The Long Distance Hiking Community
Have you ever formed deep bonds with a group of people who took you as you were? Purely for your character and sense of adventure? Without recognition that (as a female) there was no makeup, no shaving, and no deodorant in sight - for months?
This is the long-distance hiking community.
My name is Carol Coyne, and my trail name is “Cheer.” My life was changed when I quit my job in corporate finance and set off on a 2,650 mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail (“PCT”) in 2019. After major burnout at work in 2018, I was left with many questions such as “why am I doing this?” and “is this what life is supposed to look like?” This was also at a time when sparks were flying in the political world - and I saw major division between friends and family (including my own). When I made the decision to hike the PCT, my faith in humanity was at an all-time low. I felt the need to find a sense of community again - and I was hoping to find it in the trail community.
After spending 8 months saving up some funds for this endeavor – I took my first steps in my attempt to hike from Mexico to Canada in Campo, California. I was scared, and felt it was like the first day of school.
“Will the other hikers like me?”
“Will I find a trail family?”
“End up hiking solo for the entire trail?”
Initially, I was trying to find my place on trail which was composed (in my mind) of multiple things. This included my pace, wake-up time, break durations, the trail name I would eventually get, and more. As I hiked, the answers to all of my questions came up naturally. I found that my pace was 2.5 miles per hour, I naturally woke at 5:45am every morning without an alarm, I liked long lunch breaks, and the trail name I accepted was “Cheer” – fitting I thought! I finally got into a rhythm. My rhythm. I also noticed that I saw the same hikers over and over again because our paces and habits were similar.
I also noticed something else as I trekked north: The hikers I met acted as if we were instant friends. Even though I had dirt all over my body, I smelled to high-heaven, and had no makeup on. None of that mattered out there.
To do something like we were - attempting to walk from Mexico to Canada - was a major bonding experience. This wasn’t a casual hike. “Where are you from?” and “why did you decide to hike the trail?” led to hours of conversation while hiking, on a break, or in camp. Many of these conversations led to deeper bonds with people I otherwise would never make an acquaintance with outside of trail. I met travel nurses, students, teachers, chefs, production techs, business owners, and artists from all over the United States. Of all ages, all walks of life, different backgrounds, different cultures. I also met hikers from different countries – Germany, France, Australia, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Japan, Israel, the Netherlands, Canada, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, and more.
This was amazing to me. In no other place would I be able to meet these people and form the bonds I did with them. The trail brought this unique and diverse group of people together – and I realized that this was the community I was longing for.
Sometimes, these bonds led to forming a group called a “trail family” - hikers who generally stick together for part or the entire trail. I joined a trail family that banded together before the Sierra section of the PCT – which was very snowy in 2019. I had no experience hiking in the snow but one of our members, Kool Aid, did. And so, with high spirits and a little anxiety, our trail family of 6 entered the Sierra. This section tested my limits with high river crossings, steep snowy traverses and post-holing all day. Through these obstacles, I was so happy to have the company I did.
Even after the Sierra section, I stuck with some of my Sierra trail family members for the hike into Canada – including Calzone and Stevie Wonder. To do it without them wouldn’t have been the same. They had become my chosen family on this amazing adventure. On trail, most of my experiences were shared, which made them more meaningful to me. We could all get excited about a view together. See animal life. Work through the hard times together (misery loves company right?).
During my most recent trek along the Continental Divide Trail (“CDT”), in pursuit of something called the “Triple Crown” - I experienced the same type of community - but more concentrated. There are far less hikers on the CDT because it’s known to be more brutal, and is the longest of the three trails in the Triple Crown. I wouldn’t see many hikers on trail, but would see many in town. Even still, I hiked with some of my trail family from the PCT – Snickers and Stevie Wonder. To hike this trail alone – which is much more common than on the PCT – would have been a little rough for me.
The CDT was certainly more brutal than the PCT, and I was happy to have company in the good times and the hard times. My tent broke in a storm and my trail family was there to bail me out. Otherwise I would have had to press my SOS button! I was scared to hike in the snow (PTSD from the PCT?) and my trail family was there to help calm my nerves. I didn’t want to drink from a particularly bad water source (even the filtered water tasted like cow pies) and my trail family had extra to share. When I was low on food, they had my back.
On trail, we all looked out for each other and lent a hand when needed. We shared joy. Reveled at the remote and beautiful scenery that only a portion of the population gets to witness. Laughed at the ridiculous scenarios we found ourselves in (and there are many). We connected on deeper levels than most of our relationships in the “default world.” This wasn’t quick office banter at the coffee machine – these were some of the most meaningful relationships hikers form, on and off trail.
We celebrate, and also dread, the end. Finishing a long trail is bittersweet and many hikers can’t put what they are feeling into words. “Happy” and “sad” come up in the same sentence. A huge accomplishment of hiking thousands of miles through beautiful - and sometimes rough - conditions is spiked with a deep longing for it to go on forever. To hike with the people you’ve come to see as family every day, to witness nature in all of her beauty, to have the goal of making it to Canada one step at a time – gone.
After trail, many hikers experience a condition called Post Trail Depression. I’ve heard hikers of past years say that, even though they went back to their normal life after trail – they thought about their long-distance hike(s) every day. Not a day went by where they wouldn’t think about their experiences from trail.
While I was going through post trail depression myself after the PCT, I couldn’t accept that my trail life would just drop off. “How could I just let this go?”
The answer? I couldn’t.
This was the greatest thing that happened in my life, and I wanted to keep the bonds to the trail community alive. Problem was, there weren’t many effective ways to do that. No tools existed beyond Facebook – which is a little clunky to use and was open to the public (so many people in these groups weren’t actually long-distance hikers). This wasn’t enough to support our community in the ways I – an experienced hiker – desired.
So there was only one solution I came up with:
I’m going to have to build it myself, and I’m going to have the trail community build it with me.
In 2020 I founded THRU-r: A long-distance hiking community. With humble beginnings, we started with online meetups where hikers from all over the world could join and talk trail. We would discuss post trail depression, gear, trail hacks, funny moments, scary moments, trail family memories, and so much more. It was like coming home in my otherwise busy life after trail. Over time, we also introduced hiker Q&A’s where new hikers preparing for trail could talk to experienced hikers and get advice and insight for their upcoming treks. We also organized monthly “Hiker Happy Hours” which were (and still are) so fun to attend.
Initially I was scared that no one would show up, but we haven’t had one meetup to date that has been empty. In the past two years, we’ve built out these hiker meetups, have held informative panels, introduced a Trail Team of hikers who the community can follow along with, a podcast, a shop, and more - all in the name of connecting the long-distance hiking community.
We are also taking the community to the next level this December with a website re-launch and a built-in online community (going beyond Zoom meetups and Facebook). Not much more can be divulged since we are in beta testing mode currently, but exciting things are coming very soon to unite hikers – before, during, and after trail. Long-distance hiking changed my life, and I hope that this special community can support each other, swap stories, and connect for years to come.
If you’re an experienced or aspiring long-distance hiker, I invite you to come along for the ride. And if you’re interested in learning more about the world of long-distance hiking, you can check out the THRU-r website: www.thru-r.com
