There are many reasons people choose to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. Rather than try to surmise these reasons, I've taken some quotes from the journals of previous thru-hikers to give you a good picture of the various reasons people attempt a thru-hike. Feel free to read their on-line journals, as every experience is different, and every hike teaches us something new.
"Where else can you go on a Great Adventure, fall into the rhythms of nature, own the day from sunrise to sunset, receive plenty of exercise, lose weight, and get a tan. As you walk through the long green tunnel the birds sing their fovorite spring medley. There will be time to take a long look inside yourself or to kickback and howl at the moon." - From the 1999 Thru-hiker journal of Owen McKinney on the Trailplace.
"I'm still at a transition in my life and have decided to hike the AT as a way to get back in touch with my true self and reintroduce myself to a simpler way of life." - From the 1999 Thru-hiker journal of Dan Beachy on the Trailplace.
"So that is me, a 39 year old computer tech from Jeffersonville, Vermont, hiking the amazing AT because of God healing a lot of my hurts and letting me act like a kid again. I like Him, not just love Him. He has given me strength to do a hike and friends to support me." - From the 1999 Thru-hiker journal of Brooks Kelley on the Trailplace.
"So with all of that behind me I felt that the time was right to take 6 months off, take time to reflect back and look forward. I look forward to sharing this adventure with those of you reading along." - From the 1999 Thru-hiker journal of Dan Rogers on the Trailplace.
"What in the world is a single girl from Kansas doing on the Appalachian Trail??? I honestly have no clue. I looked into this when I was in college, and it has stayed in the back of my mind for the last 15 years. Now, I know that the time is right for me to hike this BIG-ASS hike. I am actually going to WALK from Georgia to Maine. Is that COOL or what?" - From the1999 Thru-hiker journal of Jackie McDonnell on the Trailplace.
The idea of simple living appeals to me. That's one of the reasons I'm doing my thru-hike. . . What I hope to get out of this thruhike is a better understanding of myself and the world around me." - From the 1999 Thru-hiker journal of Christine Reece on the Trailplace.
"I want to celebrate the beauty of living in this wonderful land, and to confront the bare bones of existence. I want to look at, feel, smell, and hear, and touch the earth; a piece of quartz, the sunlight on rocks and leaves, the delicate structure of a spider web, the plunge of clear water into a pool, the abrasion of granite and sand, the face of the wind, the song of the bird, the smell of damp earth. I also want the challenge of completing this difficult task. It will challenge my physical and mental being. The trail stands as a threshold to new adventure." - From the 1999 Thru-hiker journal of Mona Jackson on the Trailplace.
"To experience once again being a part of the understory of broadleafed tree-shaded, moist, cool-is sufficient motivation to leave my beloved Rocky Mountains for my favorite three seasons there. To be able to stay in that quiet, peaceful environment for not just a week but rather an extended time, through its spring, summer, and fall seasons, is motivation enough to chance life's going on without me, maybe learning I can be done without, back home.
"To see just what I can do: this is motivation for one who never been able to do much of anything physical very well. This is my impetus for abandoning all qualms and beginning the trail this March when any durn fool knows that it's too cold out there. For these things I will suffer the heat/humidity of the Mid-Atlantic states at midsummer . . . without the exquisite joy of being able to retreat to air conditioning at mid-day or for sleeping . . . .
"Spiritually though there is a much greater quest. My journey is one of doing homage to the Eden which God created, to this narrow passage from Georgia to Maine where there has been some effort to allow what was created to BE, without further encroachment or destruction. I want a glimpse of what it was like when my ancestors arrived in Virginia some 300 years ago, before the land all around the trail was 'improved' . . ." - From the 1999 Thru-hiker journal of Sawnie Robertson on the Trailplace.
"The most asked question about hike (besides if I have seen the movie "Deliverance" ) is a simple "WHY GO?" I have several reasons, but I think the best answer is for the journey itself-all the pain and joys, all the experiences that comes with a 2160 mile walk in the woods. My journey on the AT will not be easy. I will be tired, cold, wet, and, at times, depressed. But I will see sunsets, smell pines on a sunny day, and relish the cup of hot cocoa on a chilly night. In short, my journey on the AT will be filled with memories I will not forget. That is the answer to the question "WHY GO?"" - From the 1998 Thru-hiker journal of Paul Magnanti on the Trailplace.
"The middle of nowhere was where I found myself in the spring of 1983. I was a habitual loser with a lifelong history of quitting every important thing I ever tried to do, just when it became difficult. I was in the worst shape of my life: thirty pounds overweight and a two-pack-a-day smoker. I was working the graveyard shift -- hell, I was the graveyard shift -- at a gas station off of Interstate 95 in New Haven, Connecticut, earning just above minimum wage.
"In the deep, dark depression which followed my flash of self-discovery, I determined I must somehow make a change. With the wild, improbable thought that perhaps a loser and a quitter could remake himself into a fighter, could he only succeed at the hardest thing he ever tried, I quit my job in late April of 1983, and headed south to make my soul's last stand. I would attempt to backpack the Appalachian Trail from its beginning at Springer Mountain in northern Georgia to its end at Baxter Peak, the summit of Mount Katahdin, in north-central Maine. To accomplish this feat, I would have to walk 2138 miles in about five months over most of the major mountain ranges in the Appalachian chain." - From Then the Hail Came, an online book of George Steffano's 1983 Thru-hike. I highly recommend you read this one.
I hope that I have given you a good idea of why people attempt a thru-hike. For every person, it's different, and there is a big notion in the thru-hiking community that you must "hike your own hike." That's certainly what I plan to do.