Date: 2003-02-05
To: General Trail Info for Non-Hikers
Miles today: 0.0

The Appalachian Trail (AT) is 2172 miles long, running from the top of Springer Mountain in Georgia, to the top of Mount Katahdin in Maine.Thru-hike is to hike the entire length of the trail in a single season.Approximately 2500 backpackers attempt to become AT thru-hikers every year, typically taking about six months, starting in March or April and finishing in September or October. Only about 15% of the thru-hikers will finish.Some hiker terms:Trail Name - An alias that nearly every hiker uses on the trail. If a hiker doesn't have one, he is sure to be given one by other hikers. The best one I've heard was "6 Feet" for a hiker who smelled so ripe someone told him to please stay six feet away.Northbounder (NOBO) ¢ Thru-hiker headed north from Georgia, the conventional way to go.Southbounder (SOBO) ¢ Thru-hiker starting in Maine and going south. Only about 300 hikers a year try it in this direction.Shelter ¢ A three-sided structure with a roof built along the AT for hikers to sleep in. They usually have room for 6 to 20 hikers and at least that many mice. They are irregularly spaced, but on average would be about 8 miles apart. Many thru-hikers prefer to sleep in their own small tents.White Blaze ¢ The trail is marked by white ¢blazes¢ on trees about head high. The blazes are 6¢ tall and 2¢ wide.White Blazer or Purist ¢ A thru-hiker who is devoted to walking every single step of the AT (passing every white-blaze). You would be surprised at how many definitions of a ¢Purist¢ exist among the hikers. It gets confusing and you probably don¢t care to know any more about it.Blue Blaze ¢ A similar paint stripe colored blue that marks most side trails that intersect the AT. A side trail may lead to a shelter or a spring, or could be a scenic path going many miles. Blue Blazer ¢ Sometimes a blue blaze trail will take a scenic course or short-cut and rejoin the AT further along. A Blue blazer may take some of these side trails and bypass the white blazed AT This is the most common faux paus a thru-hiker makes to get himself evicted from the ranks of the Purists. Yellow Blazer ¢ Similarly, a hiker can either walk or get a ride along a section of road to bypass a piece of the AT   The name comes from the yellow line in the road. This is a definite no-no. Hike Your Own Hike (HYOH) ¢ The only hard and fast rule of the trail. Do your hike the way you want and let others hike the way they wish. This is the standard Blue and Yellow Blazer retort.PUDs ¢ Pointless Ups and Downs. Hiker pejorative for the trailmaker's habit of taking the trail up and down every peak in sight. Also known as FPUDs.Slackpacking - Hiking a day-long section of trail with vehicle support so you can carry minimal supplies or even no pack.Section Hiker ¢ Any overnight hiker on the AT that is not a thru-hiker. Some people do the entire length of the trail by piecing together sections over a number of years.Day Hiker ¢ Someone walking a little bit of the trail but not overnighting.Trail Magic ¢ Unexpected good fortune on the trail. Examples might be finding a hiking stick or getting a hitch into town when you need a break.Trail Angel ¢ Friends of hikers or ex-hikers who meet hikers at road intersections and help them out, usually with food, drinks or rides. Some TAs set up a grill and cook for whatever hikers come along. This is called doing ¢Trail Magic¢.Yogi-ing ¢ The art of getting strangers to offer food or rides without directly asking. The typical victims are people naively picnicking close to the trail. The name comes from the master, Yogi Bear.AYCE ¢ All you can eat. By now you may have noticed an obsession with food. Thru-hikers are in perpetual calorie deficit; so all hiking guides will point out towns near the trail with AYCE restaurants.Zero Day ¢ Taking a day off, zero miles walked.