Far more than 1000 people attempt a thru hike of the PCT each year. Far fewer than 60% complete it. The real completion rate is closer to 10%. Making assumptions based on poor data collection provides little to no accurate information. Source: ive thru hiked the PCT 5 times.
This is super interesting! I'll be thinking about the "grit" vs "fit" concept for awhile. I love this piece as always, Tania! And I would love to hear more about climbing a volcano sometime! That's fascinating!
It's a helpful phrase, isn't it? Although grit is not a perfect term; Sheldon said we could use another word like "resolve". (I wrote about some problems with "grit" and other concepts like growth mindset here: https://tania.substack.com/p/012)
Aha. That's a really good point, Caitlin. It might be easier to grit our teeth on our way to a sure deliverance than through thankless days without a clear outcome in sight.
Really interesting post, Tania! (Also mind-blowing that *almost half* of the hikers said they had only backpacked a few times before, or had never backpacked at all?!)
Far more than 1000 people attempt a thru hike of the PCT each year. Far fewer than 60% complete it. The real completion rate is closer to 10%. Making assumptions based on poor data collection provides little to no accurate information. Source: ive thru hiked the PCT 5 times.
This is super interesting! I'll be thinking about the "grit" vs "fit" concept for awhile. I love this piece as always, Tania! And I would love to hear more about climbing a volcano sometime! That's fascinating!
It's a helpful phrase, isn't it? Although grit is not a perfect term; Sheldon said we could use another word like "resolve". (I wrote about some problems with "grit" and other concepts like growth mindset here: https://tania.substack.com/p/012)
Sometimes I wonder if it is easier to stay motivated towards a big, hard task that has an obvious end, than the ordinary daily grind of life.
Aha. That's a really good point, Caitlin. It might be easier to grit our teeth on our way to a sure deliverance than through thankless days without a clear outcome in sight.
Really interesting post, Tania! (Also mind-blowing that *almost half* of the hikers said they had only backpacked a few times before, or had never backpacked at all?!)
Right?!
I actually corrected the copy--there were 93 people in the final sample, not 92:
- 42 men, 50 women, and 1 transgender/other
- with an average age of 37 (range 19 to 74)
- 7 said they had never backpacked before, 37 had backpacked “a few times" (so about 47% combined)
- 46 had backpacked “quite a lot,” and 4 “all my life.”