“Thru-hiker” Definition

[Lone Wolf]

the family of 8 are not thru-hikers

[Berserker]

the family of 8 are not thru-hikers

Hmmmmm...I'm intrigued by this statement. Please explain in more detail why they aren't thru-hikers.

Or maybe a better way to ask this is I thought they all finished except for the 2 year old. So did they?

[Gambit McCrae]

the family of 8 are not thru-hikers

Yes Yes Wolf we all know you didn't want them to make it and they are definitely not thru hikers, that last mile gottem

longest section hike ever? Yes, indeed.


I have a buddy that I met in the highlands a couple years back. On his first thru hike attempt back around 15' he made it to Vermont or so..."I thru hiked in 2015" he says. Well....Ya attempted it I tell him

last year he attempted again, and got caught up in the matrix for a month in Erwin, working for Johnny. Finally I said "man if your gunna make it the whole way this year you have GOT to leave ERWIN" I happen to be heading up to VA for my second to last completion of the state and he asked if I would pick him up to bounce him up the trail, and I did! However, when he posted his picture on top of Katahdin and claimed his victory with quote "I am now an Appalachian Trail Thru Hiker" He failed to mention anything about Gambit picking him up and driving him 441 miles up trail to the James River. Do I care? Nah, not style anymore, when I finish, I wont be a thru hiker but by god I'm gunna do what I said I was gunna do and that's walk the distance of the AT, and if I see every single foot of the trail then when I touch the sign, its done. Not all of it except for the little parts, or the convenient parts, ALL of it.

[Berserker]

Nah, not style anymore, when I finish, I wont be a thru hiker but by god I'm gunna do what I said I was gunna do and that's walk the distance of the AT, and if I see every single foot of the trail then when I touch the sign, its done. Not all of it except for the little parts, or the convenient parts, ALL of it.

This guy also gets it.

[Venchka]

Bill Murray said it best.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e9mf3Bypyk8
Wayne

[Dan Roper]

Heading north from I-40 near Davenport Gap a few years ago, our happy group of four thought the trail followed the gravel road a ways before slipping off into the woods. In fact, the trail didn't follow the gravel road. For a quarter-mile or so it veered off into a nondescript patch of woods. Missing that stretch wasn't intentional and meant nothing to me later, when I found out. Had that taken place during a successful trip from Springer to Katahdin, I'd consider myself a thru-hiker.

P.S. But I also consider the Approach Trail part of the trail and wouldn't have felt like I had done a thru-hike had I not included it. But that just applies to me - I'd never dispute a thru-hiker who started at the top of Springer. Who cares?

[rickb]

longest section hike ever? Yes, indeed.

Which is a FAR cooler record!

Amd their false summit shot is FAR better than most at the big sign.

[kestral]

My son and I plan to thru hike in 2019 with a "jump start" in the fall of 2018. We will use weekends this fall to get GA and NC done. This is not ideal but is required to meet our time restrictions. It's not entirely traditional, but the ATC calls it a thru hike and so will we.

Hey now, Jump Start is a great trail name if you don’t have one already! Enjoy your journey, I’ll be rooting for you both 😊

[rickb]

Or maybe a better way to ask this is I thought they all finished except for the 2 year old. So did they?

They all stuck together as a family, and completed their thru hike together at tree line — about a mile or so south of Baxter Peak. A beautiful decision.

A hostel owner carried up a mini summit sign to mark the spot.

If you google you can see a really cute photo of the two year old in his hero pose.



Not sure but I expect they walked more of the AT than most thru hikers.

They could probably care less, but I hope all 8 of them apply for the 2000 mile award. That does have a formal definition (it’s the ATC’s award, so it mean whatever they says it does), but I don’t see a problem.

Since the toddler was in effect handicapped due to incomplete formation of legs, I see no issue with him using service humans to assist him over those parts of the Trail he did not hike on his own, and the Trail was closed to him alone, so he probably has a stronger claim than the other seven.

[rickb]

Hey now, Jump Start is a great trail name if you don’t have one already! Enjoy your journey, I’ll be rooting for you both 

I agree, but you might get confused with the hiker who started his hike by parachuting in.

[D2maine]

foolishness. hope they don't make it

the family of 8 are not thru-hikers

lol salty much

[FreeGoldRush]

I agree, but you might get confused with the hiker who started his hike by parachuting in.

I do not yet have a trail name and Jump Start would be a cool one, except for the fact that it has already been made famous. Kinda like AWOL, that one can never be claimed again.