Purist or Not?

[Old Hiker]

On 02 Mar 2012, there were tornadoes in the Dahlonegah, Ga area, which sparked the following debate:

If a tornado picks you up and puts you further down the Trail, does the air travel count as "hiking"? My opinion is that if your boots aren't on the Trail, it doesn't count as "thru-hiking". You have to go back to where you were picked up and start again.

Orange Lightning and others state that any progress down the Trail counts.

Opinions?

[BFI]

Does that mean the Trail Sucks....?

[turtle fast]

Yep, you gotta go back and hike it again...remember that the white blazes may be a tad scattered with trees flattened and all. So get up, brush yourself off...remove the stick that impaled itself into your pack and get out your trusty camp saw, axe, or pack chainsaw and you better backtrack down the trail hacking and sawing. When you get to where you left off...turn around and re hike. If you luckily have a can of white paint on you or are an expert of mixing local minerals to produce white pigment...please replace the white blazes.

[V Eight]

Yep, you gotta go back and hike it again...remember that the white blazes may be a tad scattered with trees flattened and all. So get up, brush yourself off...remove the stick that impaled itself into your pack and get out your trusty camp saw, axe, or pack chainsaw and you better backtrack down the trail hacking and sawing. When you get to where you left off...turn around and re hike. If you luckily have a can of white paint on you or are an expert of mixing local minerals to produce white pigment...please replace the white blazes.

'bout covers it

[Juice]

IMO if a tornado were to pick up a hiker then depsit them further up the trail without physically ending their thru, I'd say it would be considered an "act of god" and said hiker could maintain their purist status. But they can't skip any milage after they trek to town for new underwear!

[Rasty]

That would be an Air-Blazer.

[Kookork]

That would be an Air-Blazer.

LOL.You have some nice Stand up comedian inside.

[Spokes]

Yes it counts. And so will using the hiker hover board (copy write) when it's perfected within the next 10 years.

[max patch]

NO, for the same reason that blue blazing doesn't count -- the tornado is not going to follow the white blazes.

[Feral Bill]

If you are in a shelter, and it lands on a witch, follow the yellow brick trail.

[rocketsocks]

It clearly spells this out in 134a (c3)21 and it states "if whisked away by tornado while attempting a thru-hike this is considered and called a "Dorothy"and is highly coveted,in addition,should a hiker survive this act of GOD he /she is entitled to a T-shirt (wicking poly)at the end of there hike,and is here by allowed to not only be considered to have past all blazes,but is awarded 7 additional blazes that can be used on any trail and at anytime in the future,additional blazes are not transferable to any other hiker.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Clearly you have to go back, however since the tornado has most likely destroyed the trees and treadway, in order to be considered a white-blazer you will have to zigzag around the area to make sure you pass by where each blazed tree trunk has landed, as this is the new correct route.

[brian039]

Air-blazing wouldn't be pure, by Orange Lightning's definition you could get a ride in a car on a road-walk and still be considered pure and we all know that doesn't cut it. If you go into a shelter on one trail you must take that same trail back to the AT where you left off. If you hitch a ride into town you must return and start from the same side of the road that you hitched from. You also have to walk over blow-downs, not around them. Walking around the bottomless mud-pits of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine is also cheating; you must walk through them. You must also stick to the trail whilst climbing up the bare slate slopes in Maine, if you go off to the side of the trail and grab trees and roots to climb then you are officially off the trail and are not considered a thru-hiker anymore.

Please stick to the government approved trail and don't do anything to jeopardize your thru-hiker status by all means necessary, even if it means hating your life and never having any fun on the trail or doing something that might make sense like taking the blue-blaze to the Inn at the Long Trail or the blue-blaze into Monson.

Thank you.

[sheepdog]

What did Dorothy do when faced with the exact same problem? She followed the yellow brick road, She started at the beginning and even went around the little curly que thing at the start. Neither talking apple trees nor flying monkeys stopped her. She did it all in red shoes. She was a purist. How I hate her.


was that my outside voice??

[Sarcasm the elf]

What did Dorothy do when faced with the exact same problem? She followed the yellow brick road, She started at the beginning and even went around the little curly que thing at the start. Neither talking apple trees nor flying monkeys stopped her. She did it all in red shoes. She was a purist. How I hate her.


was that my outside voice??

Purist? She got a few days out, spoke to some gearhead who was more knowledgeable about her shoes than she was, and clicked her heels to Katahdin. Typical Ruby blazer...

[Bearpaw]

Does that mean the Trail Sucks....?

Well, sometimes it blows...

[Bronk]

Yep, you gotta go back and hike it again...remember that the white blazes may be a tad scattered with trees flattened and all. So get up, brush yourself off...remove the stick that impaled itself into your pack and get out your trusty camp saw, axe, or pack chainsaw and you better backtrack down the trail hacking and sawing. When you get to where you left off...turn around and re hike. If you luckily have a can of white paint on you or are an expert of mixing local minerals to produce white pigment...please replace the white blazes.

If you replace the blazes, do your replacements then become the 'official' trail?

[BlackCloud]

Of course it counts. Same as if you ran on the trail & your feet don't hit the ground. Plus, no one should be held accountable by acts of nature...

[Capt Nat]

You can circumvent all this legal wrangling. If you see or hear a tornado approaching, run to and lash yourself to the nearest tree containing an official white blaze. Now wherever you and that tree land, you're at an official blaze. All you have to do is pick up the next blaze and be on your way. Sometimes you folks need to think things through.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Sometimes you folks need to think things through.

You have obviously come to the wrong place