This completely turned me off of doing the PCT or AT.

I think another component of this conversation is how popular The Outdoors ™ has become. And I love that! I love that more people are out hiking and enjoying nature. I love that they’re finding a sense of community on the trail and it’s a shame that it is leading to overcrowded trails and backcountry sites— which is nothing compared to the situation that more accessible public lands are dealing with.

I want to thru for the solitude and to challenge myself, meeting people on the trail is a nice bonus. And it seems those priorities are flipped for a lot of hikers on the PCT and AT now. Our priorities don’t have to be the same, HYOH, but it has forced me to look into alternatives.