PDA

View Full Version : Purest or not? What I learned - 2015 AT Thru-Hiker



Neemor
09-11-2015, 10:06
Everyone on trail is always talking about who yellow blazed this and yellow blazed that... A lot of anger is directed towards yellow blazers, With good cause of course. Yellow blazers should be tarred and feathered and left out to beg for tuna packets. But that's just my opinion. XD

I started my Thru Hike with 3 main rules for myself:
1. Always walk north
2. Hit every INCH of trail
3. Carry my fully loaded pack the entire way.

Looking back I am glad I set these rules for my hike and stuck to them. Even though slack-packing was an option at times and looked very very enticing.
There is something that made my hike even more special by sticking to the rules I set at the beginning.

Would I do it that way again?
Yes and no.


Hitting every inch of the trail is a must and I will always keep that rule for any "thru-hike". Because that is a thru-hike. Yeah, you can argue forever about the definition of a "thru-hike" but in the end arguing doesnt change what it is.

Always walking north...I think I would keep this rule but a flip flop is an option I may take. Or a southbound hike. What I meant by this was, There where a lot of people who would slack pack north into a town, then shuttle north and slack south back into the town. That way they get two nights stay and they usually walk down hill both ways. Avoiding the inevitable climb out of town. (Something a friend said was "If you can buy beer you gotta walk uphill". Meaning the trail always dips down to go into town. Which is very true)
I think that slacking south isn't really the best option for 2 main reasons:

1. It can get very expensive. You are looking at 2 nights in town and 2 shuttles. Plus you will spend more money on town food. But the negatives also may be looked at as positives if you have the money. Because town is a hikers favorite word.

2. Logistics are too difficult for trail life. Even the simple task of calling a hostel and arranging shuttles and splitting it between the people in your group can become a nightmare. Don't believe me? Do a thru-hike. Your brain becomes mushy mush that only knows how to walk and make Ramen.

No slack-packing... This was a rule that I would change. There were a few times where Slacking was an option for free with no logistical nightmare. But I didn't go for it because of my rule. Slack packing is a beautiful thing. It always stirs up a little jealousy when you are slogging up a mountain, sweating profusely for hours and someone comes skipping by with a tiny pack telling how they will do 28 miles today because their load is so small and they feel like they are floating down the trail.....not fun. I want to be that person.
Buuuuut purists are purists and I thought I knew what I wanted.

Carrying your full pack does have benefits though. If you are on a mountain and there is a huge rain storm you can set up camp and wait it out. Or if you are really tired you can stop earlier than planned. If you are slacking you usually have to make a shuttle at a certain time and place. Usually very far away.

When I summited Katahdin there were yellow blazers and summiting at the same time and nobody cared. Nobody cared that I had hit every inch and they hadn't. Nobody cared that I had carried my pack every step of the way. But I knew.
Just know that if you go purist, nobody will care. Be okay with that.


But one of the most important thing I learned was to Hike Your Own Hike.
Yeah yeah... Everybody knows this... It is said all the time. But it is thrown around way to much. It is mostly used for an excuse to yellow blaze and still say you are Thru-Hiking... Which is nonsense. Don't lie. The way I interpret HYOH is: pay attention to yourself. If someone else is lying about their hike and what they did, who cares? Their lies and fake glory at the end don't matter to you. Getting angry at them is useless and only makes your day worse. Enjoy your hike and your own rules! If you wanna slack then go for it! If you don't, good on ya!

Go out there and get it done!



P.S. You are allowed to enjoy spending time with yellow blazers. :p

P.P.S. I carried camera equipment the whole way and if you want to see some of my photos, check out my Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/NeemorsWorld

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/11/ad37180d8e59238ce7eb8c06a695b6b4.jpg

SteelCut
09-11-2015, 10:27
Thanks for sharing.

I really liked a lot of your instagram photos.

gregpphoto
09-11-2015, 11:05
Ive grown up in the Northeast my whole life, and I have no interest in spending four months in a green tunnel with only occasional views, so my plan is to one day yellow blaze (which means hitchhikng, right?) most of it, getting a feel for the overall culture of it, while backpacking the more gorgeous portions of the trail. If someone asked me if I thru hiked the AT I'd probably say something like "Not really. I hitchhiked most of it, and hiked some of it." But it doesnt mean I wont have an amazing experience. And I dont need yer tuna, I get mine for cheap at Aldi's.

Dogwood
09-11-2015, 11:30
One of the conveniences of thru-hiking the AT is that you can usually afford to turn your mind off and just focus on walking. That is not so on every hike! Logistics, navigation, wildlife interactions, remoteness, greater weather variability, etc often need to be given greater consideration on other LD hikes. A LD hiker tends to need to be more mentally engaged/aware/thinking on many other LD hikes.

Mags
09-11-2015, 11:30
overall culture of it, while backpacking the more gorgeous portions of the trail. If someone asked me if I thru hiked the AT I'd probably say something like

Just say you traveled along the AT corridor. :) "I road tripped, backpacked, hiked and camped along or near the AT"

mattjv89
09-11-2015, 11:40
Definitely agree that most don't care at all about who yellowed or blued or anything else by late in the hike. Most people seem pretty honest anyways, I mean if you yellow a lot it's gonna be pretty obvious when you keep showing up ahead of folks so might as well own it. There's too much to enjoy out here to spend time worrying about what someone you will probably never see again in your life labels themselves as.

I haven't done any slacking either and won't for the remaining 190ish I have. Means something to me to carry everything the whole way but I'm definitely in a small minority in that regard. Slacking is often a logistical hassle and more $$, just not for me. I've also seen people take on huge days and have a miserable time slacking, like all the folks who got the crap beaten out of them going from Pinkham Notch to Rt. 2 in a day.

Anyways congrats on finishing, I think I last saw you near Harpers and I'm still back in Stratton ME, I'm having such a damn good time in Maine I just might have spent a month in the state by the time I finish! -Slow Ride.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Starchild
09-11-2015, 12:10
1:Yellow Blazing is to me it's own thing, perhaps a AT lite. Blue and Aqua Blazing However I am cool with, you are still being guided by the AT from one end to the other and still under your own power. I am impressed by those who have Aqua Blazed their thru, great thing to do and also defy convention that many people would invalidate your hike.

2: You can buy beer at Bascom Lodge at the top of Mt Greylock.

3: Slackpacking does not have to be expensive there are many good will offerings of rides, although the double town nights can be costly.

rafe
09-11-2015, 12:12
I enjoy the diversity of experiences. Many old (pre 1975) journals talked about walking the parkway in SNP. So I did that for a few miles, just for the heck of it. When it was my time to hike southern Maine, I learned that slackpacking around Andover was easy... so I did that. My shortest AT section, from Rangeley to ME Rte. 17, was a day hike with a day pack. It's all good.

Neemor
09-11-2015, 12:45
like all the folks who got the crap beaten out of them going from Pinkham Notch to Rt. 2 in a day.

Hahaha we did that in one day, but with full packs hahahaha worst day on trail!

It's good to hear from you slow ride! Enjoy the remainder of your hike!

JohnHuth
09-11-2015, 12:47
As the saying goes, "hike your own hike". By the way, not to nit-pick, but it's called "purist" - a person who strives to be "pure", while "purest" means "most pure".

Three people I've observed:

One woman would actually retrace her path from shelters so as not to cut out a single white blaze, but could have taken a different path from the shelter to the trail that might have cut out 100 yards at most.

My son - pretty much the same ethic as the woman above, and also insisted that the approach hike to Springer "count" as part of the thru-hike - not sure what people think about the approach hike.

A couple from Montreal - she got a nasty ankle sprain in Virginia and had to have it x-rayed and treated at an emergency wars, and they had to yellow blaze to get her to the hospital followed by five days in a hostel recovering enough to get back on the trail. They decided to not go back to the 18 miles they yellow blazed. Under the circumstances, I'll give them full credit, but that's me.

Neemor
09-11-2015, 12:48
.
2: You can buy beer at Bascom Lodge at the top of Mt Greylock.

Ahhh. I forgot about that! Maybe you can buy it in washington as well. I am not sure.

Malto
09-11-2015, 13:20
"Hitting every inch of the trail is a must and I will always keep that rule for any "thru-hike". Because that is a thru-hike. Yeah, you can argue forever about the definition of a "thru-hike" but in the end arguing doesnt change what it is."

With rules like that dont ever decide to hike the PCT in a high or even a normal snow year. your every inch of the trail will be lost real quick. there was likely a couple of hundred miles of trail that I didn't hike, but I will never know as it was somewhere buried under many feet of snow.

JohnHuth
09-11-2015, 13:25
I agree about the PCT - I've gone many miles through the snow there, just trying to make sure I can pick it up again. It's actually something of a fun challenge.

Kenai
09-11-2015, 13:42
Congratulations on completing your thru hike, in the way that you envisioned doing it. Awesome accomplishment. Well done!
The only opinion that matters on how you choose to hike the trail is your own.
Great photos btw.

Another Kevin
09-11-2015, 14:54
The "pass every white blaze" thing shows to me that my experience with other trails has me ill-prepared for the A-T.

I've had a fair number of "short" hikes where I've had a mile or two where I couldn't find a trail - because it was obliterated by blowdown, rock slide, beaver activity, washout, whatever. Eventually the solution was just bushwhack forward until it showed up again. (This is particularly effective when the trail is going to a peak. You're practically guaranteed to find it again farther up.) And on many of the trails, I don't even begin to wonder whether I might be turned around until I've gone a quarter mile without seeing a blaze.

For instance, you can see a blaze in this picture. You can also see that the beavers have built a dam - right across the trail. The next blaze is neck-deep in the pond. Needless to say, I bushwhacked around the beaver activity.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3954/14966947604_bae111bbe5_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oNzw5L)

To me, a trail that has extensive blazing, frequent maintenance, and enough visitors to keep the treadway firm, so that it's even possible to follow it for a whole day, much less two thousand miles, seems ... anomalous.

I don't think I'll ever be a purist.

rafe
09-11-2015, 15:19
It's not that hard to get lost on the AT, actually. Usually at road crossings where you need to jog up or down the road a bit. Sometimes when the trail's been rerouted and you find yourself walking the "old" trail before the reroute.

Pedaling Fool
09-11-2015, 15:32
What I learned on the AT is that the human body is extremely efficient when trained. So efficient that the current recommendation that people should eat 2,000 calories per day is dead wrong. If you eat 2,000 calories per day, you are only training your body to be inefficient. That is the reason for the world's obesity epidemic. It's not 44 oz sodas (btw I buy at least once a week a 44 oz soda for 69 cents:)).

It's all about the quantity. That's not to say you should just eat crap, but the most important thing people need to do is get the notion that they need 2,000 calories per day. You're actually working your body too hard by making it process 2,000 calories per day without exercise. BTW walking an hour per day is not exercise.

I never eat breakfast, that's another myth, breakfast is not the most important meal of the day. I can start my day with a tough 2-hour ride with no food in my stomach.

That's what the AT taught me.

CarlZ993
09-11-2015, 16:21
I wasn't a purest when I hiked in 2013. I never 'yellow blazed.' I did slack-pack four times (once in NC w/ Starchild, once in VA, & twice in NH). Three of the four times resulted in me hiking further than I had planned w/ a pack. Three out of four were NoBo.

I missed a short section of the AT (~0.3m) out of Pearisburg when I gabbing w/ another hiker leaving early (6 am). I forgot I needed to go uphill & hike the last little section to the Hwy. I took the wrong trail in the Whites & inadvertently cut the tangent on one section. When I met a hiker at that junction, he told me of my error. I didn't feel like back-tracking & doing the missing section. It ended up being a 12-hr day anyway. I frequently left a shelter area on a outgoing path rather than the incoming path I took the previous day. It seemed very regimented to have to kick the same rock whenever I left the trail.

I didn't have to worry about money on the trail. I'm frugal by nature & set aside more than enough money to hike the trail. If I had it to do again, I'd probably open up the wallet a little more & enjoy more creature comforts along the way (slack-packing, more town stays, etc). On the back half of the hike, I started doing that. I joked w/ my fellow hikers that I was spending my grandchildren's inheritance.

Cobble
09-11-2015, 18:24
I was an AT purist...cuz I wanted that experience. I also lugged an external frame and used a natural hiking stick...again for the same reasons.

looking at the PCT and CDT...purist is kinda silly. Continuous hike is more realistic. So...I really have no problem with people claiming a thru-hike of the AT as long as they generally stuck to the trail and have a continuous hike between Springer and Katahdin. (Now 2,000 miler claims are pretty specific...you are either did that or not.)

if they skipped a section by boat, car, donkey, airplane they just simply didn't thru-hike or hike the trail simply enough IMHO. I may point that out, give a funny look, or simply swing my bag onto my back and keep walking. I don't need to fix anyone...not my job but the AT is "narrow for chosen company." I just prefer to be around honest folks whether they be dayhikers or long distance hikers. Lie to my face and you WILL lose my respect.

Hangfire
09-12-2015, 01:33
"Drive your own hike"!

Congrats on the accomplishment, you are definitely part of an ever shrinking population of AT thru hikers. Unfortunately there is no distinction between purists and the mob, just a head nod from the people around you who acknowledge what you did. I'm sure you ran into a German or two who were holding to the same standards as you, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity take it seriously.

PS How was that ascent up Katahdin with the full kit on your back. I definitely questioned myself several times on the steep scrambles...

MuddyWaters
09-12-2015, 01:56
There is no single definition of a thru hike. There are many. You choose to believe the one you want.

There IS a single definition of a 2000 miler, because that is specified by the organization granting recognition.

No ones thru hike is any better than anyone elses. All are ridiculously impure with time spent in towns instead of on trail. Depending on others, etc.

Debating levels of impurity is asinine and a sign of someone that really doesnt believe HYOH, they believe " my hike is better"

There are even morons that believe you have to touch every blaze.

Neemor
09-12-2015, 01:57
Climbing katahdin wasnt bad at all, because my full pack was light. I had no stove or cook gear and no shelter (i mailed my tent home and shelter hopped the last 3 weeks). So i was probably around 12-13 lbs plus water.
And my mom climbed with me so i was going at her pace and had more time.

squeezebox
09-12-2015, 02:32
Go in peace my brother, and sin no more.

Traveler
09-12-2015, 05:46
Anyone at the purest purist level of play knows if you don't touch all the blazes as you pass by, you cannot be considered a top level, elite, purist, name on the wall, honored around campfires, and every kid in America wanting to be like them, thru hiker. :eek:

JohnHuth
09-12-2015, 08:48
Maybe someone can shed some light on this question for me - I'm not sure this is the best thread, but it is *a* thread.

First, I'm *not* a thru hiker, and pretty sure I don't aspire to the moniker. In part, for the AT, the crowd is too big and I like to be more alone in the woods, but this is just me. Also, I'm not sure I can carve out enough time - but I do enjoy backpacking for sure.

When I hiked with my son on his thru-hike in North Carolina, he was wildly enthusiastic about it - saying that I should do this on my sabbatical (this year - would be the coming spring). Still when he stopped off in Harper's Ferry, he was quite enthusiastic. But, by the time he reached the Maine/NH border, he was 'ready for it to be over', and then talked very little about it.

I met a couple down in North Carolina. The woman got a nasty sprain in Virginia and had to yellow-blaze 18 miles to get x-rayed and so forth. She had a bit of (welcomed) cynicism and reflection on the experience - but also seemed to be quite happy to be finished by the time she hit Maine.

So, my question is this: is there a kind of burn-out that happens after a certain point? Maybe not for everyone, but it seems to be for some.

lemon b
09-12-2015, 09:43
I respect both positions. I am not a purest. The term Yellow Blaze at one time ment following white blazes when they followed paved roads. This was much more common in the 70's & 80's.

DavidNH
09-12-2015, 09:58
You know who should be tarred and feathered and left out to beg for tuna packets? Those blasted Slack Packers who skip climbs and don't even carry their gear.

Deadeye
09-12-2015, 10:07
There is no single definition of a thru hike. There are many. You choose to believe the one you want.

There IS a single definition of a 2000 miler, because that is specified by the organization granting recognition.

No ones thru hike is any better than anyone elses. All are ridiculously impure with time spent in towns instead of on trail. Depending on others, etc.

Debating levels of impurity is asinine and a sign of someone that really doesnt believe HYOH, they believe " my hike is better"

There are even morons that believe you have to touch every blaze.

+1, thank you.

rafe
09-12-2015, 10:07
Around the campfire, we're all just hikers. I had to learn to steer clear of arguments and definitions of who's hiking purely and who isn't. These were the sort of arguments that drove me off the trail long ago. I found myself much happier hiking solo, or among hikers who had more interesting things to talk about.

Be content with what you've hiked, and how you've hiked, and leave it at that.

WingedMonkey
09-12-2015, 10:45
So, my question is this: is there a kind of burn-out that happens after a certain point? Maybe not for everyone, but it seems to be for some.

I NEVER wanted to go home.

I might have wondered more than once when I was injured, or the weather was too hot, too wet or too cold, or it seemed I might run out of time, if I would make it.

But can't remember ever wanting to stop.

Even now if I have 10 days to be in the woods, I'm gonna be 10 days in the woods.....unless I find a way to make it 12 days.

At the same time, I have told some miserable people to just shut up and go home.

:sun

Neemor
09-12-2015, 11:02
So, my question is this: is there a kind of burn-out that happens after a certain point? Maybe not for everyone, but it seems to be for some.

When i hit mt Washington and the terrain got very hard I was ready to be finished. And i felt that way until after stratton in maine. But after stratton I really enjoyed the trail and the rest of my hike.

ZenRabbit
09-12-2015, 11:29
Congratulations on finishing strong. I have followed your videos on YouTube and found them very informative and you gave me a sense of being on the trail in each segment.

Everyone has their own way of hiking and level of discipline. What matters is that you have that time to remember forever. I remember the crappiest day stuck in a shelter in Maine during two consecutive days of torrential rains more clearly than any crappy day at a crappy job. :)

Now you might have to go west, young man... PCT, CDT?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

MamaBear
09-12-2015, 12:24
Congrats, Neemor! Nice to see your summit photo! Pacer, BigSky and I summited on the 10th. Interesting that we had the had same style in regards to slacking and/or yellow blazing. Didn't know that.

PomPom (need to get the admins to change my user name!)

NY HIKER 50
09-12-2015, 12:45
Here is what I do. I already hiked the full trail once and did it as a purist. Now I can return to my favorite spots and do what I please. I know all the short cuts and road walks. You can never tell me I'm doing it wrong now. For example, I can now bypass St. John's Ledges since it was done the first time by taking a road walk.

George
09-12-2015, 13:09
Maybe someone can shed some light on this question for me - I'm not sure this is the best thread, but it is *a* thread.

First, I'm *not* a thru hiker, and pretty sure I don't aspire to the moniker. In part, for the AT, the crowd is too big and I like to be more alone in the woods, but this is just me. Also, I'm not sure I can carve out enough time - but I do enjoy backpacking for sure.

When I hiked with my son on his thru-hike in North Carolina, he was wildly enthusiastic about it - saying that I should do this on my sabbatical (this year - would be the coming spring). Still when he stopped off in Harper's Ferry, he was quite enthusiastic. But, by the time he reached the Maine/NH border, he was 'ready for it to be over', and then talked very little about it.

I met a couple down in North Carolina. The woman got a nasty sprain in Virginia and had to yellow-blaze 18 miles to get x-rayed and so forth. She had a bit of (welcomed) cynicism and reflection on the experience - but also seemed to be quite happy to be finished by the time she hit Maine.

So, my question is this: is there a kind of burn-out that happens after a certain point? Maybe not for everyone, but it seems to be for some.

looking for a more solitary hike? - off season on the AT can be very solitary

I usually go out for a month at a time, and look forward to going home

Bronk
09-12-2015, 13:56
One argument against slackpacking I don't see that often is that after a few weeks you're in shape to carry a fully loaded pack...take 2 or more days slackpacking and that pack is going to feel much heavier when you have to put it back on.

JustaTouron
09-12-2015, 14:09
Bronk,

I could see your point if you slack for a week, but if it is only for a day or two, isn't it more like taking a nero. Gives your body a day to rest.

Sent from my SM-T110 using Tapatalk

JohnHuth
09-12-2015, 14:46
Congratulations, Neemor, by the way! Truly!

JohnHuth
09-12-2015, 14:47
looking for a more solitary hike? - off season on the AT can be very solitary


Oh yes, and I do. I was just reflecting on being in the NOBO bubble this spring.

Neemor
09-12-2015, 15:02
Congrats, Neemor! Nice to see your summit photo! Pacer, BigSky and I summited on the 10th. Interesting that we had the had same style in regards to slacking and/or yellow blazing. Didn't know that.

PomPom (need to get the admins to change my user name!)

Thanks! Congratulations to you guys as well! It's good to hear from you!

Casey & Gina
09-12-2015, 17:39
Climbing katahdin wasnt bad at all, because my full pack was light. I had no stove or cook gear and no shelter (i mailed my tent home and shelter hopped the last 3 weeks). So i was probably around 12-13 lbs plus water.
And my mom climbed with me so i was going at her pace and had more time.

OMG CHEATER!!! Hahaha just kidding of course. Definitely respect your approach and hope to be able to hold myself to the same principles myself! I just finished reading a book about one person's AT thru-hike. Well-written and honest but not my style with too many multi-day benders in towns, yellow/blue blazing to hike less miles, etc. We are all approaching the trail from different points in our lives, but for me it is something to take seriously to get the most out of the experience.

Astro
09-12-2015, 18:20
It's not that hard to get lost on the AT, actually. Usually at road crossings where you need to jog up or down the road a bit. Sometimes when the trail's been rerouted and you find yourself walking the "old" trail before the reroute.

After crossing bridges is another time to really watch for the white blazes, especially when multiple trails (or roads) join together to take advantage of the same bridge. :)

MuddyWaters
09-12-2015, 20:59
It's not that hard to get lost on the AT, actually. Usually at road crossings where you need to jog up or down the road a bit. Sometimes when the trail's been rerouted and you find yourself walking the "old" trail before the reroute.
When this has happened to me, there was always pile of sticks or a log across the old trail, and i was just the dumb dumb that stepped across it and kept going .

Fredt4
09-12-2015, 21:55
Purest isn't for me. For example when your in the Whites do you skip the peaks or stay on the trail. For me skipping the peaks shows that purest put form over substance. Purest may believe they accomplish something, but I believe they missed the show. HYOH

swjohnsey
09-13-2015, 06:52
I know I walked every inch of the trail with my pack and that is all that matters.

rickb
09-13-2015, 07:35
Purest isn't for me. For example when your in the Whites do you skip the peaks or stay on the trail. For me skipping the peaks shows that purest put form over substance. Purest may believe they accomplish something, but I believe they missed the show. HYOH

I understand the motivation to "check off" the peaks that the AT skirts in the Presidentials, but would challenge the notion that you are missing anything if you don't.

Since the AT is already above treeline, the incremental elevation gain doesn't add a great deal in terms of view, and while the 360* perspective is always wonderful, there are many opportunities for that close by.

So IMHO I don't think one I'd missing much (or anything) by taking the AT. As an added benefit, you get to contemplate the history of the path you are taking and those who walked it before. Plus, you are left with another reason to come back in the years that follow.

RockDoc
09-13-2015, 18:40
I think that the worst thing about the AT is people judging others according to imagined rules and some sort of ideal.
This is concentrating on the wrong things… It's sad because there is so much potential here for great camaraderie.
Let people do what they want to do. It's really no reflection on you, or business of yours.