How Many Purists Out There?

[max patch]

ILet's use the following criteria to describe purist: Hiked the entire AT without Blue or Yellow Blazing more than 1 mile in total for the entire hike. Any miles hiked because of established detours are acceptable.

Hiking the "entire trail" means hiking the "entire trail".

Its like being pregnant - you either are or your arn't.

[jersey joe]

Oh, and I don't slackpack, although I will mail some equipment ahead if I won't need it for a few days.

Ditto, I even carried my pack up Katahdin. I think carrying your pack the whole way and trying to pass every white blaze go hand and hand.

[4eyedbuzzard]

I fully expect that nobody will give a crap what I do.

Maybe not nobody, but realistically, damn few.

Parhaps ATC could issue (sell) a "Purist" rocker in addition to the "2000 Miler" for those that truly revel in such things.

I was a purist for about 450 miles back in '76 - then I yellow blazed from Damascus back to NJ. They don't have a patch for that either.

[pafarmboy]

Oh, and I don't slackpack, although I will mail some equipment ahead if I won't need it for a few days.

Isn't that slackpacking? What's the difference between leaving your gear at a hostel for the day and daypacking, verses your quote above? You're a slackpacker. Oh wait......SYOP (Slack You Own Pack)

[Strategic]

Ditto, I even carried my pack up Katahdin. I think carrying your pack the whole way and trying to pass every white blaze go hand and hand.

I'm with you jersey joe. I just can't feel like I've done the hike unless I carry my pack past every white blaze between Springer and Katahdin, all NOBO. It's a personal fetish, in my case, but it's something I've stuck to for years now as a section hiker. I even try to start each section where I left off the last as exactly as possible (unless I'm in new territory, of course.)

BTW, for your statistics Old Man Joe, I'm 48 and expect to be at this for a while.

[Manwich]

From the ages of 21 to now 25... been section hiking purely. Got a 1mi gap up near woodstock that pisses me off to no end...

[weary]

....I have the utmost respect for anyone who does it his way, whatever that is.

As do I, unless they then lie about what they did when reporting to ATC.

[Lone Wolf]

I don't want to turn this into a purist vs non-purist argument. There has been enough discussion about that already. What I'd like to know is how many purists are out there and how old you are. I'm just curious to see if the purists fall into a certain age range. I admit I'm a 58 year old who is a bit "purist anal" about hiking the Trail. Let's use the following criteria to describe purist: Hiked the entire AT without Blue or Yellow Blazing more than 1 mile in total for the entire hike. Any miles hiked because of established detours are acceptable.

i've walked 16,000 +/- AT miles. i'm still missing about 20 white blaze miles. Blue-Blazers RULE!! patches and certificates are for weenies

[weary]

Ditto, I even carried my pack up Katahdin. I think carrying your pack the whole way and trying to pass every white blaze go hand and hand.

Whatever. No one is keeping a record of what you carried and when. BUT ATC has a form that it asks people to accurately fill out after they have walked the trail. It says nothing about carrying a pack up Katahdin, or whether you carry a pack at all. Just whether one makes an honest effort to walk the ENTIRE trail.

[4eyedbuzzard]

From http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site...Completion.htm

Our recognition policy:

• Gives equal recognition to thru-hikers and section-hikers.
• Recognizes blue-blazed trails or officially required roadwalks as viable substitutes for the official, white-blazed route in the event of an emergency, such as a flood, a forest fire, or an impending storm on an exposed, high-elevation stretch.
• Operates on the honor system.

Our recognition policy does not consider sequence, direction, speed, or whether one carries a pack.

[10-K]

Let's see.... hike 20 miles with a pack or hike 20 miles without a pack.....

Seems like a no-brainer to me..

I did not knowingly miss a single white blaze but I'll hike without a fully loaded pack any chance I get. I find I enjoy hiking much more without a load.

[George]

I think that purists should wear depends so that they never step off the trail to go potty

[leaftye]

I think that purists should wear depends so that they never step off the trail to go potty

I only step off the trail for #2.

[jersey joe]

Whatever. No one is keeping a record of what you carried and when. BUT ATC has a form that it asks people to accurately fill out after they have walked the trail. It says nothing about carrying a pack up Katahdin, or whether you carry a pack at all. Just whether one makes an honest effort to walk the ENTIRE trail.

That is not true Weary, I kept track, and that's all that matters. I never implied that anyone had to carry a pack the whole way to meet an ATC standard. My point was that the stubborness that a person has to pass every white blaze can likely be traslated into being stubborn enough to carry their pack the whole way.

[jersey joe]

Blue-Blazers RULE!! patches and certificates are for weenies

But HYOH right?

[Blue Jay]

I am a stickler about hiking every bit of the trail in the same direction.

I'm a stickler for hiking every bit of the trail in all directions. I use an ultralight pogo stick for the up and down ones.

[4eyedbuzzard]

I'm a stickler for hiking every bit of the trail in all directions. I use an ultralight pogo stick for the up and down ones.

Hopped right on that one.

[Kerosene]

I go to extent of touching the blaze on the other side of the road where I stopped the last time I was out, but I don't always leave a shelter by the same path I hiked in, I've hiked both non-consecutive NOBO and SOBO sections (sometimes during the same week), and I probably cut off a switchback once, but I have filled in a handful of 1-15 mile gaps left over from prior section hikes.

Kind of feels like a confessional(!), but as I'm not all that religious and I'm just out there for myself, I'll just keep planning for my next hike. Enjoy yours, whatever trail you choose to hike!

[Lone Wolf]

But HYOH right?

wrong. i never use that stupid term

[DapperD]

I don't want to turn this into a purist vs non-purist argument. There has been enough discussion about that already. What I'd like to know is how many purists are out there and how old you are. I'm just curious to see if the purists fall into a certain age range. I admit I'm a 58 year old who is a bit "purist anal" about hiking the Trail. Let's use the following criteria to describe purist: Hiked the entire AT without Blue or Yellow Blazing more than 1 mile in total for the entire hike. Any miles hiked because of established detours are acceptable.

If and when I ever get around to my thru-hike attempt, I will want to honestly (purist) complete the entire trail. However, I will say that if I take a side trail to a shelter, water source, etc...and there is another side trail taking me back to the main trail (AT) then I will certainly take it and not think twice about it. To backtrack down the same sidetrail I entered on if unnecessary to do so will be something I would not be willing to do in order to somehow achieve "purist" status