[pct-l] What is a Thru Hike, synopsis

[Stephen]

I like end to ender.
I'll buy all that.  Makes sense to me. Which basically equates to my plan 
thus...  I intend to hike a long section of the PCT from about Bear Creek 
and VVR toTimberline Lodge and do it thru-hiker style.  Nothing wrong with 
being in style, just don't like trendy.  The nice things is, it really 
doesn't matter.  While we may have pleasant arguments about this and that 
here on the list, it isn't out on the trail.  And I don't know about anyone 
else around here, I like to keep and open mind and while I may be 
opinionated, I don't believe anything is realy set in stone, you just have 
to persuade me.
So Ned's synopsis persuaded me to think like so...  I'm still planning to 
thru hike a section of trail somewhere around 1,200 miles.  If you want to 
consider that a section hike done in thru-hiker resupply style I'm cool with 
that.  I can't think of a better way to describe it.  And how I describe my 
intentions to my friends is that "I'm planning to hike from the Sierra up to 
Mt Hood in northern Oregon."  They don't know what thru-hike implies anyway, 
they do know it's a long ways on foot.
Now I'm looking at possibly getting on a boat for the L.A. to Honolulu race 
this summer in July which means I may have change my plans.  There's no 
section sailing to Hawaii. you make it or you don't.  It's what we call a 
passage, and that's sort of how I think of those who have completed a PCT 
end to ender.  Only those who have popped out on the other side know what it 
actually feels like.  And to those who have attempted and had to quit the 
trial before reaching thier goal, section or border to border, you tried, 
and in the mountaneering world, attempts count for something, so don't cut 
yourself short.  You know what it's like to be out there, and experience is 
priceless.
Thanks Ned for the comments.
Stephen
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com>
To: "Rod Miller" <rod at rodmiller.com>; <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 6:52 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] What is a Thru Hike, synopsis


> It would seem that there are three points to garnish out of this 
> discussion,
>
> A Thru-Hiker is one who is attempting to hike from the beginning to the 
> end
> of his/her trail in one extended trip.
>
> You can "thru-hike" the JMT, the TRT, or the Oregon Skyline Trail, for
> example, and that says that you completed that trail in one trip.
>
> Everyone who starts to thru-hike the trail is a "thru hiker" in intent and
> should be able to proudly call him/herself such.
> If this hiker discontinues the attempt, he/she has hiked a section of the
> trail.
>
> In my case, I hiked the CDT in 1980, got injured near Steamboat Springs, 
> and
> had to abandon my attempt as a Thru-Hiker. I can say that I
> am section-hiking the CDT. If I were to re-start in Steamboat and finish 
> up
> in Canada, I could say that I section-hiked the CDT in two trips. If,
> instead, I were to start again from Mexico and make it all the way to 
> Canada
> in one trip, then I could claim that I thru-hiked the trail.
>
> A Section Hiker can hike like the Thru, same style, but covers shorter
> lengths of the collective total.
>
> Once all sections have been completed, the Section Hiker can claim he/she
> has "hiked the entire PCT in sections."
>
> To quickly address what Rod Miller states the Australian Track Foundation
> declares as an "end-to-ender." It is, without a doubt, much harder to
> complete the PCT in one extended trip versus many sections. Thus, there
> needs to be some distinction between how this accomplishment is achieved,
> whether in sections or not, to honor those who had it in them to meet the
> challenge and go all the way in one trip, whether they had to bounce 
> around
> or not.
>
>
> Mtnned
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Rod Miller" <rod at rodmiller.com>
> To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 10:04 AM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] What is a Thru Hike
>
>
>> IMHO the Australians have this issue nailed.
>>
>> On the Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia
>>
>> http://www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au/
>>
>> Section hiking is very common. Those who have
>> hiked from one end to the other are end-to-enders.
>> Some complete the e2e in one go, most it seems
>> just stitch the entire track together, one section
>> at a time until they have completed the track, and
>> they then become end-to-enders.
>>
>> The e2e status is given by the Track Foundation who
>> don't car whether you completed your e2e in one or
>> twenty attempts.
>>
>> Seems pretty sane to me.
>>
>> Sticks
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