the slackpacking debate

[jdc5294]

This is a thought I've had in my head for a while, thought I'd get some feedback. Probably not a new argument.

First off, I'm a diehard HYOH guy. I've never judged if someone does a thru in 3 months or section hikes over 10 years to finish the AT, and it doesn't matter to me if your pack weight averages 8 pounds or 80. If you're enjoying yourself, good on ya. You're no less or more of a backpacker based on those or other attributes of your hike (I suppose besides yellow-blazing, but that's another thread).

I just discovered this thread: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...n-AT-thru-hike about a 15 year old girl who completed a thru last year. Awesome story, regardless of whether she really was "solo" and whatever. Good for her. But I saw some people debating about whether she really didn't slackpack at all, and that evolved to what constitutes slackpacking. It ticked the pet peeve of mine where some call others less of a hiker/backpacker because of percieved differences in physical difficulty on their hike.

Slackpacking means you shed a majority of your weight for a time and get your pack delivered to you at a road crossing further along the trail. So you're just carrying less weight for a part or all of the day.

Cool.

But my pack weighs (way) more when I leave town then when I come into the next one because I've eaten most or all of my food. Am I slackpacking near the end of that stretch in the wilderness? Most (including myself) would say of course not, so that means that the definition of slackpacking means you're no longer carrying all of your base weight for the day.

Cool.

But base weights differ between hikers, right? My base weight on my 2012 thru was 13 pounds. I met a guy who was around 18 pounds. Was I slackpacking compared to him? I met a guy who was down to 8 pounds. Was I more grizzled wilderness bear grylls super hiker-man then he was? I don't believe so, but that's just my opinion.

By that strain of reasoning, no one is less of a hiker even if they only have a poncho and an Aquafina water bottle with them for 2,184 miles (or whatever it is this year). Can we stop only calling the ones who never slackpack "real backpackers"? Because I've heard that way too much. For anyone who disagrees, have fun going up Katahdin with your 55 pound load that looks straight out of 1965. -endrant-

[Starchild]

Slack packing is taking a day hike with appropriate gear (no overnight gear) for such a thing, in the course of a long distance hike. It does not mean you advanced your pack ahead (but you could), as you may be coming back for it later that day. There are many opportunities to slack where you stay 2 nights in a town and slack between two town approaches.

No going into town with a lighter pack because you depleted your supplies is not a slackpack by any definition that I am aware of. Perhaps if you abandoned your overnight gear to rebuy it in town, or got someoen to carry it for you - then that would be a slackpack.

To me if you don't slackpack during your thru you are missing out on a aspect of what the AT is. That is the hiker's choice, but (again for me) slackpacking is meant to be part of the AT experience. YMMV

[WingedMonkey]

To me if you don't slackpack during your thru you are missing out on a aspect of what the AT is. That is the hiker's choice, but (again for me) slackpacking is meant to be part of the AT experience. YMMV

Didn't you slack your first or second day out of Springer?

[Starchild]

Didn't you slack your first or second day out of Springer?

Day #3 actually, Woody Gap to Mtn Crossing as that is when Splash had to leave me to drive back home to NY and she advanced my pack the 10 miles.

[kofritz]

I plan to slack Hut to Hut. I'm of the opinion as long as you walk the miles, what difference does it make.

[Coffee]

Everyone has their own goals. For thru hiking, my primary goal is to hike from one endpoint to the other without interruption and has nothing at all to do with what I am carrying. I only want to carry the gear necessary for a particular hike. If I can put together logical segments where I only carry a day pack, and I am ready to deal with the logistical and/or cost issues, I will not hesitate to do that. The main use of slackpacking for me so far was day hiking between Breckenridge and Copper Mountain when I thru hiked the Colorado Trail. I spent two nights in Breckenridge and used what was initially going to be a zero day to do the day hike instead. Easy public transportation made it a no brainer. I don't believe that my thru hike was any less of a thru hike because I day hiked one segment, and more importantly, I don't care if anyone else thinks that it somehow "invalidated" my thru hike. Generally, I am too frugal to take advantage of slackpacking opportunities where I would have to pay someone to shuttle me or my pack but if I can do it for free, I'm going to jump at it.

[TEXMAN]

When I attempted my THRU in 2009 I stopped a few miles from Uncle Johnnies and hitched into town ,... I had a terrible head cold and was bummed out....
The next day Johnnie drove me back to the trail and I slack packed back to the hostel ....... Most enjoyable day I had in a longtime...

Recharged my batteries so I could stay on the trail another 500 miles

[Dogwood]

To the OP -Not being nasty just noting that you said you are a HYOH advocate. If this is as true as you said I would think you wouldn't be so concerned(peeved - irritated, angry, annoyed) as you are.

[rickb]

I plan to slack Hut to Hut. I'm of the opinion as long as you walk the miles, what difference does it make.

Why do you have to walk the miles!

Why not just enjoy your time however you want, even if it is in one place. Are the MATC caretakers somehow less than you because they spend their summers in one spot!!!

I dare say this kind of judgemental post is most off putting.



(Just kidding.)

[Just Bill]

Not that it matters-
When I used to teach, the simple question of "what is backpacking" was common.
My simple answer- when you set out with what you need to spend the night.

That could be a knife and firestarter, that could be a full kit- depending on your skillset and goals.
It's up to you what it means, weight or details don't really matter- only your goal.
For some the goal is to carry all they need from end to end.
For some the goal is to carry all they want from end to end.
For some it's simply to cover every mile of the trail.
For some it's to have an adventure to travel from Georgia to Maine.

Meet your goal and it will be a good trip.

[gumball]

Don't worry about what others think. Really. Hike your own hike.

[oldwetherman]

I've slack packed several times. Probably a total of a hundred miles or so. It was a nice break from carrying my normal load. The only drawback to doing it that I could see is that I felt so "light" that I felt
compelled to hike faster and do more miles. I was just as tired, maybe even more so, at the end of the day. It is a nice change on a thru hike or a long section hike though. IMHO the miles are still the miles no matter how you hike them.

[shakey_snake]

This is a thought I've had in my head for a while, thought I'd get some feedback. Probably not a new argument.

First off, I'm a diehard HYOH guy. I've never judged if someone does a thru in 3 months or section hikes over 10 years to finish the AT, and it doesn't matter to me if your pack weight averages 8 pounds or 80. If you're enjoying yourself, good on ya. You're no less or more of a backpacker based on those or other attributes of your hike (I suppose besides yellow-blazing, but that's another thread).

I just discovered this thread: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...n-AT-thru-hike about a 15 year old girl who completed a thru last year. Awesome story, regardless of whether she really was "solo" and whatever. Good for her. But I saw some people debating about whether she really didn't slackpack at all, and that evolved to what constitutes slackpacking. It ticked the pet peeve of mine where some call others less of a hiker/backpacker because of percieved differences in physical difficulty on their hike.

Slackpacking means

I stopped reading right here. I've read enough of these threads to know that whatever immediately follows after those last two words is going to be stupid.

I'd explain it this way. My wife is vegetarian. She doesn't believe that modern factory farming cares enough about the welfare of the animals and by extension refuses to consume animal products. I love her and respect her choice and even commiserate with her in that feeling, but don't abstain similarly. She has no issues cooking meat for me--she makes a damn mean meatloaf, similarly, I have no qualms eating vegetarian meals every so often, which is maybe about half the time.

However, one evening we had breakfast for dinner. Now, I love a hearty breakfast. Fresh fruit, eggs, toast with peanut butter, a big glass of milk, coffee and--the main event--biscuits with country sausage gravy. Nothing's more comforting than coming home from a long day at work to a nice breakfast! The problem was when I took a bite. That was not sausage. What the **** was this in my mouth. Why is she putting it on her plate? I was told it was sausage. When I asked, I was told the "sausage" was made out of a combination of black beans, red lentils and quinoa. -_-

I guess my point is this, hike whatever hike you want--but stop trying to screw around with basic definitions of crap no one really cares about. There's enough ******* lawyers and sleazy politicos to fill the world with piles of gawd-awful and empty verbiage that I don't need someone strawmaning on about slackpacking. Just keep the meat in sausage and enjoy your trip down the trail of life.

[MuddyWaters]

The only thing that matters, is what matters to you, as the hiker.


Some peoples hikes are harder by choices, Some peoples hikes are harder by their principles, and some peoples hikes are harder by stupidity.

However, when discussing hikes, differentiating between different activities frames it for a better understanding of what was, or wasn't, involved. Beyond that, its all just personal.

[Malto]

This is a thought I've had in my head for a while......

i believe you thought way too much about it.

[squeezebox]

So let me open another can of worms. Blue blazing ! If you take 1 blue blaze to a shelter or lookout and a different 1 back to the trail. and miss a couple of white blazes in the process, are you suddenly not a thru hiker? And there are the bad weather blue blazes.
Oh yea! and aqua blazing Shendoah?
So if you slack back, blue blaze, aqua blaze, yellow blaze, flip flop, or skip the Smokies because of your dog, just fess up and be at peace with it.

[MuddyWaters]

What about each step? With every step you skip over 2.5 ft of the trail. Real thruhikers would shuffle their feet so they touch all of it.

[freightliner]

I got to say you guys are so funny bringing up topics like this. What it really boils down to is how you really want to spend money on the trail. Slack packing costs a lot of money so if you want to do it it's still hiking the trail end to end. To me slack packing the whole trail would be the ultimate way to thru hike. Seeing how I work for a living that will never happen. I wonder how much would it cost to get four hikers and two cars together to slack the whole thing. One car at one end one car at the other end swap keys in the middle and meet at a state campground at night for a shower and civilized meal. That could be a fun and fast way to do it. Actually the more I think about it eight people could do it. That would cut the cost even more.

[Starchild]

.... What it really boils down to is how you really want to spend money on the trail. Slack packing costs a lot of money ....

I slackpacked maybe 150 miles or so of the AT (not exactly sure, perhaps as high as 200, or even 218.59 miles or 10%), only once did I explicitly pay for it. It was early in my thru when I hitched a ride into Hellen GA, which just felt wrong, and wanted to get back to the AT. I got quoted a price for a shuttle of $30, I asked about advancing my pack to Blueberry Patch, that would make it $35. So $5 over 2185.9 miles I don't consider 'a lot of money' + it got me a great spot at the patch as Gary counted me in when my pack arrived.

However I only took slackpacking as it came, and really didn't seek it out. Which I feel is the way for me to hike the AT, as it provides itself.

[soilman]

To me if you don't slackpack during your thru you are missing out on a aspect of what the AT is. That is the hiker's choice, but (again for me) slackpacking is meant to be part of the AT experience. YMMV

To me if you slackpack during your thru you are missing out on an aspect of what the AT is. Why is slackpacking meant to be a part of the AT experience? I have nothing against slackpacking. I slackpacked on my first AT hike. I chose not to slackpack on my last thru by design. I wanted to do a continuous hike south to north. I had several opportunities to slackpack and declined.