Date: 2007-04-12
From: Kincora Hostel, Hampton, TN

To: campsite before Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: clear sky

Today's debate may be as old as the hills over which we walk, hotly debated the length of the trail, with nary a definitive conclusion in sight - what constitutes a thru-hike? The Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC) awards a certificate and patch of completion, based on the honor system, for over 2000 miles hiked. The actual white-blazed trail is, this year, a number that changes just about annually due to trail relocations, 2174. For me, walking all the white blazes is what's most important, thus I can be considered a purist. The dictionary defines purist along the lines of adhering strictly to a code of standards or principles. Yet there exists no governing body of the AT to define what exactly are those standards or principles, up to each individual hiker instead according to his or her own integrity. The closest thing is the ATC, which has remained moot on the issue. The organization does a heck of a job maintaining the trail and keeping hikers informed, but policing or judging it does not. And so it is up to me to decide how I will hike the trail, what I will consider a successful thru-hike, how I will set my standards. But there are times and situations when adhering too strictly to a standard could be costly or detrimental, when determination to hike every white blaze could be a poor, even life-threatening, decision. Blue-blazed trails usual lead to a water source or shelter, but also provide alternatives when following the white blazes could put a hiker in danger, specifically when bad weather rolls in. For example, the blue blazes could bypass an exposed ridgeline during a thunderstorm or offer an alternate high-water route after heavy rains inundate the white-blazed AT. In the area of Fontana Dam, hikers may have no choice but to follow the blue blazes when the country's terrorism level is high. As for my own personal standards, under normal conditions I will not choose to replace the white blazes with the blue, but when faced with extenuating circumstances, I will consider my safety and well-being above all else. Today, these standards were put to the test. When I thought I lost the white-blazed trail, I considered the blue-blazed option, not sure how else I could continue north. After following the trail down one of the greatest feats of rock engineering that I've ever seen, the white blazes seemed to end at the foot of a waterfall. I looked everywhere for the next white 2 by 6-inch indication, scrambled up and down the hillside for about 30 minutes, debated taking off my boots and wading to the other side, unsure if the rains the night before covered the trail for which I searched. So I resigned myself to climbing back up one of the greatest feats of rock engineering that I've ever seen to return to the high-water alternate blue-blazed route at the top of the ridge. Damn those standards. Fortunately, I discovered the true AT soon after beginning my ascent, a beautiful path that hugged the river's edge. Glad I didn't have to revisit one of the greatest feats of rock engineering that I've ever seen, I was even more relieved I didn't have to compromise my white-blaze standards. But at least I knew my options, reiterating my principle above all to travel north, come hell or high water, I'm going to Maine.