Hike Your Own Hike

[Pedaling Fool]

Who coined this phrase and when? And is it unique to the AT?

[modiyooch]

better yet, is it unique to this forum?

[derek]

I'm not sure about it's origins but I know it's not unique to this forum or the AT

[thestin]

Wingfoot coined the phrase.

It's what he would say to you as he was kicking you off his forum for disagreeing with him.

[Pacific Tortuga]

The story I heard was Lone Wolf while carrying Marine gear was asked by Ward Leonard, "WTH do you think your doing?","you will never reach Katahdin that way".
Wolf calmly replied, "You #@%^&* redheaded &^%$# and kiss my @#$#@, I'm just a blue blazin section hiker you northern twit.
Model T asked Miss Janet what L.Wolf said ? Miss Janet the southern lady she is replied, Wolf told Ward to "hike your own hike" and that is how it was born.

[DapperD]

It's what one hiking buddy said to the other after he was told to BYOB.

[Lyle]

Wingfoot coined the phrase.

If this is true, then this should be the dictionary example of irony!

[jcazz]

Francis Tapon

[kayak karl]

Who coined this phrase and when? And is it unique to the AT?

i think it comes from Live your own Life.
Live Your Own Life, For You will Die Your Own Death.

but hike being a noun and a verb makes it sound better.

[Pedaling Fool]

Francis Tapon

I don't know if he's the one that coined it, never heard of him, but I googled anyway and this is what I got http://www.francistapon.com/

Pretty interesting, although still not convinced.

[Blissful]

I have it in my 1993 Wingfoot thru hiker handbook.

[Roughin' It]

I thought it was a book... oh wait, Francis Tapon wrote it.

[Garlic]

Hi all - I believe I coined the phrase. When I was hiking the AT back in 1993 (VA to VT) I noticed many of the hikers at the time were forming judement on other hikers (some blue blazed, some took a week off, some did not pass under every single white blaze) and I wrote in the register (in PA somewhere and kept repeating it all the way to VT), we all need to just hike your own hike and a few years later, I keep hearing the phrase come up...who knows - maybe it's in the 1993 Wingfoot book - don't know, but when I wrote it in the register, I never heard of the phrase before. Take care.

[oldfivetango]

Is it appropriate to ask in this thread
why anyone cares how anyone else conducts
their hike?

I doubt that it was started by WF,WB,or even LW.
Oldfivetango

[Garlic]

That's fine - you are right. I just noticed after that hike that others were saying it. Again - no biggie.

[StarLyte]

I could have sworn the first time I ever heard that was from Jim & Ginny Owen. But then, I'm a youngster, so I might not remember that far back.

[Wolf - 23000]

Pacific Tortuga and others,

Great story but I can tell you it did not start with Ms Janet. I remember hearing the phrase back in 1989, long before Ms Janet was part of AT community.

It is a good phrase but some hikers take it to far.

Wolf

[Wolf - 23000]

Pacific Tortuga and others,

I don't know who came up with the saying but it was not Ms Janet. I remember hearing the phrase back in 1989 during my first thru-hike - before Ms Janet and Model T were part of the AT community.

Wolf

[emerald]

I don't recall seeing the written expression or hearing it until I began visiting WhiteBlaze about 3 years ago, but I had been away from the A.T. for more than 10 years by then.

HYOH is mentioned in "The thruhiking papers." I would think it goes back at least as far as the Appalachian Trailway News article which I gather preceded them.

Warren Doyle might be able to help pinpoint its origin.

[Lyle]

Hi all - I believe I coined the phrase. When I was hiking the AT back in 1993 (VA to VT) I noticed many of the hikers at the time were forming judement on other hikers (some blue blazed, some took a week off, some did not pass under every single white blaze) and I wrote in the register (in PA somewhere and kept repeating it all the way to VT), we all need to just hike your own hike and a few years later, I keep hearing the phrase come up...who knows - maybe it's in the 1993 Wingfoot book - don't know, but when I wrote it in the register, I never heard of the phrase before. Take care.

Makes sense to me that it probably has several unrelated origins over the years. So many similar sayings (live your own life, mind your own business, control your own destiny, etc.). I doubt that just one person would have thought up this corollary, and since it has such a poetic ring, several probably could have come up with this exact wording.