About Thru-Hiking

Hikers that hike the trail and complete the entire Appalachian Trail in one season are called "thru-hikers"; hikers traversing the trail in seperate trips in a series are called "section-hikers". For hikers traveling from Georgia to Maine are named "north-bounders" while those heading from Maine to Georgia are called "south-bounders".

Going North is the direction most often attempted by those trying to complete the entire route. The advantage with going north is that one starts in early spring and progresses northward as the weather warms up and the season switches to summer. Part of the experience of hiking and hiker subculture is making unique and playful entries in logbooks at trail rest-stops, usually under a trail name adopted by the particular hiker.

Many terms exist that attempt to classify hikers attempting to take the Appalachian trail from start to finish; however, there are only several that are more commonly used. A hiker who never leaves the trail and only follows the path is called a "purist". This type of thru-hiker will not skip over and section of the trail and will not attempt to use side trails to complete the journey. This traveler will only stay on and hike the official Appalachian Trail. The next type of hiker is referred to as a "blue-blazer", and he or she makes use of the side trails that the "purist" would normally ignore. This process often cuts off miles of the official Appalachian Trail hike. These paths are marked by blue paint blazes, in contrast to the white which refers to the official trail. The last type of hiker is coined the "yellow-blazer" and this is someone that uses hitchhiking to complete their trail hike. This term is said to have come from the yellow dividing lines on a road, thus making it slang in nature.

Hiking the trail is no easy feat, and takes time, often as much as five to seven months, although some have been known to complete it in just three. During the spring and fall, many obstacles present themselves, especially rugged terrain and cold weather, which make thru-hiking a tremendous hardship. A small percentage (roughly 20%) of hikers attempting to complete the entire trail actually succeed.

Most of the Appalachian Trail is open to local use even though there are some rules or statutes in place that give favorable advantage to through hikers; some say that hiking the entire trail recieves too much emphasis.