Most would-be thru-hikers will probably drop out — one woman gave up this year on the first day, after 13 miles — but hundreds are expected to walk every step of the way to Canada.

Old hands fret that these neophytes don’t know what they’re doing (The Wall Street Journal quoted one woman this month who had never spent a night outdoors until she began her “Wild”-inspired hike) and could endanger themselves. The trail begins at the Mexican border with a 20-mile dry stretch, and my daughter and I ran across five inexperienced men who had all separately run out of water on that stretch and become dehydrated.

Drought has also forced hikers to carry more water: The first eight creeks that we crossed were dry.

We encountered another hazard in the form of a rattlesnake that my daughter almost stepped on. Yet, in the end, most hikers do just fine, apart from blisters and a few lost toenails, and it’s hard to begrudge anyone the chance for a bit of nature therapy in the Cathedral of Wilderness.