[at-l] Thru Hiker inviting a relative to join them

[WenchAT03 at comcast.net (Teresa)]

The thru-hiker invited the 15 y.o. so I'm sure he's expecting to hike slower
while his cousin is hiking with him.  I wouldn't worry about it much, but it
wouldn't hurt to educate the teen about the AT and thru-hiking.

Last year, I invited any of my family to come out and hike with me.  They'd
had ZERO backpacking experience (which isn't much less than I had before I
left Springer).  Only my sister was able to backpack with me, and it was for
3 days only.  I was planning on low miles; only what she wanted/could to do.
This was in PA south of Palmerton and it rained all 3 days.  We hiked about
7 mi the first day, 10 the next and 7 the next.  She wanted to hike 17 on
the 2nd day, but we talked ourselves out of that.  My journal entries for
those three days starts with this one:
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=38375

I really enjoyed having my sister hike with me!  My brothers and dad came up
to visit me too, not long after my sister left, and when they left, that was
the last I'd see family until Maine.  I was very sad and cried as I headed
north with them standing the road.  Then after a few hours back on the
trail, I felt at home again.  See journal:
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=39526

In my opinion, a thruhiker that leaves the trail after family/friends visit
didn't really want to finish the hike anyway.  Perhaps another way to say it
is that a person that wants to complete a thruhike will do it, no matter how
homesick they feel.  I never had a moment that I wanted to leave the AT.  I
didn't want to hike off alone the day my dad and brothers left; I wanted
them to continue with me.  But I didn't want to quit.

And now, re-reading my journal entries.... I want to do it all over again!
:-)
Wench

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Nickerson" <nickpvb@bellsouth.net>


> A fit 15 year old flatlander in my Scout Troop has been invited to join
his
> college-age cousin on the AT for a week this summer.  The cousin is
planning
> to thru-hike the Trail, they would meet somewhere in Virginia.
>
> The Scout's mom told me about this past week, as it would mean he could
not
> join our modest Scout High Adventure trip.  I recognize that the
thru-hiker
> would love the company, for about 5 minutes.  I've heard that inviting a
> friend along, mid-way is a bad idea for thru-hikers, because it messes up
> their routine and adds to their homesickness once the other person leaves.
>
> As I recall, over the past four years, this 15 year old has only
backpacked
> 12 miles with our Troop in the Ocala...and that was a two-day trip!  What
do
> the list readers suggest?  Should I discourage it?