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

[Scott Bryce]

OK, I'll chime in here.

What is a through hike?

A through hike is a continuous hike from one end of the trail to the
other in one season without skipping or flipping, except for sections
that are skipped due to official trail closures.

Anyone who did anything less than that still accomplished something
significant. Not calling it a through hike does not in any way diminish
the significance of the accomplishment, whatever it was.

Calling a section hike a through hike DOES diminish the accomplishments
of those who stuck it out for the whole 2650 miles.

Yes, I'm a purist. When I left Warner Springs, I had three options. I
could walk the highway north, and pick up the trail there. I could walk
the highway south and pick up the trail at the fire station. I could
walk out on the same trail I walked into town and pick up the PCT at the
same spot I left it. I walked back to the same spot I left the trail. I
even got razzed by another hiker for walking the "extra" couple of miles.

I don't care how you left Warner Springs. I really don't. It was
important to me to hike the PCT rather than the highway, so I made my
decision. But if you tell me that you through hiked the trail, I will
assume that you walked out of Warner Springs, not matter which route you
decided to take.

I didn't come to California to walk along the road. I came to hike the PCT.

I submitted my photographs to the 2008 DVD project. I don't know if any
of them will be used, but there is one that I hope they include. It is
two coils of rusty barbed wire leaning against a weathered split rail
post partially buried in sand. It is a sight that most PCT hikers
probably never saw, but to me it conveys the feel of the Warner Springs
loop beautifully.

Someone has suggested that the term "section hike" is ambiguous. But if
we start calling section hikes "through hikes" then the term "through
hike" becomes ambiguous. What section of the trail did you through hike?
Did you through hike the whole section, or just parts of it? Did you
through hike it all at once, or in chunks over several years?

You did what you did, and it was probably an amazing accomplishment, but
please don't call it a through hike unless it really was.