You might think that leaving society for a few months to go hike 2,650 miles in the woods would be a lonely affair. After all, how could there be that many people out on multi-thousand-mile-long trails?

Well, thru-hiking is actually incredibly popular and more and more people are finding their way to long trails across the world. Whether this is due to the social media effect, or as John Muir once said: “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home,” we may never know, but there are lots of people on long trails, whether they’re thru-hiking, or just out for a day or weekend.

In fact, there are so many people attempting long trails, that there is a distinct thru-hiking trail culture. It’s interesting though: there definitely isn’t just one “type” of person out on a long trail. You can find retirees, fresh out of high school kids, post-college young adults, and even those in their 30s and 40s attempting these five-month long hikes. Some people come from money, some have been scraping by for years to save. Some have had established careers, some have no idea what they want to do with their lives. Some are from small towns, others have been living in major metropolitan cities. And not everyone is American, either. The PCT attracts people from all over - mainly Canada, Western Europe, and East Asia. The majority are white, cis, and male - but this is changing. There are a lot of people with different backgrounds on the PCT, but one thing that everyone has in common is that they chose to make an attempt to thru-hike. And suddenly, a lot of those differences seem to melt away on the trail (unless you are an awful human - racist, sexist, homophobic: then you will stick out and be ostracized by a large amount of the trail community, rightfully so, in my opinion). In the next few paragraphs I’ll talk a bit about social life on the Pacific Crest Trail specifically, which has its own subculture from other long trails like the AT or CDT.

What is a “Tramily”?

A Tramily is a trail family. Basically, your home-away-from-home group of individuals that are stand-ins for your own family and friends back at home. These are people that you make connections with and want to spend time around. They’re also probably hiking all around the same pace too. Tramilies can be loose or tight-knit. They can have fluidity, like only hanging out when convenient or in town, or be more rigid: planning to meet up at water sources, snack breaks, lunch, and camp, for example. Some tramilies hike 24/7 together, some only see each other at camp at night. Some tramilies are quite large, and tend to pick up other groups for a bit, and some are smaller, and stick to themselves.

Some hikers really want to be in a tramily when they begin their thru-hike, others are actively avoiding structuring their hike around others. Neither is right or wrong, and, as you might be able to tell, the definition of tramily is not rigid, and means something different to everyone.

You might hop around in a few tramilies when you start your thru-hike, trying to find people whom you really mesh with and who have the same hiking goals. It’s kind of like dating friends! I think most people out thru-hiking are pretty understanding too if you want to mingle with other people and not cling on to the first people you meet on trail.

Why Be in a Tramily?

As I said above, being in a tramily is 100% optional in your thru-hiking journey. There can be pros and cons to being in a tramily, but all of this really comes down to your personality, the personalities of those around you, and your goals for your thru-hike.

Pros:

Decision Making: There can be some spots on the PCT where you really might want others to bounce decisions off of. I’m mainly thinking of areas in the Sierra and Washington, where safety is a huge priority when there is snow on the ground. But in recent years, decisions about fire closures and detours have become even harder to deal with, and having a group of people whom you trust to have your back can make these decisions easier to make.
Money: Hiking in a tramily generally means having the same ideas about what to do in town. Being able to get a hotel room with the group you’re hiking with instead of by yourself will save you lots of money!
Motivation: There will be hard days on trail, no doubt about it. Having people who understand what you’re going through (because they’re right there with you), can help you on those days. Either to give you some tough love, talk things out with you, or distract you from pain. I know one of my tramily members, Excel, helped me with a really rough day I was having in Southern California. I didn’t even know if I wanted to still be out there. And she took over decision-making for a bit. Forced us to sit and nap through the heat of the day, distracted me from being homesick, and generally reassured me. Thank you, Excel!
Lifelong Friends: I guarantee you, even if you stop talking to your tramily every day after you split up or your hike is finished, you will have made some lifelong friends. It is nearly impossible to spend this kind of meaningful time together on the PCT without being bonded for life.
Item & Idea Traders: Sometimes you get sick of that granola bar brand. Sometimes you forget to pack out some TP. Tramily members can have your back in those situations by playing tradesies and lending some supplies. You can also talk for days to your tramily - learn new things, come up with a new business plan, get a new podcast recommendation, the world is your oyster when you are hiking together for weeks or months!
General hiking safety: There is safety in numbers when hiking. Most people would say three is the perfect amount of people in a backpacking group. If one gets hurt, one can stay with the injured, and the other can go get help. I want to add a very large caveat to this point: as I said before, trail families can be loose. Some people define a tramily as a group that only hangs out in town, and is not responsible for each other while on the trail. It is very common to be hiking around somebody and then suddenly not anymore - only to run back into them weeks later. If you are relying on your tramily for safety, this should be decided upon within the tramily, and everyone should be on the same page with “raising the alarm” if someone were to be separated.

Cons:

Groupthink: You may have heard about this phenomenon in psychology 101. Basically, groupthink is when you come to a consensus on a decision to maintain group harmony - whether or not the decision was correct or not. That’s the gist. In thru-hiking, this could get dangerous when it comes to more life-threatening situations like proceeding over a pass during a thunderstorm, or pushing too hard on a big mile day to maintain group harmony instead of pulling back. This could have dire consequences, or just lead to a bit of resentment. It’s important to know your limits on the hike, and not to compromise your safety.
Campsite Availability: Sometimes its really hard to find large enough camp areas for bigger trail families. Cowboy camping (without a tent) is pretty popular on the PCT, so you may want to think about spending a lot of your nights in that way if you are camping with a big group. Remember that your tramily camping together is not more important than Leave No Trace!
Money: Sometimes having a tramily can cause you to spend more money. You might get talked into staying in town a little longer, or getting more drinks when you’re out, or going on a side trip from trail. These can be ok, but you just have to mind your budget and be on the same page about splurges.
Cliquey Vibe: So, this is one I’ve heard about a lot on the PCT and how people who have hiked other long trails are surprised by the fact that PCT tramilies seem more cliquey than on other long trails like the AT. I can’t comment on AT or CDT tramilies, but I can definitely say that yes, some tramilies definitely give off a “cliquey” vibe on the PCT. It is what it is, but my advice is to be kind and be a decent human being. Obviously, you’re not going to mesh with everyone on the trail - the trail is a microcosm of society, after all - but I like to think of thru-hikers as all “in the club” instead of just certain people. And remember, townspeople do not think you and your group are super cool - entitled thru-hikers ruin things for everyone.

To sum it up, tramilies can be great, or they can be toxic. The most important thing to keep in mind with them is that they shouldn’t majorly compromise your intentions and goals for your hike. Being in a tramily should feel easy and fun. You shouldn’t feel like you are being left out, not able to make your own decisions, or skipping out on important parts of your hike to please the group.

Social NOBOs vs. Introverted SOBOs?

Before we talk about the social aspect, we need to lay the foundation of the biggest difference between NOBO (northbound) vs. SOBO (southbound), which is that the weather window is much shorter for SOBOs than NOBOs, which means SOBOs need to hit the ground running in Washington in order to get through the Sierra by mid-October. Another key point: the longer winter lingers in Northern Washington, the more treacherous the trail is to begin with, and the shorter the completion time frame becomes.

SOBO on the PCT tends to attract a more experienced hiker: someone who is ready for 20 mile, high elevation change days at the start, and is comfortable using an ice axe and microspikes right away.

Because of these reasons, there are fewer people starting the trail SOBO - and by a large margin. So, there are just fewer fish in the sea, if you will. SOBOs frequently report not seeing fellow SOBOs for days on end, and sometimes won’t see any hikers for days after the NOBO bubble passes. Hikers do tend to congregate, so you’re more likely to meet fellow SOBOs in town. Solitude is a talked-about benefit of going SOBO, so generally, people who choose to go SOBO are making a conscious choice to go in the direction where they will see fewer people. This doesn’t mean all SOBOs are anti-social and don’t want a tramily, but the fact is there are fewer hikers going SOBO, which just means less of an opportunity to interact with people.

Going NOBO means seeing people non-stop in the first 700 miles of the trail, all the way to the Sierra. There is just way more opportunity to meet people and find people who are going at the same pace as you and that you like being with. Because there are so many NOBOs though, and a less than 50% trail completion rate, you are very likely going to hike with people that will leave the trail for one reason or another. I don’t think there are official stats on the percentages of hikers who complete the trail NOBO/ SOBO vs. how many started, but I think due to sheer numbers, it will feel like there are more NOBO drop-outs than SOBO, which can take a mental toll, regardless if those hikers are part of your tramily or not.

The Sections

Since I hiked NOBO, I’m going to talk about my experiences in that direction. I mentioned a couple of these things above already, so please excuse the repetition.

The Desert is the first section going NOBO, and comprises the first 700 miles of the PCT. There are tons of thru-hikers in the desert, and a total mixed bag of people ranging from the completely unprepared newbie to svelte ultra-athletes. The Desert is the place where most hikers are learning to become thru-hikers. With 50 people starting every day at the Southern Terminus between March 1st and May 31st, there is a lot of opportunity for meeting people. Because everyone is just starting out, it definitely has a “first day of school” vibe. You’re probably talking to everyone you meet, hiking a little bit with them, taking longer breaks and even siestas at water sources mid-day, cowboy camping in large groups due to the lack of viable campsites to support everyone, etc. So much of your day revolves around water that there’s a big communal feeling in the Desert. People are watching out for each other. In past years, there were also key trail angels in this section that really fostered the group experience (Barney & Scout, Hiker Heaven, Casa de Luna, etc.). These trail angels don’t exist currently (as of 2022), and I do not know if that has impacted the desert social vibe. But mainly, people are getting into their groove, feeling people out, working out their own physical and mental issues with the beginning of a thru-hike, and just getting used to being out there on trail. Many trail families are formed and broken in this section. It kind of reminded me of the first quarter in college, when you’re away from home and living in the dorms for the first time!

The Sierra, especially in high snow years, is a time of consolidation. Many hikers will stick to whatever group they’ve nailed down in the desert, or join groups to be safer in the Sierra. There’s somewhat of a bottleneck effect in Kennedy Meadows where groups can be talking Sierra strategy and getting their kits ready for the next section, which could hold a lot of snow. In my year, it was rare to see someone totally solo in the Sierra. Most hikers seemed to be grouped up. In low snow years, people may feel more confident on their own.

Northern California is where things start to get interesting. In NorCal, at least for me, is where things stopped going according to plan. I had a few health issues that cropped up - 2nd degree sunburns and norovirus - that broke up my trail family and the bubble I was hiking around. I found many more solo hikers in NorCal than I previously saw on trail. This can be because of so many things including people leaving the trail, fires causing people to skip sections, injuries, etc. It is where my trail family hike turned into a very solo hike for me. I did see some trail families thriving though, and even picking up more hikers as they went along.

Oregon and Washington are continuations of NorCal. Most of the people who dropped out due to money or injuries are officially off, and the people still on the trail are probably making it to Canada, barring an injury. Groups tend to re-solidify, and everyone’s focus once again turns to Canada and making it there before winter comes. Hikers are in tip-top shape by this point, but also physically tired. Miles come easier, though, and with the goal of Canada looming, most hikers are very focused on getting to the end. I still had great social experiences though, even as a solo hiker in Oregon and Washington. There is excitement amongst your fellow hikers, and everyone seems ready to unite to make it to Canada - similar to the Desert vibes. There is camaraderie even amongst hikers you haven’t met yet when the weather takes a turn, and people are looking out for each other. In Washington, there are a few alpine club-run hostels at town stops, which is reminiscent of the trail angels of Southern California, and the last town stops in either Stehekin or Mazama have a palpable sense of both excitement and urgency. I ran into hikers I hadn’t seen in weeks or months when I got to Oregon and Washington, which was a really nice reunion and surprise, and a really excellent way to wrap up the trail. Overall though, I would say that social life dwindled for me as the trail went on. The focus was on making it to Canada, but still enjoying the people around me when given the chance.

Final Thoughts

Social experiences are huge on thru-hikes. Because thru-hiking is seen as so outlandish in most people’s “real worlds”, a lot of hikers are so excited to be around people who are just as crazy as them: people who think hiking across America is a totally reasonable and awesome idea. And the adage is true: you will meet some of the best people alive out on these long trails.

As someone with slight social anxiety and who is definitely a bit self-conscious and introverted, I was a little terrified of meeting people on trail. I was nervous that I wouldn’t find people I liked, or I would, but they would be too fast for me. Luckily, I didn’t have to worry for too long. Even though I wove my way in and out of groups throughout the duration of my hike, I found people with whom I clicked and still keep in touch to this day. We’re even going to Patagonia together this winter!

So, if you have worries about the social aspect of the trail, just remember: Hike Your Own Hike. Be open to talking to everyone you meet out there. Trust your instincts, especially you ladies. Be flexible, but don’t compromise on your “Why”. You’ll find your people if you want to.

Social Life & Hike Your Own Hike