The first week of your hike will probably be the most difficult – here’s how to prepare

W.What part of your hike will be the most difficult? Is it halfway there, when the honeymoon phase is passing? The end, when your energy reserves are likely running low?

In reality, many hikers find it’s nothing like that: the hardest time on the trail is the first week. Info lengkap: YS7AOeq. It makes sense if you think about it.

The first week is when your romantic notions about hiking meet the harsh reality of long, cold nights and endless climbs with heavy equipment. The first week is when you discover that your sleeping bag isn’t warm enough and you hate all the snacks you brought. It’s when you’re faced with nostalgia, the daunting notion of still having most of the way ahead of you and having no idea if you can really do it.

Manage the transition from expectations to reality

On the AT, many potential NOBOs don’t make it to the Georgia/North Carolina border before deciding to throw in the towel. Early burnout on long trails is high and is rarely about physical ability – it’s about the gap between expectations and reality. Bottom line: hiking is not what they thought it would be.

You can still fall into this trap even if you are an experienced hiker. Believe me.

Personally, no matter what shape I am in or how much hiking experience I accumulate, the first few days of backpacking season are always difficult for me. My knees hurt, my backpack feels too heavy, and I’m starting to think it might be time to quit this whole “nature” and “exercise” routine and take up a more relaxing hobby, like Netflix.

My first few days on the trail are not about happily frolicking in the woods. They are to solve problems. I see them as an investment in my happy future antics and let go of any additional expectations for those early days. It takes time for my body to adjust to the rigors of the road, and for my heart and brain to adjust to the idea that my civilized life is on hold for the next few weeks or months.

Expectation.

And that’s not to mention the team. Although my gear is pretty tight at this point, it’s not uncommon for me to discover, early in my hike, that I’ve forgotten something small but essential, or that I’ve packed something that isn’t really suitable for the current conditions.

The point is that a lot can go wrong during the first week of your hike. And although nothing does If something goes wrong, it will likely continue to be a physically and emotionally challenging time. It’s good to know and mentally prepare to enter.

Reality.

Healthy Habits

My advice for getting through the first week is the same as my standard advice for hiking. Get your gear and mindset dialed in on pre-trail hikes. Build your fitness ahead of time, including mobility work like yoga or Pilates. And start with low mileage days so you can save enough energy to properly perform camping tasks.

Many hikers are so tired in their first week of hiking that they cannot eat. Don’t give in to this: Even if you can only have low-effort snacks for dinner, it’s very important to keep eating and replenish the calories you’re losing during the day. Otherwise, you can enter a vicious cycle in which you will continue to feel more exhausted every day.

Likewise, I always recommend that hikers maintain a basic stretching and mobility routine on the trail. Even if it’s just 10 minutes a day, it can help you stay active and injury-free. This is a habit that requires a lot of discipline to maintain at home, let alone on the road, but it is worth it.

Save some energy to stretch. Photo: Ruth Morley

You will feel tired, especially in the first week, and you will probably want to avoid stretching. No. If you incorporate this into your routine early, it’s much more likely to become a habit you keep throughout your walk, and since the first week is probably when you’ll be the stiffest anyway, why wait?

If stretching at camp every night or morning is too difficult, try doing it on one of your daytime breaks.

Sleep

Now let’s talk about sleep. It is common for hikers to sleep poorly during their first week of hiking. This is certainly not universal. Some people are so exhausted that they fall into a deep sleep as soon as they enter their tents. But if you’re in pain and uncomfortable, and especially if you’re still getting used to sleeping outside in a tent, you may have a hard time falling asleep early, no matter how tired you feel.

Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to avoid a bad night’s sleep, but it helps to keep those first few days short so you’re not in a rush to get out of camp in the mornings and can get some rest.

It’s never a bad time to take a nap. Photo: Stretch

As much as possible, listen to your body’s natural rhythms: sleep when you’re tired (midday naps are totally acceptable) and wake up naturally. If you start in early spring, as many hikers do, the sun will set early. There’s no need to stay up until 10 or 11 at night simply because that’s what you’re used to at home. Many hikers go to bed at 9 p.m. or even earlier. If you are tired and have finished your tasks, that means it is time to sleep. Period.

Finally, Tylenol PM is your friend. It can relieve the worst aches and pains while helping you fall asleep at night.

Nostalgia

As much fun as hiking is, you’ll probably miss some of the people, activities, and things you’re leaving behind. Even if the separation is temporary, six months still seems like a long time (as does six weeks), especially when you’re going to do something quite difficult and with minimal opportunities to contact the outside world in the meantime.

Hopefully, your excitement to finally hit the road and begin a long-awaited adventure will help you get through this phase.

This is an area where beginners have a big advantage over experienced hikers. I remember being so excited to start my first hike that I practically overcame any regrets and doubts I might have felt spending six months on the trail. I’ve found it harder to make that transition on subsequent hikes, as hiking no longer has the same mystique.

Photo: Zach Davis

Congratulations! It turns out that spending hours of your pre-hike life daydreaming about the trail is actually a very productive and useful activity.

Also, remember that in 2026 we will have the blessing and curse of an unprecedented level of connectivity. Between cellular and satellite networks, it is absolutely possible to stay in touch with friends and family back home today.

Personally, I don’t text much aside from daily check-ins and the occasional quick chat with Zoleo when I’m traveling, and I spend more time communicating by phone when I’m in town. Anticipating arriving in town for a proper call with someone dear to me at home motivates me on tough days.

Loneliness

In addition to missing your loved ones at home, the boredom and loneliness of everyday life on the road can hit hard in the first week. Whether you’re an extrovert or introvert, most of us aren’t used to spending as much time with our own thoughts as we do on a walk, and it can be a lot to adjust to.

However, even if you start the journey alone, that doesn’t mean you have to be alone. If you crave company, look for natural gathering spots like shelters, campsites, watering holes, or hiker lodges in town. Even on long, less traveled trails, you’ll be surprised at how many hiking companions you can find that way.

Photo: April Maria

It doesn’t mean you have to hike together every step of the way, but even a brief moment of connection can give you a boost and remind you that you’re part of a larger hiking community.

Whether or not you join a tram, you’ll probably spend a good amount of time alone with your thoughts, especially at first. Getting comfortable with extended periods of solitude is an underrated hiking skill that every long-distance backpacker should develop.

There are many ways to spend your time when walking alone and you will find the ones that best suit you. Just in case, you should probably have some good playlists or an audiobook downloaded for the first week.

Overwhelm

It’s hard not to stagger out of the tent on Day 2 and think, «8 miles down, only 2,182 to go!» and feel a little panic.

Thinking about how far you’ve come and how far you still have to go can be a dangerous game at any stage of a hike, but especially at the beginning. It’s like constantly looking at the clock during a particularly long and boring work meeting. It only makes time pass slower and more painful.

The best advice I’ve received is to treat the AT (or any trail) as a series of day hikes. Focus on the individual day or section in question and try not to get too caught up in the bigger picture. Instead of thinking about all the way from Georgia to Maine, worry about hiking from Springer Mountain to Hiawassee.

My other tip for getting over the first week overwhelm is to give yourself lots of little milestones to look forward to. Your first 10 miles, your first full day on the road without being inside, your first 100, 200, 500 miles, your first state border. The midpoint between the previous town and the next. Your first 220 miles (10% of the length of the AT). Whatever works, really.

Be careful: Thinking so much about mileage and numbers can lead you back to exactly what I said not to do: focusing on how far you still have to go. But if you are like me and you have a bad time No If you think in numbers and/or need some quantitative way to mark your progress, this can at least be a distraction to avoid going into full countdown mode.

everything is going to be fine

Having a hard time in the first week doesn’t mean you’re weak or doing something wrong. It means you are human. You are having a normal response to an abrupt and overwhelming change in your daily routine. So don’t give it too much importance.

Accept that the first week is hard for almost everyone, and give your brain and body a chance to catch up to your new reality. Prepare as best you can, but don’t worry. With any luck, your excitement at finally being on the road will carry you through this difficult transition phase. Believe me, it’s worth it.

Cover image: Graphic design by Zack Goldman.