Section Hike as series of out and backs...double counting?

[Pedaling Fool]

"Bag nights" has no special meaning. If you want to impress people than do bag nights with no supplies. Live off the land. I don't care how many times you spend out in the woods, you are not a survivalist, your just someone that carried all your creature comforts out in to the woods.

P.S. I'm not speaking specifically to your camping strategy, this includes the most UL of hikers. So, this issue of bag nights is kind of meaningless, you're just surviving off the luxuries of modern civilization.

Damn, I missed a perfect opportunity to add a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqYp1jpzKCk

[Pedaling Fool]

So, if each time I do a hike/section, I park in a lot, hike somewhere, and return, and do the whole trail this way, I will actually have hiked the whole thing twice....once north and once south. ...does it dount twice?

BTW, In my opinion, section hiking your way to becoming a thru-hiker is far more difficult (and expensive) than a simple one-time thru-hike, for many reasons. Some people can take up to 20 years to complete a thru-hike via section hiking. By doing this out-and-back method it will be far more time consuming, not to mention the money needed.

[Kaptainkriz]

Agree, but it's what I can do right now. Between job and kids in college, my time is limited. So, we take long weekends and maybe a week here or there to enjoy the outdoors, but in a kind of randomly ordered fashion.

BTW, In my opinion, section hiking your way to becoming a thru-hiker is far more difficult (and expensive) than a simple one-time thru-hike, for many reasons. Some people can take up to 20 years to complete a thru-hike via section hiking. By doing this out-and-back method it will be far more time consuming, not to mention the money needed.

[tdoczi]

I actually means that once you've done the entire trail this way you would become both a NOBO and SOBO thru-hiker at the same time. That's the way I see it.

i say this not because i believe it or care, but only to point out the difficulty, and therefore ultimately the pointlessness, imo, of categorizing these things- a different and at least equally valid description of a sobo thru hiker is one who begins in maine and walks southbound on the trail to georgia. has someone who began in georgia and everyday walked the trail in both directions experienced the same journey? not even close.

[rocketsocks]

I thought it was called "bilibumin' it"

...the outback hiker

[Pedaling Fool]

i say this not because i believe it or care, but only to point out the difficulty, and therefore ultimately the pointlessness, imo, of categorizing these things- a different and at least equally valid description of a sobo thru hiker is one who begins in maine and walks southbound on the trail to georgia. has someone who began in georgia and everyday walked the trail in both directions experienced the same journey? not even close.

You start out by saying you don't believe or care...but then you seem to show concern over my use of the term thru-hiker, especially with regards to a SOBO'er

I know all the different interpretations of the terms thru-hiker (NOBO or SOBO -- it doesn't matter) and 2,000-miler, but I just chose to use the term thru-hiker to describe the OP's finished hike in the method described...despite the OP doing his/her hike in the form of a section hike.

I know words matter...usually, but it really doesn't matter in the case (it's just a hike) of thru-hikers and 2,000 milers; it just doesn't matter, not one bit. Call it what you want, but if a person completes the trail in the way the OP described, then they would have finished the entire trail, both SOBO and NOBO at the end. Not an ideal way to do it, at least in my opinion, but that's a fact.

And I don't believe it really matters to the ATC (thru-hiker vs 2,000-miler, especially in direction), since I believe the certificate looks the same, but I could be wrong, but again I don't really care. If someone wants to call it a 2,000-miler certificate, I won't argue that....Just like I don't argue with anyone that calls a Tomato a Tamato

As far as one's experience hiking the trail, of course their experiences will be different. I'm not sure of your point there?

[tdoczi]

I'm not sure of your point there?

my point was all that analysis and justification you just provided is, well... pointless. what purpose does it serve to try and explain why two admittedly entirely different experiences should both be called a "NOBO thru hike" ??

i'm still waiting to find out who "certified" seeks it as a "double thru hiker."

[Tipi Walter]

"Bag nights" has no special meaning. If you want to impress people than do bag nights with no supplies. Live off the land. I don't care how many times you spend out in the woods, you are not a survivalist, your just someone that carried all your creature comforts out in to the woods.

P.S. I'm not speaking specifically to your camping strategy, this includes the most UL of hikers. So, this issue of bag nights is kind of meaningless, you're just surviving off the luxuries of modern civilization.

I think bag nights have a large amount of meaning. It's a term to describe usually terminally-indoor Americans getting outdoors and moving from camp to camp on foot with all the gear they need for the duration of a trip. And btw, probably the people with the least amount of annual bag nights say such bag nights have no special meaning.

Apparently Lawton Grinter and Skurka and Colin Fletcher and all the rest just aren't worth a crap because they are not or were not survivalists. Same for Reinhold Messner and Ed Viesturs and other great outdoorsmen and mountaineers---in fact most of them had other humans carrying their creature comforts out for them. Messner's solo Everest climb just can't count, he wasn't a survivalist. Did he grow his own food and raise Yaks on the foothills before the climb?

Oh look, there's a guy living in a yurt he built himself. Eats wild edibles. Oops, the miscreant uses a Bic lighter. Disqualified!!!

A better way to impress people would be to get your bag nights naked and possibly afraid with a tremendously painful abscessed tooth. Or better yet, go out with nothing and skin a buffalo for your hide tipi and do so with the stone tools you flintknapped. But attention all backpackers: Don't bother pulling the AT or the PCT cuz it won't count unless you started naked and ate rabbits the whole way and carried nothing except a basket pack and a bowdrill.

[Pedaling Fool]

My only point was (when responding to the OP) was that if he/she did their hike as described, when finished it he/she would have completed the entire trail both in a NOBO & SOBO direction. I never said anything about getting it certified or what the certificate would read...

[Pedaling Fool]

I think bag nights have a large amount of meaning. It's a term to describe usually terminally-indoor Americans getting outdoors and moving from camp to camp on foot with all the gear they need for the duration of a trip. And btw, probably the people with the least amount of annual bag nights say such bag nights have no special meaning.

Apparently Lawton Grinter and Skurka and Colin Fletcher and all the rest just aren't worth a crap because they are not or were not survivalists. Same for Reinhold Messner and Ed Viesturs and other great outdoorsmen and mountaineers---in fact most of them had other humans carrying their creature comforts out for them. Messner's solo Everest climb just can't count, he wasn't a survivalist. Did he grow his own food and raise Yaks on the foothills before the climb?

Oh look, there's a guy living in a yurt he built himself. Eats wild edibles. Oops, the miscreant uses a Bic lighter. Disqualified!!!

A better way to impress people would be to get your bag nights naked and possibly afraid with a tremendously painful abscessed tooth. Or better yet, go out with nothing and skin a buffalo for your hide tipi and do so with the stone tools you flintknapped. But attention all backpackers: Don't bother pulling the AT or the PCT cuz it won't count unless you started naked and ate rabbits the whole way and carried nothing except a basket pack and a bowdrill.

I didn't say anyone was NOT worth a crap; all I said is that your arbitrary standards of bag nights really doesn't require much skill, so therefore it's not really impressive in the context of this discussion. And yes the naked and afraid shows really are not that impressive to me, because all you gotta do is wait out your time and if you get into any real problems you're taken to safety.

[Traveler]

my point was all that analysis and justification you just provided is, well... pointless. what purpose does it serve to try and explain why two admittedly entirely different experiences should both be called a "NOBO thru hike" ??

i'm still waiting to find out who "certified" seeks it as a "double thru hiker."

The OP didn't refer to it as "thru hikes". The question asked was, if someone were to hike the entire AT using an out and back method from various trailheads and road intersections, would it count as hiking the AT both ways. Since the trail would have been in both directions, the answer would be yes because the section of trail would have been traveled north and south. It is an interesting question and there are probably a lot of people who have hiked large sections of the AT using this very method.

[Traveler]

A better way to impress people would be to get your bag nights naked and possibly afraid with a tremendously painful abscessed tooth. Or better yet, go out with nothing and skin a buffalo for your hide tipi and do so with the stone tools you flintknapped. But attention all backpackers: Don't bother pulling the AT or the PCT cuz it won't count unless you started naked and ate rabbits the whole way and carried nothing except a basket pack and a bowdrill.

Always fun to hear how the trail was done before Alaska was a State.

[Wooobie]

does sectioning even count as a thru?

[tdoczi]

My only point was (when responding to the OP) was that if he/she did their hike as described, when finished it he/she would have completed the entire trail both in a NOBO & SOBO direction. I never said anything about getting it certified or what the certificate would read...

and if the OP does what he says he intends to do, then what he has done is just that. no need for anyone to make any more or less of it.

[tdoczi]

The OP didn't refer to it as "thru hikes". The question asked was, if someone were to hike the entire AT using an out and back method from various trailheads and road intersections, would it count as hiking the AT both ways. Since the trail would have been in both directions, the answer would be yes because the section of trail would have been traveled north and south. It is an interesting question and there are probably a lot of people who have hiked large sections of the AT using this very method.

so, what you are saying is the OP has asked "if i walk the trail in both directions, will i have actually walked the trail in both directions?" that question needs no answer.

[tdoczi]

does sectioning even count as a thru?

does being a thru count as a thru? i'm not aware of anyone keeping count of anything beyond an unofficial honor system for completing the trail.

[Traveler]

so, what you are saying is the OP has asked "if i walk the trail in both directions, will i have actually walked the trail in both directions?" that question needs no answer.

Apparently it did!

[tdoczi]

Apparently it did!

the implication of the OP's question is whether or not it would meet someone else's standard for having hiked the trail twice. my answer is a) who's standard do you think you need to meet? and b) why do you care?

though, evidently someone knows something about someone "certifying" seeksit as a "doublet hruhiker" so maybe they can give a better answer. perhaps the OP would also like to make sure he/she is able to certified thusly.

[Traveler]

the implication of the OP's question is whether or not it would meet someone else's standard for having hiked the trail twice. my answer is a) who's standard do you think you need to meet? and b) why do you care?

though, evidently someone knows something about someone "certifying" seeksit as a "doublet hruhiker" so maybe they can give a better answer. perhaps the OP would also like to make sure he/she is able to certified thusly.

I get a mental image of a grand "Certificateror" sitting on a mountaintop, white beard flowing in the wind, opining great wisdom to those who seek him, his sage pontifications, and his proclamations. Making it a nearly holy trek in and of itself to obtain the coveted certificate, returning enlightened and insufferable.

Instead its probably a nebish named Walter, sitting in a cubicle at a telephone solicitation mill who will make one up for you if you call and agree to a free trial of Omaha Steaks.

[Pedaling Fool]

So, if each time I do a hike/section, I park in a lot, hike somewhere, and return, and do the whole trail this way, I will actually have hiked the whole thing twice....once north and once south. ...does it dount twice?

It actually means that once you've done the entire trail this way you would become both a NOBO and SOBO thru-hiker at the same time. That's the way I see it.

and if the OP does what he says he intends to do, then what he has done is just that. no need for anyone to make any more or less of it.

I didn't make more or less out of it, unless you're getting all wrapped up about the term thru-hiker. Again, if you like substitute the term 2,000 miler, go for it, I don't care.

The point is that if the OP completed the entire trail in the way described in the OP (pasted above) than that would count for completing the trail twice, once NOBO and once SOBO. Furthermore, it will count as hiking the entire trail twice.

What's so difficult about this?

Let simplify. If a hiker hiked from Springer Mountain to Neel gap using the same method described above, upon completion you can say that person hiked both NOBO & SOBO between Springer Mountain and Neel gap. And it will count as twice.