Maybe not nobody, but realistically, damn few.
Parhaps ATC could issue (sell) a "Purist" rocker in addition to the "2000 Miler" for those that truly revel in such things.
I was a purist for about 450 miles back in '76 - then I yellow blazed from Damascus back to NJ. They don't have a patch for that either.
"That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett
I'm with you jersey joe. I just can't feel like I've done the hike unless I carry my pack past every white blaze between Springer and Katahdin, all NOBO. It's a personal fetish, in my case, but it's something I've stuck to for years now as a section hiker. I even try to start each section where I left off the last as exactly as possible (unless I'm in new territory, of course.)
BTW, for your statistics Old Man Joe, I'm 48 and expect to be at this for a while.
Last edited by Strategic; 10-08-2010 at 20:28.
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
Sun Tzu, The Art of War.
From the ages of 21 to now 25... been section hiking purely. Got a 1mi gap up near woodstock that pisses me off to no end...
up over the hills, theres nothing to fear
theres a pub across the way with whisky and beer
its a lengthy journey on the way up to the top
but it ain't so bad if you have a great big bottle o'scotch
Whatever. No one is keeping a record of what you carried and when. BUT ATC has a form that it asks people to accurately fill out after they have walked the trail. It says nothing about carrying a pack up Katahdin, or whether you carry a pack at all. Just whether one makes an honest effort to walk the ENTIRE trail.
From http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site...Completion.htm
Our recognition policy:
Our recognition policy does not consider sequence, direction, speed, or whether one carries a pack.
- Gives equal recognition to thru-hikers and section-hikers.
- Recognizes blue-blazed trails or officially required roadwalks as viable substitutes for the official, white-blazed route in the event of an emergency, such as a flood, a forest fire, or an impending storm on an exposed, high-elevation stretch.
- Operates on the honor system.
"That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett
Let's see.... hike 20 miles with a pack or hike 20 miles without a pack.....
Seems like a no-brainer to me..
I did not knowingly miss a single white blaze but I'll hike without a fully loaded pack any chance I get. I find I enjoy hiking much more without a load.
I think that purists should wear depends so that they never step off the trail to go potty
That is not true Weary, I kept track, and that's all that matters. I never implied that anyone had to carry a pack the whole way to meet an ATC standard. My point was that the stubborness that a person has to pass every white blaze can likely be traslated into being stubborn enough to carry their pack the whole way.
I go to extent of touching the blaze on the other side of the road where I stopped the last time I was out, but I don't always leave a shelter by the same path I hiked in, I've hiked both non-consecutive NOBO and SOBO sections (sometimes during the same week), and I probably cut off a switchback once, but I have filled in a handful of 1-15 mile gaps left over from prior section hikes.
Kind of feels like a confessional(!), but as I'm not all that religious and I'm just out there for myself, I'll just keep planning for my next hike. Enjoy yours, whatever trail you choose to hike!
Last edited by Kerosene; 10-09-2010 at 13:45.
GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014
If and when I ever get around to my thru-hike attempt, I will want to honestly (purist) complete the entire trail. However, I will say that if I take a side trail to a shelter, water source, etc...and there is another side trail taking me back to the main trail (AT) then I will certainly take it and not think twice about it. To backtrack down the same sidetrail I entered on if unnecessary to do so will be something I would not be willing to do in order to somehow achieve "purist" status