Long-distance hiking is a rite of passage. Thru-hiking follows the three phases described as rites of transition: separation, limen and aggregation. The first phase of the rite of passage, separation, is one of the main parts of hiking. When people make the decision to thru-hike, they are committing themselves to six months separated from their families and loved ones. Hikers are also agreeing to separate themselves from society and the commodities that they are used to such as technology and indoor plumbing.
The second phase of the rite of transition, the liminal phase is when one enters a place that is neither in the past or future state. Hikers experience this phase through the liminalness of the trail. the trail serves as a place of ambiguity as one is neither in the same place that they started in nor have they reached their final destination. In this phase, the hiker's journey represents the liminal phase of their rite of transition of thru-hiking.
The final phase of the hiker's rite of transition is marked by the completion of the trail from one end to the other. When an AT thru-hiker reaches Katahdin after hiking all 2000+ miles from Georgia, the aggregation phase of their transition begins. When hikers reach this point, they are able to go back to their life and re-enter society. By joining society once again, the hiker is able to readjust to a fixed schedule with set demands and obligations that are expected within modern society.
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