[at-l] cummulative elavation gain question

[rcbrooks@acadia.net (RC Brooks)]

Draggin' Anchor asked:

=snip=
> Besides the 'going downhill' hypothesis, does anybody have any
> legitimate insights into why the SOBO completion rate would be
> so much better than the NOBO ?  

Although I have not attempted to compile data such as to hiker's ages,
looking at the various journals, both SoBo and NoBo, gives me the
impression that the SoBos are a much younger crowd than the NoBos.  I
would guess that only about 10-15% of the SoBos were over age 30 when
they started; i.e., we are talking only two to three dozen hikers over
age 30!

I don't think any lister fails to recognize the advantage of young legs.

I have tried to learn hometowns/states of the SoBos and there does not
appear any geographical bias to the success rate -- except there are a
lot of Georgians on the list followed closely in numbers by the Mainers.
East of the Mississippi, I find no hikers from Alabama or Delaware but
all other states are representated.  States west of the Mississippi were
represented by CA, LA, TX, CO, and UT.  The international SoBo
representatives were a bloke from Britain (British Bedbug) and a guy &
Gal pair from Canada via Korea & Thailand (Leap & Frog).  Section hiking
were an Israeli girl (Netta), a girl from New Zealand called Bumble Bee
(Megan) and Swan & Gnu from Holland.

One thing I noticed from the journals was that few NoBos paid much
attention to the SoBos and vice versus.

> Might it be that hiking independently ~ as opposed to hiking with
> a herd ~ generates a more focused approach to the hike and a more
> job like mind set ?  Just curious.

I guess I don't understand the intended meaning of "hiking
independently" -- I don't see any real difference in the mix of SoBo
groups vs the NoBo groups.  SoBVo there were brother pairs, a sister
pair, brother-sister pairs, a father-daughter pair, a father-son pair,
at least one married couple, girl & guy pairs, girl pairs, guy pairs,
guy trios, solo ladies, solo males, and a few dogs.  There were many who
started with a hiking partner but continued hiking after their partner
left the trail.  There were friends who kept the friendship alive by
splitting up the team.  Trail families developed as hiking rhythms
stabilized.  There was no spring 'group grope' of hikers falling all
over themselves trying to get up the trail resulting from the sheer
numbers of hikers trying to get started.

I recollect someone mentioning something like 80 NoBos at Gooch Gap one
night in April or early May last year.  I would call that a 'herd'! --
it also equals about one third of every SoBo starter intending a
thruhike.

I think that in most ways the SoBo experience mirrors the NoBo
experience.  Whether hiking solo or as a pair (or trio) trail families
will develop. 

In Y2K the late-May/early-June weather was marvelous although starting
too early resulted in high (& cold!) water problems.  Y2K was an
average-to-below-average black fly year (2001 black flies are already
out and crop will be a 'biggy.')

The quickest SopBo thruhike in Y23K hike seems to have been 131 days
(total elasped time) by Nimblewill Nomad (M.J. 'Eb' Eberhart) who, at
age 61/62, was the oldest male thruhiker.  The second quickest was 132
days by Corndog (Will Waterstrat) who was age 18 when he started. 
Neither made a concentrated effort for speed as Nomad was at the
Gathering and Corndog was at home for nearly two weeks.

I am pressed to come up with a list of those males over age 40 who were
attempting a thruhike.  Besides Nimblewill Nomad, there was Pilgrim,
Driftwood Dog, Hoosier Mudder, Vidalia, Campanero, Creen, Hymettus, and
I have run out of names.  In their late thiries were Freight Train,
Niche-less, and Pure Luck.  Yes, there are names on the list of men I
know nothing about.  Just Bob, age 68, was a much liked SoBo section
hiking from Harpers Ferry to Springer.

There were only four women that I know of who were age 30 or older: 
Waterfall (Nina Baxley), Norea' (Petra Glass), Coldfoot (Judy Oneal),
age 53; and [14 days older] Mother Goose (Bonita .......), age 53. 
There may have been a couple others in their 30s.  There were a few
older ladies section hiking but I don't know of any out for more than a
week or so.

I think that the quickest trip by a female was around 153 days by
Chickadee (Katrina Wardrip) who was hiking with Peaches (Peter Wardrip).

This man's opinion is that the SoBo who is healthy when he/she makes
Rt-25 in Glencliff NH (398.5 mi from Kathadin) has the most difficult
portion of the trail behind them.  It appears to me that 35-40% of the
SoBo starters are off the trail by here.  As 35-40% can be expected to
finish, only 20-30% will fallout between Glencliff & Springer.  If you
made this stretch, your knees should hold up 'til Springer.  Between
Glencliff and, say, Damascus VA it appears to me that the three major
reasons hikers leave the trail are: (a) boredom with the trail, (b)
running out of funds, and (c) a family situation [usually a death in the
family or something like that]. I only know of two SoBos who ended up in
the hospital after Glencliff.  At Hawk Mtn Road PA was Mr Clean (Jamie
Raines) with an advanced case of Lyme Disease and at Catawba VA The Kid
(Keith Leslie) with a spinal infection (after a three week convalescence
he completed his thruhike).  There were some cases of Giardia and there
were some sick gals & lads but I didn't hear of anyone going to the
hospital.

Late season cold weather drove some hikers from the trail.  At least two
resumed hiking this year.  Late-year finishers are frustrated by the
lack of daylight for hiking.  

The terrain in the south is fairly benign relative to the impression of
one just starting out NoBo from Springer.  SoBos routinely knocked out
the bottom part of the trail from Nolichucky TN to Springer Mtn in 20-24
days (340 mi), unless they were into the snow season.  I'd say the NoBos
ran closer to 30-36 days with a few faster and many more slower.

Bob Brooks