Flip flop hike: SOBO from Harper's Ferry in Sept 2019, then NOBO from HF in May 2020

[Lauriep]

Franky,

Oh, another thing about starting at Delaware Water Gap headed southbound: the rocks! That is a brutal way to start. Unless you've recently done a multi-day backpack with a full pack through this section and know that you can comfortably handle it, best to save it for when you have more miles and experience (and maybe a lighter pack).

While the rocks can be very annoying and trying for someone who's been on the trail for weeks or months, for someone just starting out, it's worse. The PA rocks can be especially rough on your knees before your body has adjusted and you've gained your trail legs.

Also, your pack may be at its heaviest when you're just starting out if you're not experienced. Most hikers learn to trim their pack weight over time, as well as pack their backpacks so the weight is closer to their center of gravity, and they can balance themselves better on the rocks.

[Lauriep]

ATC has defined a thru-hike as "12 months or less" on our 2,000-miler application for decades. I don't know where we've said a "calendar year" -- at least since I've been involved in the 2,000-miler recognition program for more than 20 years. That would have meant we would have said that each year a percentage of southbounders who finished after December 31 would not have been thru-hikers.

ATC recognizes "2,000-milers." This is the term that has applied since about the '70s to those who have reported completing the entire A.T. It would not be prudent to change the term every year as the mileage changes. Why "2,000-miler" and not something closer to what the Trail mileage is today? The A.T. was about 2,033 miles when first completed. For the first few decades, the mileage actually went down, as the southern terminus was moved further north and more sections were moved off mountains onto roads. One year, the mileage was 1999 miles.

Here is our recognition policy:

• We hold high expectations of 2,000-milers that include treating the natural environment, A.T. communities, other hikers, and our agency partners--whose land the A.T. passes through--with kindness, respect, and cooperation;
  
• We operate on the honor system;
  
• We give equal recognition to thru-hikers and section hikers;
  
• We recognize hikers regardless of sequence, direction, speed, or whether they carry a pack;
  
• In the event of an emergency, such as a flood, a forest fire, or an impending storm, blue-blazed trails or officially required roadwalks are viable substitutes for the white-blazed route.

In practice, hikers may completely skip (get a shuttle around) a closed section or one that represents a significant safety hazard in an emergency and still be recognized as 2,000-milers.

[tdoczi]

ATC has defined a thru-hike as "12 months or less" on our 2,000-miler application for decades.

honest question- if the certificate is for anyone who completes the trail, "thru hiker" or otherwise, why does the application have a definition of a thru hike on it? that seems rather superfluous.