the trip, and on my prep for it. I don't regret my decision to pull the plug on my thru hike when I did, back in December of last year at Hwy 27. There were a variety of reasons why I ended my trip, but there were two big physical reasons that were the primary reason I decided to hit the eject button. My toes were battered, bruised, and blistered, but the number one issue was chafing. I had sores that were getting worse with time. I have watched a number of Appalachian Trail (AT) thru hike vloggers in recent months. For those who don't know, the AT is more than 2,000 miles long and takes multiple months to complete. One individual, whose progress I was watching was forced to get off trail and recover after her chafing sores became infected with staph and required professional medical attention. Seeing this other person's medical condition due to a similar issue has helped validate my choice to take a break and recover.

I can't help but ask myself "Could I have done something more to prevent the issues I faced on the trail that lead to needing to leave the trail?".

The Prep I Did Do

My planning process for the OT started about eleven months before my trip began. In addition to carefully researching gear and methods, I did a variety of "shakedown hikes" to practice using my gear, to test my ability to do long miles, and to do multiple days on a trail, and also to practice my processes for things like getting started on the trail each day, packing and unpacking, setting up camp, etc.

Mafia shakedown [hike] ...joke

I got a lot of value out of all of my shake down hikes and camping experiences. Though I'm sure there were other things I could have done to prepare, I am not convinced that additional preparation would have helped me in ways that would have enabled me to complete the thru hike. Ultimately, the problem is that there are limits to shakedown hikes and backpacking trips. You are only doing a limited trip. It's not truly possible to replicate the experience and toll on your body that multiple days on the trail will involve. That experience can truly only come by attempting a thru hike.

So the central limitation of any preparatory backpacking trip or hike before a genuine thru hike attempt is the fact that before you do a true thru hike for multiple days, it's not possible to know what those distances nor the toll that kind of trip will have on your body.

I have heard from experienced thru hikers, that for best results on a thru hike, you should start your trip with lower mile days and increase as you go, to avoid injury. Perhaps I would have been more successful with that approach, but it's hard to say. I was capable of doing the long miles I had scheduled for myself from a fitness perspective. My body was not ready for multiple days of near 20 miles per day. The OT is also comparatively, a very short through hike. By the time a person gets their "trail legs", the trail is finished.

What to Do About It?

First, just give it a try.

Nike

I think I made the right decision to start with a smaller scale through hike. I didn't completely reorganize my life to accommodate a multi-month thru hike, like the Appalachian Trail or one of the other super long trails. I didn't quit my job to go on this adventure. It was a grander scale trip than anything I had done previously, but not exponentially larger. If you succeed out of the gate on your first attempt, that's awesome! If not, figure out what could you do differently to improve your process, your gear, your physical ability, or whatever became your roadblock. Being that this trip was relatively close to home also made it a good option for a first ever attempt at a through hike. Logistics weren't overly complicated. I was able to get support from family and friends.

Second, learn, adapt, and try again. I struggled with my air mattress, with chafing, and with blisters on my thru hike. I opted to try hammocking (no air mattress failure and additional options for campsites), I tried using petroleum jelly and changed to a different kind of underwear to address the chafing, and I tried different sock combinations for my blistering issues.

Another thing I learned is the importance of taking one or more days of rest and also building in rest and recovery days during the trip and after the trip. Before the thru hike, I didn't think I would need zero days (zero miles hiked for a day as a day of rest) or near-o (low mile days for the same reason as a zero) days on the trail. I didn't think about the need to recuperate after. The zero day I took at Queen Wilhelmina state park was because of bad weather, but it made a big difference in my ability to press on from that point to get to the halfway mark at Highway 27. The women I left at that point took a near-o day after Hwy 27. In hindsight, I should have allowed myself more days during and after the trail to recover. Thru hikes are a different thing than weekend trips. 

Finally, be kind to yourself if you need to pull the plug. Don't wait until you are in such back physical condition that your health and safety are jeopardized. Be willing end any trip if you need to. And if you do end your trip before you planned to, be kind to yourself as you would be kind to someone you love who did the same thing. There is no sense in getting upset. Dust yourself off (metaphorically and physically if need be, haha) and look to the next adventure. Every trip you take can be a learning opportunity. Enjoy your time in the woods, along the rivers, on the mountains, and everywhere you go.

Looking Ahead

The good news is that I was able to learn a lot from my thru hike attempt experience. By the third leg of my trip, I made improvements to my sleep system and made significant improvements toward resolving my chafing and blister issues for big mile days. If I had started the trail with those improvements, I think I may have been able to finish.

For that reason, I am contemplating a second attempt at a thru hike. I am not sure when it might be, and I have a variety of other shorter trips planned in the near future, but in the coming year or two, I will more than likely attempt a second thru hike of the OT. I like the OT in particular because it's the easiest for me logistically, being so close to home. Last time, I hiked west to east. Next time I will probably hike from east to west, starting at Pinnacle Mountain and ending at Talimena State Park. 

This was a shorter post. It's just been something I've been thinking about recently, so I thought I would share it.

Have you attempted a thru hike? Were you able to complete it as planned on your first try? Let me know in the comments or you can always shoot me an email at Rungavagairun@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by,

Gavagai