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A comment on What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike. Parent comment

Re:What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike by ucaetano on Wednesday February 22, 2017 @08:29PM (#13710870)
A good way is to sign up for group hikes and camping trips from REI and other places. You can also look for hiking clubs and ask for help, or find people at work/school who hike. Finally, you can start doing research by yourself and learn by (sometimes painful) trial and error.

My first major hike (9 days at Torres del Paine, solo, I was 19) was hell, shitty gear, overweight backpack and so on, but was amazing and I learned a lot.

It is far easier to hike in groups, there are major gains in weight (stuff for 4 people weigh far less that 4X stuff for 1 person).

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Re:What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike by wapz on Thursday February 23, 2017 @04:41AM (#13712718)
Just a small comment I don't recommend anyone to try to learn hikes/camping by themselves. Hike and camp with a buddy until you are very, very experienced (even then I still recommend not being alone).
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Re:What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike by ucaetano on Thursday February 23, 2017 @12:15PM (#13715605)
Not so much of an issue if you're hiking around well-populated areas with celular coverage, starting with day hikes and eventually extending to overnight. Or by camping with your car.

I must admit I was pretty stupid to do Torres del Paine alone with little experience and bad equipment, but hey, I was 19.

I've done it two more times since then, both alone. But one detail worth mentioning is that for famous hikes like TdP, you're rarely alone, there are usually dozens of people doing the same hike, and you end up teaming up with them and hiking together. I'm still good friends with most of the people I met on the trail, especially remote trails.

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Re:What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike by Paul_S on Thursday February 23, 2017 @09:13AM (#13713959)
Sometimes it's not an option. I've survived years of solo hiking but I do worry and try to keep to places where someone would find my body within a day and only hike in warmer months.
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Re:What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike by FLUX-YOU on Wednesday February 22, 2017 @09:35PM (#13711183)
>https://www.rei.com/outdoorschool/hiking-camping-classes.htm...

Is this the type of thing you mean? REI is a brand I've seen so I wasn't aware they did things like that.

I'll be traveling a lot but I'll be hiking/camping alone since I don't have a spouse, so groups would be a great way to make friends and not have as much risk.

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Re:What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike by ucaetano on Thursday February 23, 2017 @12:18AM (#13711825)
Yes, REI is a outdoor sports chain, with a lot of stores across the country. They are actually a coop, owned by the consumers. You become a shareholder by spending money on the store, and get 10% back after becoming a member. Really great company.

That's a good place to start.

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