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

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, All,



The question, "What is a thru-hiker?" is complicated by fact that there is
no definition to which to compare.  I guess we each can believe what we
want.  Even the preeminent organization representing Western long distance
hiking, American Long Distance Hiking Association–West (ALDHA-West)  has no
definition of a long distance hiker.



Some say a long-distance hike is any of sufficient length or time that
resupply is necessary.  Even that definition is pretty "iffy" because we've
probably all met car-campers who had to go out in the middle of the week to
replenish the basics -- beer and chips.  I saw a junk-statistic a while ago
that claimed the average adult American walks a total of about 500 yards per
day.  To them, a long-distance hike may be across the mall parking lot or
across the city park so if we talk to them about a "thru-hike" they will
probably just give us a blank stare.



Most of the serious and accomplished hikers that I know rarely – if ever –
use the term "thru-hike".  They don't need to name-drop to create or support
their credentials and credibility.



By the way, the current ALDHA-West webpage at: http://www.aldhawest.org/  has
a good feature article by Monte Dodge --* Hiking with the Heavy Weights* –
about the old days when hikers wore big, heavy leather boots and carried
60-70 lb. packs.  I remember those days only because I refused to cooperate;
instead wearing my sneakers and carrying a light pack.  The typical heavy
backpackers used to make fun of me, but not for long:  Pretty quickly I was
well ahead of them and out of earshot.



Steel-Eye

Hiking the PCT since before it was the PCT -- 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye




On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 6:52 AM, Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com <
diane at santabarbarahikes.com> wrote:

>
> 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.
>
>
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