[pct-l] What is a Thru-Hike Defined as Nowadays?

[Ernie Castillo]

In 1980, when I backpacked from Mexico to Canada along the Pacific Crest Trail, the term "thru hiker" hadn't been established. Nor did anybody question any "flip flops" or those who walked along Highway 395 because the Sierras were impassible.
 
I have been very honest when explaining my backpacking trip and point out to people that I missed a significant portion of California when I injured my ankle shortly after Wrightwood and, determined to not let it stop me, injuring it further  walking down from the Angeles Forest to the desert floor along Highway 14. I was laid up for weeks, told by a doctor I would be lucky if I would ever be able to run again, and told by the same doctor "absolutely not" when I asked him how soon I could return to he PCT.
 
This is why I don't have the California patch.
I have the Oregon patch because I hiked the entire length of the PCT through that state.
I have the Washington patch because I hike the portion of the PCT that was not devestated by the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. (Note: I was determined to hike past the Columbia River but was talked out of it by my fellow PCT backpackers and wound up hitching around the disaster zone.)
 
So I don't consider myself a thru-hiker. I consider myself somebody who backpacked from Mexico to Canada with some interruptions. 31 years later, the accomplishment hasn't diminished.
 
By the way: my "bucket" list of things to do when I retire in 5 years is to complete the sections I missed.

Ernie Castillo
PCT Class of 1980