View Full Version : What is an unsupported hike..??
Nature Boy
12-28-2010, 01:48
OK guys,
What is the definition of an unsupported hike.
Food drops mail to yourself OK, but what about when they are mailed to you by other people.....
Hitch-hiking....yes / no Shuttles into town...??
I understand my hike will be under the microscope so lets get this stuff out in the open....
As long as you don't have an RV waiting for you at every road crossing, its fine by me
nitegaunt
12-28-2010, 02:24
If you feel like your hike will be under a microscope then maybe you should re-think your reasons for it. Do what you think will meet your comfort/financial/logistical needs and abilities and don't worry about what other people think. Unsupported, to me, would mean that you have no one backing you up by sending supplies, etc. But if you have someone who is willing to help you out at home by sending you drops then why not?
couscous
12-28-2010, 07:39
What is an unsupported hike..?? This is just my thoughts.. Unsupported = Someone may have sent you mail drops, but you still have to leave the trail and walk - hitchhike - or get a shuttle to go pick them up. You might have some slackpacking opportunities, but for the most part you are carrying all your supplies and gear. Off-trail tasks can greatly influence your hiking. ~ Supported = having someone with a vehicle dedicated to carry most of the supplies and gear for your entire trip. They meet you at road crossings so you can resupply, camp or get shuttled to/from town. They handle the off-trail tasks so you can just day hike and focus on covering miles.
neighbor dave
12-28-2010, 07:45
no nuthin' you walk from a to b, no cars, no hotels/hostels, you cache all your food.
4eyedbuzzard
12-28-2010, 09:05
In regard to the "record attempts"?
Mail drops to P.O.'s or other places that you pick up yourself are okay, but no one else carrying any of your gear or food. No one setting up camps for you or preparing all your meals, or bringing you food / resupply items at road crossings or shelters, etc, drawing / treating water, caching supplies, etc. I don't know about having people hike/run with you to pace you - I think that is okay. Those who are into monitoring these "events" can offer more. LW can likely spell out most of it if he's willing as he's been "support" to some of the record setters.
Nature Boy
12-28-2010, 15:23
In regard to the "record attempts"?
Mail drops to P.O.'s or other places that you pick up yourself are okay, but no one else carrying any of your gear or food. No one setting up camps for you or preparing all your meals, or bringing you food / resupply items at road crossings or shelters, etc, drawing / treating water, caching supplies, etc. I don't know about having people hike/run with you to pace you - I think that is okay. Those who are into monitoring these "events" can offer more. LW can likely spell out most of it if he's willing as he's been "support" to some of the record setters
so how about it Lone Wolf, are you willing to give some advise..??
Whatever guidelines you come up with some are going to disagree. Normally, hikers have stuff mailed to them along the way, hitch into town, or get rides from friends arranged in advanced to get into town, slackpack etc and it's still considered an unsupported hike. Some anal retentives may disagree.
The only hard-core thing I can think of would be not skip any of the trail when you declare you're finished.
Most everything else that people would get hung up on are personal preferences. For instance, I wouldn't care if you slackpacked as often as possible and didn't hike the entire trail in the same direction.
Let me ask you - what is your definition of an unsupported thru hike?
CrumbSnatcher
12-28-2010, 18:32
IMO big difference between unsupported thruhiking
and unsupported thruhiking with the intentions of setting the record!
slackpacking on a unsupported attempt at the record, i don't like that idea IMO.
maybe on big K with a daypack since most hikes are this way? anyhow.
don't have a opionion on maildrops or who sends them? i wouldn't be cooking my own burgers in town either!
you would still be hiking the miles!
and for 10-k's question about bouncing around, to me it seems like it would be best to keep moving in one direction?
you would have to add all the travel time in too, if you flip-flopped around or something right?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What if a guy normally hikes 25 miles with his pack and one day slacks 10 miles? :-?
Of course, don't take their gear to the top of Katahdin either...
CrumbSnatcher
12-28-2010, 18:57
SLY, are we talking record attempt, because either way that 10 mile day would put you behind!
not saying theres anything wrong with slacking just not on a UNSUPPORTED record attempt? i could be wrong! im open to everyone else's thoughts too
SLY, are we talking record attempt, because either way that 10 mile day would put you behind!
not saying theres anything wrong with slacking just not on a UNSUPPORTED record attempt? i could be wrong! im open to everyone else's thoughts too
Yeah, I know and I tend to agree, I was just comparing it to normal, what's basically considered unsupported thru-hiker.
The record we speak of is kind of vague. Most here will say Ward Leonard holds it but does anyone seriously know of how he actually hiked the trail and in how many days? Did he hitch at all? What about food drops. If he holds the standard one should comply with how he did the trail.
CrumbSnatcher
12-28-2010, 19:16
i don't see a problem with the day pack on big k though, only because 99% of thru's do this. and it seems to be the way
im going with the idea that an "unsupported hike" could be defined diffrently by just about everyone.. its an easy term to leave open for argument.
Naitch... what part of Ohio?
jersey joe
12-28-2010, 19:26
Unsupported hike means that you don't have someone following you and giving you food and setting up camp for you.
You can send yourself maildrops.
You can have someone else send mail drops.
You can hitchhike into towns and eat all the food you want in town.
You must hike the whole entire trail.
Slackpacking is not allowed.
Carry your pack up Katahdin...just because, I don't even care if it is empty.
You can accept trail magic, just don't plan it.
No one should be carrying any of your stuff.
Good luck dude.
4eyedbuzzard
12-28-2010, 19:32
And you can't wear one of these
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2OaBJfY-Sc8/SZLfRKlODXI/AAAAAAAABHU/mo7N1FxpLJk/s400/jock+strap.jpg
CrumbSnatcher
12-28-2010, 19:36
And you can't wear one of these
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2OaBJfY-Sc8/SZLfRKlODXI/AAAAAAAABHU/mo7N1FxpLJk/s400/jock+strap.jpg
whats wrong with a face shield?:-?
CrumbSnatcher
12-28-2010, 19:43
Unsupported hike means that you don't have someone following you and giving you food and setting up camp for you.
You can send yourself maildrops.
You can have someone else send mail drops.
You can hitchhike into towns and eat all the food you want in town.
You must hike the whole entire trail.
Slackpacking is not allowed.
Carry your pack up Katahdin...just because, I don't even care if it is empty.
You can accept trail magic, just don't plan it.
No one should be carrying any of your stuff.
Good luck dude.
joe, how about friends meeting up with & hiking a section with you, thats ok but what about them giving you a ride into town& it was planned ahead of time? or someone from WB following your trek, going out to meet you and offer a ride? should all rides to town not be pre planned or arranged?
by the way i completely agree with your thoughts on this issue.
jersey joe
12-28-2010, 19:47
joe, how about friends meeting up with & hiking a section with you, thats ok but what about them giving you a ride into town& it was planned ahead of time? or someone from WB following your trek, going out to meet you and offer a ride? should all rides to town not be pre planned or arranged?
by the way i completely agree with your thoughts on this issue.
Friends can meet up and hike with you, just can't carry your stuff for you. The rides into town is interesting...i guess it is a matter of how much, if it happens one or two times where they happen to be hiking with you one day and drive you to town at a road crossing, i can live with that...if they do it for a month, that's support.
CrumbSnatcher
12-28-2010, 19:50
how about two hikers hiking the entire trail together and attempting the record.
are they allowed to filter each others water, or help each other in other ways as long as they both carry thier own gear?
He's going to have to define it for himself and tell us his guidelines.
No way everyone is going to agree on this.
jersey joe
12-28-2010, 19:57
how about two hikers hiking the entire trail together and attempting the record.
are they allowed to filter each others water, or help each other in other ways as long as they both carry thier own gear?
Yeah, i'd say that's alright too. You are asking some good questions though crumb...
10k, you are right, most people will have varying views on this topic...but it is interesting that someone going for a record is trying to define this beforehand.
neighbor dave
12-28-2010, 19:58
if i hitch hike to the airport, pick up a ticket at the counter that a friend procured for me,get on a plane and fly to beijing, get off the plane and take a taxi to the hotel is it an unsupported trip?
Lone Wolf
12-28-2010, 21:36
The record we speak of is kind of vague. Most here will say Ward Leonard holds it but does anyone seriously know of how he actually hiked the trail and in how many days? Did he hitch at all? What about food drops. If he holds the standard one should comply with how he did the trail.
ward hitched, walked or accepted unplanned rides from road crossings to get to towns for food. no cell phones back then. he never slackpacked. nobody ever "paced him", he was very anti-social then. he was very anal about doing every white blaze that year. i firmly believe his record is true. he was a machine. gonna be hard to match it or do better
Black Wolf
12-28-2010, 23:04
joe, how about friends meeting up with & hiking a section with you, thats ok but what about them giving you a ride into town& it was planned ahead of time? or someone from WB following your trek, going out to meet you and offer a ride? should all rides to town not be pre planned or arranged?
by the way i completely agree with your thoughts on this issue.
I'm with you here...if it's pre-arranged...it's supported...hitching a ride to town from a stranger is a part of the adventure..there are so many variables that one can never truly plan..I personally think a supported thru record attempt is a joke...kool endurance test...but in no ways would I associate that with reality...
now for a real challenge... do a thru with just a knife and the clothes on your back...and make or scrounge all your supplies...
Black Wolf
12-28-2010, 23:07
how about two hikers hiking the entire trail together and attempting the record.
are they allowed to filter each others water, or help each other in other ways as long as they both carry thier own gear?
so long as they don't hold hands or kiss....spooning is allowed...
BTW..what external do you use...Pack that is ??..I'll be using the Jansport Carson... slightly modified on my thru..
CrumbSnatcher
12-28-2010, 23:17
so long as they don't hold hands or kiss....spooning is allowed...
BTW..what external do you use...Pack that is ??..I'll be using the Jansport Carson... slightly modified on my thru..
always wanted to try a carson.
i wear a kelty super tioga the newer ones had a lighter stronger fabric
i believe the pack is 5lbs. something
in 98-99 i think my super tioga weighed 7 pds.
yeah your right no holding hands or kissing! what is this a family reunion or a hike.
What about caches, that you hid yourself prehike? Eliminate the need to hitch or walk to town.
CrumbSnatcher
12-28-2010, 23:21
caches? sounds like alot of work to me
i'd rather hike a couple more hours a day
so i can grub in town! ;)
4eyedbuzzard
12-28-2010, 23:22
spooning is allowed...
I didn't realize the AT summited Brokeback Mountain.
caches? sounds like alot of work to me
i'd rather hike a couple more hours a day
so i can grub in town! ;)
Yeah, me too. But I thought the subject was a record attempt. Maybe they would'nt be much advantage to them.
Black Wolf
12-28-2010, 23:50
I didn't realize the AT summited Brokeback Mountain.
when you see that rainbow blaze ... don't go on it...
CrumbSnatcher
12-29-2010, 01:21
Yeah, me too. But I thought the subject was a record attempt. Maybe they would'nt be much advantage to them.
the subject was unsupported hiking
by the OP who i believe is going to try to break the record?
not sure if theres a advantage to curb side resuppling or not? i would rather hike in and out of say 20 towns or so, pig out, load supplies and hike 2-4 more hours per day if needed to cover the distance needed for that day instead of all the caches record setting attempt or not
What about what's in the pack and should it weigh a minimum amount?
jersey joe
12-29-2010, 09:12
What about what's in the pack and should it weigh a minimum amount?
What should be in the pack...I don't think it really matters what is in the pack. Whatever you need to get you to the other end. I'd even argue that you don't need to bring a pack if you can find your own food in nature/towns and sleep in shelters without a bag...but that isn't in any way realistic.
There is no weight minimum.
the subject was unsupported hiking
by the OP who i believe is going to try to break the record?
not sure if theres a advantage to curb side resuppling or not? i would rather hike in and out of say 20 towns or so, pig out, load supplies and hike 2-4 more hours per day if needed to cover the distance needed for that day instead of all the caches record setting attempt or not
Record attempt, unsupported. :D
So, basically, all the rough edges and unknowns of a regular hike are eliminated as much as possible in advance in order to facilitate speed.
For some reason, when I think of an unsupported hike I think of Joe Hiker carrying a regular pack, planning logistics a day or 2 in advance and just getting up early and hiking like crazy every day.
Here's the ultimate: Show up at Springer (or Katahdin) with the intention of doing a regular thru hike - complete with pack and whatever planning a person normally does for a thru hike without thinking about setting any records.
Then, when the first step is taken onto the trail decide that you're going to do a speed hike.
This kind of record attempt we're defining is like stock car racing - none of those are really "stock" cars.
earlyriser26
12-29-2010, 10:22
What about caches, that you hid yourself prehike? Eliminate the need to hitch or walk to town.
I would say that would have to be called support. Does not matter that you do it yourself. You avoid the time it takes to resupply. Anyway, the only hike that is "officially" recognized is the one by the ATC. All others, including "thurs" are open to debate.
the goat
12-29-2010, 10:38
yeah, for a "record" attempt, slackpacking has to be ruled out. that's pretty much the definition of support: someone carrying your gear for you.
yeah, for a "record" attempt, slackpacking has to be ruled out. that's pretty much the definition of support: someone carrying your gear for you.
How could anything that much fun be wrong? :)
the goat
12-29-2010, 10:56
How could anything that much fun be wrong? :)
hahaha, i agree! i'm a slackpacking fool every chance i get!
i'll never set any records......except maybe most days w/o a shower and/or most zeros taken in the woods in a single thru hike.:D
mweinstone
12-29-2010, 11:00
an unsuported hike is when you walk the trail useing post offices, accepting rides and magic but never allowing a crew to follow and cook food and carry gear for you.slackpacking is out as is calling someone to adjust a food drop at the last moment. and haveing someone put your pre sealed drop boxes in the mail is okay as is forwarding mail and gear thru the post. as far as how many nights the hiker could spend in hostels, its as many as he actually walks to. shuttles are out and hitching is in. ordering a pizza at partnership is in. aquablazeing is out. these are the difinitive complete rules as i know them to be .earl hiked unsuported yet newspapers were causeing folks to bring all manner of support to him. yet he had an ethic he followed simply put that he would do the trail by walking, and without any prior established support of any kind but for a visit for a friend who may have brought him something he asked for in a letter home. but for the times, it was a purist unsupported hike i belive.
jersey joe
12-29-2010, 12:01
an unsuported hike is when you walk the trail useing post offices, accepting rides and magic but never allowing a crew to follow and cook food and carry gear for you.slackpacking is out as is calling someone to adjust a food drop at the last moment. and haveing someone put your pre sealed drop boxes in the mail is okay as is forwarding mail and gear thru the post. as far as how many nights the hiker could spend in hostels, its as many as he actually walks to. shuttles are out and hitching is in. ordering a pizza at partnership is in. aquablazeing is out. these are the difinitive complete rules as i know them to be.
I agree with all of these definitions of an unsupported hike matty.
Nature Boy
12-29-2010, 18:13
an unsuported hike is when you walk the trail useing post offices, accepting rides and magic but never allowing a crew to follow and cook food and carry gear for you.slackpacking is out as is calling someone to adjust a food drop at the last moment. and haveing someone put your pre sealed drop boxes in the mail is okay as is forwarding mail and gear thru the post. as far as how many nights the hiker could spend in hostels, its as many as he actually walks to. shuttles are out and hitching is in. ordering a pizza at partnership is in. aquablazeing is out. these are the difinitive complete rules as i know them to be
This is what I think of when i think of an unsupported hike.
But, what about shuttles from a hostel that are included in the stay....such
as rides to the grocery store or a ride back to the trail in the morning..????
But, what about shuttles from a hostel that are included in the stay....such
as rides to the grocery store or a ride back to the trail in the morning..????
No problem...
mweinstone
01-03-2011, 22:27
agreed................
Camping Dave
01-05-2011, 22:37
This is what I think of when i think of an unsupported hike.
But, what about shuttles from a hostel that are included in the stay....such
as rides to the grocery store or a ride back to the trail in the morning..????
Do you really care enough about what some pack of non-walking cyberclowns think to ask a question like that, in bold no less?
Lemni Skate
01-09-2011, 08:14
Since, obviously nobody believes in "Hike your own hike" we need some sort of rating system for each hike:
"Pinky" - Person starts on top of Springer and ends up on top of Katahdin. What happens in between is irrelevant. They can take planes, steal cars, bum food, carry out affairs with hostel owners, or make a day-hiker carry their pack at gun point.
"Supported Hike" - Women wearing heavy duty sports bras and men wearing jock straps.
"Super-Purist" - Hikes the trail naked and refuses to eat or drink anything unless he actually finds it lying on the trail and it was clearly not put there by a person or an animal with more intelligence than a rabbit. He carries no pack or water bottles and refuses luxuries like privies.
"Changling Blazer" - Starts out as a Super-Purist and by the time he reaches North Carolina has become a Pinky.
"Thumbless Blazer" - No hitchhiking allowed. This person hikes from end to end without ever getting in a vehicle.
"Blue ball blazer" - Celibate for the entire trip.
"Baptist Blazer" - Manages to do the whole thing without one beer.
"AYOB Blazer" - Gains weight while on the trail.
"Whipped Blazer" - Carries all of his gear and his significant other's gear.
"Psychedelic Blazer" - Smokes at least one consciousness altering substance between every pair of shelters.
"Techno Blazer" - Has i-pod, GPS, notebook computer, i-phone, laser campsite leveler, etc.
"Blazer Blazer" - Hikes entire trail in a sharp looking Navy Blue jacket.
"Entourage Blazer" - Hikes with a group of hangers-on and never experiences any solitude on trail.
"Bumpkin Blazer" - Hikes the AT because the shelters are nicer than his home.
"Bimbo Blazer" - Hikes AT by flying to foreign countries and spending time with mistress.
"Braggart Blazer" - Hikes AT just as an easy way to recover from the real hiking they've been doing in Alaska.
Awol1970
01-09-2011, 08:35
"'Bimbo Blazer' - Hikes AT by flying to foreign coutries and spending time with mistress."
Is by far the funniest thingsaid on this site all week. It will be tough to beat.
mweinstone
01-09-2011, 09:18
remote blazer uses remote veiwing to hike and never leaves bedroom
angry blazer curses every incline
brown blazer has pooptypoopty pants
stranger
01-17-2011, 18:56
This is a fairly silly thread in many ways...are we really going to sit here and discuss whether or not taking a hitch to a grocery store means the record attempt is not genuine?
Call me crazy...I would be more concerned with strategies for 'averaging' 36 miles per day and even more concerned with averaging that pace for nearly two months without a day off. Anyone ever have a stress fracture before?
I think we all know that a supported hike means having a support team that tracks you, meets you at road crossings, cooks for you, has a van, takes you to motels, allows the hiker to only caryr water, etc...
Taking a hitch and having drops sent to you is hardly a supported hike, hundreds of hikers do this every single year...how many of them have a van following them around by contrast?
And I've said this before, I will say it again...Ward set the record 21 years ago, breaking the record today does not meet it head on, if this record is broken...then that's a very impressive feat in my opinion, but not nearly as impressive as it was in 1991, and not as challenging.