Go blue jay! also, re: “conquering”. personally, i believe that nature should be lived with, communed with, not “conquered”. we have bulldozers for that.
M
What makes a thru hike?
system
#22
I am a marathoner, I have successfully completed 26.2 mile sanctioned races.
Could I call myself a marathoner if I ran a few miles, stopped off at Wendy’s for a break, walked back to where I left the course, run a few miles more and then take a short-cut to another part of the course and finally get to the finish line or even perhaps returning the next day to do the portion of the course I skipped? – No.
Could I enjoy the pleasure of a good run and good company while doing all of this? Of course I could!
This thread is to discuss the definition of an AT thru-hike, not the wonders of backpacking or the avoidance of labeling by others or the communing with nature. We all do that in our own way with our own definitions in our own areas of the country but that does not mean we should willing ‘dumb-down’ what makes a ‘real’ AT thru-hike.
Just my 2c. worth – refunds available upon request.
Too-Dang
system
#23
It’s pretty simple. You start at Katahdin or Springer carrying your pack then finishing at Springer or Katahdin the whole time following the WHITE blazes. Getting off the trail for Dead shows, weddings, graduations and slackpacking for 5 days or so out of a hostel ain’t thru-hiking. You’ve then broken the continuity of a “thru-hike”. Then it’s just a bunch of section hikes done in one season. There are plenty of patch wearers and certificate hangers that are missing major sections of actual AT.
Wolf
system
#24
A few years ago there was a big debate on Wingfoots site regarding thru-hiking. You can check his site for the results. The truth is that the nature of thru-hiking has changed over the years. thousand undertake a hike each year which used to be numbered in the hunderds or less per year. The equipment has gotten lighter and more high tech. Now you have cell phones, e-mail devices, computers, you name it, it’s out there. Does the use of these devices change the difficulty of a hike or lessen the accomplishment? I do believe the lighter equipment and newer equipment has gotten more people on the trail and may increase success. It’s still a mind game on the trail. Once you beat the physical pain and hardship then you have to deal with the mental difficulties. Carrying a pack everyday is great but is it nessecary to be a thru-hiker? WHat about the people who run the trail and have support groups are they thru-hikers? The definition is simply to walk from Maine to Georgia along the appalachian mountians.
“A path way for those who seek fellowship with the wilderness.”
Darth Pacman
system
#25
Although not a thru hiker (Yet!?), I think the AT quote in Darth’s response is the key. The idea is to experience the wilderness of the Eastern US, and too much can be made of a few “zero days”. I for myself, think it reasonable to leave the trail temporarily to resupply, but that is different than taking a week to soak in the ambience of the small trail towns along the way, or skipping sections hitching ahead, or slacking sections out of order, etc. I guess its one thing if injured, but if just randomly skipping up the trail hitching along the way is not really taking in the wilderness idea of it all.
Cutman11
system
#26
If you walk from GA to ME or ME to GA and don’t miss the white blazes, you thru-hiked. How many zero can you take? None? Five? 20? If you get into a debate about packs then what about pack weight? I saw people slacking with heavier packs than ultra light hikers with their total gear. I know two ladies that finished their thru hike this year that had to take off over a week to have pins put in the arms to repair the compound fractures. One hiked over a 1,000 miles with two steel rods sticking out throught their wrist. You tell me she did not thru hike. Slack or not. There are a lot of hikers and “want to be’s” here that could not do that. The AT is not “easy.” I don’t recall a lot of switchbacks. I started hiking the AT in '51 and I can tell you the trail has gotten more difficult not easier. Those old road walks now go over mountains. Some of the trails that went around the tops now go over the tops.
Flame injuried her leg on Mt. Katahdin and lacked only 2 miles from the summit. It took 6 hrs to get her 3 miles back down. She didn’t turn her name in as a thru hiker! She slacked some. Only white blazed. But didn’t reach the summit and she said she did not finish the thru hike. No cigar. Give’m Hell Virginian!
Papa Smurf
system
#27
I wasnt making a statement about what a thru-hiker is. I was making a statmenet about the phrase" Hike your own hike"
I was saying,its fine to hike your own hike just dont use that phrase as a cop out because you dont want to do it the way the Trail Conference specifies. And yes Im sorry, but I know what it took for me to complete that hike,and when I look at the list of names of the people who claimed to complete the trail this year and I recognize some of them as yellow blazers and blue blazers, I feel that they undermined my efforts. Call it competition if you like. And they can yellow blaze all they want,just dont make the same claim as me. It is about getting in the woods and being back to nature.Friendships and memories. But its also about HIKING THE TRAIL,THE WHOLE TRAIl, if you want to make the claim. While Im on the subject, I also notice how the word purist seems to be a bad word. Im a purist and Im proud of it.
Virginian
system
#28
Oh, and to all my friends that I met on the trail(probably not so many now)It was a hell of a hike!!
Hang tuff Papa Smurf and Flame. It was good to see
ya’ll (southern word) at Trail Days
Virginian
system
#29
Virginian nailed it. Every year I read the AT News where hikers submit their names claiming a thru-hike. I laugh my ass off cuz the majority of them skipped, blue-blazed, yellow-blazed, etc. I hiked with a lot of them. I’ve started in Georgia and ended in Maine 4 times and did Katahdin to Georgia once. Never pure on any of those hikes. I never have and never will consider myself a “thru-hiker”. Never will have a patch or certificate claiming it. Hiking on the trail is just something I do. Purists rock!
Wolf
system
#30
i’ve been hopping around doing different sections this year…while i was hiking through grayson highlands a couple weeks ago i ran into a hiker that said they did a thru hike in '01. we talked a little more before i continued hiking and the hiker made a comment that just didn’t seem right…he said he was back at the highlands to finish a section that he missed in '01. just thought that i’d give another point of view.
stumpknocker
system
#31
So what kind of blazing is riding a horse? And what do you call that blazing when my wife slid on her face for a while in Vt? She doesn’t stay on her feet much, sometimes she even uses her tushy so has she thru-hiked? Do you have to “walk” or can any body part be used to amble north, south or west?
Bushwhack
system
#32
Hell, just rent a plane and fly over the trail. You could do that in short order. Then if you wanted to, you could swim the english channel . Well, you could swim most of it. Maybe catch a boat for a small part of it if you get tired. Whats the difference? Im sure the people that have actually done it wont mind at all.
Virginian
system
#33
According to the Appalachian Trail Conference:
"How does the ATC define thru-hiking?
We don’t. The ATC uses the term “2,000-miler” as a matter of tradition and convenience.
ATC defines a “2,000-miler” as anyone who has hiked the entire trail between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Katahdin in Maine. We don’t consider issues such as the sequence, direction, speed or whether one carries a pack. We do expect that persons applying for inclusion in our 2,000-miler records have made an honest effort to walk the entire Trail."
From the Appalachian Trail Conference’s Application for 2000-miler status:
“ATC recognizes anyone who reports completion of the entire Trail as a “2,000-Miler.” The term “2,000-Miler” is a matter of tradition and convenience, based upon the original estimated length of the Trail. Conference policy is to operate on the honor system, assuming that those who apply for “2,000-Miler” status have hiked all of the A.T. between Katahdin and Springer, not just 2,000 miles of it. In the event of an emergency, such as a flood, a forest fire, or an impending storm on an exposed high-elevation stretch, blue-blazed trails or officially required roadwalks are considered viable substitutes for the white-blazed route. Issues of sequence, direction, speed, length of time, or whether one carries a pack or not are not considered. ATC assumes that those who apply have made an honest effort to walk the entire Trail, even if they did not actually walk past every white blaze. Please respect those standards! It is essential to the continuation of ATC’s practice if recognizing the true achievements of end-to-end hikers.”
The only differentiation that the ATC makes regarding section-hikers and thru-hikers is that under the checkbox of Section hike, it says in italics “More than 1 year.” The Applications list Thru-hike categories of Northbound, Southbound, and Flip-Flop.
So you see, all those who make an honest attempt to hike the entire trail from Katahdin to Springer, regardless of sequence, direction, speed, or whether or not they carry a pack are considered “2,000-Milers” by the only governing organization over the Appalachian Trail. While the Appalachian Trail Conference gives “equal recognition to thru-hikers and section-hikers,” the only differentiation is considered to be the length of time that one takes to hike the trail. Furthermore, stepping beyond the bounds of the Appalachian Trail Conference’s definition, I would say that if your hike truly is continuous (i.e. no self-defined-extended breaks in your hike due to matters of your own control), it should be considered a “thru-hike” no matter the amount of time it takes you.
According to this definition, A hiker who flip-flops, slack-packs, takes re-routes in times of emergency, takes shelter “loop-trails” and misses a few actual white blazes of the Appalachian Trail, and takes between 0-366 (leap-year) days to complete the trail, so long as he/she makes an honest attempt to complete the entire trail is as much of a thru-hiker as a person who starts at one terminus, carries a pack, never slack-packs, never does any section out of sequence or in a different direction, never takes a shelter “loop” and passes every single damned white-blaze, and finishes at the other terminus in 0-366 days.
So you see, the term “purist” as it is being used in this thread is really quite irrelevant, not to mention absurdly ludicrous.
Best regards,
Hungry Howie & The New Sushi
Hungry Howie
system
#36
…I’m curious. You said “I would say that if your hike truly is continuous (i.e. no self-defined-extended breaks in your hike due to matters of your own control), it should be considered a “thru-hike” no matter the amount of time it takes you.” How much time would you consider an extended break? I’m just curious…not looking to pick a fight.
C-Giddy
system
#37
To me, every situation that I could possibly conceive of taking a break in would have a completely different answer to your question. That’s why I said “self-defined.” As the ATC leaves it up to hikers by using the honor system to chose whether or not they’re 2,000-Milers, so do I leave it up to each individual hiker to determine his/her own definition of an avoidable extended break.
Some people would argue that leaving the trail to go to a relative/friend’s wedding would be unviable, others would argue that it is your responsibility to go in their support. If you’re gone 5 days is an acceptable break?
What about if it was a funeral for the person instead? Is that really any different?
You find out that your favorite band will be doing a 4-day concert 15 miles from the trail and you haven’t seen them in 5-years. Is this an acceptable break?
You’re in Waynesboro, VA, and Traildays is going on this weekend. You hitch back for the festival and then catch a ride back up 4 days later. How about this one?
What about if you were already in Damascus. How’s that any different?
You’re hitch-hiking to a town in rural Maine for resupply and the person that picks you up works on his/her own organic farm. He offers you an opportunity to work for your room and board for a week in return for your help
planting the new crop. Is this an acceptable break?
A friend you met hiking is going out to Seattle for a Rainbow gathering and he invites you to come as well. You’re gone 3 weeks. Is this an acceptable break?
You’ve never been to New York City before, but the damn railroad runs right to it, and this may be your only chance and you’ve wanted to go ever since you were old enough to recognize the skyline in movies. You’re gone one week. Acceptable?
I bet every person on this forum has a different list of answers. And this is just a sampling of the millions of different choices all of the AT’s hikers have had over the years.
If you gave an honest effort to meet the ATC’s requirements for completing a “thru-hike” and met them to the best of your knowledge, and you feel that in your heart you thruhiked the Appalachian Trail…So be it. In my book, and the ATC’s, you thruhiked the Appalachian Trail.
Can you be dropped off and picked up by your personal Leer Jet / Helicopter over a course of about 21 weeks while slack-packing 2 50-mile days a week and spending the other 5 days being the CEO of AOL Time Warner and still be considered a thru-hiker? As long as you complete the requirements, you bet your ass you can.
-Howie
note on the Leer Jet/Heli combo for all of you aspiring rich CEO’s out there: The Appalachian Trail passes through several areas of what we in the hiking community like to call “designated Wilderness Areas” in which these modern nessecities are (regretably, as the current President Shrub shown) PROHIBITED. I would suggest trying to space your trip so as to avoid beginning or ending your weekly hike in one.
Hungry Howie
system
#38
organic farms, rainbow gatherings? President Shrub? Aren’t you a cute little liberal howie. such a know-it-all at such a tender age.
joe
system
#39
In 2000 by the time I made it to stratton ME. It began to snow. That weekend they closed Baxter and sent out the word that AT hikers were not allowed in the park. The rangers even had trouble with quite a few AT hikers that didnt heed their warning. Even to the point where 3 AT hikers litterally ran away from a female ranger who was trying to stop them. I know for a fact that one of these hikers was a notorious blue and yellow blazer. I ended my hike in Stratton and went back the next year to finish, I am now a 2000 miler. It pissses me off when I read the list of names from 2000 and see people who skipped entire states claim that they Thru Hiked.To my knowledge some of them havent even gone back to complete what they missed. It makes me feel great, that I stayed true to the requirements of the ATC. We dont define 2000 miler or thru hiker, the ATC does.
So what if my certificate reads 2000-2001. I know that I hiked the entire trail, I did not get in a car, or a boat or horse.
chef
system
#40
Rainbow’s getting back together? This was a truly informative post! Long live rock and roll!!!:lol :lol
Kineo Kid