Like you say it saves time.Originally Posted by MDSection12
The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
You never know which one is talking.
FunnY!!I've used that myself a number of times. I just like giving people permission to dismiss me right up front... It saves us both some time.I would seriously be clueless if I didn't hike with my girl. She's not clueless at all, thankfully!
I like you so much, man. I'm so glad we met in person, MD. I can't believe we ever had a lil bit of trouble getting along online.
Over the years I have found people tend to cubbyhole and classify others for one of two reasons, either to build themselves up or to tear others down. There are some places in life where cubbyholes and titles are needed to maintain organization and order, so it's not always a bad thing. I just don't think the AT or hiking is one of those places. There are too many variables and no particular need.Interesting question, as I have personal experience of this. When Snacktime and I did our PA "section" from Pen Mar to Pine Grove Furnace St Pk, our plan was to take about a week and stay in a variety of shelters. When I contacted Junker for shuttle information, he suggested another plan, and we then learned the wonders of slack-packing. We spent 5 wonderful days hiking greater distances sans packs, and 5 wonderful nights in Junkers Bunker. It was great, and at the end we both felt quite accomplished.
Then someone told us it wasn't a section hike so much as it was a series of day hikes. For some ridiculous reason that made me feel deflated. (I'm over it....it was one of our best hikes, dammit).
So, apparently..... if you get off the trail at night.....it was a day hike.
If you don't carry a pack....it was a day hike.
If you enjoyed yourself immensely...it was a GREAT hike.
In answer to your question.....I've got nothing.
Having said all that, humans have been dividing people into groups for no particular reason since the beginning of time, so it's not unreasonable to see hikers do it too, but that doesn't mean I can't make fun of it
You can be whatever you wanna be, of course we don't know what you wanna be because you didn't give an opinion, only argumentative questions. Point being, I don't care if you want to be called a sashayer or dog hiker, matters not to me.
The OP asked for opinions. I gave him mine.
I'm absolutely certain that there was no malicious intent here, just a statement of that individual's "classification". Still, it stung a bit at the time, because our being so new at the game made me a bit insecure. But hey, that was almost a year ago. I've hiked maybe 10-15 AT miles since, so it's all old hat now!
"Maybe life isn't about avoiding the bruises. Maybe it's about collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it."
They weren't argumentative they were rhetorical, written to support my opinion which is in the the last sentence "My point is I don't see why we need to attach names to folks. Let folks call themselves whatever they want."
Ha! I think bfayer and Foresight agree but they haven't figured that out yet.I'm out guys, gotta get some sleep... love ya!
Goodnight Teach... you already know I love you too!
Note that the OP asked in the title of this thread "What is a section hike?", but then provided a definition of a "Section Hiker" - NOT the definition of a section hike. The key is to not confuse the terms "section hike" and "section hiker". To answer the original question, one must deduce a definition of a section hike from the provided definition of a section hiker. Note that this definition does not simply say that a section hiker is a person who does section hikes. Instead it qualifies them as people who do section hikes with the intent to eventually hike the entire trail. Thus we must conclude that section hikers are a just a subset of people who do section hikes. The logical conclusion is that there must be non-section hikers who are also doing section hikes and that these are the people who do not intend to hike the entire trail. We shall refer to these as people who do section hikes but are not section hikers (PWDSHBANSH). Thus, the only logical answer to the original question is that the term section hike refers to any person who hikes a section of the trail.
By those terms everyone walking on the AT is either a thru-hiker or a section hiker?
The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
You never know which one is talking.
I'm going to defend that title! It's a joke but has a definite point. But I realize that I've repeated the explanation too many times, so I'm just going to link to it.
I always know where I am. I'm right here.
Perhaps. Most posters (my fingers made 'posers' the first time I typed the word, and somehow that seemed appropriate too!) on this site seem to use 'section hike' to describe an outing that's longer that an overnighter or long weekend, but shorter than a thru-hike. Since I'm a weekender, having only once in my life done a hike long enough to need resupply, I'm clueless about where the lines of demarcation lie among the distances. Since I'm unlikely to become more enlightened, I just ignore the whole matter and get out and hike. (And my trip plans this weekend fell through, goshdarnit!)
I always know where I am. I'm right here.
I am going with this definition, recognizing that the whole exercise is kind of pointless.
Everyone hiking the trail is doing a section hike in that they are hiking a section of the trail. Each of these people will fit into one of three categories.
1. If his/her intent is to "walk the entire Appalachian Trail in one uninterrupted journey", he/she is a thru hiker.
2. If his/her intent is to "complete the A.T. in multiple trips over a period of years", he/she is a section hiker.
3. Everyone else is a person who is doing a section hike but are not section hikers or thru hikers.
Note that by this convention, the often-heard description of a thru hike as just being a series a back-to-back section hikes is accurate.
If a thru hiker completes his/her journey, they he/she has done a thru hike. However, this means that a section hiker who has hiked every section has completed a section hike. Thus the term "section hike" has two definitions. It could refer to the completed task of a section hiker or it could refer to any individual hike on the trail. Which meaning is intended must be deduced from the context in which it is used. But that shouldn't bother anyone, given that if you look in a dictionary, you will see that most words in the English language have multiple definitions.
You need to reread. He defends your definition of 'section hiker' but asserts that a hiker may hike a section, making it a 'section hike,' without being a section hiker.
I don't really care for these definitions though. For me it's simpler to just use three categories; thru-hiker, section hiker and day hiker. I suppose the difference between a section hiker and a day hiker is academic at this point, since both are hiking a section, but I think the distinction has to be made since there is one huge difference; the day hiker gets off the trail at night. That's not a shot at day hikers, it's just a detail that matters when discussing these things.
A day hiker could be a thru-hiker.
Lonehiker (MRT '22)
My wife painted our house last year, but she was at no point a "house painter".
A house painter is someone who either paints a bunch houses on a regular and ongoing basis-- or plans to. Be that for a summer job or an entire career.
Same concept applies the to the term "Section Hiker" I think.
Some (but not all) section hikers are working toward becoming 2000 Milers. Others are happy with a smaller slice of pie.
Just my take.
Last edited by rickb; 03-01-2014 at 15:21.
Let's dissect further... What's a hike? Why do I sometimes go backpacking and sometimes hiking? My wife goes on hikes but is she a hiker? If someone tells me to 'take a hike' do they mean thru, section or day? If my current hiking pants hike up while hiking do I order new ones online or drive down to a shop (it's a hike) and put up with the price hike that locally owned hiking shops impose on hikers? Do hikers ever walk on their hike, or do they hike the whole way?
Do you THINK your wife is a hiker? She thinks you're a butthead.....or maybe that was me....or maybe it was both of us. Either way, whatever term we use to describe each other is ok as long as it is meant to be a term of camaraderie and affection.....
"Maybe life isn't about avoiding the bruises. Maybe it's about collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it."
She knows I'm a butthead, you still just think so.Do you THINK your wife is a hiker? She thinks you're a butthead.....or maybe that was me....or maybe it was both of us. Either way, whatever term we use to describe each other is ok as long as it is meant to be a term of camaraderie and affection.....
On the trail we're all just 'friends,' these terms are for use when bragging at the local watering hole after a hike (or was it a walk?)
If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.
Unless it's a grebe, of course.
For my part, I think the ATC definition of a section hiker is too narrow. If one is hiking a bunch of sections of the trail, they are a section hiker. Simple.
Last edited by rickb; 03-01-2014 at 18:15.
You are exactly right BOver the years I have found people tend to cubbyhole and classify others for one of two reasons, either to build themselves up or to tear others down. There are some places in life where cubbyholes and titles are needed to maintain organization and order, so it's not always a bad thing. I just don't think the AT or hiking is one of those places. There are too many variables and no particular need.
Having said all that, humans have been dividing people into groups for no particular reason since the beginning of time, so it's not unreasonable to see hikers do it too, but that doesn't mean I can't make fun of it
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