[pct-l] What is a "Thru Hike?"

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

On Feb 22, 2009, at 4:38 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> What is a "Thru Hike?"

When I was hiking the trail many people would convince me to go all  
the way. Sometimes I thought maybe I would. Everyone treated me like  
a thru-hiker. We were all thru-hikers because none of use knew  
whether we would really make it. Not those who planned to go all the  
way and not those whose plans were open.

Now home, I've never said I thru-hiked to Canada.

Some people get really mad when people hitchhike around parts of the  
trail and some think if you skipped the 8 miles near Big Bear or the  
section between Willow Springs Rd and Highway 58 near Tehachapi you  
don't deserve to say you thru-hiked the trail. And what about those  
who hiked all of Quincy-La Porte Road (a fire detour last year) vs.  
those who got a ride? What if you went back to cover that section of  
the trail when it re-opened? What if you didn't?

What about those who chose to rent or borrow bicycles just to make up  
time? What about people who rode bikes on dangerous highways that  
were fire detours and those who believed they were there to hike a  
trail, not a freeway, and accepted a ride?

How far are you going to go to prove the purity of the hike?

I think as long as you are trying to thru-hike you are a thru-hiker  
until you go home.

I made friends with people who did make it all the way to Canada. The  
qualities they had that I lacked included making a plan to go all the  
way to Canada, better nutrition than I had, companionship of a  
spouse, a deadline, and better luck with their feet. Other than that,  
we all had similar strategies as far as mail drops, gear, locating  
and planning for water, town stops, hitchhiking, shoes, shopping, and  
all the other little details that go into being able to walk so far.  
Each and every one of the people I knew who made it all the way to  
Canada did at least one of the "impure" things I mentioned above.