The I've been out walking slow, presented by the track.

Today's show is a special edition, an experiment, and a community source show, all rolled into one giant tortilla, hiker trash style.

A few months ago I put a call out to our bloggers and bloggers to share their top tips for someone who's about to embark on a through hike.

Tis the season. Quick aside if you're interested in joining the trek team as a

blogger, blogger, or writer, I will include these resources in the show notes. As you will see this advice

runs the gamut and can often be contradictory to one another. The reason for this

is simple. There is no one single approach to successfully through Hagging. That said, I do think there's a tremendous

value in listening to the inside of those who've walked the walk. As you can pick and choose

what resonates with you, test different approaches, keep what works, and discard the rest.

My top piece of advice for someone who's about to set out on an extended through hike, and by that I mean

the AT, PCT, CDT, or something of a similar length.

And this is especially true for first-time through hikers

is to have a strong understanding of what's motivating you.

Find the reasons that you're being called to the trail,

because in the throes of battle, after a week of rain,

hiking 100 miles on a set of blisters, when you're missing your loved ones back home, etc.

It becomes all too easy to forget why you got on the trail in the first place.

More specifically, write your reasons down for hiking.

Make a list. Bring it with you.

Review it weekly or even daily while on trail.

This simple practice can do wonders for preventing your morale from dipping into the

I'm Through With Through Hiking Zone.

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