Day 131 of an Appalachian Trail thru-hike, and the finish line is finally visible in round numbers: 500 miles to go. That's the stage one hiker on the trail, writing for The Trek, has reached — hiking with a small group after two rest days, starting the morning with exactly the kind of steep climb nobody wants when their legs are still recovering.

The milestone landed at an interesting moment. Rather than excitement, the group's energy was low — a common feature of the long middle stretch of a thru-hike, where novelty has worn off and the summit still feels distant. It took a hiker known as Small Bites to flip the mood, insisting the group celebrate the 500-to-go mark properly. It's a small thing, but it captures why so many long-distance hikers end up walking in a loose pack: on any given day, someone is upbeat enough to carry the others.

The day's miles also sparked a conversation that will be familiar to anyone who has attempted a big physical challenge: renewing your "why." The writer started the trail to prove mental strength, only to realise that goal had quietly been ticked off. Somewhere along 1,700-plus miles, the reason for being out there stopped being a statement and became something closer to instinct — a simple sense of still belonging on the trail. Motivation, it turns out, isn't fixed. It gets used up, replaced, and revised.

The night ended on top of Mount Killington in Vermont, in a shelter shared with a group of college students on an orientation-week trip. The contrast is part of the charm of the AT: a thru-hiker four months deep into an epic shares a roof with newcomers out for a single night, and both leave happier for it.

For travellers, this is a useful window into what long-distance hiking actually feels like, beyond the glossy photos. It's rhythm and repetition, group dynamics doing heavy lifting, rest days that make the first day back brutal, and motivation that needs servicing like gear. You don't have to hike 2,190 miles to borrow the ideas: celebrate arbitrary milestones, check in on why you're doing something, and travel with people whose good moods are contagious.

If a piece of the AT appeals without the full commitment, Vermont's section around Killington is a good taste of it. The Long Trail, America's oldest long-distance footpath, shares the route here, and Killington Peak's summit offers genuine rewards for a day hike. Section hikers regularly walk short chunks with overnight stays in shelters like the one on Mount Killington — no five-month leave of absence required.

As for the thru-hikers themselves: 500 miles left, roughly the distance from New York to Chicago on foot. On the evidence of day 131, they'll get there — probably with someone in the group cheering the rest of them along.

Story via The Trek.