Thru-Hike
noun:
a hike of any long-distance trail in any direction from one terminus to the other, completed within a single calendar year (i.e., a hike begun on March 15 of one year must be finished by March 15 of the following year to be considered a thru-hike)
He is attempting a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.
verb:
to do a thru-hike
He is thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Section Hike
noun:
a hike of any part of any long-distance trail in any direction
I am planning a section hike of 120 miles of the CDT from Rawlings, WY to Lander, WY.
LASH
(acronym for long-ass section hike)
noun:
a long hike of any part of any long-distance trail in any direction; the distinction between a section hike and a LASH is blurry, but if you would generally think of a section hike as taking days or weeks to complete, a LASH would be measured in months
They are doing a LASH of all 1,700 miles of the PCT in California.
NOBO
(abbreviation, short for northbound)
adverb:
to or toward the northern terminus of the trail
She is hiking NOBO from Mexico to Canada.
noun:
any person hiking NOBO
She is a NOBO, hiking from Mexico to Canada.
SOBO
(abbreviation, short for southbound)
adverb:
to or toward the southern terminus of the trail
He is hiking SOBO from Canada to Mexico.
noun:
any person hiking SOBO
He is a SOBO, hiking from Canada to Mexico.
Flip-Flop
noun:
a hike that begins in one direction but changes partway through
They are doing a flip-flop of the Appalachian Trail from West Virginia to Maine and then from West Virginia to Georgia.
verb:
(usually shortened to flip)
to change direction during a hike
They were hiking NOBO on the CDT but flipped up to central Wyoming and started hiking south to avoid snow in southern Colorado.
Triple Crown
noun:
the act of hiking the full length of each of the so-called “triple crown” trails: the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and the Continental Divide Trail (CDT); this can be accomplished either as a three full thru-hikes, as a lifelong collection of section hikes, or any combination thereof—a person who has managed this feat is called a “triple crowner”
If she finishes her thru-hike of the PCT this year, she will complete her triple crown.
Redline
(CDT specific)
noun:
the officially-designated CDT, as distinguished from any number of viable alternate by its appearance as a single red line on the digital map used by most hikers (I am aware of the unfortunate fact that outside of thru-hiking circles, “redlining” refers to the racist practice of denying access to desirable real estate to people of color, but I am not really sure what to do about that)
We took the Gila River Alternate out of Silver City, NM and got back on the redline in Pie Town.
Continuous Footpath
noun:
Fairly obviously, this means that a hiker has walked every step between the two endpoints of the trail they’ve hiked; less obvious is the fact that a continuous footpath is not a pre-requisite for a thru-hike, though of course there are a few pedants who will argue that point
I had a continuous footpath on the AT, but ended up skipping about 50 miles on my thru-hike of the PCT.
Resupply
verb:
To stock up food and other consumables in town, whether by going to a grocery store or picking up a “resupply box” sent ahead to the post office or other mail drop point; most thru-hikers typically stop in town every four to seven days and plan each section from resupply to resupply
When we resupply in the next town I am buying nothing but peanut-butter M&Ms.
Yellow Blaze
verb:
to drive or ride in a motor vehicle from town to town instead of going by foot, named for the yellow dashes in the center of a highway which are thought to vaguely sort of resemble the white blazes that mark the AT; as each hiker is encouraged by the community at large to “hike your own hike,” it’s not that big of a deal unless and until a yellow-blazer insists that they’ve walked the whole way, in which case the real problem is the (usually fairly transparent) attempt at deception
I never see that dude on trail and he always gets to town before us; he must be yellow blazing.
Blue Blaze
verb:
to take an alternate route instead of the official trail; this is considered as bad an offense as yellow blazing on the AT, where the alternates are frequently much easier than the official trail and are indeed usually marked with blue blazes; however, alternate routing is such an essential part of the culture of the CDT that the term loses its pejorative edge on that trail in the few instances when it even comes up at all
They blue blazed most of that section, and only got back on the official trail when we got close to town.
Aqua Blaze
(an incredibly niche term with very few real-world applications, but I like the way it sounds so I included it here)
verb:
to traverse of a section of trail by canoe, raft, or kayak instead of by foot; as these are all human-powered modes of transportation, aqua blazing is generally considered a legitimate alternative to hiking
She aqua blazed the Shenandoah River instead of hiking the most crowded section of the AT.
Brown Blaze
verb:
to avoid pooping into a cat-hole (see below) by hiking from privy to privy (i.e., outhouse to outhouse)
He’s anxious about pooping in the woods, so he brown blazes whenever he can.
Silk Blaze
verb:
to walk through the webs spun across the trail by spiders overnight
I hate being the first out of camp because then I spend the entire morning silk blazing.
Deli Blaze
(Only applicable on the New York/New Jersey section of the Appalachian Trail)
verb:
to hike from deli to deli, eating fresh sandwiches for every meal
She was sick of ramen and was grateful to be able to deli blaze for a few days instead of packing out any more dried food.
Pink Blaze
verb:
to hike with the specific hope or intention of hooking up with a particular woman or group of women; I kind of hate this term, partially because it is ubiquitous while there is no widely-used equivalent for its opposite; I also think it’s rather vulgar, as I assume the phrase derives from the fact that most vaginas are some shade of pink—a suspicion bolstered by the fact that the only term I’ve ever heard for hiking in the sexual or romantic pursuit of a particular man or group of men is “banana blazing,” and use of even that gross phrase is extremely rare
We hiked with that dude for almost a thousand miles, but he left the trail family to go pink blaze after so-and-so.
Trail Family
noun:
a group of hikers who may or may not hike together during the day, but generally eat and camp together, stay together in town, and make plans together; that definition may come across as somewhat sterile, but in fact these relationships tend to be very close; it’s impossible to spend that much time with people unless you enjoy their company, and it’s impossible to spend that much time with anyone without getting to know a great deal about their personal lives and/or bowel movements—as Vin Diesel once said in the epic hiking documentary Furious 7:
“I don’t have trail friends. I got trail family.”
PUD
(acronym for pointless up and down)
noun:
any stretch of trail that involves significant climbing only to descend immediately, with no notable increase in the quality of the views at the apex
This morning was frustrating and tiring: nothing but PUDs from camp to the river.
Blowdown
noun:
a tree that has fallen across the trail, usually requiring extra effort and time to climb over, under, around, or through; they’re called this presumably because they’ve “blown down,” though avalanches are more likely the culprit in many individual cases
The South San Juans were a difficult section of the CDT in part because any time the trail went below the treeline it was completely covered by blowdowns.
Cat-Hole
noun:
a hole dug 6” – 8” into the ground for pooping
She had a close call this morning and almost shit her shorts while digging her cat-hole.
Surface Dump
noun:
the unfortunate result of a hiker choosing not to dig a cat-hole
He nearly stepped in a pile of human shit because some nasty-ass chucklehead took a surface dump instead of digging a proper cat-hole.
Stealth Camp
(typically shortened to “stealth”)
verb:
to camp in a non-designated area—typically in violation of established regulations, norms, or laws—and to do so in such a way that no one ever knows that you were there
They didn’t want to deal with the for-profit AMC huts in the White Mountains, so the group of hikers stealthed off a side trail a few miles to the south.
Cowboy Camp
(typically shortened to “cowboy”)
verb:
to camp without a shelter such as a tent or a tarp; to sleep under the stars
It was a clear, beautiful night, so we cowboyed instead of setting up our tents.
Hiker Midnight
noun:
the part of the day when most hikers have bedded down for the night, usually around dark
He got lost just before sunset and didn’t make it into camp until well after hiker midnight.
Bushwhack
verb:
to hike without the benefit of a designated trail, typically through brush, trees, boulders, blowdowns, and god knows what else
She lost the trail and had to spend an excruciating hour bushwhacking her way back to the redline.
Hiker Car Wash
noun:
the unfortunate result of rain or condensation on the plants covering an overgrown trail; named for the spinning ribbons found in an automatic car wash, this combination of annoyances will soak you faster and more thoroughly than being caught in an actual downpour
I put on all my dry clothes this morning, but got drenched walking through that hiker car wash.
Posthole
verb:
to break through and sink into a patch of snow; postholing up to your knees or thighs is a common annoyance while crossing stretches of late-afternoon snow that have been softened by the day’s sun, but postholing up to your waist or chest can be downright scary
It took forever to cross those snowfields; we were postholing the entire way.
Snow Chute
noun:
a steep drainage that is lined with hardened snow
But the scariest part of the day was having to cross that super high snow chute
Microspikes
(frequently shortened to “spikes”)
noun:
sharp, metal cleats that slip on over a hiker’s trail shoes, used for traction while crossing snow and ice
Thank god I had on my spikes, or I’d have slipped down that snow chute for sure.
Bubble
noun:
a collection of hikers in the same general area at the same time
She wasn’t in our trail family, but we were in the same bubble for a while, so I did often see her on trail.
Camel Up
verb:
to drink as much water as you can stand at a known water source in an effort to reduce the amount of water you have to carry to next known water source
It was 20 miles to the next water, so he filled up every bottled he had and cameled up before leaving the stream.
Dry Camp
verb:
To camp at a site without water, usually requiring a hiker to carry an extra bottle or two for dinner, breakfast, brushing teeth, etc.
He knew he wouldn’t make it to the next water before sunset, so he took an extra liter and planned on dry camping that night.
Zero
noun:
a day during which no trail miles are walked; a rest day
They were exhausted after crossing the basin, so they took a zero when they got to town.
verb:
to take a zero
Our friend lives in that town, so we zeroed there in order to spend some time with her.
Nero
noun:
a day during which only a few trail miles are walked, usually into or out of town; a short day
He had to wait for his package to arrive, so he only did a nero out of town that day.
verb:
to do a nero
She did a long day so she could nero into town the following morning.
Yard Sale
verb:
to empty your pack onto the ground, usually with the goal of drying out wet gear
It rained hard overnight, but after yard saling in the afternoon sun we got everything mostly dry.
Base Weight
noun:
the weight of all of the gear in (and including) a hiker’s backpack, not counting food and water; while overall pack weight varies with the addition and use of consumables, base weight remains fairly consistent
No wonder you have knee problems, bro: your base weight alone is 20 pounds!
Ultralight
(typically abbreviated to UL)
adjective:
referring both to a philosophy and practice wherein a hiker keeps her base weight as low as she can, first by carrying as little as possible, and second by using only extremely lightweight (and usually very expensive) gear; while generally a good idea, some UL adherents do take the concept a bit far
He was so UL he didn’t carry toilet paper.
Cold Soak
verb:
a food preparation method used by hikers who don’t carry a stove, whereby dehydrated or “instant” food is left to soak in cold water, which does work but usually takes longer
She never regretted her decision to cold soak her food on the PCT until she made it to Washington, where it rained most days and the temperature never got above 50°F.
Hiker Box
noun:
a box, bin, bag, or just the corner of a room in an establishment commonly frequented by hikers (such as a hostel or outfitter) where they can leave unwanted food and gear to be claimed by others
Do you like my new shorts? I found them in the hiker box.
Yogi
verb:
to convince a non-thru-hiker to give you something such as food, a cold drink, or a ride, usually by smooth-talking that person and casually mentioning that you need that thing
He yogi’d a burger off of some campers who were grilling out next to their RV.
Trail Magic
noun:
any intentional act of kindness shown to a hiker by a non-hiker; this most often comes in the form of food, snacks, cold drinks, or rides to or from town, but it can come in almost any form
The cooler full of cold gatorade was some of the most welcome trail magic they found in the desert.
Trail Angel
noun:
while the term loosely refers to anyone providing trail magic, trail angels tend to go above and beyond for the hiking community: they fill water caches, drive shuttles, cook meals, and put hikers up in their homes
The trail angel met us at the parking lot with cold drinks and drove us into town.
Hiker Trash
adjective:
the aesthetic developed by months of hiking all day long in the mountains with one set of clothes; in town you can always identify the thru-hikers as the people grocery shopping in rain gear or going out to dinner in running shorts and puffy coats, talking loudly in restaurants about pooping in the woods
Obviously, the hiker trash hotel room is the one with all the sink-washed socks drying on the window sill.
