View Full Version : Official Thru Hike
Please share in your opinion what constitutes an official thru hike. Some have told me that as long as you complete the trail in one yr its a thru hike. Others have said that it has to be continuous except for resupply stops and a few days along the way. Others have said if your injured and need to be away and then come back its still a thru hike.
One guy even suggested I go down and hike the AT state of Georgia on long weekends after January 1st to get that state finished before starting NOBO and as long as its within 2011 its still a thru hike.
So in other words alot of different ideas on what an official thru hike truly is.
Please share your thoughts and I thank you.
Megapixel
12-17-2010, 21:59
From the A.T.C.:
"A hike of the entire length of the Trail within one year is called a thru-hike."
Bottom line though in my opinion, (and many others)... HYOH.
I think that it's when someone attemps to hike an entire trail with the intention of completing it without stopping, regardless of direction or sequence of sections.
If something arises and interupts the hike causing you to leave the trail and come back it'd up to the you to decide when you finished the entire trail if you wanted to call it a thru hike or not.
It wouldn't really matter to anyone but the hiker anyway.
There's no such thing as an "official" thru hike. No one keeps a record of what one does. ATC gives a certificate and patch to anyone who tries hard to walk the entire trail. But anyone can get those just by making a claim. No one is checking.
If you complete the trail over several years the ATC offerings are called 2000-miler certificates. If you claim to have done it in a calendar year, ATC sometimes thinks of it as a "thru" hike.
I used to think of applying for an ATC certificate, but when I mentioned the possibility to Wingfoot and told him what I had done in 1993, he was appalled at the idea. And us old trail place folks quickly learned not to do things Dan didn't approve of. For what it's worth I certainly felt like a thru hiker when I arrived on the summit of Katahdin after walking for most of six months and three days.
kayak karl
12-17-2010, 22:25
trying to start trouble.LOL i don't, or does any other real hike give a crap of what you do or don't do. so wear your patch proudly. :D
Oh Jeez not this subject again.
Yes, but the real question is: How much money will I need?
4eyedbuzzard
12-17-2010, 22:45
Yes, but the real question is: How much money will I need?
How many times do you have to be told?!
$4000 - which does not include costs for your hammock, steripen, leki poles, bear spray, maps, compass, first aid kit, dog food, Bill Bryson books - or guns.
Slo-go'en
12-17-2010, 23:08
Yes, but the real question is: How much money will I need?
More then you got:rolleyes:
You will not officially complete a thru hike. Plenty of pompous donkeys on and off the trail will tell you so.
Please share in your opinion what constitutes an official thru hike. Some have told me that as long as you complete the trail in one yr its a thru hike. Others have said that it has to be continuous except for resupply stops and a few days along the way. Others have said if your injured and need to be away and then come back its still a thru hike.
One guy even suggested I go down and hike the AT state of Georgia on long weekends after January 1st to get that state finished before starting NOBO and as long as its within 2011 its still a thru hike.
So in other words alot of different ideas on what an official thru hike truly is.
Please share your thoughts and I thank you.In my opinion it's when one sets out to hike a long distance trail, like the AT for example, and they complete the hike in one year (365 days). With the AT, it is pretty hard/impossible for most hikers to be able to perform a winter thru-hike of it. The majority of hikers (like 90%) start their hikes of the AT down in Georgia at Springer Mountain (usually around the beginning of Spring) and head Northbound and arrive sometime on or before October 15th at Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park in Maine (since this is when the park officially "closes", and climbing Mt. Katahdin after this date becomes increasingly more dangerous due to the weather). In other words, a thru-hike of the entire trail within 365 continuous days. As far as leaving the trail due to medical, family, money needs/problems, etc...it wouldn't matter as long as you return to hike the entire length in that 365 day period:-?.
Lone Wolf
12-18-2010, 00:21
From the A.T.C.:
"A hike of the entire length of the Trail within one year is called a thru-hike."
Bottom line though in my opinion, (and many others)... HYOH.
coming from most who never even hike
max patch
12-18-2010, 00:25
Start at one terminus and hike to the other terminus.
Start at one terminus and hike to the other terminus.
No one can disagree that this definition of a thru hike, though there are others that are equally valid.
The complication comes when one adds the adjective "official" to any definition. That implies some higher authority ordained the definition. I don't know of any such authority. The trail is the trail. No one in any position of authority ordains anything about what hiking the trail between Springer and Katahdin involves.
Official policy is policy "publicly acknowledged and defended by an official or organisation." There simply is no official or organization, pompous or otherwise, that I know of that decrees what is or isn't a thru hike. A thru hike is whatever feels like a thru hike to the person walking the trail between Springer and Katahdin, I think. Anyone who may believe that there is an official thru hike definition is wrong. There is no official with the authoity to make any such decree. That leaves every hiker, even every member of White Blaze, to make their own definition.
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy issues pieces of paper to anyone that claims to meet it's definition of a 2,000-miler. But as near as I can tell, that is mostly a public relations effort, a way to find out what is happening along the trail, and to allow it to publicize the trail. Since ATC is a voluntary organization, dependent on support from the public, names are also valuable when recruiting volunteers and other support.
Apart from the ATC, I think the only other agency that one could argue is "official" is ALDHA-West, for the triple crown award. Their criteria (http://www.aldhawest.org/pdf/TripleCrown_Application_2010.pdf) is pretty terse, just that a person has hiked the full length of each of the three "crown jewel" trails.
I think that anything beyond that are personal rules that folks might opt to impose on themselves.
~
I think that anything beyond that are personal rules that folks might opt to impose on themselves.
...and impose on others, which can precipitate some spirited exchanges.
One of the risks of trying to define a thru-hike is that some scenarios may not fit a rigid definition. Consider these:
1. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. During the trek, the hiker does not go home, but takes 45 zero days, including a week of partying in Damascus during Trail Days. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
2. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. The hiker takes no zero days, until a stress fracture sends the hiker back home for one month. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
3. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. This hiker takes no zero days, except to fly home for 2 weeks as a result of a death in the family. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
4. A hiker begins at Springer on January 1 and walks 5.95 miles, every day, without a zero day, until reaching Katahdin. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
Which of these hikers completed a thru-hike by your definition?
Megapixel
12-18-2010, 06:47
coming from most who never even hike
say what? good point wolfie. how did you know i never hike?
When you're on the trail, you're thru hiking. When you're off the trail, you're through hiking.
This is all i know.
Lone Wolf
12-18-2010, 07:26
say what? good point wolfie. how did you know i never hike?
was referring to ATC
People can define things however they like.
For example, one could say they swam the English channel if they start in England and swim 15 miles towards France one year, and then go to France and swim 15 miles towards England the next.
AT hikers seem especially eager to define things to match their own approach. And are welcome to do so.
A through hike used to mean starting at one end of the Trail and walking to the other in a single journey. If it looked like a duck and quacked like a duck, it was a duck.
jersey joe
12-18-2010, 09:45
Officially? Hike the whole trail in one year! If something comes up and you need to jump off the trail for a week, i can live with that.
Officially? Hike the whole trail in one year! If something comes up and you need to jump off the trail for a week, i can live with that.
So is the following a thru-hike?
~
4. A hiker begins at Springer on January 1 and walks 5.95 miles, every day, without a zero day, until reaching Katahdin. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
neighbor dave
12-18-2010, 10:47
birth ------>>>>> death
4eyedbuzzard
12-18-2010, 11:29
One of the risks of trying to define a thru-hike is that some scenarios may not fit a rigid definition. Consider these:
1. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. During the trek, the hiker does not go home, but takes 45 zero days, including a week of partying in Damascus during Trail Days. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
2. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. The hiker takes no zero days, until a stress fracture sends the hiker back home for one month. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
3. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. This hiker takes no zero days, except to fly home for 2 weeks as a result of a death in the family. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
4. A hiker begins at Springer on January 1 and walks 5.95 miles, every day, without a zero day, until reaching Katahdin. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
Which of these hikers completed a thru-hike by your definition?
By my definition, all of them, provided they honestly attempted to walk past every white blaze, weather and safety conditions permitting, all per ATC guidlines.
Personally, if you walk up I-95, or the Atlantic Ocean coastline, or [insert route of choice] from GA to ME i think you should get an "X" miler patch of some sort, provided you walk past every mile marker, clam shell, or what have you, because if you're nuts (in a nice sense) enough to do that, you're likely nuts enough to thru-hike the AT anyway.
People are just way too obsessed with defining, verifying, and rewarding thru-hiking in general. Get a pack and bag, go walk in the woods a bit, pitch your tent or hammock or find a lean-to - and relax. There's no pay, no prize, and no point - except what you get for actually doing it.
But that's just me. I'm willing to be wrong.
HiKen2011
12-18-2010, 11:49
My hats off to ANYONE who completes the AT or any other long distance trail either by thruhiking or section hiking these trails. It takes loads of dedication either way! Just my 2 pennies.
Also anyone who attempts and has to get off for various reasons, not a failure at all imo, just the simple act of the attempt should be recognized as a triumph.
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/atf/cf/%7BB8A229E6-1CDC-41B7-A615-2D5911950E45%7D/2000miler_application.pdf This is the application that the ATC asks one to fill out for the ATC recognition for your certificate. I know of several people that have walked the trail and do not apply and several people who have applied and do not meet the req but felt they meet the spirit of the req. As someone has mentioned it is on the honor system and is an individual honor system.
RITBlake
12-18-2010, 11:52
Start at one terminus and hike to the other terminus.
Agree with MP.
One of the risks of trying to define a thru-hike is that some scenarios may not fit a rigid definition. Consider these:
1. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. During the trek, the hiker does not go home, but takes 45 zero days, including a week of partying in Damascus during Trail Days. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
2. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. The hiker takes no zero days, until a stress fracture sends the hiker back home for one month. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
3. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. This hiker takes no zero days, except to fly home for 2 weeks as a result of a death in the family. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
4. A hiker begins at Springer on January 1 and walks 5.95 miles, every day, without a zero day, until reaching Katahdin. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
Which of these hikers completed a thru-hike by your definition?
All four have completed a thru hike, assuming they didn't skip significant pieces of the trail in between their walks. No one can do a thru hike without leaving the trail for various reasons. Why a hiker leaves is totally up to the hiker. I suspect almost every thru hiker stops occasionally to recover from infirmities. And stops at various times for personal reasons -- ranging from family problems to recovering from hangovers. And everyone has to stop to resupply.
The only question is what I mean by "significant pieces of the trail." My broad definition is walking the length of the corridor as it may have been designated by the park service, U. S. Forest Service, or state land preserve managers. Though I can also buy walking diagonally on roads leading into town and diagonally on other roads out of town because I did that whenever I could easily do so.
The only sensible question is whether one should count automobile rides. Once I rode in a pickup with a group of five thru hikers from a town to a few hundred yards up a logging road that doubled as the trail to a spot where our trail angel could find a safer turn around spot. Four of us thanked him and kept on walking. One walked back to the edge of the highway before retracing his steps north. I think all five of us qualified as "thru hikers." Four of us as sensible and polite thru hikers; one as a bit nonsensible and perhaps was perceived by our driver as insulting.
.................................
Yeah, 10-K, I'm not feeling the compulsion. I feel the compulsion to hike, as much as possible. But to through-hike a specific super-long trail in one season? Not so much. I might end up section-hiking the whole AT over a couple of decades.
It's more my speed to get out and hike favored destinations around the US and the world, and to hike as many fine trails as I can as often as I can near my home, whatever the blaze color.
max patch
12-18-2010, 12:21
[QUOTE=Roland;1081094]4. A hiker begins at Springer on January 1 and walks 5.95 miles, every day, without a zero day, until reaching Katahdin. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
[QUOTE]
Close but no cigar (or patch).
(5.95*366) = 2,177.7 miles.
AT is 2,181.0 miles.
Personally, I don't include the "one year" limitation that most of you do. So if he completes his hike on January 1 of the next year thats ok by me.
alverhootzt
12-18-2010, 13:58
Am I understanding right that the ATC wouldn't recognize a hike started at Katahdin in, say, August 2010 and completed at Springer in January 2011 just because it's not in the same calendar year?
Am I understanding right that the ATC wouldn't recognize a hike started at Katahdin in, say, August 2010 and completed at Springer in January 2011 just because it's not in the same calendar year?
And where does it say calendar year?
Stir Fry
12-18-2010, 15:09
What if you hike Septembe 1 to October 30. Then come back and May 1 and finish on Aug 30. Is this a thru hike.
jersey joe
12-18-2010, 15:27
So is the following a thru-hike?
Is it a leap year?
yes, that is a thru hike.
One of the risks of trying to define a thru-hike is that some scenarios may not fit a rigid definition. Consider these:
1. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. During the trek, the hiker does not go home, but takes 45 zero days, including a week of partying in Damascus during Trail Days. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
2. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. The hiker takes no zero days, until a stress fracture sends the hiker back home for one month. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
3. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. This hiker takes no zero days, except to fly home for 2 weeks as a result of a death in the family. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
4. A hiker begins at Springer on January 1 and walks 5.95 miles, every day, without a zero day, until reaching Katahdin. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
Which of these hikers completed a thru-hike by your definition?
1. yes
2. No
3. No
4. yes
Did I pass the test?
Am I understanding right that the ATC wouldn't recognize a hike started at Katahdin in, say, August 2010 and completed at Springer in January 2011 just because it's not in the same calendar year?
I suspect if you call it a thru hike, ATC will do the same. But you should ask them.
As I understand it, ATC offers only one certificate -- one for completing the entire trail, regardless of the time it takes. ATC calls such a person a 2,000 miler. If the hiker tells ATC he did the walk in one year, I have the impression that the certificate adds a note that the walk was a "thru hike."
It's been a while since I've seen a 2000 miler certificate of recognition. Any I've ever seen including my own had only 3 personalized bits of information: the recipient's name, year of completion and David Startzel's signature.
Anyone care to post an image of what's provided currently?
max patch
12-18-2010, 16:43
What if you hike Septembe 1 to October 30. Then come back and May 1 and finish on Aug 30. Is this a thru hike.
No. that's 2 section hikes that would quality you as a 2,000 miler assuming you walked the white blazes.
Blissful
12-18-2010, 16:44
It wouldn't really matter to anyone but the hiker anyway.
That's about the size of it.
:)
It's been a while since I've seen a 2000 miler certificate of recognition. Any I've ever seen including my own had only 3 personalized bits of information: the recipient's name, year of completion and David Startzel's signature.
Anyone care to post an image of what's provided currently?
I don't think they care much one way or the other..... Here's mine.
It took me almost 2.5 years to the day though, hardly a thru hike but I did do some nice, long sections.. What was most important to me is that I didn't knowingly bypass a single white blaze and I made sure that all my sections "connected" so I could say I covered every inch.
But even that only matters to me...
It's only official if you buy the decoder ring to learn the super-secret code that is split into four parts. The four parts were formed in the depths of the Smoky Mtns, signed by Benton MacKaye, Myron Avery, Earl Shaffer and Grandma Gatewood.
Curiously, when the super secret code is decoded with the decoder ring, it says "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine".... :-?
"As I understand it, ATC offers only one certificate -- one for completing the entire trail, regardless of the time it takes. ATC calls such a person a 2,000 miler. If the hiker tells ATC he did the walk in one year, I have the impression that the certificate adds a note that the walk was a "thru hike."
Mine looks just like 10-K's, except that the "completed" part at lower left just says 2010 for mine. So I guess if anyone really cares, the way you infer a thru-hike is that a single year is listed.
Four parts, you say Mags? I knew there was some conspiracy going on when I didn't get my secret decoder ring.
Four parts, hmm, if those four were the ones that also founded the four magical houses (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin) then whoever "designed" all the PUDS into the trail must certainly be the founder of House Slytherin (Benton MacKaye?). Explains a lot.
Speakeasy TN
12-18-2010, 20:34
Start at one terminus and hike to the other terminus.
Oh NO NO NO! You have to see and preferably touch or speak to every WHITE blaze!:banana
max patch
12-18-2010, 20:36
Oh NO NO NO! You have to see and preferably touch or speak to every WHITE blaze!:banana
Of course. That goes without saying.
Oh NO NO NO! You have to see and preferably touch or speak to every WHITE blaze!:banana
I'm sure I didn't see even half of them and didn't speak to any (I may have touched a few....) But it was important to *me* to pass them all to the best of my knowledge.
That's just me though - what other people do in the way of hiking the trail isn't even a blip to me.
jersey joe
12-18-2010, 22:08
I'm sure I didn't see even half of them and didn't speak to any (I may have touched a few....) But it was important to *me* to pass them all to the best of my knowledge.
That's just me though - what other people do in the way of hiking the trail isn't even a blip to me.
I'm the same way 10-k...it was important for me to pass them all too.
One of the risks of trying to define a thru-hike is that some scenarios may not fit a rigid definition. Consider these:
1. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. During the trek, the hiker does not go home, but takes 45 zero days, including a week of partying in Damascus during Trail Days. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
2. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. The hiker takes no zero days, until a stress fracture sends the hiker back home for one month. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
3. A hiker begins at Springer on March 1 and reaches Katahdin on October 15. This hiker takes no zero days, except to fly home for 2 weeks as a result of a death in the family. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
4. A hiker begins at Springer on January 1 and walks 5.95 miles, every day, without a zero day, until reaching Katahdin. Has this hiker completed a thru-hike?
Which of these hikers completed a thru-hike by your definition?
All of them .... HYOH!
Here's mine.
Thank you for taking the time to post in response to my question. I seem to recall certificates from the 1980s just indicated the year of completion regardless of when the hike(s) began, but otherwise they remain pretty much the same.
So I guess if anyone really cares, the way you infer a thru-hike is that a single year is listed.
Unless it wasn't a calendar year through hike or someone chooses to call their accomplishment a series of section hikes. Some people like to argue and will argue about almost anything whether it matters or not.
I hike for several reasons. To see and experience places I haven't seen before. To revisit especially interesting places. To see what is around the next corner. To see if I can still do tough things. And because I just enjoy communing with wild places. I try to identify the trees, plants, flowers and creatures I meet.
The idea of passing every white blaze had never occurred to me when I started on Springer in 1993. I quickly learned of course that some hikers were obsessed with passing every white blaze.
My obsession was to take every interesting side trail. I'd been maintaining the AT for at least two decades before I started north. I knew that these things were mostly built as special attractions for people using the trails. It seemed impolite to ignore these efforts. Plus I just wanted to see whatever it was that maintainers were especially pointing to.
So I never really had a chance of qualifying for a 2000-miler certificate from ATC. I sensed that I probably saw more of the trail and its surroundings than most thru hikers during the six months and three days i spent hiking that year. But I missed quite a few white blazes and boring trail sections in the process.
As they say, hike your own hike. But for those who haven't decided, my advice is to do whatever makes your walk most enjoyable. I have a wall of plaques and certificates. Still a 2000-miler addition would be nice, but not so nice that I was willing to fib to get it. Not that I'm opposed to fibbing. My jobs over the decades required a bit of pretending from time to time. But only about important things. Not something as simple as just walking.
Stir Fry
12-19-2010, 00:53
No. that's 2 section hikes that would quality you as a 2,000 miler assuming you walked the white blazes.
So for it to be a thru hike it should be in the same calander year. Not just a year say 365 days.
4eyedbuzzard
12-19-2010, 01:50
Everybody has an an asterisk next to their name for something.
Speakeasy TN
12-19-2010, 05:26
I've been planning for about 9 months now and sponging all the info I can off this forum. That being said, even I am tired of this thread in its many incarnations. Thanks to all the old-timers who help us get it sorted out in our own minds though. To HYOH you have to have this question squared away.
It would be interesting to know how many threads and/or posts have been dedicated to this question.
jersey joe
12-19-2010, 11:49
I always liked the comparison between a thru hike and a marathon. A thru hike has a specific path and distance, so does a marathon. If you want to run the NYC marathon, you run the distance and the path they lay out or you don't. Same with a thru hike.
Now a marathon isn't for everyone. There are millions of people who enjoy running who have absolutely no desire to run a marathon. They run different routes and distances. It can even be argued that a marathon really isn't a healthy distance to run. A thru hike isn't for everyone either. Many people LOVE hiking all the different trails and have no desire to thru hike the AT. Nothing wrong with that.
There are some who accept the constraints of a marathon or a thru hike though. 26.2 miles, the marathon course, some accept, even enjoy the constraints that come with running a certain marathon. Some accept even enjoy hiking the entire distance of a thru hike.
I would even go as far as to say the time constraint, one year, imposed on a thru hike completion is similar to that imposed by a marathon. If you run a marathon and it takes you three days to complete...did you run the marathon? Well, you ran the distance and the course, but not in an appropriate time. Marathons have time restrictions. So does a thru hike.
Finally, just because someone runs a marathon doesn't mean they can't enjoy short runs before and after the marathon. Just because someone decides to hike the entire AT as a thru hike doesn't mean they can't go back out there after their thru hike and hike all of the many wonderful blue blazes along the way. To say you can thru hike or enjoy the surrounding trails is a false choice...most of the people that hike past every blaze go back out there and hike the side trails afterwards.
So for it to be a thru hike it should be in the same calander year. Not just a year say 365 days.
Who says so?
Everybody has an an asterisk next to their name for something.
I took the road walk into Stratton. I was sick and out of food. Either way, I did the trail in two sections, so I probably don't qualify as a thru hiker anyway. As I see it, I hiked the trail, regardless of whether I am a section, thru, or just a cheater because I skipped eight miles of trail. Please don't tell the ATC, as I still want my patch.:D
So for it to be a thru hike it should be in the same calander year. Not just a year say 365 days.Within 1 years time (365 days)
Who says so?For one the Appalachian Trail Conference:http://www.appalachiantrail.org/atf/cf/%7BB8A229E6-1CDC-41B7-A615-2D5911950E45%7D/2000miler_application.pdf
max patch
12-19-2010, 13:50
A thru is hiking more or less continously from terminus to terminus.
If you are fast and can do it in 60 days great. If you are slow and can only hike 5 miles a day and take 13 months to hike it great. Both are thrus.
If you hike 2 months, take 3 months off, and then finish in another 2 months that is not a thru even tho you completed your hike in 7 months. That is 2 section hikes.
4eyedbuzzard
12-19-2010, 14:16
Within 1 years time (365 days)
For one the Appalachian Trail Conference:http://www.appalachiantrail.org/atf/cf/%7BB8A229E6-1CDC-41B7-A615-2D5911950E45%7D/2000miler_application.pdf
Who owns the rights to the term "thru-hike"? [retorical] No one - not WF nor even the ATC. ATC has their definition, NPS theirs, and WF definitely has his definition. So the term is undefined in any technical or legal sense. Consensus opinion and common usage is the only way it can be defined. And there simply isn't a consensus opinion beyond walking from GA to ME, as can be seen by reading this thread.
Stir Fry
12-19-2010, 14:26
I get it now. If I started in Septrember and finished in Febuary. It would be a thru hike. Just as starting in March and finish in September is a thru hike. It needs to be more or less contenues during a 1 year period, Maby not a calander year but contenus, for it to be a true thru hike. Good posts I have been trying to get my wife to understans and this helps.
Well ATC does say that a section hike takes more than one year, so I guess technically you are correct. Though whether it is one year or more it is still an identical 2,000-miler certificate that ATC gives out. As ATC says, "Issues of sequence, direction, speed, length of time or whether one carries a pack are not considered...."
I get it now. If I started in Septrember and finished in Febuary. It would be a thru hike. Just as starting in March and finish in September is a thru hike. It needs to be more or less contenues during a 1 year period, Maby not a calander year but contenus, for it to be a true thru hike. Good posts I have been trying to get my wife to understans and this helps.
A definition of a thru hike is in the mind of the person hiking and in the minds of those observing the person hiking. Your understanding is my understanding. I don't have a clue as to others understanding.
If I had walked from September to February, I would check the thru hike box and fill out the two years involved and let ATC figure it out if they wish to bother.
Toolshed
12-19-2010, 15:07
Yes, but the real question is: How much money will I need?
and like totallllllyyyyyy misterrrrrrr. Those yellow and blue like rectangular thingiesssssss????? Are they like waaay cooollllllll and the trailllllll?
and like totallllllyyyyyy misterrrrrrr. Those yellow and blue like rectangular thingiesssssss????? Are they like waaay cooollllllll and the trailllllll?
??????????? What, if anything, are you trying to say?
A thru is hiking more or less continously from terminus to terminus.
If you are fast and can do it in 60 days great. If you are slow and can only hike 5 miles a day and take 13 months to hike it great. Both are thrus.
If you hike 2 months, take 3 months off, and then finish in another 2 months that is not a thru even tho you completed your hike in 7 months. That is 2 section hikes.I can understand this reasoning. I think you are right. But basically I believe the original poster wants to know what would define an "officially qualifying" thru-hike. If one were to use this definition, defined by the ATC who supposedly are the "official" organization representing the Appalachian Trail, it's volunteers, etc...and according to their 2000 miler "certification", 365 days are allowed to complete ones thru-hike attempt. Your examples make much more sense in the field and the real world. Someone out there taking their time and taking 13 months to complete the trail would certainly believe to themselves that it was and is a thru-hike they completed regardless of what anyone else or any organization would have to say or consider. And the person taking a three month hiatus off in the middle of their thru-hike and then returning to complete it would not appear to be completing a traditional thru-hike in the sense of all the other's who are basically more or less out there for the duration of their hikes with very little in the way of time spent away from the trail and hiking in order to reach their goal. I think it all boils down to what other's said. It only really matter's to the person who is undertaking their hike. Everything else doesn't. However if one wants it to be "officially" recognized as a thru-hike by the ATC, then in accordance with their 2000 miler certification, in order for them to recognize ones hike of the AT as a thru-hike, time wise the trail must have been completed in a period of no greater than 365 consecutive days (1 year). And as far as allowing 1 year's time to complete the trail, you can be pretty much assured that anybody out there truly attempting to thru-hike the AT will be able to do it in 1 years time, since many can do it in less than half that.
max patch
12-20-2010, 12:49
A lot of people don't know the difference between a "thru hike" and a "2,000 miler" which can make conversations confusing.
When and why did the AT, or any hiking trail become a competition? Most hikers agree on "Hike Your Own Hike" then criticize other peoples methods or try to set rules and definitions. If one wants to define what it means to thru hike then that's fine and "your rule".
I check my ego at the trail head and leave it behind cause they can be heavy to carry.
max patch
12-20-2010, 14:09
When and why did the AT, or any hiking trail become a competition?
It hasn't; except for a handful of self proclaimed "speed hikers" who attempt to set a record.
Words have meanings --- ever hear of Mr Webster -- and we are just answering a direct question of what a specific trail term means.
When and why did the AT, or any hiking trail become a competition? Most hikers agree on "Hike Your Own Hike" then criticize other peoples methods or try to set rules and definitions. If one wants to define what it means to thru hike then that's fine and "your rule".
I check my ego at the trail head and leave it behind cause they can be heavy to carry.
The trail is not a competition to almost all the people one meets on the trail. Of the hundreds of people I met on the trail in 1993, and the thousands I've met before and since, only a relative handful seemed to be competing -- and even then, mostly with themselves.
I suspect that most of the bitter comments about HYOH come from those who fibbed a bit on the form they sent to ATC and resent any hint that doing so might properly be questioned.
max patch
12-20-2010, 14:38
I suspect that most of the bitter comments about HYOH come from those who fibbed a bit on the form they sent to ATC and resent any hint that doing so might properly be questioned.
Bingo!!!!!
From the ATC website:
THRU-HIKING
A hike of the entire length of the Trail within one year is called a thru-hike...
Also from the ATC Website:
SECTION HIKING
Whereas a thru-hiker completes the entire A.T. in one trip, essentially one year, a section-hiker completes the A.T. in multiple trips over a period of years.
In the first paragraph it mentions one year. In the next paragraph it says "essentially" one year. This one year thing is a general statement. Not a legal statement meant to be parsed to death.
The phrase "a thru-hiker completes the entire A.T. in one trip" is key, which makes Max Patch's post #59 about the only post on this thread that makes any sense.
I suspect that most of the bitter comments about HYOH come from those who fibbed a bit on the form they sent to ATC and resent any hint that doing so might properly be questioned.
I can't imagine someone lying about hiking the whole trail certificate or not.. That's really unbelieveable if you think about it.
I'm sorry, but the difference seems to escape me at the moment and seems subject to personal opinion. The legalese stated here over "one trip" seems to fail since there is no set definition to what one trip actually is. The strict interpretation that seems to be advocated by some here seems inconsistent with itself. Using the logic stated, leaving the trail for any reason should make your hike more then one trip. After all you are taking a "trip" to the store, restaurant, hotel/hostel, movie, or visit with a friend, and not doing something related to the trail and thus breaking up your "one trip". Or leaving the trail to hitch to Trail Days, or to go to Washington DC or New York for a few days would also seem to invalidate your "thru-hike" since you broke up your trip for a few days to take another trip not related to hiking past white blazes.
If you argue that any of those are legitimate for your hike in "One Trip" definition, then anyone who gets off the trail for any reason (resupply, rest, side trip, injury) with the INTENTION of getting back on to continue their hike is still considered "One Trip" and thus still a thru-hike no matter how many days they get off so long as its continued in the same year. To argue differently that some trips are OK and some aren't is inconsistent and subject to personal opinion . And applying an arbitrary time limit of how many days off is acceptable and what isn't is just an opinion that is only binding to the one holding it. Now this is just my opinion, but its no less valid then the rest here.
I'm sorry, but the difference seems to escape me at the moment and seems subject to personal opinion. The legalese stated here over "one trip" seems to fail since there is no set definition to what one trip actually is. The strict interpretation that seems to be advocated by some here seems inconsistent with itself. Using the logic stated, leaving the trail for any reason should make your hike more then one trip. After all you are taking a "trip" to the store, restaurant, hotel/hostel, movie, or visit with a friend, and not doing something related to the trail and thus breaking up your "one trip". Or leaving the trail to hitch to Trail Days, or to go to Washington DC or New York for a few days would also seem to invalidate your "thru-hike" since you broke up your trip for a few days to take another trip not related to hiking past white blazes.
If you argue that any of those are legitimate for your hike in "One Trip" definition, then anyone who gets off the trail for any reason (resupply, rest, side trip, injury) with the INTENTION of getting back on to continue their hike is still considered "One Trip" and thus still a thru-hike no matter how many days they get off so long as its continued in the same year. To argue differently that some trips are OK and some aren't is inconsistent and subject to personal opinion . And applying an arbitrary time limit of how many days off is acceptable and what isn't is just an opinion that is only binding to the one holding it. Now this is just my opinion, but its no less valid then the rest here.
My suggestion is not to worry about it. Just walk and try to enjoy your walk. At the end, if you want a certificate, tell ATC what you did and let it interpret their own rules, which never were very carefully drafted, anyway. If you are walking only because you want to have thru hiked, then I suggest you are probably hiking for the wrong reason anyway.
To the original poster - as you can see from all the reponses, there's a variety of opinions and you are free to select your own definition. What is most critical is that you adopt your standard as dogma and make sure that you preach your gospel to the unenlightened masses.;)
To the original poster - as you can see from all the reponses, there's a variety of opinions and you are free to select your own definition.
Absolutely true and excellent advice. To keep from messing up your otherwise brilliant comment, I've eliminated your silly second sentence.
CrumbSnatcher
12-20-2010, 19:19
The Term ''Thru-hiker'' is used in different ways and it can be confusing. We use it both in the sense of someone attempting a thruhike, as well as someone who has completed a thruhike. The caretaker at springer mountain counts ''thru-hikers'' as they take thier very first steps. We take pictures of and count northbounders, southbounders, and flip-flop ''thru-hikers'' as they come through Harpers Ferry.
While you are in the process of attempting a thru-hike,you are a thruhiker. if you attempt a thruhike but only make it a few miles, after you get off the trail for good you're not really a thru-hiker anymore, especially once 12 months passes (although you had been a thru-hiker for a short time). If someone hikes most of the trail but not all of it, they could claim being a thru-hiker, but not a 2,000-miler afterwards, There are not really clear definitions for thru-hiking.
Another Point: if someone attempts a thru-hike, but doesn't complete it in 12 months, and continues working towards becoming a 2,000 miler, after 12 months they become a section-hiker. i had permission from LAURIEP,to qoute & post this.
Lone Wolf
12-20-2010, 19:23
every time i went to springer i was asked if i was thru hikin'. i said hell no i just started
Absolutely true and excellent advice. To keep from messing up your otherwise brilliant comment, I've eliminated your silly second sentence.
the little "emoticon" thing indicates sarcasm fyi or at least was intended to. What is silly is people arguing over this topic whether it be here on the "interweb" or, heaven forbid, actually on the trail (and yes it does happen there as sad as that is to report).
wvgrinder
12-20-2010, 20:09
every time i went to springer i was asked if i was thru hikin'. i said hell no i just started
Amen! I hope to never be thru hiking! :D
Love all the different comments:
The first of the crazies didn't pass every blaze
Theres no big check on the summit of THE O Holy Mountain
Hike ur own hike.