View Full Version : Would this still be considered a thru hike?
Different Socks
06-19-2012, 23:22
If a person begins a long trail with only resupply drops for the first several hundred miles(or much further), then the person stops in a town for a week or longer to create the next several resupply boxes(or due to injury, or a period of unsuitable weather or thick snowpack), then gets back on the trail for several hundred more miles(or a thousand) and then stops again for a week or longer to create resupply boxes for the next miles, would it still be considered a thru hike though the person stopped for so long at each place?
BTW, the answer is "no" the hiker cannot do all the resupplies ahead of time. And it is not the AT, which provides the convenience of having the availability of food so often. I am talking about trails in which there is no "companion book" to tell them where they can stop and what the place provides.
fiddlehead
06-19-2012, 23:25
One thing I learned on my 2nd thru from a very experienced hiker: There are no rules.
Yes it would be a through hike. Would it be called "Pantry Blazing"?:)
Different Socks
06-19-2012, 23:39
To give a better clue, I will be doing a thru hike that will be 1000's of miles long. I do not have(or know) a responsible person that has the time nor the space nor the inclination, nor would I trust them with all the dollars required to send me the resupply boxes.
fiddlehead
06-19-2012, 23:44
I've found that resupplying and shipping boxes along the way is the best way to do a hike.
Shipping fees are lower.
You get what you want and need food-wise as appetites and priorities change.
As you said, you don't have to ask favors and rely on others.
Bounce box is a great idea too in these cases for obvious reasons.
Have fun.
We even did it this way in France when we hiked the Pyrenees High Route back in '99.
Often times some places won't have the food you need or want but will have a means of accepting and holding packages for you.
Good luck and have fun.
rocketsocks
06-20-2012, 02:14
If a person begins a long trail with only resupply drops for the first several hundred miles(or much further), then the person stops in a town for a week or longer to create the next several resupply boxes(or due to injury, or a period of unsuitable weather or thick snowpack), then gets back on the trail for several hundred more miles(or a thousand) and then stops again for a week or longer to create resupply boxes for the next miles, would it still be considered a thru hike though the person stopped for so long at each place?
BTW, the answer is "no" the hiker cannot do all the resupplies ahead of time. And it is not the AT, which provides the convenience of having the availability of food so often. I am talking about trails in which there is no "companion book" to tell them where they can stop and what the place provides.
To give a better clue, I will be doing a thru hike that will be 1000's of miles long. I do not have(or know) a responsible person that has the time nor the space nor the inclination, nor would I trust them with all the dollars required to send me the resupply boxes.Wait what? You answered your own question,only to rebute it.My answer is yes as long as your moving smartly forward,yep that's my answer.
Pedaling Fool
06-20-2012, 09:11
Nope, that's not a thru-hike.
Who Cares? Apparently you do, but you shouldn't.
It's your hike, hike it the way that makes sense for you. This is just hiking folks, a leisure activity, means NOTHING in the big scheme of things. It's frustrating when folks attach so much ridiculous importance to non-issues and labels.
Case in point, ATC feeling that officially recognizing a "Honorary 2000-miler" is a big deal that cannot be done lightly. Sure it can.
Who Cares? Apparently you do, but you shouldn't.
That's what I was thinking.
Go out. Hike. Have fun.
Let those who aren't on your hike discuss it ad inifitum .....you'll be out there enjoying yourself too much to care.
atmilkman
06-20-2012, 09:37
Every hike is a thru hike. You start hiking and when your done - your thru.
One thing I learned on my 2nd thru from a very experienced hiker: There are no rules.
Who Cares? Apparently you do, but you shouldn't.
It's your hike, hike it the way that makes sense for you. This is just hiking folks, a leisure activity, means NOTHING in the big scheme of things. It's frustrating when folks attach so much ridiculous importance to non-issues and labels.
Let those who aren't on your hike discuss it ad inifitum .....you'll be out there enjoying yourself too much to care.
Ditto all of the above. If you want to call it a thru hike? Then it's a thru hike.
WingedMonkey
06-20-2012, 10:31
Like any other, it's not a thru hike until you actually do it.
Slo-go'en
06-20-2012, 11:46
For a trail with "offical" terminus points such as the AT, CDT or PCT, I belive a "thru-hike" is considered completing it in one calander year, which can allow for significant down time.
If your making up your own trail, such definitions have little meaning. No doubt when you complete your walk, you will have thru-hiked any number of shorter trails (If they have designated end points) which you have combined into one long one.
Don't let others define your trip, define it yourself. Screw everyone else.
brian039
06-20-2012, 13:32
I don't understand. Why do you consider thru-hiker status null and void after taking the arbitrary number of 7 days off the trail? If I wanted more rules and regulations in my life I would have never quit my job and hiked.
WIAPilot
06-20-2012, 14:35
"Officially" - your hike is considered a thru if it is completed within the calendar year or hiking season for that trail. It doesn't matter if you get off to resupply or go to a wedding for a week and a funeral for another week or hurt your knee and are laid up for 2 months. If you can get from point A to point B and cover every mile in that calendar year/season - you have hiked a thru.
It ain't horseshoes or hand grenades. Don't sweat the small stuff.
as long as you hike the ENTIRE trail in one hiking season, it's a thru hike!
I love this new term... Pantry Blazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Blue Jay
06-21-2012, 12:24
as long as you hike the ENTIRE trail in one hiking season, it's a thru hike!
I agree and a hiking season is from when you learn to walk until you cannot walk even with crutches/hiking poles.
atmilkman
06-21-2012, 12:32
What are the actual dates of a hiking season?
Blue Jay
06-21-2012, 15:33
What are the actual dates of a hiking season?
It depends upon your zodiac sign.
Blue Jay
06-21-2012, 15:37
It's your hike, hike it the way that makes sense for you. This is just hiking folks, a leisure activity, means NOTHING in the big scheme of things. It's frustrating when folks attach so much ridiculous importance to non-issues and labels.
Ridiculous importance is cyber hiking, come on.
atmilkman
06-21-2012, 16:09
It depends upon your zodiac sign.
(LOL) What if your born on the cusp?
Blue Jay
06-21-2012, 17:32
(LOL) What if your born on the cusp?
Easy, then it's a thru if you ask for a gear evaluation every third Tuesday.
Different Socks
06-21-2012, 23:56
For a trail with "offical" terminus points such as the AT, CDT or PCT, I belive a "thru-hike" is considered completing it in one calander year, which can allow for significant down time.
If your making up your own trail, such definitions have little meaning. No doubt when you complete your walk, you will have thru-hiked any number of shorter trails (If they have designated end points) which you have combined into one long one.
Interesting answer, thank you.
I'm in favor of calling such things "long walks," which at the end of each, it becomes a "thru." I'm also in favor of multiple long -- and short -- walks. They keep one healthy, mentally alert, alive, and mostly out of trouble -- except on White Blaze and Hiking H.Q., of course.